The last time Bears QB Kyle Orton was getting ready for a game agains the Colts he was doing his best Peyton Manning impersanation and by all accounts was pretty good at it.

He looked the part anyway, and he didn't have to switch from his No. 18 jersey. By all accounts -- linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer jokingly called him ''Peyton Manning reincarnated'' -- Orton, then the Bears' No. 3 quarterback, pulled off the act of mimicking the Indianapolis Colts quarterback in preparations for Super Bowl XLI in February 2007.

Desmond Clark was on the field for the first time since injuring his knee.

Clark should be ready to start Sunday at Indianapolis. He has no concerns about the FieldTurf at the new Lucas Oil Stadium.

"If it was a concern, you shouldn't be out here," Clark said. "It's no concern for me. I'm full go, and I expect to go out there and play my normal game."

Only in Chicago does the busniess of punts and kickoffs become a big issue.  Despite getting burned in the Super  Bowl by Devin Hester and having a questionable special teams, the Colts will at times kick to him.

'There are going to be times when you have to kick to him,'' Dungy said. ''And we're going to try to punt well and punt high and make him move around to catch it. We're going to try to make him move to catch the kickoff.

''We certainly don't want to kick it out of bounds on the kickoff, so there's going to be a chance he's going to get the ball. I don't think we're just going to kick it high and down the middle to the 1-yard line to him.''

The Bears need all the help they can get to win this game and Coach Dungy just gave us of a bit.  I don't know if this is being cocky or stupid.  In the two years Hester has played the Bears have showed no ability to take advantage of the field position he provides us.  The Colts have a strong defense, to put the ball in the hands of a guy who can change a game in 5 seconds doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Hat Tip to Edicus2288i

Despite earlier reports Tommie Harris has practice without limitatins.  Here is a complete look at the first injury report of the season.

Wednesday, Sept. 3

DT Tommie Harris, left knee. Harris participated partially in practice and is expected to be able to start Sunday.

DE Mark Anderson, right thumb. Anderson participated partially in practice and is expected to play Sunday.

FS Mike Brown, knee. Brown participated fully in practice and is expected to start Sunday.

LS Pat Mannelly, neck. Mannelly participated fully in practice and is expected to play Sunday.

G Terrence Metcalf, right knee. Metcalf participated fully in practice for the first time since undergoing arthroscopic surgery more than a month ago.

DB Brandon McGowan, knee. McGowan participated fully in practice and is expected to play Sunday.

DT Dusty Dvoracek, right calf. Dvoracek participated fully in practice and is expected to play Sunday.

TE Desmond Clark, right knee. Clark participated fully in practice and is expected to start Sunday.

In my head this post orginally was titled The Curious Case of Caleb Hanie.  The intention was to look at how keeping Hanie on the roster instead of the practice squad may have been at the expense of positions that needed the spot more. Did the Bears really think so much of him and that he was a potential starter that they were willing to sacrifice a roster spot to hold on to him when that spot could have gone to another offensive linemen or wide receiver?

From there ChiFan and I branched this off and brought up some more questions about the current state of the roster and to some extent management.  What follows is a discussion/dialouge/questions and answers session about a number of topics from Jerry Angelo's fault in this situation and his status moving forward with the team to what identity should the Bears be tring to fit.

Hope you enjoy it and would love to hear from you in the comment section.

Caleb Hanie stayed on the Bears’ 53-man roster: Good or bad?

ChiFan13: I think it was a smart move. Hanie showed enough promise that teams with a lesser-caliber QB would pick him up in a heartbeat. I would not have been happy if he would’ve slipped away, especially with our amazing depth and quality at QB.

WCG: Depends who you are?  I think the Bears are obligated to stick with Kyle Orton for the full season, assuming he doesn’t completely collapse.  If the Bears miss the playoffs and Orton wasn’t all that impressive will Angelo and Smith be back?  There are positions where we need more help both in the starter role and for depth.  I just know that having another offensive linemen or secondary player might serve us better this year.

From a fan perspective, you never want to let go of a potential franchise QB, especially if you are the Bears.  Is Hanie a franchise QB?  I don’t know, but at this point we need to keep him.

Continue reading this post »

Players like Tommie Harris and Mike Brown were held out of the Bears last exhibition game to keep them healthy, but Harris hasn't practiced since the third game.  His status is unknown.

A source said the Bears' medical staff has expressed concern Harris' knee injury might be more serious than the team first thought, but team officials rejected that idea Tuesday night. It was pointed out that similar concerns were raised last season about Harris' health after he sprained his left knee against Dallas, but he was in action for the next game Sept. 30 at Detroit.

Bears still trying to figure out their safety depth chart.

"We haven't necessarily locked it in," said Bears coach Lovie Smith.

"Around Wednesday or so we'll kind of come out with our starting lineup. Both guys will play a lot for us, I'll say that. Both will be on the field at some point."

Don't look know, but it is the 4-year anniversary of the Marty Booker/Adewale Ogunleye trade.

'I don't really think about it, but I did this year because Marty is here on the team now,'' Ogunleye said. ''It was a bad situation for him, and I was coming into a much better situation. Miami was a catastrophe. It was just a bad, bad place at the time. I am so happy to be here. Every time I see Jerry [Angelo] and Lovie [Smith], I thank them. Miami is a great place to live, but it hasn't been a good place to play football.''

I tapped our Bucs blogger for a quick run down on recently aquired Dan Buenning.  Here is what he had to say.

We drafted Buenning back in '05 and he immediately received playing time and started much of his rookie season. In '06 he was a stud until he injured his knee about mid-season. Since that injury he's really had a difficult time finding his footing. He sat out all of '07 and really struggled this off-season to even provide depth along the line....

Dan's only 26 so he should be able to overcome his recent struggles. He played primarily at Guard for us, but attempted to become the back-up center to Jeff Faine this off-season. With Davin Joseph going down at RG a battle immediately brewed between Buenning and Rookie Jeremy Zuttah to handle the work load. Jeremy won hands down..

I think Buenning could do good with a change of scenery, but he's got to bounce back from his injuries to prove his worth.. He's been getting pushed around alot, but i thought he was certainly serviceable at Center during the Pre-Season... I guess Gruden and Company didnt agree...

It seems like as soon as I am just ready to open up a good can of rant on the Bears for not addressing some particular need, they make a move.

The Bears have traded for Dan Buenning from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  The left guard came to the Bears for an undisclosed 2009 draft pick.

To make room on the roster, the Bears waived rookie cornerback Zackary Bowman, a fifth-round draft pick from Nebraska. The trade is contingent on Buenning, a 26-year-old Green Bay native, passing a physical.

Buenning was a 16 game starter as a rookie.  His second year he started 9 games before tearing his right ACL. The Bucs picked up two more first round linemen, Devin Thomas and Arron Sears, making him despensable.

I'll work on getting some more info from our Bucs blogger, if anything else this gives the Bears depth.  With second year man, but first time starter Josh Beekman currently at that position and Terrence Metcalf coming off an injury and not really being a quality full time answer this is a good move.

Thanks to thecoolest for first pointing this one out.

This article summizes that signing  Chris Simms and/or Willie Anderson is not a likely outcome.

The Bears have had contact with free-agent tackle Willie Anderson, but the chances of the veteran joining the Bears are slim to none, according to an NFL source.

Anderson, 33, was released by the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday. He became a backup to Stacy Andrews at right tackle and refused to take a pay cut. He had a streak of 116 consecutive games stopped last season due to chronic pain in his right foot and also battled knee problems.

With new starters at almost all the major skill positions on offense and a suddenly slumping defense, the Bears face big challenges on both sides of the football against the Colts.

Peyton Manning rightfully gets the majority of the focus in Indianapolis, but the Colts' defense ranked third in the league last season in yards allowed and -- more important -- first in points allowed. The Bears not only have the difficult task of stopping the high-powered Indy offense, but also have to find a way to score themselves. In five home games last year, the Colts held their opponent to 16 points or fewer.

Offensive Coordinator Ron Turner breaks out typical Bears speak when explaining the situation at wide receiver.

The company line is that the Bears have a cast of receivers who all will see a lot of time, with each player bringing different strengths they want to exploit. That's one spin. The other is that it's a roster full of No. 3 receivers.

Listen up Bears fans. Can't get enough of your favorite team? Follow Sun-Times Bears reporter Brad Biggs as he covers the Bears like never before. Keep checking back throughout the day for Biggs' updates.

Asked if the Bears have a true No. 1 receiver, offensive coordinator Ron Turner said: ''I don't know if we do. And I don't think you have to. I don't think you have to look and say, 'This is our No. 1 guy.'

I don't know what the Bears currently think of their offensive line situation, but it appears that they are not 100 percent content with it.

The Bears along with the Chargers, Giants, Bucs and Rams have contacted the agent of Bengals recent cast off Willie Anderson.

Anderson by name alone would be an improvement over Fred Miller, who still has not decided what team he wants to join.

The Bears also get a little bit of a boost with Terrence Metcalf returning to practice.

The Bears need to do something to bolster this line and Anderson might be a good start.

On a side note fellow recently cut Bengal Rudi Johnson is reportedly going to join the Detroit Lions.