Sunday, August 21, 2011

Davis could be a secret weapon in Bears' offense - Chicago Tribune

Watching Bears quarterback Jay Cutler sail passes to tight end Kellen Davis 30-plus yards down the middle of the field became a regular occurrence during training camp.

"I would like to think I'm always a deep threat," Davis said with a laugh. "A lot of the tight end routes in this offense are a lot deeper than your typical pro-style offense."

It will be interesting to see if the Bears continue to use Davis as a deep threat once the regular season begins.

"He caught some long balls for us last year in some special situations," tight ends coach Mike DeBord said. "He's got really good speed; I mean, really good speed. When you get him locked up man-on-man, we feel like we can go to him."

Davis' lone catch last season was a 19-yard touchdown reception against the Vikings, and he has four career TD catches in just five career starts. He should get plenty of looks this year as a regular starter.

A pass-catching tight end isn't a necessity in offensive coordinator Mike Martz's scheme, which is partially why the Bears traded Greg Olsen to Carolina and signed blocking tight end Matt Spaeth. The luxury the Bears have in the 6-foot-7, 267-pound Davis is his versatility as a pass-catcher and reliable blocker.

"He's been great in camp with run blocking and pass (protection), and he's really done a nice job with his routes," DeBord said of Davis. "He just had a heck of a camp."

Davis has a shot to surpass Sean McHugh as the tight end with the most yards per catch in Martz's scheme. McHugh averaged 14.8 yards on 17 catches with the Lions when Martz was Detroit's offensive coordinator in 2008.

The most touchdowns for a tight end under Martz occurred in 1999, when Roland Williams had six scores on 25 catches.

Safe option: When talking about the most impressive players in training camp, defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli singled out safety Craig Steltz.

It's hard to argue after watching Steltz intercept five passes in Bourbonnais, one behind team leader D.J. Moore.

"You hear from the coaches in meetings and you just try to go out there and make plays," Steltz said. "It was a great camp for us. You get better as an individual and that will only help our secondary."

Coach Lovie Smith was impressed with Steltz's play.

"He's had a good camp just about every year we've talked about him," Smith said. "He's blending in. He's in our fourth safety spot. He'll be a core special teams player for us. We feel comfortable if we play him on defense."

vxmcclure@tribune.com

Twitter @vxmcclure23

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Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHAq_qusUZMN68-goIG4mWivDiHOw&url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-0822-bears-bits--20110822,0,5302581.story

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