Afalava thriving far from home as a rookie

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LAKE FOREST – Whether it’s a “Rock, Paper, Scissors” tournament or an NFL game, Bears rookie Al Afalava typically has relied on his instincts to lead the way.

Afalava, 22, smiled Wednesday as he reflected on his “RPS” championship. He beat all of his Oregon

State teammates as a junior in 2007 to win the team’s annual tournament – and bragging rights for a lifetime.

“You’ve just got to study,” Afalava said. “I studied what everybody threw first. Everybody basically throws the same thing first, like they’re always going to throw ‘rock’ first. Then you just go from there.”

In Afalava’s case, “go from there” turned out to mean much more than his choice of “scissors” to clinch the Oregon State title.

The Bears selected Afalava in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL draft, and his physical, instinctive play earned him a starting job at strong safety before his first regular-season game.

In four games as an NFL starter, Afalava already has 20 tackles, one sack and four pass break-ups. Not bad for a player whom the Bears selected 190th overall, after they already had chosen six players.

“I still can’t believe I’m in the NFL to this day,” said Afalava, whose biggest adjustment from college has been the pace of each play. “I’m still trying to adapt to it. Each week, it’s getting a little slower.”

After training camp, Afalava moved his wife and their two young children from Hawaii to join him during the season. His 7-month-old baby might not fully appreciate Afalava’s work, but his 2-year-old son does.

“Since he was 1 year old, he’s known [football],” Afalava said of his son, Darius, who has attended both Bears home games at Soldier Field. “He’s got it down.”

Afalava grew up on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, where he led his team to an undefeated record and a state title as a junior. He doesn’t plan to return home until after the season because the Bears’ schedule doesn’t offer many breaks, and a nine-hour flight is a long time in the air for someone who hates to fly.

Instead, Afalava’s friends and relatives on the island must wake up before 6 a.m. on most Sundays to track his games. Afalava has found a second family with the Bears, where veterans such as Charles Tillman, Danieal Manning and Kevin Payne have helped him adjust to his first job out of college.

“All of them have been helping me out a lot,” Afalava said. “Charles is the leader of the group, and he’s done an awesome job at getting us all on the same page.”

It doesn’t take a veteran’s advice for Afalava to realize that a good start is not good enough.

“There’s a lot I can still improve on,” he said. “Just the little things. Running to the ball. You can always work on tackling. Coverage. I can work on everything.”

If he continues to improve, Afalava has a chance to emerge as the rock of the secondary. Even if he throws down “paper” or “scissors” every now and then.

Bears bits: Devin Hester did not practice Wednesday but he said he expected to start next week against the Atlanta Falcons. Hester said he strained a neck muscle against the Detroit Lions. … Johnny Knox was named as the NFC’s special teams player of the week. … Pisa Tinoisamoa, who has not played since injuring his knee in Week 1, practiced Wednesday and could return against the Falcons.