Bears find safety in numbers
Vasher has some stats in his favor, so Bears figure to give him a try
One of the problems the Bears have had on defense the past few seasons is that they haven't gotten production from some of the players they have paid.
Not commensurate to the checks that were written by the club, anyway.
(AP)
Defensive tackle Tommie Harris picked up a four-year, $40 million extension in the summer of 2008 and has yet to play to that level, something that no doubt played into his benching last week. Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher was given a one-year, $18 million extension before training camp in 2008 with the idea of getting him the going rate for marquee defenders. Then there is the case of cornerback Nathan Vasher, who scored a five-year, $28 million extension the summer before. Vasher had trouble staying healthy and couldn't keep his job.
Harris said the week off did him well, and he returns today against Cleveland -- but he will be judged on his play over the remainder of the season. And now the Bears may have found a role to get some value from Vasher, using him as a free safety in the nickel package.
In the constantly evolving secondary -- the Bears have made more changes at safety under Lovie Smith than quarterback -- Vasher got a chance with seven snaps last Sunday in the blowout at Cincinnati. Smith is hammering at the need to get takeaways, and Vasher has 19 career interceptions after a pick on the lone play he had at Atlanta on Oct. 18. With Kevin Payne fading fast since his blown coverage in the opener at Green Bay, Vasher has an opportunity when Danieal Manning moves from free safety to nickel back in the sub package.
The Bears are looking for a spark, something to get them going, so why not Vasher? He was surprised when they came to him on the Wednesday before the Bengals game and asked him to start working at the position, but Vasher played safety as a sophomore at Texas when he had seven interceptions -- and even though the schemes are very different, the position isn't completely foreign to him.
''You've got a guy who is a veteran player, that has shown the ability to go catch a ball, play the quarterback's eyes, and he's been productive doing that,'' secondary coach Jon Hoke said. ''So it was really nothing more than saying here is a guy we have on our team that has the ability to go intercept balls, why don't we take a look at him? Why don't we see if he can help us?''
Vasher dealt with a groin muscle tear during 2007 and then had multiple injuries last season, including wrist surgery. Zack Bowman stepped up in the offseason, and while he has looked raw at points, the Bears see potential and upside and are in love with his size. Vasher handled his demotion with class and professionalism, and knows he still could be called on at cornerback at some point this season. He's been working at both positions in practice the last week.
''If you know Nathan Vasher, you would know he would have reacted to the situation that way,'' Smith said. ''He's about the team, and he went into another role for a while and did a super job with that. It's a long year, and you ask guys to play different roles at different times. The true team guys do that, and they normally get another opportunity to play. He's always been in our plans.''
Considering the instability at safety over the last five seasons, it's surprising the Bears didn't do more in the offseason to address the position. Darren Sharper attempted to use the Bears to drive up his price and looks like a defensive player of the year candidate for the unbeaten New Orleans Saints. But the Bears have been driven to make it work with a series of late-round draft picks at the position, and now maybe they'll find a boost in the nickel package with Vasher. They need it because they are ranked 28th in the league on third down with opponents converting 44 percent of the time.
''One thing I like to do is pride myself in being versatile, being able to do a lot of things,'' Vasher said. ''It's positive. It's all about trying to be comfortable and letting your instincts take over --see ball, go get ball.''
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