Bears digest: Eddie Goldman, Jared Allen shine

SHARE Bears digest: Eddie Goldman, Jared Allen shine
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Bears nose tackle Eddie Goldman has impressed during his first training camp. (AP)

Square body

Calling his second-round pick a “big, square body,” Bears coach John Fox praised rookie nose tackle Eddie Goldman’s performance the past 10 days.

“That’s why we drafted him where we did,” he said Saturday. “He’s had a good camp so far. We’ll get back to camp and evaluate the tape and have a better evaluation.”

Friday, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said Jeremiah Ratliff could play either nose or defensive end. If Goldman keeps playing well, it would be little surprise to see him start in the middle on opening day.

Other highlights:

• With starter Pernell McPhee held out because of a coach’s decision, outside linebacker Jared Allen saw additional snaps at his new position Saturday.

He might have been the scrimmage MVP, too, after “sacking” second-string quarterback Jimmy Clausen and batting down one of his passes.

• The Bears used two running backs to fill in for Matt Forte, who sat out the scrimmage. Jacquizz Rodgers got the first try with the first group, running twice for five yards. Rookie Jeremy Langford claimed the longest run of the day, at seven yards.

• The most impressive offensive play came during seven-on-seven drills, when Jay Cutler found Alshon Jeffery down the middle for a touchdown of about 40 yards. Jeffery was on the sideline for the scrimmage.

• Following the scrimmage, the Bears aired tight Martellus Bennett’s first animated short, “Zoovie,” on Soldier Field’s new video boards, which are 40 feet tall, 128 feet wide and 310 percent larger than the old ones.


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