Greg Olsen stars in Sunday night football

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- There were no bobblehead dolls or cardboard cutouts bearing his likeness, but Sunday sure looked like Greg Olsen Night at Olivet Nazarene University.

The Bears' starters -- sans defensive and offensive linemen -- looked dominant again running the red-zone offense, with Olsen catching five touchdowns from Jay Cutler's 12 passes.

''That's just the way the balls end up going,'' Olsen said after practice. ''It's whoever is open. He's not dropping back and picking his guys. He's following the progressions and throwing it where it has to go, and tonight was my turn.''

Olsen and Desmond Clark have had dominant days, showing that tight ends can become a part of Mike Martz's offense.

''I see you guys talking to Greg. He had a great night," coach Lovie Smith said. ''I thought Jay threw the ball well. Offensively, we did some good things, got some good work down in the red zone.''

Olsen said he and his teammates were excited as soon as they saw the package at organized team activities.

''Our red-zone package is pretty impressive,'' he said. ''You get down in that area of the field, and we have to do better than last year. And in the couple of days we've done red zone, we've done pretty well.''

But Olsen wasn't done.

On the first play of 11-on-11, Olsen streaked down the field and hauled in a well-placed pass from Cutler, splitting safeties Craig Steltz and Chris Harris.

It would have been a 50-plus- yard touchdown.

''Yeah, we've hit that a couple of times so far in camp,'' Olsen said. ''It's just pretty much run straight down the field. We had two high safeties, and Jay threw a great ball down the middle, and we were able to connect.

''Those are the kind of big plays we're looking forward to making this year.''

Meanwhile, tight end Brandon Manumaleuna returned after missing some time with a right knee injury. He had the knee surgically repaired in the offseason, but he downplayed the injury earlier Sunday.

Manumaleuna was signed on the first day of free agency along with defensive end Julius Peppers and running back Chester Taylor. Manumaleuna, who received a five-year, $15 million contract that included $6 million in guarantees, played for Martz in St. Louis. He's known as a blocker.

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(suntimes.com)