Bears Answer Few Questions in Victory Over Browns

If you were watching last night’s Bears 26-23 preseason victory over the Browns trying to catch a glimpse of your favorite Bears, I hope you didn’t blink.

After a Zack Bowman interception on the first play from scrimmage, Jay Cutler took the field and handed off to back-up running back Kevin Jones six times, leading to a Robbie Gould field goal. Matt Forte didn't even play. After those first seven plays, it was scrub time.

Only two defensive starters returned to the field for the Bears on their second possession, as Kevin Payne and Daniel Manning could still use some playing time.

Defensively, it was a sloppy game from the Bears’ back-ups, with plenty of missed tackles. Newly signed corner Rod Hood was surprisingly in tune early on, having joined the Bears three days earlier. Unfortunately, he followed up by being out of position on a long pass play and failing to wrap up a ball-carrier on a sorry excuse for a tackle attempt. Missed tackles have been an Achilles’ heel for the Bears, so the coaching staff must make that an emphasis this season.

Zack Bowman returned to the starting line-up in a role he is expected to fill on opening day, especially if Charles Tillman is unable to go in week one. Nathan Vasher may start week one against Green Bay, but don’t expect a very long leash.

On the offensive side of the ball, there were plenty of pluses and minuses to discuss. Kevin Jones was running with a purpose until his seventh carry of the game where he leapt out of bounds and landed awkwardly in his ankle. It’s reported as an ankle sprain. If it’s a high ankle injury, that could be an up-to-four week injury, so it is definitely a cause for concern.  

Caleb Hanie struggled in his first half, throwing a pretty ugly interception. He rebounded in the second with a solid drive that ended with a 25-yard TD pass to tight end Michael Gaines. Brett Basanez came on in relief during garbage time and showed some improvement over his prior outings. He showed good zip on his passes along with making smart decisions with the ball, finding Brandon Rideau for 18 yards and a score.

In my opinion, the questions surrounding the wide receiver corps were all but answered after this final game. Here’s what my WR depth chart would look like, before the cuts:

Devin Hester
Earl Bennett (Honestly, he shouldn’t be this high, but he’s locked in anyway.)
Devin Aromashodu
Johnny Knox
Rashied Davis
Brandon Rideau
Juaquin Iglesias

Cutler likes Aromashodu, so that clears up the reasoning behind his position. Johnny Knox proved well worth his fifth round selection last night with some great catches and impressive punt returns. Rashied Davis makes too many special teams plays and is the only other experience receiver on the roster. Not keeping him would be a mistake. Brandon Rideau is tall, but hasn’t proved much else in this preseason. His TD last night was too little too late. Juaquin Iglesias FINALLY showed signs of life last night in the fourth quarter, but to me his play hasn’t warranted a roster spot. He’ll get one though, being a third-round pick, but that means Rideau is on the outs.

We’ll see how things shake down on Saturday when the Bears make their final cuts to get to the 53 man limit. If Brett Basanez is put on the practice squad and not on the active roster, the Bears could keep six wide-outs. If they only keep five, Davis and Rideau would be the first to be waived. Kevin Jones’ injury could be an interesting factor in these cuts, depending on its severity.

In Cleveland notes, how odd was it for Browns head coach Eric Mangini to not play competing QB's Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson during their final preseason game? I guess that decision has already been made, despite Mangini's lack of information. I'd give the nod to Quinn for his accuracy, but Anderson has the stronger arm.

What have we learned from this Bears preseason?

-Jay Cutler is as good as advertised.

-Greg Olsen is ready for a break-out year.

-The secondary is in flux thanks to a slew of injuries. Who knows what we’re going to see?

-Rod Marinelli’s influence on the defensive line is obvious. Now it has to translate into pressure on the opposing quarterback.

-Tommie Harris may never be fully healthy again. I’m just saying.

-Lovie Smith taking over the defensive play-calling looks like a good decision.

-Speaking of Smith, he’s apparently ready to go with an abundance of youth at the wide receiver position. That could make or break the Bears offense this year.

-Offensively, things should be just fine. Chicago should put up over 20 points a game on a regular basis. The question mark is the defense. If they can prevent us from getting into a shoot-out, we’ll have a successful season. We don’t have the receivers to sling it all day long.

*Take all these notes with a grain of salt, it’s only preseason people!

Check back soon for the first installment of the Opening Drive for the 2009 Chicago Bears regular season, where I’ll examine the Sunday night opener against the Green Bay Packers.