National Football League

Bears Tillman puts injuries behind him

Published Oct. 22, 2009 11:10 p.m. ET

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A serial Twitter tweaker, it figures that Chad Ochocinco would have something to say about Bears cornerback Charles Tillman this week, and he certainly took his share of playful jabs. This, however, was not one of them. "He's really, really good, man," the Cincinnati Bengals' flashy receiver told Chicago reporters. Tillman continues to play at a high level despite a run of injuries that might have limited him in the early going and his likely matchup with Ochocinco figures to be one to watch when the Bears visit Cincinnati on Sunday. A five-time Pro Bowl pick, Ochocinco took note after Tillman contained Detroit's Calvin Johnson and Atlanta's Roddy White in the Bears' past two games. For a guy who had shoulder and back surgeries in the offseason and sat out the preseason, Tillman's doing just fine. "The one thing I can always say is it's never as bad as you think because somebody out there has it worse than you," he said. That message hit him with the force of a blindside tackle last year when he found out his infant daughter Tiana needed a heart transplant. She became the first patient in Illinois to benefit from a computerized device called a Berlin Heart, a small pump located outside the body that helps the heart pump blood to the lungs and body. It serves as a bridge to a transplant, helping patients buy time until an organ becomes available. Tiana is doing well. Others aren't so fortunate. The experience made Tillman see his own ailments in a different light, and the list was long. He finished with 91 tackles and a team-high four forced fumbles last year even though both shoulders were injured. He had surgery on the right one in January, limiting his participation in organized activities, and he sat out the preseason after having a back operation in July, just before the start of training camp. Yet he was determined to be ready for the opener. "I think the body can take damn near anything," Tillman said. "I think if you approach it with the right mindset, you can do anything. Your body can take a pretty good beating before it actually can't go anymore. Mentally, you've just got to train yourself. I think mentally, I prepared myself for it to be hard, to come back in a short amount of time. I had a good training staff to help me get prepared and get me ready." Safety Danieal Manning said he had no doubt Tillman would make an early impact. He saw the work his teammate put in during the offseason. It was Tillman who shut down Johnson in the second half against Detroit, holding him to three catches for 14 yards after he burned Zackary Bowman in the first two quarters. He followed that up last week with a good effort against White, who turned a short screen into a 40-yard touchdown in which Tillman got taken out by Tony Gonzalez but wound up with just 56 yards in all. On Sunday, he figures to come pad-to-pad with a receiver who's had his share of fun at the expense of the Bears. Back when he was known as Chad Johnson in 2005, Ochocinco scored two touchdowns in a game at Soldier Field and gave a not-so-subtle nod to Brian Urlacher by performing a rendition of Michael Flatley's Riverdance in the end zone. Urlacher at the time was in a custody dispute with the mother of his son, a woman who had also falsely accused Flatley of rape. This week, Ochocinco's been pouring out a steady stream of playful tweets. He took credit for Jay Cutler's contract extension and called out the defensive backs, writing the Bears' secondary will "kiss da baby." "My opinion, if you're that good, you can say whatever you want," Tillman said. Good-natured jabs aside, Ochocinco had plenty to say about Tillman. "He looks really good and he's put up some shut-downs on some pretty good top receivers, so it's going to be a fun, interesting matchup come Sunday," Ochocinco said.

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