32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #26: The Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears have always been about the defense. They hit hard with furious anger and won’t stop playing until the whistle blows. The offense hasn’t been good in a long time. Not since the days of Walter Payton has this offense been about production. They can’t run the ball, they can’t pass the ball, they really can’t do anything with the ball. And then last year, the defense started to fall apart. How will the Bears be able to play this year without much production on either side of the ball?

The defense fell apart last year due to injuries. It was a defense that one year before was at the Superbowl. Last year, they just couldn’t get the job done. Not everything was bad, but they were not the same defense that took them to the NFC Championship. If the Bears can avoid the injury bug then this defense may be able to produce. They do have playmakers and those playmakers are a central figure to the impact this defense can make. Brian Urlacher will look to stuff the run at Middle Linebacker. Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher will look to defend the pass at cornerback and Mark Anderson will look to rush the passer. The playmakers need to be there and the rest of the defense needs to step up. The Bears were a major disappointment last year, that needs to be fixed.

The Chicago Bears lost two of their top wide receivers in Bernard Berrian and Mushin Muhammad.
The wide out position is one that needed to be addressed. The Bears did draft Earl Bennett out of Vanderbilt in the 2008 Draft. I for one thought they could have chosen a better wide receiver earlier in the draft, as there were no wide outs drafted in the first round. The Bears will field a few wide outs, none however with the talent of a Berrian or Muhammad. Mark Bradley Brandon Lloyd, Marty Booker, and the ultra fun to watch Devin Hester. Hester is very talented, but he is still learning the wide out position. He will as always been a huge threat on special teams. As I warn every team before the season begins and several times during the season, DON”T KICK IT TO DEVIN HESTER!!! The tight end position is headlined by Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen. Clark is a long time Bears tight end and will most likely get the ball, but Olsen is looking better and better each game and I believe he will play a big part in the Bear’s offense this year.

Last season, Cedric Benson stunk up the running back position. He was horrendous. The trading of Thomas Jones did not help this team at all. Benson was not the answer at running back. The other Adrian Peterson had his moments and was also a better receiver coming out of the backfield, but he was far from being a true starter in the NFL when Benson went down with an injury. One year later, The Bears have done away with Benson and have two young running backs ready to lead the charge. Last year’s rookie draft pick Garret Wolfe and this year’s second round draft pick Matt Forte. Forte is slated to be the starter of this team already in his rookie season. The other Adrian Peterson is also another option at running back, but again he is not a starter. He is a good backup.

We come to the most controversial position for the Bears, the quarterback position. Rex Grossman has been the absent talented Quarterback for the past two seasons. Despite the fact that some weeks Grossman plays very well, Good Rex, but most weeks he can’t even hold on to the ball, Bad Rex, The Bear’s have continued to start Grossman at the quarterback position. Last year, Grossman went down with an injury, but there was still no remedy to the position. This year, the position battle will once again feature Rex Grossman and his opponent will be Kyle Orton. Neither man is talented. Both have more flaws then they do pluses. I don’t think either man can lead this team to the playoffs. It seems almost impossible. Unless every other player on the team steps it up to a different level, its going to be really tough for the Bears to make it back to the playoffs with such bad options at quarterback.

The Bears open up the regular season with most likely a guaranteed loss against the Indianapolis Colts, the team that defeated the Bears in the Superbowl two seasons ago. In addition to that, they play in the NFC North with strong teams in Minnesota and Green Bay. It ‘s not going to be an easy year for the Bears at all. If there is some miracle going on, The Bears might have a chance at a wildcard spot in the playoffs, but I highly doubt it. The game of football is a strange one at times, but I think we can safely say the Bears will miss the playoffs. I think we will see the Bears drafting a quarterback in the 2009 Draft. Enough is enough and its time for a change. Grossman and Orton are not the answer. This team desperately needs the quarterback of the future today.