Countdown to Kickoff… Doug Plank Days until Chicago Bears Season Opener
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.
With all due respect to hometown product, safety Tom Nelson, and former player-turned-coach Chris Harris, when you think of #46 on the Bears, you have to think of Doug Plank. Buddy Ryan so like the hard-hitting safety that he named the 46 defense after Plank.
Just check out this clip of hits:
Unfortunately, Plank wasn’t around to see the defense hit their peak in 1985, as he departed the Bears in 1982. Since his days with the Bears, Plank spent a season with the Chicago Blitz and has worked as a TV analyst and coached in the Arena league as well as a couple of stints as an assistant in the NFL, most notably as an assistant Rex Ryan’s Jets. Rex, of course, is the son of Plank’s former DC Buddy Ryan.
This is supposed to be a Roster Preview, so let’s do a little previewing. The Bears brought in local son Tom Nelson, who grew up in Arlington Heights and played his college ball in Illinois State. Nelson signed with the Bengals as an undrafted Free Agent in 2009 and spent time in Cincinnati and with Philadelphia Eagles before joining the Bears this offseason.
Nelson will have a tough climb to make the Bears roster since the safety position has stabilized and offers tremendous depth. Chris Conte and Major Wright are expected to start and veterans Craig Steltz, Tom Zbikowski will compete to back them up. Youngsters Anthony Walters and Brandon Hardin will also compete for a roster spot. Like most of the safety backups, Nelson will have to make some big contributions on special teams for a chance to make the team coming out of camp.
We’re 46 days away from kickoff. Are you ready???
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