Dave Toub

Special Teams

A strength of the Bears thanks to coach Dave Toub, this unit is relatively unchanged from last year. Robbie Gould is one of the most accurate kickers in the game and has recently shown that he can occasionally be called on to kick those 50+ field goals that Smith never used to trust him with. Brad Maynard returns as the team's punter, with Patrick Mannelly snapping it from long range. Maynard's always one of the better punters in the NFL, usually with great length and a solid net. Johnny Knox and Danieal Manning are the team's kick returners, both with ability to go the distance. Manning excels at kick returns because of his straight-forward speed and tackle-breaking skills. After going two seasons without a special teams score, Devin Hester's punt return abilities haven't been showcased. Hester has to return to his 2007 form if this Bears team wants to reach the top of the NFC North.

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-Dave Toub needs to whip his special teams unit into shape. A blocked field goal and another miss by Robbie Gould left six points on the board, which can't happen during the regular season if the Bears expect to win. Add these troubles to the snapping issues and punt snafus over the past few weeks and you can't feel great about the third phase.

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Areas of concern came from unlikely places. Dave Toub's special teams unit did play up to their typical high standard with costly penalties and a poorly executed fake field goal. (Which looked putrid.) Chris Williams was... alright in his first start at left tackle. ESPN has the Bears credited with six fumbles, one of which was lost. Lovie better nip that problem in the bud and fast. (Matt Forte, I thought we were past your case of fumblitis.)

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