This is a great point, Mdbearz, that probably doesn't get stated enough. The Bears believe in their ability to develop talent, even well into the professional careers of their players. Seeing the play of guys like Bellamy and McManus last year it was almost like seeing different guys in their uniforms. I was frankly astonished at the restraint and polish of Bellamy's game last year.
I think The Bears like guys with ambiguous positional roles, like Cohen and now Patterson, because (especially with both on the field as has been noted) the personnel group of our offense play by play does not allow the defense to use the same sub packages as they would with certain players of more limited skill sets (ahem_jordanhoward_ahem)- woo, sorry, just clearing my throat there. Having both Cohen and Patterson on the field will likely force a lot of teams to sub out a linebacker, and that will allow our line to open huge running lanes. Patterson may not be either an elite level receiver, or an elite runner out of the backfield, but he is one of the few guys that is at least competent at each and also has big play ability.
