BOURBONNAIS, Ill. (AP) -Chicago Bears safety Al Afalava is making up ground faster than anyone expected.
Afalava, a sixth-round draft pick, has been the hit of training camp and preseason on the defensive side of the ball. He is learning quickly despite missing organized team activities in June.
“We’re trying to get ready for Green Bay (season opener) and we have to bring him along quickly,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said Tuesday. “He missed the bulk of our offseason work related to his school but he has caught up quickly. He is a quick learner.”
The NFL forbids rookies from participating in more than one minicamp before their college class completes its current semester of course work. The rule is intended to keep players in school in the spring to graduate.
When the Bears held rookie minicamp after the draft, Afalava attended. That prevented him from taking part in team practices in early June.
Afalava was more or less enrolled in a special long-distance telephone course with safeties coach Gill Byrd on the Bears’ defensive scheme to keep him from falling too far behind.
Afalava said. “I think Coach Byrd went out of his time to try to work with me on the phone. I had time in Oregon to go out and go over my plays and stuff.”
While Afalava was taking courses at Oregon State, Byrd would phone him regularly during Bears OTAs. It’s a common practice in the NFL because of the rule that is often criticized because many draft eligible players drop out before the February NFL combine anyway.
“I’d have my playbook, and whatever they installed we would go over it,” Afalava said. “I’d have my playbook with me, and Coach Byrd would go over the playbook with me every day.”
Afalava made four tackles in Saturday’s preseason game against Buffalo as a starting strong safety, while regular strong safety Kevin Payne slid over to free safety due to a hamstring injury to starter Danieal Manning. Two of Afalava’s hits delivered a good jolt to the ball carrier.
“Kevin Payne helped me a lot this past game communicating and stuff like that, giving me all the coverages and helped me communicate with the corners,” Afalava said.
Afalava was a strong safety his final two years at Oregon State, but started nine games at free safety as a sophomore. He earned a reputation for hitting, but throughout this training camp was frustrated because he hadn’t been able to really show it until the game against the Bills.
falava said. “Just to go out there (Saturday) and hit somebody felt really good.”
Payne’s playing style seems to fit well with what new defensive backs coach Jon Hoke is stressing for his group. He wants them all to be hard hitters.
“That’s the emphasis now to be a physical defensive unit,” defensive back Corey Graham said. “We just have to go out there, attack more and be more physical, and you know we will make more plays.”
Bills starting quarterback Trent Edwards burned the Bears secondary, completing 10 of 10 passes on Saturday. Chicago is hoping to improve in time for Saturday night’s home game against Eli Manning and the New York Giants.
“I thought we did pretty good overall as a whole unit, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement,” Afalava said.
Bears defensive players and coaches have been impressed by Afalava’s on-field intensity as well as his hitting.
“He is more aware, he does have a look about him,” Smith said. “To play safety you need that. I won’t say (look) odd or strange – you need a different look. He definitely has that. But at the same time he’s confident in his ability.”
The other quality Smith noted in Afalava’s style is the way he’s always “talking” on the field.
“Not trash talking,” Afalava quickly stressed. “I like to communicate with everyone, keep the talk going so everyone knows where they’re supposed to be and we don’t have mix-ups in the secondary.”
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