Strong camp for Anderson reflected in unofficial depth chart

BOURBONNAIS, Ill.–Lovie Smith announced Tuesday night that Josh Beekman would start at left guard Saturday night ahead of Frank Omiyale per the depth chart the team had released.

The only problem was that depth chart had not been released.

It has now, and we hope the wait was good for you.

A couple points worth making:

*** Rod Marinelli has praised Mark Anderson for the strong camp he is having and that’s evidenced here. Anderson is listed as the co-starter at both defensive end positions. Anderson was a flop the last time he was put in that role, and Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye are pretty well established. They might not give up their starting roles but it certainly shows the team is thinking big when it comes to Anderson.

*** Al Afalava’s climb continues. He’s listed as the No. 2 at strong safety behind Kevin Payne. But Afalava is getting plenty of time with the ones as Payne slides over to free safety and don’t be surprised if the coaches look at that combination during the game. The man who was talked up all spring as the free safety–Craig Steltz–has fallen to third. He’s behind Danieal Manning and Josh Bullocks.

*** Anthony Adams, Dusty Dvoracek and Marcus Harrison are listed as co-starters at nose tackle.

*** Brandon Rideau appears to be holding steady as the No. 3 wideout. Rashied Davis is listed as the backup to Devin Hester but he hasn’t had the ball come his way much in camp.

*** Henry Melton is listed No. 4 at right end. He’s a project and the game will be a better indication of where the linemen are at.

It’s an unofficial depth chart but it’s always nice to see what the coaches are thinking. You get an even better idea when you watch the players rotate on and off during the games.

Stay tuned.