Countdown to Kickoff… Mike Brown 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, we decided to combine the countdown with a roster preview of sorts.

We’re Mike Brown days away from the start of the Bears season.  You remember folk hero Mike Brown don’t you?  Brown was drafted in the second round of the 2000 draft out of Nebraska,  in the same class as Brian Urlacher.  They formed a dynamic duo that made Lovie Smith’s defense what it was.

Brown had a knack for finding the football, collecting 17 interceptions in his nine seasons with the Beloved.  It only seemed that he brought every interception back to the house because he only brought 4 back to the house.

Here are two of my favorite, a pair of consecutive walkoff winners back in the improbable 2001 season:

It’s not a total coincidence that I’m profiling Brown for the #30 spot.  It’s appropriate because the Bears had been searching for his successor for years, going on a run of drafting safeties that lasted until this most recent draft.  It actually looks like they have found the right combination with Chris Conte and Major Wright.  If that safety position is shored up, the Cover-2 defense that the Bears will run in 2013 will be very effective.

On the current roster, #30 is Demontre Hurst, a rookie free agent cornerback out of Oklahoma.  Considering the lack of depth behind starters Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings and the season-ending injury to nickelback Kelvin Hayden, Hurst could actually have a shot at a roster spot if he can impress coaches during the preseason.

We’re 30 days away.  Are you ready???

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