Bears' Davis kind of lost in shuffle but part of plans

BOURBONNAIS -- Rashied Davis has been almost invisible.

That's understandable with all the attention on Devin Hester's conversion to wide receiver and the addition of rookie tight end Greg Olsen, not to mention the competition between Muhsin Muhammad and Bernard Berrian for top billing in the passing game.

Like Hester, Davis made the cornerback-to-wide receiver switch in 2006 and finished fourth on the team with 303 receiving yards on 22 catches, including the game-winning touchdown against Minnesota with 1:54 left on Sept. 24.

But, with Hester pushing for playing time behind Berrian and Muhammad, Davis isn't guaranteed of anything this season.

He caught just 1 pass for 2 yards in the first preseason game, and even in practice it seems that half of the passes are directed toward Hester or Olsen with just an occasional toss to Davis.

"I had a feeling that was going to happen," said the former Arena League MVP. "I didn't know (for sure), and I still don't because the season hasn't started. But we're getting an idea how it really affects me now. You never know. Anything can happen.

"You just have to be prepared if it does happen. Hopefully (in a worst-case scenario) another team wants you, and you go on and try to play."

But it doesn't sound like the Bears are ready to let Davis get away, even if he isn't one of their marquee players. Undersized at 5-feet-9 and 187 pounds, Davis' skill set still makes him perfectly suited to play in the slot as a third receiver in passing situations, a niche he carved out last season.

"Rashied Davis is a football player," said Bears wide receivers coach Darryl Drake. "He's demonstrated the ability to make plays in that particular position. He's very, very hard to cover with his quickness, and he can make breaks really fast.

"You want a guy in there that can do those particular things. With the things we do in our offensive scheme, and the quick moves that that inside guy has to make, we've got the ideal guy in there right now in Rashied."

Since the Bears already know what Davis is capable of, it makes sense that they give the new guys additional practice reps needed to get comfortable in the offense. Davis will still get some opportunities, and he's confident he will make the best of them.

He beat long odds to get to where he's at, so he's used to fighting uphill battles. He never even played organized football until college, and went undrafted out of San Jose State.

"I've always felt like it's up to me," he said. "I have the ability to come out and make plays, and if I do everything right I'll make it hard for them to come out and cut me. I'm not saying they won't, but I'm making it as hard as I can for them to cut me. That (other) stuff is out of my control."

Davis' role in the offense last season fluctuated from game to game, anywhere from afterthought to key component.

But in the divisional-round playoff victory over Seattle he had 4 catches for 84 yards, his best game in the NFL in the biggest game of his career, to that point.

"I've got a couple plays on tape," Davis says modestly. "The Seahawks game was my favorite game last year. That was huge for my confidence, and then coaches had confidence in me.

"I was kind of banged up in that game and still had to go out and perform. I learned a lot about myself and my body and what I was capable of doing."

So did the Bears, which is why Davis isn't likely to be leaving.