Manning to start at FS

dingojazz · Post #1 » by **dingojazz** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:05 pm

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsSt ... ry_id=5951

From the Bears Website. Manning will start at Free, Stelz will back up Payne at Strong, and in nickel Manning will go to nickel corner and Stelz will come in at Free.

The article also says that Zach Bowman will open up training camp with the number one D in Tillmans place. Based on that info...here is our depth chart in the secondary:

Left Corner - Tillman (Injured), Bowman, Moore
Right Corner - Vasher, Graham, Moore
Nickel - Manning, Graham
Free - Manning, Stelz, Bullocks
Strong - Payne, Stelz, Afala

It seems like Corey Graham has taken the biggest hit in this latest news. Not only is he not starting at safety, but he's not even starting for the injured Tillman at this point. It sure will be interesting to see who the opening day starters are in the secondary.

Balance-a-Bull · Post #2 » by **Balance-a-Bull** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 1:05 am

Great..... although I would have preferred someone more fundamentally sound with pro-level speed to play FS, but Manning is still better than Stelz.

Hopefully with Smth handling the defense, Manning will make strides in closing the gap between his elite physical ability and detail to adhering to proper assignment techniques.

At least Manning has good recovery speed, in the event he has difficulty "manning" his area.....unlike Stelz.

NZB2323 · Post #3 » by **NZB2323** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:38 am

I feel more comfortable with Manning at FS than anyone else on the roster.

ChronicKerr · Post #4 » by **ChronicKerr** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:47 pm

Ugh.. Manning is TERRIBLE at FS. Hasn't this already been proven? I'm not saying Steltz is any better but, damn.

We should start our 4 best secondary members IMO. Graham should be starting somewhere.

BullHeaded · Post #5 » by **BullHeaded** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:59 pm

Balance-a-Bull wrote:Great..... although I would have preferred someone more fundamentally sound with pro-level speed to play FS, but Manning is still better than Stelz.

Hopefully with Smth handling the defense, Manning will make strides in closing the gap between his elite physical ability and detail to adhering to proper assignment techniques.

At least Manning has good recovery speed, in the event he has difficulty "manning" his area.....unlike Stelz.

If I'm not mistaken, Manning has more speed than any other safety on our roster. The "fundamentally sound" part though is legit. We can't have him getting juked out so easily by a double pump or head fake... and we could use better tackling at that position.

Cliff Levingston · Post #6 » by **Cliff Levingston** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 4:03 pm

If they're going to put Manning at FS, then why switch him to nickel in that package? Why not just keep him at FS and use Graham or Moore as the nickel? Weird.