LAKE FOREST, Ill. – In returning the second-half kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown Sunday, Johnny Knox dashed through the Lions’ coverage team and right to the top of the NFL rankings.

Buoyed by the second-longest kickoff return in Bears history, the rookie fifth-round pick leads the league with a 35.8-yard average on nine returns. Last year, Danieal Manning topped the NFL in kickoff returns with a 29.7-yard average.

Bears rookie Johnny Knox has scored a touchdown in each of the last three games.

Knox has also excelled on offense, catching 14 passes for 190 yards, including 7-yard touchdowns in back-to-back games against the Steelers and Seahawks. He leads the Bears with three TDs.

“I’ve talked about him every time I’ve stood up here after a game,” coach Lovie Smith said Monday at Halas Hall. “He’s making progress each week. He is becoming a threat whenever he touches the ball, whether it’s returning kickoffs or as a pass receiver.”

Knox was named the NFC special teams player of the week for his performance against the Lions. The 22-year-old also is a finalist for the Pepsi NFL rookie of the week award. In addition to his 102-yard kickoff return TD, he also caught a team-high five passes for 31 yards before exiting in the third quarter with a shin injury.

Fans can vote for Knox and running back Matt Forte, who’s a finalist for the FedEx NFL ground player of the week, at NFL.com. Forte rushed for a season-high 121 yards against the Lions, including a career-long 61-yard run and a 37-yard TD.

Roster moves: The Bears continued to shuffle their practice squad Tuesday, re-signing cornerback DeAngelo Smith and terminating the contract of defensive end Joe Clermond.

Smith spent two weeks on the Bears’ 53-man roster after being claimed off waivers Sept. 14. But he was released last Tuesday when linebacker Darrell McClover was signed.

The Rod squad: Tommie Harris is the latest Bears defensive lineman to praise veteran coach Rod Marinelli. Under Marinelli’s tutelage, the Bears have registered 14 sacks in their first four games.

“Can I put a value on Rod Marinelli? Priceless,” Harris said. “He means so much to this team, so much to this defense. He brings so much to the table. I’m glad to have him. He means so much to my career in just this little time that I’m just looking forward to our future here in Chicago.”

In working with Marinelli, Harris feels like he’s back on the University of Oklahoma campus.

“He is more than just a coach,” Harris said. “He’s a teacher, like a real teacher, like a professor. It’s like we go to class every day. We’re really learning. We’re learning the scheme of the defense.

“I feel like the majority of the guys that I’ve talked to who he’s coached in the past can become coaches after [playing] football. A lot of guys don’t learn what they’re doing; they’re just out there doing it, but you actually understand the whole scheme of the defense when you have coach Marinelli.”

The right move: When injuries decimated their linebacking corps, the Bears signed players that would contribute on special teams rather than an experienced veteran due to their faith in backups Nick Roach and Jamar Williams.

It proved to be the right call. Against the Lions, Roach (10) and Williams (7) combined for 17 tackles on defense, while recently-signed backups Tim Shaw (3) and McClover (2) produced five stops on special teams.

“You have to just kind of look at what you need on your ballclub when you have injuries,” Smith said. “We felt good about Nick Roach and Jamar Williams, guys that have been around here a while stepping into the role of playing as full-time defensive starters. We needed guys for our special teams. 

"Our special teams are as important as anything else we do. Sometimes when you bring in [a veteran] from the outside, they may not fit that role. As much as anything, we’re just trying to find role guys for all of our positions. Tim Shaw and Darrell McClover both fit that and both of them did a great job [Sunday] too.”