With LB Brian Urlacher sidelined while he recovers from knee surgery, second-year Chicago Bears linebacker Dom DeCicco has been taking reps with the starting defense. And the experience, he says, has been priceless:
"It’s really invaluable just being out there with the [veteran] guys," DeCicco said. "It makes you want to know your stuff even more because you don’t want to let anybody down. Playing alongside Lance [Briggs] and Nick [Roach], I’ve learned a lot and they’ve been nothing but help."
And the Bears coaches have noticed the effect. DeCicco entered the NFL in 2011, when a lockout abbreviated the NFL offseason, but he has been able to make up for the lost time in 2012:
"Losing all of the offseason workouts last year, I think he lost out on some basic fundamentals," said linebackers coach Bob Babich. "We did move him to middle linebacker part way into training camp. He was playing outside linebacker. So I think this has been really good for him. These reps are quality reps that are just going to help make him better."
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