Warren Sapp talks about his former D-line coach Rod Marinelli and Bears DT Tommie Harris

Warren Sapp, the future Hall of Fame defensive tackle, has long credited Rod Marinelli with his success in the league. He joined Mully & Hanley the other day on the Score, 670-AM to talk about Marinelli and the Bears' prized defensive tackle Tommie Harris.

Here's the interview with Warren:

WHAT ARE THE BEARS GETTING IN ROD MARINELLI?

Warren Sapp: The architect of the one of the greatest pass rushes the NFL has ever known. We went on a string of 70 straight games with a sack. It was all of us. That was our little string. Him, it was all of us. We attacked quarterbacks like it was nobody's business. I just spoke to him the other day. He said, `Yeah, it's going to be fun again. Here we go.' He has a good group and he's excited. I spoke to him [Tuesday] night and said he was packing up and going to Chicago today. Look out Windy City, here comes the man.

IS IT THE X'S AND O'S OF ROD MARINELLI OR IS IT SOMETHING ELSE?

Warren Sapp: No, it's the passion. It's his conviction. You don't see many men stand and do what he did up in Detroit, going 0-16 and people attacking him and talking about his daughter and different stuff. He's a man of dignity who served his country in the Vietnam War. I love the man. I absolutely adore him because he took me on a path to greatness and wouldn't let me deter off it even a little bit. After I won my defensive player of the year award, he looked at me said, `Let's see if your play can catch up with your athletic ability.'

I said, `What do you mean my athletic ability?'

He said, `What can you do?'

I said, `I can do anything.'

He said, `Well, let's see.'

I came back and up put 16 1/2 [sacks] so he'll challenge you in a way that just is going to push your boundaries. If [Adewale] Ogunleye and Alex Brown and Tommie Harris and the rest of them, [Israel Idonije] and [Marcus Harrison] and the rest of those guys up there buy into a system that lives off the front four, that's what the defense does, it lives off the front four. If they want that, greatness is right in front of them. Just go get it.

HOW DID ROD MARINELLI MAKE YOU A BETTER PLAYER?

Warren Sapp: I tell you, it's boots on the ground. I went in there and we worked everyday. I was in there with Eric Curry and some of those old-school Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Santana Dotson, and Mark Wheeler, big grunt guys that held up the place, did a great job. It is what it is. We were going a different direction. We started doing those pass-rushing drills where we were hanging and on our toes and we came out like the third day in a row and we were all looking at each other, me, Regan [Upshaw] and all those young guys like, `Yeah, let's go!' They looked at us, and turned to Rod and said, `Are we going to do this every day?' That let's you know who wants it and who doesn't, trust me, my friend. We used to call it 30 minutes of hell. It will be an absolute grind the first 30 minutes of practice because you have to put the work in on the practice field to be able to go out on Sunday and have the type of fun that defense will allow you to have as a group.

TOMMIE HARRIS HAS THE KNEE ISSUE AND WE KNOW HIS PRACTICE WAS LIMITED DURING THE WEEK. HOW DOES HE GO THROUGH THE 30 MINUTES OF HELL THAT MAKES YOU THAT PLAYER ON SUNDAY AND YOU HAVE THE KNEE AND YOU CAN'T GET THAT THING RIGHT?

Warren Sapp: I guarantee you he is going to be healthy this year and if he's not, it will be obvious. You have to put him together before he gets there. Rod will do a great job with that. He's always done a great job with me because I had a little trick knee sometimes and I didn't practice at times but you know when you need to grind and the grind happens. I talked to Tommie the other day and I told him, `Me and you are going to start this offseason as soon as I get out of Tampa [after Super Bowl XLIII] buddy because the under tackle position is something that not many people even want to be talked about because it's not a defensive tackle and it's not something else, it's an under tackle, a unique guy that goes both ways, that does special things. I only know two other ones other than myself and that's John Randle and Keith Millard that even consider themselves as under tackles. If you want to be in that class with me and those other two dudes, we're going to have to look each other in the eye and we're going to have to talk about this the right way and see what he's thinking. Because if he's not thinking about it the right way, with me and Rod, we're going to get some work out of Tommie, I guarantee you this because he's too good of a player to be sitting in that system looking like he's not a player.

SO YOU ARE GOING TO WORK WITH TOMMIE?

Warren Sapp: I am going to work with him, yes.

Bears win 23-10 against struggling Jags

The Bears made sure they won this game, by coming out early and setting the tempo.

Kyle Orton looked solid with a 85.3 passer rating, 219 yards and two touchdown passes to Dez Clark and Greg Olsen.

His one mistake came when he under threw Devin Hester, who finished the game with five catches and 80 yards.

Danieal Manning, who moved to nickel back this season, picked off David Garrard on the Jag's first drive.

Manning returned it to the five where he fumbled out of bounds.

It was initially called a touch back, but Lovie Smith threw the challenge flag and the Bears scored on a Dez Clark catch.

They looked solid in the first half, but they were very conservative in the second half.

They knew they had it in the bag.

They allowed only 159 yards threw the air and the defensive line helped out with three sacks.

The defense had about 11 tipped passes in this game and it seemed like they were going to pick off Garrard more than just once.


The defensive stars:

Anthony Adams, Israel Idonije, and Daniel Manning led the defense for most of the day.

Adams, who is filling in for the injured Dusty Dvoraceck had eight tackles and really looked good.

Israel Idonije, had 1.5 sacks and a couple of deflected passes on some big plays.

Danieal Manning looked like a first round pick.

Manning not only had an interception, three tackles and two deflected passes, but he also had some decent kick returns.


The offensive stars:

Kyle Orton looked good with his 2 touchdowns and 85.3 passer rating.

Devin Hester had a big day receiving, but he also seems to know what he is doing returning punts now.

Hester was close to taking a punt to the house in the second half, this made the Jaguars punt out of bounds multiple times.

The tight ends looked really good, with Greg Olsen's 52 yards and a score and Dez Clark's touchdown catch.

Matt Forte, who is a rookie, but plays like a veteran, finished with 69 yards rushing and 37 yards receiving.


Notes from the game:

Garrett Wolfe left the game on the opening kickoff with a hamstring injury.

Mark Anderson recorded on his first sack of the season, when he beat tackle Tony Pashos with a spin move.

Adewale Ogunleye, who was on the injury report, helped Israel Idonije bring down David Garrard late in the game.

This victory gives the Bears 700 wins, an NFL record.

Adrian Peterson, finished the game with 19 yards on three carries, but he really looked like a solid backup running back.


Disappointments from the game:

Besides Devin Hester the wide receivers looked pathetic.

Marty Booker, Rashied Davis, and Brandon Lloyd combined for 5 catches.

Lloyd didn't catch a ball and looks almost invisible lately.

Booker was banged up late in the game and Rashied Davis just has no hands.

None of these guys should be starters in the NFL.

I don't understand why Earl Bennett and Brandon Rideau don't get any playing time.

Lance Briggs missed a tackle on the little, but powerful Maurice Jones-Drew four yard touchdown.


What's Next?

The Bears face the 7-6 New Orleans Saints on Thursday night.

Both teams need this win.

The Lions played the Vikings tough, but the Vikings came away with the victory to stay one game ahead of the Bears.

The Packers lost their eighth game of the season and are eliminated from the playoffs.

Orton Update

An MRI confirmed quarterback Kyle Orton has a high right ankle sprain, and Orton was told Monday the injury would sideline him three to four weeks, according to a source.

The MRI exam revealed no ligament tear, the source said.

Lovie Smith said this about Orton's injury:

"I'm not playing doctor; you shouldn't either, you should let us come and tell you once we know for sure exactly what the injury is. We're hopeful, I'll just say that."

According to Stephania Bell, ESPN's injury analyst, it is common to conduct extensive testing on a high ankle sprain to make sure there is no fracture. But even without a fracture, a high ankle sprain could be a concern.

Dez Clark on Orton's injury:

"Hopefully he misses a minimum amount of time," he was playing at an elite level."

Bell had this to say about this injury:

"The problem with the high ankle sprain is that every time we take a step, there is stress placed across the ligaments (that join the two lower leg bones) that form the roof of the ankle joint, stress that would tend to stretch or widen the roof, if the roof continues to widen, then you get instability ... and ultimately lead to an arthritic condition."One of the things they look at with high ankle sprains is how 'wide' that roof has become. If it's not that bad, then it's treated conservatively with a boot. If too wide, it becomes a surgical situation."

Just a Thought:

It could be worse, Kyle Orton could have been out for the season.

Fun Fact:

Going into the Detroit Lions game, Orton was tied for fourth in touchdown passes since Week 3 with 10, trailing only Philip Rivers, Brett Favre and Drew Brees.

How's Mike Brown?:

As for Mike Brown, his calf injury was initially thought to be a cramp.

He left Soldier Field with a protective boot in hand, but he told teammates the injury wasn't serious.

If Brown can't go this week. look for Steltz to get the start at FS and either Danieal Manning (if healthy) or recently signed Terrence Holt to back him up.

Israel Idonije had this to say about Mike Brown:

"No one can fill Mike's shoes, Mike's a playmaker for us. But at the end of the day, if he can't go, someone has to step up."

Look for Israel Idonije to get big money some time soon

Israel Idonije started again in Tommie Harris' place this Sunday at Detroit and recorded three solo tackles and a pass deflection.

Idonije recorded a sack the week before against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Although Idonije is only signed through next season, don't be shocked if he makes the list of players whose contract the Bears want to extend.

Idonije turns 28 next month and seems to improve with more responsibility.

He has gone from a part-time end and special-teams player to having a defined role at tackle.

He moved from defensive end to defensive tackle and gained about 35 pounds this offseason.

Both head coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo have said a team never can have enough quality defensive tackles.

Lovie on Israel Idonije's play this season:

''Israel has taken advantage of every opportunity we've given him since he's been here."

''He played very well [Sunday], like he has the last couple weeks, and he hasn't peaked yet. He has a lot of ability, and I only see him getting better. ''But that's what we would like for all of our players, to take advantage of opportunities when we give it to them.''

The Bears defensive tackle rotation is much better than last seasons and i think even better than the Super Bowl season.

With Tommie Harris, Dusty Dvoraceck, Israel Idonije, Anthony Adams, and Marcus Harrison they look really solid.

Bears Win a Big One Sunday Night

I'm starting to get the feeling that the Chicago Bears should play all there games on Sunday night.

They looked great on offense in the first half and then great on defense in the second half.

What I liked the most, was that the Bears came away with seven points instead of just a field goal after turnovers, which killed them in the last two weeks.

The Bears came out in the no-huddle and Kyle Orton completed two big passes, to Rashied Davis and Greg Olsen, who finally had a good game.

Rashied Davis disappeared from the game after that catch.

Marty Booker awoke from the dead when he scored a big touchdown.

The big loss for the Bears is Brandon Lloyd, who was playing some good ball the last two weeks and obviously becoming the go-to-guy.

They really played some good ball in the first half.

Orton had a passer rating of 106.6 with his three touchdowns in the first two quarters, but Forte was shut down the whole game by the league's best run defense.

The second half was a whole different ball game the Bears came away with only a field goal which proved to be enough to win the game.

Orton's turnovers started after a Kevin Payne interception where the Bears had a the ball at the Eagles eight yard line and Orton through a pass to Dez Clark which was intercepted in the end zone.

He was intercepted one more time and fumbled after getting lit up by #58 Trent Cole of the Eagles.

The Bears play calling was very conservative in the second half unlike the first half, but the defense came up big the goal line stand at the end of the ball game and that was the difference this week.

Alex Brown made the touchdown saving tackle on that big goal-line stand.

You can say all you want that the Bears should be 4-0, we all know that but you can't look in the past when the future is right in front of you.

That was a huge win for the Bears for two reasons there now 2-2 atop the division with the Green Bay Packers and they play Detroit and Atlanta in the upcoming weeks.

Did You Notice?

Nick Roach took over for Hunter Hillenmeyer at LB for a couple of drives.

He also recovered a muffed punt made by Desean Jackson in the first half.

Kyle Orton tied his career high for TD's with three.

Who They Need Back for Next Week?

It would be nice to have Charles Tillman and Brandon Lloyd back next week, but who knows what there conditions currently are.

Also, Tommie Harris will probably not rush back to risk more damage to his knee, as Israel Idonije and Anthony Adams filled in well for the Pro-Bowler.

Best Quotes from the Game:

Mike Brown: “It’s make a play, everybody was thinking the same thing. I was the guy who got my hands on him, but we had other guys keep him out of the end zone. It wasn’t just me. I’m not going to sit here and take credit for it. That play was a complete defensive effort and it was a special way to end that game for us. It was great.”

Lance Briggs: “It was one of the best fourth-down finishes I’ve ever been a part of, finishing is the key.”

Rashied Davis: "Kyle was good; we won."

Greg Olsen: "We didn't play perfect, and we were still able to overcome mistakes and beat a good team."

Marty Booker: "We escaped and got lucky on this one."

Dusty Dvoracek: "I was shocked. I thought they'd run a quarterback sneak, it was six, eight inches from the goal line."

What to Expect Next Week?

Look for the Bears to take the lead early in this one against the Lions.

The defense should get pressure on QB Jon Kitna all game.

Bears Player Preview: Kellen Davis

Today I will preview the Chicago Bears' second fifth round pick, Kellen Davis, on Chicago Bears Player Preview.

This guy is 6'7" and 262 Ibs.

Kellen Davis will replace TE John Gilmore who left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this off-season.

Kellen Davis enjoyed his years in college at Michigan State.

Davis will take Muhsin Muhammad's number 87 and he might contribute more than many think.

I can't remember when the Bears had better tight end's on their roster.

With veteran Dez Clark, last years first-round pick Greg Olsen and Kellen Davis they looked pretty stacked.

Kellen Davis had 60 career receptions for 789 yards (13.1 avg.) and nine receiving touchdowns in his four year career with the Spartans.

Last season Davis was third on the team with 32 catches for 513 yards and he had six receiving touchdowns.

With those stats, he was named honorable mention All-Big Ten selection.

Not only did he play offensively as a TE and defensively as a DE, but he also played on the field goal/PAT unit on special teams and on the defensive line.

Look for the Chicago Bears to use him like Israel Idonije on the field goal unit, because of his height.

The Bears love drafting athletic players, who are versatile.

He is a fast-developing receiver and has big hands, but needs some more practice at catching the football.

Kellen Davis could be used as a DE, but Lovie Smith said after the draft they selected for his offensive skill not his defensive skills.

Bears coaches have reported that Kellen Davis has looked sharp in training camp.

Look for Kellen Davis to be nice fill in TE if Greg Olsen or Dez Clark goes down with an injury.

Kellen Davis won't get much playing time unless that happens, but he will get time in goal-line situations