LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears have acquired key players via a blockbuster trade, the NFL Draft and free agency. But those are only the stories you hear about. Others, like the way they secured the services of leading special-teams tackler Tim Shaw, are just as intriguing.

Shaw was planted on his couch in Jacksonville when the Bears opened the 2009 season with a Sunday night game in Green Bay. Sitting in the Lambeau Field press box, senior director of pro personnel Bobby DePaul saw starting middle linebacker Brian Urlacher suffer a season-ending wrist injury in the first half.

Tim Shaw has registered a team-leading 15 special-teams tackles in nine games.

Knowing that a reserve linebacker such as Nick Roach or Hunter Hillenmeyer would have to be pulled off of special teams to help fill the void, DePaul started making phone calls at halftime.

“That’s usually something that takes place on Monday after we all get back together, but I immediately got on the phone,” DePaul said. “We were playing a night game and there were already injuries for other teams, and in my mind I knew that there were only ‘X’ amount of players available.”

With Shaw at the top of his short list, DePaul called the player’s agent to touch base. The Bears didn’t realize it at the time, but the Jaguars had phoned Shaw a few hours earlier to tell him that they were thinking about re-signing him a week after cutting him.

“Everything’s timing,” DePaul said. “You can’t wait until Tuesday to make a decision that you need a special-teams linebacker and the guy’s already on a flight [to visit another team] or already getting a physical. If they’ve got him on their campus, it’s hard to recruit. I’m trying to get guys on our campus.”

After the Bears flew home from Green Bay, DePaul and contract negotiator Cliff Stein worked out parameters of a deal over the phone with Shaw’s agent while taking a bus from O’Hare Airport to Halas Hall at around 3 a.m.

“Everything was really set up with the contract. It was just a matter of getting the green light from Jerry [Angelo] and Lovie [Smith],” DePaul said.

“I didn’t want to wait. I knew there were other teams that had the same problem. If I’m talking to the [agent] at three or four in the morning, that means  I’m getting it done before these other guys are even out of bed. There’s always a sense of urgency. I’m not going to wait around. I know how valuable players are and how there’s a supply-and-demand.”

Back at Halas Hall at about 4 a.m., DePaul showed assistant special teams coach Chris Tabor tape of Shaw to help familiarize Tabor with the Bears’ new player.

Shaw was selected by the Panthers in the fifth round of the 2007 draft. As a rookie, he appeared in 14 games and ranked second on the team with 14 tackles. After being waived by Carolina prior to last season, he signed with the Jaguars in late November and recorded four special-teams tackles in three games. He then failed to make Jacksonville’s opening-day roster this year.

“This guy shouldn’t have been on the street, but he was,” DePaul said. “I’ve had my eye on this guy since he played in the preseason for Carolina. It wasn’t like this guy just fell off a tree.”

Shaw leads the Bears with 15 special-teams tackles after registering a season-high four stops in last Sunday night’s loss to the Eagles. The 6-1, 236-pounder is a student of the game, something that is evident when he turns in the game-plan book that every player receives each week.

“As soon as he gets it, he’s got a yellow highlighter out and he’s highlighting everything,” said special-teams coordinator Dave Toub. “It’s all outlined and marked, and we take a look at that.

“He’s a guy that’s really gotten better every week. He’s not the fastest guy in the world, but he’s smart. He plays well with his hands, and he plays with great effort. He’s in the front row in meetings, and he’s attentive. It’s important to him. He knows that’s the way he’s paying the bills.”

Shaw takes pride in his preparation.

“That’s something I’ve learned over the years is that you’ve got to be a student of the game,” Shaw said. “You can be the best athlete and you can be this and that, but if you’re not studying and you don’t know what’s going on, you’re not going to be as good as you can be.

“I’ve learned this year more than any to study and watch tape because when something happens in a game, it’s because you’re prepared. You make instinct plays, but a lot of times you automatically know what [an opponent] is doing just from studying.”

As someone who has already been released by two NFL teams, Shaw knows nothing is guaranteed.

“More than anything, what it’s made me do is appreciate it and have fun, and I’m having so much fun right now just out there playing,” he said. “I’m so thankful, and as a result, I think I’m playing better. When you’re playing loose and just having fun, you tend to play your best ball.”