Top Ten Questions About the Bears

By Danny Sheridan
Halfway through the season, the Bears are “NOT who we thought they were.” Offensively, they’ve been a big surprise, while defensively they’ve been a disappointment. It has made for an exciting first eight games though. Here are 10 questions that will go a long way in determining whether the Bears will win the NFC North for the third time in the last four years.

10. Will injuries end up ruining the Bears season? Obviously the big concern is Kyle Orton, but losing Mike Brown for any length of time would be a serious blow as well, especially when you consider the candidates to replace him are Danieal Manning and Craig Steltz. Brandon Lloyd, Tommie Harris, Nathan Vasher and Hunter Hillenmeyer are all either out or playing at significantly less than 100%. Every team has to deal with injuries at some point, but when you’re talking about a Pro-Bowl corner, an All-Pro defensive tackle, your best receiver, the leader of your defense, and your starting quarterback, that’s a lot to overcome.
Verdict: No. Orton, Lloyd and Brown should all be back soon, and Harris and Vasher are still pretty good players, even at 70%.

9. Who is the Bears most underrated player? Where would the Bears be right now without John St. Clair and John Tait? The entire offensive line has been great, but it was the tackle positions that had people most worried at the beginning of the year. St. Clair was a journeyman who only got a chance because of Chris Williams’ injury, while Tait was coming off a down year in 2007 and getting up there in age. Both have helped turn the O-line from a perceived weakness before the season into quite possibly the team’s greatest strength. In all but one game, the Bears have allowed two sacks or less.
Verdict: Tie between Tait and St. Clair. Charles Tillman a close third.

8. Does Jerry Angelo regret not signing another QB this off-season? How good would someone like Kurt Warner, Byron Leftwich, Daunte Culpepper, or Chris Simms look in a Bears uniform right now? Well, a lot better than Rex Grossman, that’s for sure. Even resigning Brian Griese would have been a lot wiser move than bringing Grossman back to compete for a starting job that he had no chance of winning. To think that Rex could be the one who determines the direction this season will take is just downright scary.
Verdict: Uuh yes, but at least it appears Orton will be back sooner than expected.

7. Will Devin Hester turn back into Devin Hester? This might be the first time ever that two newspaper columnists in the same city (Greg Couch and Rick Morrissey) each wrote a column the same week about the struggles of a kick returner. What’s really amazing is that the Bears are averaging 28 points a game with Hester averaging just 21 yards on kick returns and only six on punt returns.
Verdict: No. Hester looks like he still hasn’t recovered from the rib injury he suffered in week two, and learning how to play receiver has taken away a lot of his focus. Also, his teammates on special teams have forgotten how to block for him.

6. Who is the favorite in the NFC North? Don’t let the 4-4 record fool you. Green Bay could very easily be 7-1 (gee that sounds familiar), and Aaron Rodgers seems to be getting better each week. Donald Driver and Greg Jennings are the second best 1-2 receiver combination in the league, and the defense will get better with Al Harris returning after missing six weeks.
Verdict: Green Bay.

5. Will the pass rush improve… and soon? The search party has been out for a while for Tommie Harris, Adewale Ogunleye, and Mark Anderson. Combined, they have only three sacks on the season, which is crazy when you think about this: after the first five weeks of the 2006 season, Harris and Anderson had 12 sacks between them. You can have Champ Bailey and Asante Samuel as your corners, but if you don’t get a consistent pass rush, you’re not going to be a top ten defense, which the Bears clearly aren’t right now.
Verdict: No. The Bears coaches are too stubborn to start blitzing more, and the front four isn’t good enough to get pressure by themselves.

4. How will the Bears respond to Rex? Desmond Clark, one of the team leaders, said this after it was learned that Orton would miss 3-4 weeks: “I don’t want to be prepared for that. Nothing against Rex, but Kyle was playing at an elite level.” It makes you wonder how the rest of the team will respond with Rex now calling the shots. Based on last year, we shouldn’t be optimistic. You need your quarterback to have confidence and show leadership, two things Orton had done.
Verdict: Not well. If you think the team lacks confidence in Rex now, just imagine what their response will be if he plays poorly and throws a few picks against the Titans.

3. What has been the best and worst moment of the season so far? A lot of options to choose from on both sides. Certainly the goal-line stand against the Eagles was memorable, as was the 48 points the Bears put on Minnesota. On the opposite end, the Bears have suffered probably the two toughest losses of any team in the league. Deciding to squib kick against the Falcons and making Griese look like Tom Brady will not be forgotten either, but for the wrong reasons.
Verdict: Best- Goal-line stand against the Eagles. Worst- Last 11 seconds of the Falcons game.

2. What’s the most important thing going forward? Even when Orton gets back, the Bears need to emphasize running the football. Matt Forte can’t have games where he gets less than 20 carries. Another thing to watch: Brian Urlacher needs to play better. Simple as that. Right now, he’s very average.
Verdict: Memo to Ron Turner: Establish the run first and good things will happen.

1. Should Kyle Orton play this week if he says he is ready? Orton provided a shock around Halas Hall when he said yesterday he was hopeful he could play this week. It’s great news to hear Orton is making a very speedy recovery, but unless he’s completely 100%, which is highly doubtful, don’t play him. It’s not worth it. Even a healthy Orton would be in for a long day against the Titans superior defense.
Verdict: No. As much as I dislike Rex, start him against the Titans this week and the Rams next week. Then, Orton should be fully ready to go in critical back to back road games against the Packers and Vikings.