Bears Notes: Allen, Marshall Sit Practice Out
By Dan Durkin-
(CBS) As was reported Thursday by the Chicago Tribune, Bears linebacker Shea McClellin has undergone surgery to repair his broken right hand, which will keep him out for a couple of weeks. Jon Bostic fared well in Shea's absence and has become an every down linebacker for the Chicago. Here's the rest of the injury report from Thursday's practice:
Did not participate
-- DE Jared Allen (illness)
-- C Roberto Garza (ankle)
-- WR Brandon Marshall (ankle)
-- CB Sherrick McManis (quad)
-- DT Jeremiah Ratliff (concussion)
-- LG Matt Slauson (ankle)
Limited participation
-- S Chris Conte (shoulder)
Full participation
-- S Ryan Mundy (stinger)
--DE Trevor Scott (foot)
After missing Monday's win in New York, Ratliff still hasn't passed the league's concussion protocol.
"He has just been in the building," Bears coach Trestman said. "He has been in meetings. He did not practice today, so he still hasn't been OK'd protocol-wise. We'll see where things are tomorrow."
Do what is advantageous to win on offense
Three weeks into the season, the Bears have the highest pass-to-run ratio in the league at 68 percent. Achieving balance is a common talking point, but in the end it's about finding the most effective way to move the ball in order to score points. Offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer emphasized taking what the defense gives you is important.
"Gameplan-wise, in the last two games we've chosen and gone into them thinking, 'We're not going to hand the ball to the halfback in the backfield very often,'" Kromer said. "We didn't feel it was advantageous towards winning the game. So you can see we limited the opportunities that Matt (Forte) had, and we thought we had to throw the football to win but run enough to keep them honest. I feel we did a nice job in the last drive when we were trying to kill some time to secure the lead of running the football."
It was refreshing honesty from Kromer and encouraging to see that the coaching staff isn't going to run the ball out of obligation if schematically it's not in the best interest of the team.
Effect of Fiammetta on the run game
Tony Fiammetta's hamstring injury was persistent enough that the Bears parted ways and reached an injury settlement with the veteran fullback Thursday. His departure has a ripple effect on the Bears' two-back sets, and backup tight end Dante Rosario's role now changes within the offense.
The Bears were already evolving into a three-wide receiver team as is, but not having Fiammetta will change the complexion of the offense even more, Forte said.
"It does hurt to not have Tony back there because he's a solid fullback and that's what he does," Forte said. "It's going to be something Dante is willing to do, but honestly, he's going to have to learn some of the ins and outs of being at the fullback position."
Rosario remains the team's "move" tight end, but his role must change moving forward, Trestman said.
"He (Rosario) has the flexibility to go in the backfield, do some of the things that Tony can do," Trestman said. "We'll utilize him in those areas and be a lead back in some cases. But for the most part, he's our move tight end, and we have to be able to function in our offense with him in it and another wide receiver out. I think we move fluidly into those personnel groupings without any trouble."
Dan Durkin covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter at @djdurkin.
