Bowman back on track

[dbetz23]

He will be a big playmaker in the NFL if he can stay heathly.

[NU fan in Denver]

Good to see Bowman making plays. I think he can be good if he can shake the injury bug.

[HuskerJosh82]

congratulations

[Ohio Pete]

Who's the new guy? That's Bowman.

Zackary Bowman shines in Bears debut against Vikings

Bowman in right place at right time as defense preserves victory this time

 

David Haugh | On the Bears

9:29 PM CDT, October 19, 2008

 

Before Zackary Bowman and the Bears' defense returned to the field to protect another lead late in Sunday's fourth quarter, an assistant coach pulled the young cornerback aside.

 

Defensive backs coach Steven Wilks got through to Bowman the way nobody on the coaching staff got through to cornerback Marcus Hamilton one Sunday earlier in a similar situation against the Falcons.

 

This time, Wilks reinforced the do's and don'ts of the drive: With a seven-point lead and the Vikings needing to go 75 yards in 1 minute 6 seconds, don't sweat the short stuff. From here on in, in the Bears' defensive playbook, that rule will be referred to as the Hamilton Doctrine.

 

"The only thing I remember is Coach Wilks telling me, 'Get the jam and get deep,' " Bowman recalled.

 

So Bowman dropped deep into his Cover-2 zone, and when Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte floated a pass for wide receiver Aundrae Allison, the rookie was right where he should have been. The ball was not, and Bowman came down with the interception that helped the Bears hold on to beat the Vikings 48-41.

 

"The easy ones are the hardest ones to catch and I just had to catch it," Bowman said. "Just seeing the things that went on last week, I knew to defend deep to short. We were in kind of the same situation again and I just learned from it."

 

As a result, everybody in Chicago learned a little more about Bowman, whose recovery of a muffed punt in the end zone for a touchdown made his first pro game a hard one to top. It's not every Sunday that an NFL team takes the Alaska pipeline to victory.

 

"A good story with a happy ending, I guess," Bowman said.

 

As the story goes, Bowman spent his formative years in Anchorage. Though he couldn't see Russia from his practice field, he did play against a high school team about an hour away from Wasilla—hometown of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

 

Last Sunday Bowman wasn't even on the Bears' 53-man roster, yet here he was answering questions about whether he had ever met the Republican vice presidential candidate.

 

"I've probably seen her before but never realized it," Bowman said.

 

Bowman realizes and accepts that Bears fans might not see much more of him once the cornerbacks ahead of him on the depth chart heal. He was on the field with the game on the line Sunday only because cornerback Corey Graham had departed with what Graham later called a minor concussion.

 

The Bears already were without starting cornerbacks Charles Tillman (shoulder) and Nathan Vasher (wrist), as well as nickel back Danieal Manning (hamstring). Bowman himself left briefly with a stinger in his bicep but returned.

 

When the Bears elevated Bowman from the practice squad Tuesday, the thought of counting on him with the game on the line didn't exactly fill people at Halas Hall with confidence.

 

But the way Bowman, Graham and fellow backup Trumaine McBride came through with three of the Bears' four interceptions will, after the angst of giving up 41 points subsides, ultimately make the defense stronger.

 

"Coach Wilks said to all three of us last night that the game is going to come down to us and watch us win it, and that's what we did," Bowman said. "That was beautiful." ...

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Great first NFL game Bowman!

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

Glad to see Bowman get his NFL career off to a great start.

[BigRedMan]

It appears Zack Bowman is now out for the season with biceps surgery

[Eric]

Dang he is injury prone!!! But man is he tough

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0,6009976.story

 

The Bears' run of misfortune in the secondary continued in Sunday's win as rookie defensive back Zackary Bowman, whose interception sealed the 48-41 win over the Vikings, suffered a biceps injury that will require surgery and could end his season after just one game.

 

Bowman, who also scored his first NFL points by recovering a muffed punt in the end zone, will undergo surgery before the Bears' Nov. 2 game against the Detroit Lions.

 

The rookie put on an impromptu clinic in toughness by convincing the coaching staff he could go back in after a head injury to cornerback Corey Graham and making the Bears' fourth interception of the game.

 

"To be able to play through that, definitely playing with pain and close to an injury, that said a lot for him on his first game," coach Lovie Smith said.

[Street Novelist]

kid can't catch a break

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Man, when is this guy going to get the break he deserves? Heal quickly man................

[cmb23]

Bad thing is...as much as he's been injured (tough or not) you're stuck with the tag of being a big risk. The bears gambled on him and look what they got. One good game.

[killer cacti]

Glad to see he's doing well. I'm a Clemson fan, but for a while Zack lived in a small town in SC called Batesburg-Leesville, which is my hometown, and he was my age. From what I remember, he was there from about 4th-5th grade til 8th or 9th grade, and there were always rumors of him coming back to live with a relative so he could play football with all of us again. He was such a good guy, and was truly missed when he left for Alaska.