Farewell Leak and James

Annual cut day left few surprises for the Bears this year. Unfortunately Rideau got injured again just as it looked like he was pulling away from Mike Hass, and so he goes the way of Arise Currie and Hass reaps the rewards of a reportedly unbelievable camp.
I had Corey Graham and Michael Okwo on the team already, though Okwo hasn't done anything impressive that I've heard about. The big surprise for me is that Darrell McClover held onto a roster spot as the eighth LB over DT Antonio Garay. There was a lot said about how high the bears were on Garay, but in the end he just had too many people to compete with. McClover's been on the roster since the Seattle game last year with a few appearances and all I've heard about him is that he's a good special teamer. I figured he's holding a spot until Ayanbadejo comes off suspension, but with Okwo going on IR (a typical bears move of the last two seasons, but why hadn't I heard of his injury?) McClover will be around all season.
The other surprise for me is Beekman beating out Oakley on the OL. I'd read good things about Oakley, though all I personally remember seeing is him getting torched one game last preseason. I thought LeVoir looked good of what I saw as well. The Bears may have an old line, but I think Angelo's put together good potential for competition in the next couple seasons. Further evidence that Angelo is a hell of a GM.
My final note is that I'm happy to see Ball on the practice squad. This assures that he'll be around next camp with more experience and the example of Hass to follow. And I'm kinda sad to see two college names in Leak and James go.