Week 2: Tracking the Bears' snaps

In deadline situations, off-beat things amuse me. While trying to hurry through some interviews after the Bears' 17-3 win over the Giants tonight, I stood impatiently waiting to talk to new left guard Frank Omiyale while WBBM radio king Zach Zaidman conducted a one-on-one interview.

As Zaidman pulled away from Omiyale, he kept talking and mentioned how Omiyale would receive a $200 gift certificate to Mario Tricoci Hair Salon for being the interview of the game or some such honor. Omiyale, hearing this, arched his eyebrows at Zaidman and then at me. Then we couldn't help but chuckle. You see, Omiyale has just enough hair to disqualify himself from being called bald. Omiyale shrugged his shoulders and said it'd be something nice for the wife. So there you go.

But enough non-sensical stuff...unless you count Matt Forte's "FORTE" tattoo located in almost the exact place where "FORTE" is on the back of his Bears jersey.

If you're wondering what the Bears think of their players, here's an unofficial count of the snaps at each position -- in order of appearance during the game. Warning: I didn't keep track of the final two minutes because I was headed down to the field. So throw in about three extra snaps for the third-string offense and seven snaps for the third-string defense.

OFFENSE (these include 2 holding penalties in the second quarter):
QB: Cutler 25, Hanie 40, Basanez 2.
RB: Forte 25, Jones 14, Wolfe 15, Peterson 13.
FB: McKie 6, J. Davis 8, Ta’ufo’ou 6.
TE: Olsen 24, Clark 20, K. Davis 35, Gaines 22.
WR: Hester 22, Bennett 20, Rideau 21, Aromashodu 21, R. Davis 23, Knox 12, Iglesias 12, Kinder 8, Brousssard 2, Peterman 6.
LT: Pace 25, Shaffer 23, Louis 14, Balogh 5.
LG: Omiyale 30, Louis 23, Beekman 8, Asiata 6.
C: Kreutz 25, Beekman 23, Raiola 19.
RG: Garza 30, Buenning 37.
RT: Williams 30, Balogh 18, Shaffer 19.

DEFENSE:
LE: Ogunleye 20, Anderson 5, Gilbert 22, Clermond 10.
NT: Adams 13, Harrison 26, Dvoracek 16, Melton 2 (pass-rush situation).
DT: Harris 15, Idonije 18, Harrison 4, Melton 13, Gilbert 7.
RE: Brown 22, Anderson 17, Clermond 8, Baldwin 10.
WLB: Briggs 25, Williams 14, Malast 18.
MLB: Urlacher 25, Hillenmeyer 14, Rivera 18.
SLB: Tinoisamoa 17, Freeman 26.
Nickel: Graham 8, Moore 6.
LCB: McBride 25, Graham 10, Moore 20, Hamilton 2.
RCB: Vasher 21, McBride 14, Hillenmeyer 1 (as extra LB), Burgess 21.
SS: Afalava 25, Steltz 32
FS: Payne 25, Bullocks 32.

Kicks: Gould (FG), Gould (XP), McGee (XP)
Punts: Maynard 3, McGee 2.

Kick returns: Wolfe, Knox.
Punt returns: Bennett, Bennett, Vasher, Knox, Knox, Moore, Moore, Kinder.

NOTE: To combat Giants battering ram Brandon Jacobs, who's listed at 6-foot-4 and 264 pounds, the Bears used a 4-4 defense for one snap in the first quarter. They brought in Hunter Hillenmeyer for Nathan Vasher, but it still didn't matter. Jacobs blasted to the left and flattened Brian Urlacher for a 5-yard gain.

ALSO NOTE: Third-round pick Jarron Gilbert is supposed to be a tackle-end hybrid while fourth-rounder Henry Melton is supposed to be a defensive end. But for several second-half snaps, Gilbert lined up at left end while Melton played the "under tackle" spot owned by Tommie Harris. Melton earned a QB Hit from that tackle spot as well as a solo tackle, while Gilbert didn't register anything on the defensive charts in his 29 total snaps.

LW