The Bernstein Brief: Bears' Alshon Jeffery Is Already Missing?
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) The Bears just took the practice field Thursday morning, and top receiver Alshon Jeffery was nowhere to be found, after coming off the field Wednesday with what the team called "muscle tightness."
This is the prove-it year for Jeffery, playing on the franchise tag to show his team and the league that his days of nebulous soft-tissue injuries are behind him and that his prodigious talent outweighs durability concerns when it comes to a guaranteed financial commitment.
There's a new receivers coach in place in Curtis Johnson, in large part to motivate Jeffery with drill-sergeant tactics that challenge him personally.
It's only Aug. 4, and we have the first day Jeffery is out with an unspecified muscle issue.
Let's recall what coach John Fox said in April: "If you're not out there, it's hard to prepare real well. Dependability ... playing through 'owies,' I call them, is critical."
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.