A year ago, Bears wide receiver Devin Aromashodu was just a guy who couldn't even make it in the NFL with Peyton Manning throwing the ball to him.
On Thursday, he was the focus of a lingering mystery from the Bears' 27-20 victory against the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium last week: Why didn't Aromashodu -- the Bears' most productive wide receiver in the previous five games and a favorite target of quarterback Jay Cutler -- play on football jersey
offense?
Earl Bennett took Aromashodu's spot in the lineup against the Cowboys and caught five passes for 29 yards. That's not quite as productive as Aromashodu had been with 27 receptions for 353 yards and four touchdowns in his previous five games.
So why didn't Aromashodu play? Based on conversations with Bears coaches Thursday, there were several reasons, the most revealing from offensive coordinator Mike Martz: Aromashodu doesn't want to play in the slot.
''I don't know if we need to justify any of those things to anybody,'' Martz said after practice. ''I would just say this, and we'll let this thing go: Devin is a bit of a specialist in that he doesn't play the slot, which we asked him to do in the opener.
''He's not comfortable in there; he's not familiar with it. All four of our other receivers do play the slot and the outside. Devin just plays the outside, so his opportunities to play are reduced dramatically because of his limited knowledge of what we do at that position.
''He's not a slot or nickel guy; he's outside. It has nothing to do with Devin's performance.''
Earlier in the day, Aromashodu was nonplussed when talking with reporters about his lack of playing time against the Cowboys.
''I guess I have to play better, that's what I took from it,'' he Indianapolis Colts jersey
said. ''No one owes me anything -- at least I don't think so. If that's the decision they make, then that's [the decision] they make. All I can do is playing the next day. I'm not upset. I just keep going.''
Aromashodu has been productive as an outside receiver. He had eight receptions for 76 yards last season against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field, and then had seven receptions for 150 yards and a 39-yard touchdown from Cutler in overtime to beat the Minnesota Vikings 36-30.
Aromashodu had five catches for 71 yards in the season opener against the Detroit Lions, but he also had a pair of drops, including one in the end zone.
Wide receivers coach Darryl Drake said Aromashodu's situation was ''a match up thing'' and a result of Aromashodu not being fully recovered until late in the week after getting banged on his knee in the Lions game. It also was because of the ''flow of the game.'' And also because the Bears ran only 49 offensive plays against the Cowboys -- 21 fewer than against the Lions.
''D.A. got well on Thursday, but the plan had already been made,'' Drake said. ''We planned on playing him. But over the course of the game, I have to make a decision on who gives us the best chance of winning. And in that situation, I felt like Earl gave us the best chance to win.''
He reiterated that the Bears are not dissatisfied with Aromashodu.
''Does he have to play better? Sure, he does,'' Drake said. ''Do we accept how he played [against] Detroit? No. Because if we accept that, then we're in trouble. And he understands that. But he was not being punished.''
Drake said circumstances will determine if Dallas Cowboys jersey
Aromashodu plays Monday night against the Packers. But he couldn't even guarantee that he would be active.
''That's Lovie's decision,'' Drake said, referring to head coach Love Smith. ''I won't know until Sunday.''
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