Written by Brett Solesky | 04 September 2009

Tonight was a night for roster fighting, who among the players on the 53-man roster bubble would step up and show why they should stick around.  A few players stepped up tonight and made plays when it matter thus solidifying themselves on the game day roster. 

Johnny Knox a fifth round draft pick may have never been in doubt, but tonight he separated himself from the pack and showed why he was spoken of so highly during OTAs.  Knox racked up over 200 all-purpose yards on the night doing it all with kick off returns, punt returns and 62 yards receiving on the night.  Showing off his dynamic speed Knox seemed to use this game as a way of reassuring fans why the staff was so high on him in the first place. 

Elsewhere both Caleb Hanie and Brett Basanez had strong games combining for 239 yards passing and two touchdowns on the night.  Both Hanie and Basanez were helped out by the aforementioned Knox and the second rookie wide receiver Juaqin Iglesias who added 72 yards on five receptions. 

The Bears played up to expectations in this victory getting some good plays on defense from defensive tackle Matt Toeaina who contributed three tackles and a sack, as well as decent play from rookie DJ Moore. 

Caleb Hanie easily solidifies himself as the number and Basanez's performance likely keeps him on the roster as the number three QB. 

The youth movement we saw from the Bears tonight was a good sign.  Brandon Rideau, Knox and Iglesias all came up big on a night they likely needed to play well to help their standing on the team.  The question now is will they supplant veteran Rashied Davis on the roster?  Davis is the most experienced receiver on the team and has shown consistency during camp, but has completely disappeared during the pre-season games.  Davis' only saving grace may be his special teams play, but given coach Dave Toub's ability to coach up players on an annual basis and have the Bears at the top of the league in nearly every special teams category, Davis may be on the outs. 

Also in the game Rod Hood was picked on quite a lot by the Browns.  The initial impressions on Hood are not good and you can see why he's bounced around the league already.  Zack  Bowman showed up with an athletic INT play on the first pass of the game.  He later went out with hamstring tightness and the Bears kept him on the side line as a precaution. 

Marcus Harrison also  played well in this game getting pressure on the QB on more than one occasion and looking like the promising player he was before the weight gain.  Five tackles and a sack for Harrison is another extremely  positive sign for the defensive line rotation.  The Bears easily go four deep at DT and having talented backups at DT really helps to make this defense successful. 

On the whole the game was successful, minus Kevin Jones' ankle injury.  The starters walked out butted heads for a series or two and then made way for the roster battles.  The great thing to see was the seriousness that all of the players fought with.  No one went down tonight without a fight and there was nothing but positive signs from each player during this game.  Overall it should be a difficult decision for the coaching staff on who to cut and who to keep for the 53-man roster and the eight man practice squad.

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