Tillman Expects Defense to Practice Together Soon

Bears DB Charles Tillman has been in California in the off-season, but that doesn't mean he isn't getting ready. In town to speak at a health event at the Computer Systems Institute, Tillman told Grizzly Detail that he has been trying to stay in football shape, working out with other NFL players and various trainers. 

Though that group of players doesn't include any Bears, he does expect the defense to get together soon.

"I'm sure at some point, in the next couple of weeks, there will be some team workouts," Tillman said. The offense has reportedly worked out together. Though Jay Cutler mentioned that the defense isn't in need of off-season workouts, Tillman said that practices could be valuable.

"I think we're a good defense, but I don't think we're that good to where we can't practice. I don't think that any defense is that good. You have to practice."

Tillman's off-season has also included a stop at "The Oprah Winfrey Show," where he met the family who donated a heart to his young daughter, Tiana. The emotional on-screen meeting showed Tillman saying thank you to the woman who decided to donate her son's heart after she learned that he would die, but Tillman said that the meeting continued after the cameras stopped rolling. Tillman and his family invited the donor family home, and said that they have kept in touch since the show's taping.

Tillman reports that Tiana, who would likely not have survived without a heart transplant, is now a normal, healthy little girl.

"She is healthy as a clam. You would never know unless you saw the scar or heard the story."

Health was the topic of the day as Tillman addressed students working to become medical assistants. He discussed everything from a healthy diet to the dangers of smoking, saying that he knew people waiting for healthy lungs. He said that this visit, where he handed out autographs and posed for pictures, was a reward for the students.

"I think the students do a good job. They work hard and not just myself, but the CSI staff, thought it would be a good way to show them a job well done for the hard work that they've been putting in."