SPOILER ALERT: FOOTBALL PLAYERS ARE CRAZY

Both the major Chicago dailies feature columns disparaging Martellus Bennett for body slamming first-round selection Kyle Fuller to the ground in a fit of rage. Mark Potash in the Sun-Times wants the alarm sounded and Bennett read the riot act:

The Bennett-Fuller dust-up might end up being an isolated incident, but it’s a red flag nonetheless. Martellus Bennett is a Pro Bowl-caliber tight end and a good teammate who defers to more productive players in the offense. But on the field and off he’s an acquired taste that is not for everybody.

“I’m not here for friendships,” Bennett said.

That’s all well and good. You don’t have to make friends to be part of a winning team. But you definitely have to avoid making enemies.

If Bennett would have seriously hurt Fuller this would have been an unmitigated disaster. But he didn’t. Fuller is fine. And Bennett is a football player. I’m sorry if I don’t expect gigantic, jacked up Neanderthals to be well-adjusted human beings.

Also, on Potash’s last sentence…really? Do we spend so much time celebrating the 1985 Chicago Bears we actually forget who and what they were? There were plenty of enemies on that roster and two fierce enemies on the coaching staff.

Marquess Wilson Injury Makes Preseason More Interesting

I bet you didn’t expect THAT headline from me, did you? Let me explain.

Marquess Wilson was cemented in the third receiver role and had built tremendous chemistry with Marshall and Jeffery. I’m someone who seriously doubted Wilson’s potential impact but I never doubted the organization would give him every opportunity to make that impact. Now it’s unknown how long Wilson be sidelined and the door is open for a half dozen players to cement on position on the final fifty-three.

All of the men behind Wilson on the depth chart – Weems, Bellamy, Morgan, Williams, Edwards – will now have an opportunity to make the roster as far more than a special teams contributor. And with none of them being all that good it makes for a particularly interesting war to be waged in camp and throughout the preseason.

Side note: I banged the drum hard for the Bears to add more weapons to this receiving corps both in free agency and the draft and met more resistance from fans than I expected. Now I believe they wish they had added a capable professional along the way.

Safety Dance

Sun-Times has an article about Ryan Mundy moving to free safety. Larry Mayer has a column featuring Mel Tucker’s praise of Adrian Wilson. Marc Trestman is giving radio endorsements of Chris Conte’s 2012 campaign. Tribune has a piece about Brock Vereen’s push for the starting lineup.

All in the last two days.

Outside of Wilson there is very little on the Bears roster at the safety position. Whether Mundy or Conte or Vereen starts will more than likely be a negligible difference. But a revitalized Wilson, even at 75% of his past form, could bring stability to a back line desperately in need of it.