Wesson44 Posted September 2, 2008 Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 Bears safety Kevin Payne seems to have mastered the art of disguise, refusing to divulge whether he'll start Sunday night's season opener at Indianapolis. If the Bears can mask their defensive coverages in the same manner, maybe they'll have a chance to knock the high-powered Colts off stride. Payne is expected to start at strong safety alongside free safety Mike Brown, a tandem the Bears hope equals better success than their safeties had in Super Bowl XLI. "I like what Kevin Payne has to offer," cornerback Charles Tillman said. "He's young, but I think he's a quick learner. Being in there with Mike Brown and Brandon McGowan, he's picked up things quickly. "Kevin Payne has a bright future in the NFL." Coach Lovie Smith echoed those words a few weeks back, when he gushed about Payne's potential. The coaching staff apparently has enough confidence in the second-year player to give him the starting nod over McGowan. McGowan was the starting strong safety for the final five games of last season, but he had to alternate series with Payne in this year's third exhibition game. Both started at safety in last week's exhibition finale while Brown rested. Now, McGowan appears to be getting a serious look as the nickel back. "We've dealt with the [competition] just like anyone else on the team battling for spots has dealt with competition," Payne said. "We're all family, but we all have a job to do. We come in here and joke around, but when it's time to get on the field, I'm trying to work hard to do my job, and [McGowan] is trying to work hard to do his job." The seemingly reserved Payne subtly goes about his business daily. He was relatively unknown last season as a fifth-round pick from Louisiana-Monroe. Then Payne fell deeper into obscurity after breaking his right arm against Detroit in Week 5, ending his season. The coaches never lost faith in him, particularly after the Adam Archuleta experience failed and after McGowan never took full ownership of the strong safety spot. McGowan's ankle injury allowed Payne to start this year's second exhibition at Seattle, and Payne responded with a forced fumble. "I like the way I was around the ball making plays," Payne said of his preseason. "I made a couple of big hits. But I think I can continue to work on my technique." Payne and the rest of the defense has to be technically sound Sunday, something the Bears weren't during the preseason. The Colts, although a bit banged up, still strike fear in opponents with their quick-strike ability. They had the league's fifth-best offense last season with an average of 358.7 yards per game. The Bears ranked 28th out of 32 teams in total defense, yielding 354.7 yards per contest. " Peyton [Manning] is a great quarterback, the whole world knows that," Payne said. "Basically we just have to study the game plan, study different tendencies. But as far as what we're going to do against him, we've got to keep that private." Not a surprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hochuli 3:16 Posted September 2, 2008 Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 " Peyton [Manning] is a great quarterback, the whole world knows that," Payne said. "Basically we just have to study the game plan, study different tendencies. But as far as what we're going to do against him, we've got to keep that private." Not a surprise. Hopefully we change it up a bit from SB XLI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TerraTor Posted September 2, 2008 Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 Glad we traded outta the 1st round and blew our 2nd round pick on Danneal Manning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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