Bears Must Win Turnover Battle Sunday
by The Sports Xchange of BearReport.com, November 27, 2009 at 9:05am ET

Charles Tillman Profile

Realistically, the Bears have little chance of winning this game without producing a major edge in turnovers. They got three against the Eagles last week, while allowing just one, yet they still lost at home.

Cornerback Charles Tillman has made forcing fumbles an art form, and Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has been prone to putting the ball on the ground.

But that potential edge for the Bears pales in comparison to the matchup at quarterback, where Brett Favre has been intercepted just three times and has an NFL-low interception percentage of 1.1. The Bears' Jay Cutler, on the other hand, has been picked off an NFL-high 18 times, so hoping to win the turnover battle may be futile.

The Bears' normally elite special teams have fallen off this season but are still solid, although no better than the Vikings'.

The Bears know they have to stop Peterson first, but their coverage in the secondary has been inconsistent at best, so they'll need to get extreme pass-rush pressure on Favre, and they've been unsuccessful at that for most of the season.

The Vikings have given up a lot of passing yards, but a lot of those have come after they have raced to a big lead. Still, if Cutler gets protection, he could put up some numbers on a Minnesota pass defense that has just eight interceptions all year.



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Charles Tillman Scout.com Headlines:
Prospect Watch: Senior Bowl CB
Chicago is paying close attention to a four-star cornerback during Senior Bowl workouts in Mobile.
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Revolving door at both the strong and free safety positions has only held back the Bears on defense.
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Players Back Smith, Assistant Coaches
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-by ScoutNFLNetwork.com Dec 30, 2009
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Jeremy Stoltz broke down the tape and shows what he saw in Sunday's loss to the Ravens in Baltimore
-by BearReport.com Dec 22, 2009
Tillman Leads League in Forced Fumbles
-by BearReport.com Dec 3, 2009
Bears Must Win Turnover Battle Sunday
-by BearReport.com Nov 27, 2009
Favre Thinks Cutler is the Real McCoy
Future Hall of Famer believes the Bears QB is more advanced than he was at this stage of his career
-by BearReport.com Nov 27, 2009
Few Reasons to be Optimistic for Bears
A 4-6 record at this point in the season gives no reason to think the Bears can turn things around
-by BearReport.com Nov 24, 2009
1-1011-20 >>

Injury News:
CHI: Starting CB Placed on IR
-by ScoutNFLNetwork.com Dec 30, 2009
CB Charles Tillman: Injury Update
-by ScoutNFLNetwork.com Nov 2, 2005
CB Charles Tillman: Injury Update
-by ScoutNFLNetwork.com Jan 19, 2005
CB Charles Tillman: Injury Update
-by ScoutNFLNetwork.com Dec 1, 2004
CB Charles Tillman: Injury Update
-by ScoutNFLNetwork.com Nov 30, 2004

[All Injury News (10)]

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CB Charles Tillman: Training Camp Day 4
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Charles Tillman
Ht: 6-1 Wt: 196
Position: CB
Date of Birth: 02/23/1981
Experience: 7
High School: Copperas Cove HS
(Copperas Cove, TX)
College: Louisiana


Biography:

PRO CAREER: Tied for 1st on the Bears with 17 interceptions since being drafted by Chicago in 2003, including 13 over the previous 3 seasons… Has started 64-of-68 career games played at LCB, recording 408 tackles, 2 sacks, 17 INTs, 47 PBUs, 11 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 2 return touchdowns (INT and fumble)… His 11 forced fumbles since 2003 are the third most in the NFL amongst cornerbacks… His 408 tackles since 2003 are the most in Chicago's secondary and rank 3rd on the Bears trailing only Brian Urlacher (772) and Lance Briggs (745)… Stands as Chicago's active leader with 47 career PBUs after leading the team in 2006 (11) and 2003 (10) and tying for the team lead in 2007 (5) and 2005 (18)… Tied a career high by intercepting 5 passes in 2006 after establishing the mark one season earlier… Returned 5 picks in 2005 for a career-high and team-high 172 yards, ranking 2nd in the NFL averaging 34.4 yards per return… Set Bears record (and 2nd all-time in NFL annals) for the longest non-scoring return by producing a 95-yard return on an INT vs. GB (12/4/05), the fourth-longest overall INT return in club history… Earned first career NFC Defensive Player-of-the-Week honor for his first career TD, a 22-yard game-winning INT return in OT at DET (10/30/05)… Combined with Vasher to record 13 INTs in 2005 which tied for third-most picks by a CB tandem in the NFL, tied for tops in the NFC, was the most by a Bears duo since Mark Carrier (10) and Donnell Woolford (3) in 1990 and was the most by any Chicago CB tandem dating back to 1968�� Became first rookie since Carrier in 1990 to lead Chicago in INTs with 4 in 2003… Combined with Lance Briggs to become the first Bears rookies to record an INT in same season since Urlacher and M. Brown in 2000… Rookie recipient of 2003 Brian Piccolo Award as voted by his teammates… Named NFL Rookie-of-the-Year and an All-Pro by Sports Illustrated while receiving NFL Defensive Rookie-of-the-Year honor from Football Digest.

HOW ACQUIRED: Entered NFL as a second-round selection (35th overall) by Chicago in the 2003 NFL Draft.

PERSONAL NOTES: Two-time all-district 8-5A and all-area team selection at Copperas Cove (Texas) H.S… Named to Super Cen-Tex team by the Austin American-Statesman… All-state Class 5A honorable mention… Named 2007 Bears nominee for NFL’s Walter Payton “Man of the Year” award… In 2006 started the Charles Tillman's Cornerstone Foundation to provide Greater Chicago area children and youth with educational opportunities and resources needed to excel in the classroom and life… Born in Chicago and attended kindergarten at Horace Mann Elementary on the South Side… Parents are native Chicagoans Arbria and Donald Tillman… The son of an Army sergeant, he attended 11 schools from kindergarten to 12th grade… He and wife, Jackie, have 2 daughters.