Top ten things we know about the Bears

By Danny Sheridan
Who would have thought that come this morning, the 3-2 Bears would be the team in Chicago that offers the most hope? Sorry, but the Sox have no chance of coming back to beat the Rays. After five games, here are ten things we know about the Bears.

10. Mike Brown is the difference maker on defense
His stats won’t blow you away, but Brown is clearly the one who takes this Bears defense from an average unit to one of the ten best in the league. Since 2005, the Bears are 18-6 in games that Brown has started. Their record is 18-15 without him in the lineup and they’ve given up almost seven more points per game. Having Brown’s leadership and experience back there allows the Bears to put an inexperienced player like Kevin Payne at the other safety spot. Now, we just have to hold our breath every time Brown is in on a tackle or anywhere near a pileup because of his history of fluke injuries. 9. Goal-line stand was a turning point
David Haugh pointed out this week how the Giants started 0-2 last season, only to make a late goal-line stand the following week to save their season. It’s premature to say the Bears stand against the Eagles will produce a similar result, but if the Bears had lost that game and fell to 1-3, this had all the makings of another 7-9 season. After giving away consecutive games to Carolina and Tampa Bay, the Bears defense finally stepped up in the fourth quarter just when it appeared Philly was about to take the lead, and probably the game. Moments like those are ones that define seasons. The momentum from stopping the Eagles three times inside the one-yard line certainly carried over to Detroit. 8. Ron Turner is still clueless
Lost in the thrashing of the Lions were back to back play calls early in the second quarter that once again showcased Turner’s ineptitude. If you know you’ve got two downs to get one yard, give the ball to Forte both times. On third and one at the Lions 15 yard line, the Bears called a play action pass with Jason McKie as the primary target. Then, on fourth and one, the Bears went for it, which was the right decision. With the Lions playing nine in the box and the Bears in an obvious running formation, Forte got stopped for no gain, and it was a turnover on downs. Although that obviously didn’t come back to haunt him, you’ve got to wonder what was going through Turner’s mind on that third down call. All season, especially in the Carolina game, Turner has failed to put the ball in his best player’s hands (Forte) in critical situations.
7. The receivers might not be the weak link
No one Bears receiver will keep opposing defenses up at night, but as a group, they’ve been a lot better than most of us expected. Brandon Lloyd, assuming he’ll be healthy, has done a complete 180 in Chicago, and looks very comfortable with Orton and Turner, his old college coach. Devin Hester and Rashied Davis still aren’t very polished, but both appear to be getting better and more confident each week. And then, you’ve got one of the better tight end tandems in Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark. Olsen cost the Bears a win against the Panthers, but if he’s used correctly, he could turn into a big time threat down the field. Veteran Marty Booker provides yet another option. 6. They need to stay healthy
Watching the fourth quarter of yesterday’s game, I was praying the Bears wouldn’t lose a key player to injury during garbage time. Look at the last two years for evidence on just how important it is for the Bears to stay healthy. In their run to the Super Bowl, the only important players they lost were Brown in week 6 and Tommie Harris in week 12. Last year, Brown, Nathan Vasher, and Dusty Dvoracek all missed basically the entire season, while Lance Briggs, Tommie Harris, Brian Urlacher, and Charles Tillman all either missed time or played at significantly less than 100%. Imagine the hit this team would take if Brown, Urlacher, Forte, or even Kyle Orton was lost with a serious injury. If we’re seeing guys like Daniel Manning, Corey Graham, Kevin Jones, and Rex Grossman playing regularly, that’s not a good sign. 5. Tommie Harris’s value is overstated
Even when he was healthy, Harris was never the dominant interior player most fans and analysts made him out to be. Jerry Angelo has to regret giving Harris that huge extension during training camp, because as one scout recently pointed out, the analysis on Harris before the 2004 draft was that “he had the body of a 35-year old.” Indeed, in each of the last three seasons, injuries have limited his effectiveness. Are the Bears a better team with Harris in the lineup? Absolutely. Is his absence as big a deal as everyone is making it out to be? Nope, not even close. There’s a lot of depth on the defensive line, with Dvoracek, Israel Idonije, Marcus Harrison, and Anthony Adams all capable of stepping up.4. Matt Forte is the real deal
Although he’s been held in check these last two games, Forte has superstar written all over him. He can make tacklers miss, catch the ball out of the backfield, block, and hasn’t fumbled once. Forte is a better version of Thomas Jones. Even as a rookie, he understands and respects the game, something Cedric Benson never did. My only concern is that the Bears don’t overuse Forte and risk wearing him down by late in the season. 3. The NFC North is wide open
With the Vikings and Packers both off to very slow starts, right now you’ve got to think the Bears have a legitimate shot of winning the division. Minnesota still scares me because they have a great running back and great line play, which is the foundation for being a winning football team. Let me put it this way: if the Bears want to get back to the playoffs for the third time in four years, they better plan on winning the division. Considering how strong the NFC East is, both wild card spots will likely come from that division (just like in 06 and 07), even with all four teams beating up on each other. A 10-6 record should be good enough, maybe even 9-7, to win the NFC North. 2. Kyle Orton is more than just a game manager
Remember back in the preseason when Orton and Grossman seemed to be neck in neck in the battle to start at quarterback? Barring an injury, we won’t see Grossman ever take another meaningful snap in Chicago. This isn’t the Orton from 2005 whose only job was to not make turnovers and let the defense take care of the rest. As we’ve seen these last two weeks, Orton can make plays down the field, which he has needed to do because the running game has been almost nonexistent. In fact, take away the second halves of the Carolina and Philadelphia games, and he’s played as well as any quarterback in the NFC. 1. Devin Hester needs to get going
The rib injury he suffered in week two might be part of the reason Hester hasn’t come close to breaking a return. Another part might be the fact he’s playing a much larger role in the offense. Also don’t overlook the loss of special teams ace Brendon Ayunbadejo, who always seemed to throw a key block whenever Hester took one to the house. Despite Hester’s slow start on special teams, the Bears are still averaging over 25 points a game, which no one could have predicted before the season. You can tell Hester has been a little too anxious, trying too hard to make something happen (see third quarter of Colts game or yesterday's fumble).