09/03/2008 10:59 AM -
(Andy Benoit, TSN, from his Bears 2008 Preview)
The Chicago Bears have two divisions: the one they share with Green Bay, Detroit and Minnesota, and the one between their offense and defense. It's the second one that kills their chances in the first.
Chicago's defense is as sturdy as the Sears Tower. The offense is as shaky as a Jenga tower. Each Sunday, defensive leader Brian Urlacher makes crowds gasp and cheer. Whoever is playing quarterback makes them gasp and boo. Or laugh. Urlacher's fellow linebacking partners (Lance Briggs and Hunter Hillenmeyer) smother the flats; the team's running backs are liable to get smothered.
The Bears defensive line features an interior presence, Tommie Harris, who moves the pile and blows up plays in the backfield. The offensive line boasts an inside force, Terrence Metcalf, who enlarges the pile and, also, blows up plays in the backfield. The d-line is deep enough for diving; the o-line is shallow enough for kindergarten swim lessons.
Cornerback Nathan Vasher has the quickness of an alley cat. Receiver Marty Booker has the quickness of an Alley, Kirstie. The rest of Chicago's secondary has been known to create big plays. The rest of Chicago's receiving corps has been known to create punting situations.
The offense and defense form a perfect antipode. Problem is, having a heavily weighted defense and a frail offense does not make perfect equilibrium. Instead, it makes for perfect inconsistency (see Chicago's 7-9 record last season). It also makes for vulnerability. What happens when injuries hit the defense? (Again, see 7-9.)
The Bears have always been known as a defensive team, but never has their offense looked so stark. The newly-ordained quarterback - Kyle Orton - was named the starter over Rex Grossman mostly because he proved closest to average in the preseason. Orton figures to still feel like a backup once he takes a close look at the talent lining up around him.
Bears GM Jerry Angelo had a busy offseason. Needing to revamp an offensive unit that ranked 27th in total yards, Angelo cleaned out Lovie Smith's fridge. He saw the expiration dates on offensive linemen Ruben Brown and Fred Miller and resolutely let them go (Miller was released and Brown, who missed the final eight games last year after shoulder surgery, was not re-signed). He released veteran receiver Muhsin Muhammad and chose not to bring back speedy but expensive free agent Bernard Berrian.
Later, to everyone's joy, Angelo recognized that non-achieving running back Cedric Benson had spoiled (a pair of DUI arrests killed the remains of Benson's reputation). Deciding that an immature, injury-prone, overpaid runner with a 3.8 career yards per carry average was expendable, Angelo dismissed the former No. 4 pick in May.
Aside from maybe Berrian, all of Chicago's personnel changes were initially applauded. But that was before people saw how the GM restocked the offense. Angelo replaced Miller with 14th-overall pick Chris Williams, a superb pass- blocker from Vanderbilt whose status is already uncertain due to a lingering back problem.
Angelo did not replace Brown with anyone. Instead, he opted to fill the vacant left guard spot with stale veteran Terrence Metcalf. To make up for Muhammad, Angelo busted out the Tupperware for some Marty Booker leftovers. Booker was with the team from '99-'03 and posted a pair of 1,000-yard seasons during that time. However, he has spent the last four years in Miami, where he never caught more than 55 passes in a season. The Dolphins--who, remember, won all of one game in '07--let the soon-to-be 32-year-old receiver go because they felt that his best days were behind him. Booker can still play, but he's a poor man's Muhammad.
To replace Berrian (who, by the way, joined division rival Minnesota), Angelo called on journeyman Brandon Lloyd. The 27-year-old wideout hails from the same faction as Cedric Benson. Blessed with highlight-reel talent, Lloyd's NFL career has never taken off, thanks to a bankrupt work ethic and an attitude bad enough to classify as a 'tude. Lloyd played for offensive coordinator Ron Turner at Illinois, so the hope is that a quasi-homecoming can inspire him. Finally, to replace Benson, the Bears tapped second-round rookie Matt Forte (who was likely to capture the starting running back job even before Benson's dismissal). Chicago is hoping Forte can perform well enough to make people forget that less than two years ago, they traded away Thomas Jones. Veteran running back Kevin Jones was also signed, but he's not fully recovered from a torn ACL.
Bad as the offense is, Angelo has done the best job he can. Take a look at Chicago's defense. This past offseason, the GM wisely re-signed three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs (six-years, $36 million, with $13 million guaranteed). And he prevented the league's best defensive tackle, Tommie Harris, from becoming a free agent next season by awarding the fifth-year star the most lucrative defensive lineman contract in history (four years, $40 million, with $18 million guaranteed and $27 million in the first three years). Finally, Angelo acquiesced on the demands of linebacker Brian Urlacher by giving the future Hall of Famer a renegotiated contract that included $18 million in new money.
It's no wonder the Bears did not have the resources to retool the offense. What they must do now, oddly enough, is embrace their imbalance. Just two years ago they rode their sledgehammer defense to the Super Bowl (granted, the offense they had then wasn't quite this bad). If they lean on their "D" and continue to get a boost from Devin Hester and the special teams, Chicago has an outside chance at conjuring some success in 2008. But there are a lot of flaws on the shallow side of the ball.
