Bear Essentials

Undrafted rookie wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher is way more than just a training camp feel-good story of an underdog who flashes talent for a couple days and then disappears into obscurity. The undersized, 5-foot-11, 180-pound Ohio State product has made his presence known on an almost daily basis, catching everything in his vicinity and managing to get open against bigger, faster, stronger defenders. And he’s caught the eye of coaches. “He's kind of the perfect guy to play in the slot,” coach Lovie Smith said after Sunday night’s practice. “He's not the biggest guy around, but he's got great quickness, runs great routes, and he has good hands. He's a confident player. He came here looking to earn a position on the team.”

Fourth-year defensive tackle Marcus Harrison is in danger of being lost in the shuffle, much as he was last season, when he played in just five games and had only 1 tackle all season. Harrison has not practiced yet because he showed up 11 pounds over his prescribed weight of 316, and he could very well be wasting his last chance to stick with the Bears. “I'm concerned any time somebody's not practicing,” defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said this morning. “I’m very concerned about it.”

If the Bears’ coaching staff is seriously considering leaving long-time right guard Roberto Garza at center, it would make the decision not re-sign center Olin Kreutz even worse. As it stands now, the Bears’ opening day lineup will have different players at three positions from the group that started the NFC championship game on Jan. 23. Rookie Gabe Carimi is the odds-on favorite to start at right tackle, which means last year’s right tackle, J’Marcus Webb, will move to left tackle, where Frank Omiyale was the starter at the end of last season.

For any ffootball ans considering a trip next week to watch training camp, be advised: The Bears’ 7 p.m. practice on Wednesday, Aug. 3 at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais has been moved to Thursday, Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. There will be no practice on Wednesday, Aug. 3. Bears Family Fest is still scheduled for 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 5 at Soldier Field.

Matt Forte has decided against a training camp holdout in hopes of forcing the Bears into an extension of his rookie contract, which he clearly has outperformed. Forte is entering the final year of his original four-year deal that was worth a total of $3.8 million, including a $1.533 million signing bonus. His base pay for this season is $550,000, a pittance compared to the $12.5 million that the Bears wasted on Chester Taylor last year when he was an unrestricted free agent.

While it’s easy to dismiss as training camp fodder the 26 undrafted college players whom the Bears signed on Tuesday, there are at least a few who could be worth watching once practices begin Saturday afternoon. Oregon State center Alex Linnenkohl and Ohio State wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher are two players who most draft analysts expected to be drafted. Sanzenbacher will remind Bears fans old enough to remember Tom Waddle of the undersized, glue-fingered Boston College product who spent six seasons in Chicago.

If, as rumored, quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, who are two of the 10 plaintiffs in the antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, are intent on holding up the settlement of that issue to gain exemption for themselves from the franchise tag, they’re making a monumental mistake. For two of the most well-compensated members of the league to jeopardize or even delay the long-awaited labor agreement would be egregious and unfathomably self-serving. Ditto two of the other plaintiffs, Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson and Patriots guard Logan Mankins, who reportedly wish to be granted free agency or receive $10 million each.

As expected, the only losers in the NFL’s “greedfest” are the fans and the little guys. According to the Miami Herald, the bad news has already started for the day-to-day Miami Dolphins employees, in the way of substantial pay cuts. Team executives blamed the lockout for the need to cut the salaries of those making $75,000 by 20 percent, those making between $50,000 and $74,999 by 15 percent, and those making less than $50,000 by 10 percent. Apparently, the employees’ salaries will return to normal levels when the lockout ends, but there’s a big question on whether the Dolphins will return lost wages to the employees.

The Bears should absolutely not voluntarily give the Ravens their fourth-round pick on Sunday because of the miscommunication that screwed up their attempt to trade up from No. 29 to Baltimore’s spot at No. 26 to get OT Gabe Carimi. The Bears got Carimi anyway at 29. As a result of the Bears’ “glitch,” the Ravens failed to make their pick in time, and they were leapfrogged by the Chiefs, dropping to No. 27. But they still got the guy they wanted in CB Jimmy Smith from Colorado.

Bears kicker and player representative Robbie Gould was joined by several teammates at Halas Hall Friday morning, even though the team’s off-season program doesn’t officially begin until Monday, May 9. Players were allowed to use the facilities to lift weights and run, although those activities were, for now, unsupervised, and they were able to seek medical attention from the training staff and to confer with coaches. “It’s kind of business as usual,” Gould said. “It feels good to be back working out, and it’s great to be around your teammates. It’s just great to have the opportunity to get back to football.” In addition to Gould, defensive linemen Israel Idonije and Matt Toeaina were at Halas Hall as were fullback Eddie Williams and tight end Greg Olsen.