Tinoisamoa Expected to Return w/ Bears

Nothing is official at this point, but the Chicago Bears are expected to bring back veteran linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa, who is slated to be an unrestricted free agent.

Tinoisamoa, a surprise cut by the St. Louis Rams last spring, landed with the Bears and quickly earned the starting position on the strong side. But a right knee injury suffered on the first series of the season opener at Green Bay sidelined him and when he returned the next month at Atlanta he re-injured himself, leading to surgery and a spot on the injured reserve.

The belief is that Tinoisamoa, 28, will return at full strength. The Bears were plagued by injuries at the position last season, losing middle linebacker Brian Urlacher for virtually the entire season. The team used six different starting lineups at linebacker.

Tinoisamoa was a good fit in the defense he starred in earlier in his career in St. Louis, and meshed well with the coaching staff and his new teammates. He signed a $1.5 million, one-year contract last year. What terms he will receive this time around are unknown, but he’s viewed as a valuable commodity by the team.

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Bears Hope Pisa Tinoisamoa Bounces Back in '09

The biggest moves the Bears made on defense -- or at least the ones getting the most attention -- were the changes on the coaching staff. Rod Marinelli was hired to coach the defensive line, and Lovie Smith will call the plays instead of defensive coordinator Bob Babich.

But I discussed the two biggest personnel changes on defense -- the acquisition of linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa and the loss of safety Mike Brown -- with Bill Barnwell, the managing editor of Football Outsiders. Its mean projection gives the Bears a 49 percent chance to have 11 or more victories -- the highest figure for any NFC club.

First, I asked Barnwell about Tinoisamoa, who's projected to be the starter on the strong side after signing a one-year contract. The St. Louis Rams cut him loose after they failed to trade him. He became the first rookie in franchise history to lead the defense in tackles when he played for Smith and Babich in 2003.

''It really depends on Tinoisamoa and how he fits into their scheme and how quickly he catches up on things,'' Barnwell said. ''I understand he's had experience in the system.''

Football Outsiders looks at a stat it calls the ''stop rate,'' the average yards for running plays when the linebacker makes the tackle. It's not a perfect system, but it has other stats, one of which is called ''defeats,'' defined as the number of times the defense makes a play behind the line of scrimmage, creates turnovers or stops the offense from gaining first downs on third or fourth down.

Tinoisamoa, who played weak side for the Rams last season, was credited with 48 stops, 32 fewer than Lance Briggs. Tinoisamoa ranked 93rd out of 99 linebackers against the run. But as Barnwell pointed out, these statistics can change depending on the team and the system.

''The Rams didn't have a great defense,'' Barnwell said. ''You look at his run numbers, and they were atrocious. He made a lot of tackles, but they were seven or eight yards from the line of scrimmage. You have to put the scheme in context. He could be better this season.''

Tinoisamoa will have more talent around him this season, and it's reasonable to expect he'll be a different player. Of course, the Bears expected the same with Adam Archuleta in 2007.

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Chicago Bears Getting Used to a Little Island Flavor

Center Olin Kreutz has been a staple in the Chicago Bears organization since the team drafted him out of Washington St. 12 years ago. Kreutz, a leader both on the field and in the locker room, leads by example through hard work and determination. He keeps players in line and commands respect from not only his teammates, but opposing players as well.

Kreutz was raised and played high school football in Hawaii for St. Louis High, a team consistently playing for the island title, where he was all-state in both football and wrestling. Hawaii was his kickoff point for a prosperous and productive NFL career.

And Kreutz isn't the only one to bring the island madness to the team.

The Bears selected safety Al Afalava in the sixth round of the 2009 draft. Afalava grew up in Laie, located on the north shore of Oahu, and played high school for the Kahuku Red Raiders, a perennial powerhouse, before moving on to Oregon St.

If you look closely, there are quite a few connections to the pacific islands throughout the Bears roster:

Undrafted free agents Will Ta'ufo'ou (FB from Cal) and Johan Asiata (OG from UNLV) are both in contention for roster spots. Asiata, originally from New Zealand, actually grew up in Hawaii.

Reserve defensive tackle Matt Toeaina played high school football on the tiny island of American Samoa, which is located east of Fiji and North of Tonga before he moved on to play college ball at the University of Oregon.

Newly acquired linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa played for the University of Hawaii for four years. He made first team all WAC his senior year and was drafted in the second round of the 2003 NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams.

The Bears even have had a couple Hawaii players represented on the practice squad and in training camp. Safety Leonard Peters, also a Kahuku graduate, was on the Bears practice squad for the 2007 season. And former UH standout wide receiver Ryan Grice-Mullens was added to the Bears roster last season in training camp to add some depth, but failed to make the final cut.

And it doesn't end there, lets kick it back a little further.

Anyone remember tight end Gabe Reid? He played four years for the Bears from 2003 through 2006 and recorded a total of seven receptions—okay, not exactly stellar numbers but Reid was also a product of American Samoa and was a competent third stringer for the team.

And if you want to go old-school, how about Lakei Heimuli? Heimuli was a running back out of BYU who grew up in Tonga and played one season for the 1987 Chicago Bears. He only made it into three games that year, but to be fair, his numbers weren't terrible: 34 carries for 128 yards (for a 3.8 average), and five receptions for 51 yards and one lone touchdown.

So really, this island theme from the Bears is not a new one. And judging from recent trends, look for more and more of these Polynesian products to follow in the footsteps of Kreutz, Pisa, Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu, and Steelers safety Troy Polamalu.

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