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Wednesday night update
By Jonathan Okanes
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 at 9:22 pm in Mid-week.
It wasn’t a good night for the Bears. First things first: It appears wide receiver Michael Calvin could be out for awhile after suffering what looked like a potentially serious knee injury during practice tonight. Calvin was running a route his knee gave out as he planted his foot. He crumbled to the turf and was in some serious pain. After being attended to on the field for a few minutes by the training staff, he was helped gingerly to the sideline. It didn’t appear Calvin could put any weight whatsoever on his leg.
Calvin is going to have an MRI, but coach Jeff Tedford said “the initial report doesn’t look favorable.” We’ll probably know more about his prognosis tomorrow.
It’s kind of been a lost season for Calvin, who was expected to be the Bears’ top receiver this season. A sprained toe suffered near the end of training camp has hampered his production all season. He has eight catches for 103 yards.
Also, it appears kicker David Seawright won’t play Saturday at Arizona after suffering a strained groin Tuesday at practice. Tedford called Seawright “doubtful.” Giorgio Tavecchio practiced field goals Wednesday and Tedford said both he and Jordan Kay are in the mix to replace Seawright against the Wildcats.
There was another troubling sight on the field — defensive end Tyson Alualu walking around with the help of one crutch. But Tedford said after practice that Alualu has a leg infection that is being treated with antibiotices, and he expects Alualu to play Saturday. Tedford said Alualu had a fever Tuesday and experienced swelling in his leg.
That’s the bad news. Here’s the good news for the Bears: Tedford all but said tailback Jahvid Best will play Saturday. Best practiced in full capacity for the second straight day and appears ready to return after a one-game absence due to a dislocated left elbow.
“I believe he will play,” Tedford said. “We put him through a lot of drills to test it. I think he’s feeling better and more comfortable.”
Tedford said Best wouldn’t be limited but did say he didn’t expect Best to return kicks, at least not at the outset. Best leads the country in all-purpose yards (215.5 ypg).
No news on the quarterback front. Both Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley once again split first team reps equally Wednesday. As he did for the Arizona State game, I wouldn’t expect Tedford to name a starter until just before the game.
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October 15th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
I guess we should try to look at this WR news with a half full view. The other WR now have the opportunity on the field to separate themselves. My money is on Boateng to have a break-out game.
thanks JO!
October 15th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
What channel # is the game on in bay area?
October 16th, 2008 at 12:20 am
Comcast Sports Net, 7 p.m.
October 16th, 2008 at 12:24 am
yeah, i’m def on the boateng bandwagon… kids got skill and big play ability…
October 16th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Is that going to be in Hi def?
October 16th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Yes, if you noticed during the games, Longshore almost exclusively throws to Boateng, Cunningham and Morrah. In the WSU game, he threw about 4 straight passes to Boateng and Longshore always looks for his tight end, as both his picks at MSU picks were intended to Morrah. I think our receiving corp is really starting to come together, we have 3 games to click before USC. Now that Calvin is out, who’s #3? Sean Young probably, but I like Tucker. Longshore prefers bigger targets. And we know that Longshore and Boateng worked out together over the off-season…can’t wait to see what happens.
October 16th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
That’s too bad about Calvin… it’s bad news for a recieving corp that has not been all to impressive this season. I hope the WR come to play on Saturday. It seems to me that they have dropped a number of passes that have hit their hands this season.
October 16th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I have no idea why everyone seems convinced on Boateng. The season is nearly halfway through and he hasn’t done anything. Part of it can be attributed to the inconsistent quarterback play, but that knife cuts both ways. The inconsistent quarterback play can be attributed to no receive really being exception; including Boateng.
October 16th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
That’s OK, the UofA run defense is an absolute joke. They were ranked #2 in the nation until Stanford shredded them for 278 on the ground. Cal should be able to gain 250+ on the ground.
October 17th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Nope – it won’t be on CSNBA… it’s yet another game on CSNBA+. Means you can’t watch it w/o digital cable.
We can watch Washington v. Oregon state, LSU v. South Carolina, or VT v. BC, but our local game? Nope. Locked out again.
Sucks.