Mariani makes an impact

What a weekend it turned out to be for Havre native and former Montana Grizzly great Marc Mariani.

Saturday, he watched his beloved Grizzlies beat the Montana State Bobcats 34-7 in the annual Brawl of the Wild. And less than 24 hours later, he’s playing in a regular season NFL game for the first time in three years.

Mariani made his debut with the Chicago Bears Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago. And the former Blue Pony who reached the Pro Bowl in 2010 did exactly what the Bears brought him to Chicago to do.

The former Tennessee Titan returned two kickoffs for 46 yards, including a 31-yard return in the second quarter, which set the Bears up with outstanding field position. He also fielded three punts Sunday, but didn’t have any return yards.

However, stats aside, Sunday was a huge step forward for Mariani. After becoming one of the top return men in the league his first two seasons with the Titans, Mariani spent 2012 and 2013 on injured reserve. Then, when he was finally back to full strength, the Titans made major changes in their organization, including firing Mike Munchak and hiring Ken Whisenhunt as their head coach for 2014.

Mariani battled hard to earn his roster spot back this summer in training camp, after he had signed a one-year contract with the club. But it wasn’t meant to be, and Mariani was cut by the Titans the morning after their final preseason game this past summer.

From there, Mariani was out of work for the first nine weeks of the NFL season, until the Bears came calling Monday. And the rest is history. He signed a two-year deal with the Bears Tuesday, and four days later, he is now their starting returner.

“I’m really excited and thankful for this opportunity,” Mariani said Tuesday. “It’s a great situation for me. This is a great franchise, I think this is a great city. I’m just really excited about this.”

And Mariani should be excited for the rest of the 2014 season. His next three games will be showcase games on national television. On Thanksgiving Day, the Bears play the Detroit Lions in front of a national TV audience. Thursday's game in Detroit kicks off at 10:30 a.m. M.S.T. That’s followed by the Bears taking on the Dallas Cowboys on NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football Dec. 4. And on Dec. 15, the Bears take on the New Orleans Saints on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.