Football
Associated Press 17y

Banged up Bears defense may be without Vasher, Tillman

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Nathan Vasher wouldn't rule out playing
Sunday, but a noticeable limp and a cautious tone indicated the
Chicago Bears may be without the cornerback when they visit the
Detroit Lions.

The Bears' other starting cornerback, Charles Tillman, could
miss the game, too.

Vasher tweaked his groin in last week's 34-10 loss to Dallas,
Tillman suffered a high ankle sprain. Without Pro Bowl defensive
tackle Tommie Harris (sprained knee), Pro Bowl linebacker Lance
Briggs (hamstring) and strong safety Adam Archuleta (broken hand)
the Bears' vaunted defense barely resembles a monster.

"I'm trying to battle back and see if I can get out there this
week," Vasher said Thursday.

Will he play against the Lions?

"I still haven't gotten the heads-up about it," Vasher said.
"I'm just basically sore right now."

The Bears held Vasher, Tillman, Briggs, Harris and offensive
linemen Ruben Brown (ankle) and Fred Miller (knee) out of practice
for the second straight day on Thursday. Archuleta and running back
Adrian Peterson (calf) participated on a limited basis again, while
defensive end Adewale Ogunleye (hip) and defensive tackle Darwin Walker (knee) were upgraded to full participation. So there was
some good news for a team that's reeling.

"I expect to have everybody," coach Lovie Smith said. "I'm
optimistic. My glass is half full -- always."

But reality has been quite harsh.

Besides the lengthy injury list, the Bears (1-2) are dealing
with a change at quarterback after Rex Grossman threw three
interceptions against the Cowboys. That finally convinced Smith to
go with Brian Griese.

While Grossman dropped out of favor, other Bears fell like bad
stocks against Dallas.

Briggs appeared to hurt himself in the second quarter trying to
avoid Brian Urlacher, who sacked Tony Romo. He stayed in the game,
but did not come out for the second half, and the injuries piled on
from there.

Vasher, a Pro Bowl pick in 2005, and Harris left the game in the
second half. Archuleta stayed in after breaking his wrist in the
third quarter. And Tillman was seen kneeling on the same play
Vasher hurt himself, although he said this week he's fine.

Archuleta, who has been wearing a soft cast on his right hand,
hopes to play this week.

"We're going to see what happens," he said. "It's not like a
set protocol. We're just going to see how it goes throughout the
week."

Vasher sounded like a man who was hoping for the best, not
expecting it.

"It felt bad," he said. "I kind of planted the wrong way and
my foot got stuck in the ground. I've made that transition, cut,
100 times but you never know what's going to happen during the
course of the game."

If Vasher and Tillman can't play, the Bears likely would go with
Ricky Manning Jr. and rookie Trumaine McBride.

Manning and McBride would face a tall order against the Lions,
who boast the league's most prolific passing game and a tall set of
receivers. Detroit is averaging 345.3 yards passing. And the
6-foot-2 Roy Williams is third in the league with 335 yards
receiving.

The Bears' secondary had already taken a huge hit before the
latest round of injuries when former Pro Bowl safety Mike Brown --
one of the emotional leaders of the defense -- ruptured the anterior
cruciate ligament in his left knee in the opener. Moments later,
the defense suffered another blow when starting nose tackle Dusty
Dvoracek went down with a similar injury.

Walker replaced Dvoracek, and now, he might fill in for Harris.
If that happens, Anthony Adams could take Walker's spot Sunday.

If there's any consolation for the Bears, it's that the Lions
allowed nine sacks in last week's 56-21 loss to the Philadelphia.

"They're a good football team," defensive coordinator Bob
Babich said. "Hopefully, we get a lot of pressure on them. The way
we're looking at it, we've got to go out and do it."

Babich feels "really good about our defensive line." But the
secondary?

"Our pass coverage after last week, we need to improve it," he
said. "We felt like some fundamentals and things like that ...
we're working hard this week to get that stuff cleaned up. The
first two games, we were very comfortable with it."

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