Brandon Rideau Quietly Does His Thing

Hi do you know me?  I'm Brandon Ridow, no no Brandon Ridough....no no R.I.D.E.A.U, no letter X like they do down in Louisiana for Geaux Tigers and the like.  I'm a Chicago Bears receiver too, you know the position that everyone is worried about heading into the 2009 season.  Devin Hester is the number one but hasn't player receiver much in his career and doesn't have the ideal size for the position.  

Earl Bennett?  Everyone talks about him because he's friends with Jay Cutler, but I can catch passes too.   Sure I'm not as talked about as any of the rookies, but I can play receiver.  I'm 6-foot-3 and have been working my butt off to move up the depth chart.  

I showed up and did well in OTAs and now I'm doing well in camp.  Albeit it quietly and not getting much attention.  

Rideau is doing just that going about his business relatively quietly and unnoticed for the most part.  But day after he day seems to be getting better and better.   You see his improvement from one practice to the next the way he makes his cuts his breaks and hauls in passes.  

Probably the most underrated aspect of Rideau is that he's the biggest receiver on the team at 6-foot-3 198-pounds.  This automatically makes him a red-zone threat and a first down target when the Bears need to keep a drive alive.  Rideau uses his body well to make plays above defenders, but also in shielding his body to protect the reception he makes.  

Sure there hasn't been a lot of hype or publicity given to the third year receiver who spent most of his time on the practice squad last year and has zero career receptions in regular season games.  But Rideau has ability has shown flashes and is gaining consistency.  

The Bears are likely to only keep five receivers like last year, or are they?  Rideau is making that decision all the more harder as training camp runs along.  He is becoming one of the more consistent receivers in practice and is definitely someone worth keeping an eye on.  

It's hard to deny a player with his attributes from being out there on the field because they are so invaluable to a group of receivers that are like a group of smurfs running around out there.  

I think the pre-season games with Rideau hooking up some with Cutler but most of all Caleb Hanie will be the make or break performance for his Chicago Bears career.  Definitely can't wait to see what he brings to the table in another eight days.