Countdown to Kickoff… Harvey Unga Days Until Chicago Bears Season Opener

Aug 13, 2011; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears running back Harvey Unga (45) with the ball during the second half of a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field. The Bears defeated the Bills 10-3. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-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, we decided to combine the countdown with a roster preview of sorts.

We’re Harvey Unga days away from the start of the Bears season!  It’s conditioning test day and assuming Unga can pass the test, he’ll be facing his most important camp to date.  I call Unga “bad penny” because like a bad penny, he keeps coming back and the Bears can’t seem to get rid of him.

It’s been a tumultuous road for the running back out of BYU.  His professional career started with the 2010 supplemental draft after he had to withdraw from BYU for an honor code violation.  Jerry Angelo and the Bears invested a 2011 7th round draft pick to retain his rights.

He was in and out of camp and couldn’t get his feet under him.  During the 2011 camp he was excused for personal reasons and looked like he was finished. The Bears got a roster exemption for him and in 2012 he was reinstated.   He’s since been cut, signed back to the practice squad and finally elevated to the active roster at the end of last season.  To say 2013 is his last chance is an understatement.

Unga is a big back, a 6’o” and nearly 240 pounds.  I thought he could become a short yardage back, but when the Bears brought Michael Bush in, that became less likely.  Now that Evan Rodriguez is gone, it’s possible Unga could fill that fullback role.

Of course, the most notable #45 is Gary Fencik, the hard-hitting safety from the ’85 Bears.  Here is “the Hit Man” in a Miller Lite commercial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLD9sPGg2Gs

We’re 45 days away.  Are you ready???