What's known, and unknown, as Chicago Bears break camp
Camp Cutler packs up Thursday after a relatively quiet 22 days in Kankakee County. From Brian Urlacher's reported insult of Jay Cutler to Cutler's supposed knock on Devin Hester, the Bears may have delivered their biggest hits on the media for making something out of nothing.
Yet on the field, there have been significant developments that need no exaggeration.
Up and down

Most impressive rookie: Al Afalava, SS. Not much was expected out of the sixth-round draft pick. Yet Afalava has displayed a veteran's savvy and intelligence that complements a big-hitting style. He could start in a constantly reshuffled secondary.

Most Impressive Rookie - Clearly its Afalava. Out of nowhere this kid has looked like he may be the best SS on the team. And that says a lot considering I think very highly of last year's outstanding first year starter, Kevin Payne.

Most disappointing rookie: Juaquin Iglesias, WR. With an undistinguished receiving corps, the best-case scenario would have had the third-round pick playing his way into the rotation. Like many Bears receivers, Iglesias needs more consistency that should come with experience.

Most Disappointing Rookie - While Iglesias hasn't looked great, he has been OK, and if you expected a 3rd Round pick to crack the starting lineup, even with our WR's, you were not being realistic. The biggest disappointment so far to me is Jarron Gilbert. That guy has looked big, cumbersome, sloppy, and out of his element on the football field in limited action. I haven't seen the incredibly athletic explosiveness he is known for amount to anything even remotely resembling an impact at this point. Clearly he will be at least a two year project.

Most surprising veteran: Chris Williams, RT. Hard to consider a guy with zero NFL starts a veteran, but so far he has looked athletic, aware and more than able manning the right side.

Most Surprising Veteran - Devin Hester wins this one for me. Hester has looked good. Improved in and out of his breaks and looks more polished as a receiver and a route runner. I'm interested to see what having a new QB full time will do for him and still see him as a 1,200 yard receiver this season. Chris Williams got dominated twice in the Bears preseason game, so I can't relate to this argument. Maybe he's looked great in practice.

Most disappointing veteran: Nate Vasher, CB. If Vasher thinks he has been picked on by media for a lackluster preseason, wait until quarterbacks target him. He could lose his starting job.

Most Disappointing Veteran - I put this as a tie between Nathan Vasher and Tommie Harris. Vasher gets the edge since it appears he is about to be benched, but it appears Harris will never regain his elite level of ability on every down ever again.

3 who solidified status
Caleb Hanie, QB: He knows the offense better than any other quarterback, including Cutler, and that comfort level has been obvious in allowing Hanie to separate himself from third-teamer Brett Basanez.
Zack Bowman, CB: The hamstring injury set him back and should be cause for concern, but Bowman did enough for coaches to consider him a starting-caliber cornerback.
Earl Bennett, WR: Bennett's consistency throughout practice has solidified faith in a guy who disappeared as a rookie.

3 Who Solidified Status - I'll give you Zach Bowman and Earl Bennett here, but Caleb Hanie? I still see him as an average #2 QB at best in this league. Not someone I would trust my season with. For my third guy, I would say Josh Beekman. This guy held off a $6 million free agent because of what we were told was excellent play. He's clearly the backup Guard and Center for this team and that versatility will likely see him as the Bears starting Center as early as 2011.


3 who missed opportunities
Craig Steltz, FS: Steltz was penciled in as the starting free safety until two days before training camp, when Danieal Manning was moved to replace him. He hasn't done much to make that decision look hasty.
Marcus Harrison, DT: He reported 14 pounds overweight even though the team had counted on him as the starting nose tackle alongside Tommie Harris. Only now, near the end of camp, have the Bears seen the Harrison they need to see.
Rashied Davis, WR: He hasn't stood out as much as some others (Devin Aromashodu, Brandon Rideau or Bennett). How many wide receivers can the Bears keep?

3 Who Missed Opportunities - Corey Graham has to be on this list. This guy was given every opportunity to win a starting FS or CB position this year and it appears he will win neither. I have no problem with Craig Steltz either. He's played well, but still looks slow an unathletic on the field at the NFL level. Probably a sound special teamer at this point. And in the third slot, I would put Mark Anderson. After a full offseason with Rod Marinelli, I have seen the burst return, but little else. He still lacks any sort of move to the QB and doesn't look like he'll ever return to that rookie level.

Best position battle: Strong-side linebacker
Pisa Tinoisamoa started against the Bills and likely will keep the job, but Nick Roach arrived committed to challenging the veteran free-agent. And Jamar Williams, the most versatile of the trio, has opened eyes. This looks too close to decide right now.

Best Postion Battle - I say LG. Beekman's ability to hold off Omiyale for this long has to be one of the story's of camp. He's proven that he will provide the Bears with sound depth at the interior O-line position.

What's up at left guard?
To the untrained eye -- as well as a few sets of trained eyes who wouldn't dare say so publicly -- Josh Beekman has outplayed free-agent signee Frank Omiyale more days than not. At worst, the play has been even. But in the NFL, the tie goes to the guy who signed the $14 million contract.

What's up at LG? - I've covered this quite a bit.

Biggest questions
As hard as Devin Hester has worked and as much as he has improved, has he developed enough of a rapport with Cutler to emerge as the Bears' No. 1 downfield threat?
When cornerback Charles Tillman returns to the field after two off-season surgeries (back and shoulder), will the secondary automatically begin to get in synch?
Where exactly is Danieal Manning going to play in the secondary? His hamstring injury has robbed him of the chance to get comfortable anywhere.

Biggest Questions Answered:

1. Hester will emerge this season as a legit #1 WR. Maybe not a top 10 guy in the league, but I think he can certainly beat out Bernard Berrian. He's a #1.

2. The Secondary will improve when Tillman returns. He's the best DB we have. The question is will he return opposite Vasher or Bowman?

3. Manning's career has robbed him of a chance to get comfortable anywhere. His hamstring is just the next chapter. I say leave him at Nickel and KR.

Future unknown
Woodny Turenne, CB. The undrafted free-agent from Louisville continues to impress and, thanks to attrition and effort, has worked his way onto the No. 2 defense. You might want to learn how to spell his name.
Garrett Wolfe, RB. If the Bears want Wolfe on the team for special-teams purposes, great. But the arrival of Cutler, coupled with Matt Forte and Kevin Jones, means there is no good reason to keep trying devise gimmick offensive packages around Wolfe.

Future Unknown:

I say let Turenne go and keep Wolfe. Wolfe has proven to be an tremendous talent on special teams over the years and he may bring another element to the backfield we don't have with our top 3 RB's.


2 things I know now
:
The Bears truly have devised different ways to make Greg Olsen Cutler's primary target so that the lack of a supposed "No. 1 receiver" to stretch the field is overstated.
Even if Vasher struggles, Bowman and Corey Graham both look like they could play at a high enough level to consider themselves starting NFL cornerbacks.

2 Things I Know:

As I stated last year and still believe this year, Greg Olsen will emerge this year as a top 5 receiving TE in the NFL.

Corey Graham? What? The Secondary is going to be a mess this year if we can't find a pass rush. Our best Safety package involves two SS's being on the field at once, and both lack NFL caliber coverage skills but at monster hitters. We also have an unknown/hole at one of the corners. That's a recipe for disaster unless we can get to the Quarterback.

2 things I don't know
If the defense can tackle. Coach Lovie Smith had the Bears practice nine straight days in pads but they still didn't have enough contact to simulate tackling.
If left tackle Orlando Pace or defensive tackle Tommie Harris can stay healthy. These two Pro Bowl-caliber players, who wisely have paced themselves so far, are the keys to their respective lines.

2 Things I Don't Know:

The Defense can tackle, but can they get to the Quarterback. Without a pass rush, this Defense will struggle to be top 15 in the league this year.

Are our O-line additions any good? Our guys were dominated by the likes of Copeland Bryant in the first preseason game. I'm praying to God that was just some cobwebs getting shaken out...