Gone Campin' : Chicago Bears Training Camp LIVE Blog

Well, I finally made it to Bourbonnais, better known at this time of the year as BEARbounnais, and the sun is already starting to heat up the "land of no air conditioning."  Now that Devin Hester has signed a new four-year contract, camp turned out to be exciting, with fans cheering his every catch.  Here are my observations from Sunday, July 27th:

• Rookie Left Tackle Chris Williams is out again, still nursing his bad back.
• Rex Grossman ran the #1 offense today, with Kyle Orton working with the #2's.
• Devin Hester is seeing a lot of balls thrown his way, and he lined up as the #1 receiver multiple times.  The screen pass looks to be highly enforced when Hester is on the field.
• Rookie Matt Forte continued to shine, catching balls all over the field, some in excess of 15 yards.  He also isn't afraid of any sort of contact, which obviously was a problem for the recently released Cedric Benson.
• Tight End Greg Olsen didn't start practice off the way he wished, dropping two catchable balls over the middle.
• Lance Briggs was taken off the field during linebacker coverage drills.  The trainers seemed to be stretching his left knee.  He did walk off on his own but remained sidelined during the rest of practice.
• Cornerback Nathan Vasher is in top shape, and was used as the #1 CB on the field, with teammate Charles Tillman slotted in the #2 CB spot.
• Often injured Wide Receiver Mark Bradley, after catching a short touchdown from Kyle Orton, spiked the ball to the ground and strutted back to the huddle.  Not something the coaches want to see, an over confident #5 receiver.
• Designated #1 receiver Marty Booker looks slower than ever.
• Defensive Tackle Anthony Adams lined up next to Tommie Harris today, with Dusty Dvoracek still hurting.
• Grossman had the play of the day, hooking up with Hester on a 53 yard bomb over the head of Tillman.
• Second year running back Garrett Wolfe has some serious speed and quickness.  If he can elude tackles, he could play a larger role in the offense than most believe.
• Orton struggled a lot today, over and under throwing his targets.  As of Sunday, I would say Grossman is leading the QB race by a slight margin.
• Rookie receivers Earl Bennett and Marcus Monk were impressive, catching everything thrown their way.  Monk has outstanding size and long arms.  Bennett has soft hands and quick feet.  Look for both to have significant roles in the offense this season.
• During "Red Zone" drills, Orton showed patience while Grossman had his typical problem of "happy feet."
• Matt Forte clearly is the starter, as newly signed yet still injured Kevin Jones remained sidelined.  Adrien Peterson and Garrett Wolfe took turns running with the #2 offense, so it's unclear who is #2 on the depth chart.

Overall, today was a good practice for the Bears.  Having Hester signed and back on the field was a huge boost for the team, and the record crowd was loving his every move.  Hester must've felt he owed something to the fans, as he signed autographs for almost an hour after practice.

What to watch for:

Hester's continued development as a #1 receiver...Forte further establishing himself as the starter at tail back...Grossman to be awarded the job by the third preseason game...Vasher having a career year...Mike Brown to play more than one game...Surprise contributions from cornerbacks Trumaine McBride and Corey Graham