Countdown to Kickoff… Chris Conte Days Until Chicago Bears Season Opener

October 23, 2011; London, ENGLAND; Chicago Bears safety Chris Conte (47) celebrates after an interception on a pass by Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman (not pictured) during the second quarter in the NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

We decided to do a countdown to the Chicago Bears season opener on September 8th versus the Cincinnati Bengals.  Thanks to one of our Twitter followers,se decided to combine the countdown with a roster preview of sorts.

We’re Chris Conte days until the Chicago Bears start the 2013 season!  We’ve taken a couple of days off from the Countdown since we had a couple of weak numbers (49 and 48), but we’re back at it in full strength just 47 days from the start of the Marc Trestman era.

Conte has come a long way from his rookie season, when the Bears lined him up 30 yards off the ball with strict instructions not to let anyone behind him.  Conte has helped shore up a shaky Bears secondary and joins a young nucleus of players that will re-shape the next generation of the Bears defense.

Conte enters his third season in the league, his second as the starting free safety.  In 2012, he totaled 68 tackles, 2 interceptions and 9 passes defensed.   He played well in pass coverage, ranking 17th according to Pro Football Focus in pass coverage, but needs to work on his run support where his negative ranking dragged down his overall ranking to #56 overall.  I guess when you look at the metrics, Conte has room to improve.

Conte will be pushed by redshirt rookie Brandon Hardin and veteran newcomer Tom Nelson to keep his starting spot.  I fully expect Conte to take his game to another level as he enters the prime of his career.  It will be interesting to see how some of the blitzing schemes that Mel Tucker will employ on defense will impact Conte and the secondary.  I’d like to see some more safety blitzes to keep opposing teams off balance.

We’re just 47 days until kickoff.  Are you ready???