Cardinals – 41

Bears – 21

The Bears took the field today in a game that would likely determine what they were all about this year.  Instead of coming out of the gates and making a statement, the Bears defense came out looking unprepared and pathetic.  This scene has become all too familiar for Bears fans this year, as the Bears defense failed to stop the Cardinals offense on their first 6 possessions.  Once again, it appears that Lovie did not have his team ready to play when the game started.

Lovie is proving how ineffective he really is and that he has completely lost his players.  This was never more evident than when Tommie Harris punched a down Cardinal lineman on the fourth play of the game.  Tommie was subsequently ejected and will likely be fined and even suspended.  The Bears should consider suspending him for the rest of the season for his attitude today and his overall play this year.  He is worthless for this Bears team now.

Lovie Smith, like against the Bengals, did not have the defense ready to play.  The Cardinals came out and hit the Bears right in the mouth, scoring easily on the first drive.  The defense gave up first down after first down while the Cardinals league worst running game ran wild.  By halftime, the Cardinals had 21 first downs.  The Bears had 20 first downs in the game in which they had a good offensive performance.

Lovie also failed to call any double coverage on Larry Fitzgerald.  Instead, he left Charles Tillman alone to cover and get dominated by one of the best receivers in the league.  It is mind boggling how the Bears did not double Fitzgerald on even a few plays to try to slow him down.  With Lovie calling the shots on defense this year he needs to be held accountable because this defensive playcalling and execution is awful.  There are no excuses right now.  Lovie simply can’t get the job done as a head coach or defensive coordinator.

The Bears responded quickly after allowing the first touchdown though.  Jay  Cutler drove the Bears down the field and hooked up with Olsen on a beautiful pass in the end zone.  Ron Turner did not call a single run play on that drive and only ran the ball with Forte 5 times in the game.  However, the Bears defense was unable to hold onto the tie as the Cardinals again marched right down the field for an easy score.  The Cardinals continued to score on their next 4 possessions.

The only good thing from today’s game was the success of the passing game.  Cutler finished with a 98.6 rating, 369 yards, 3 touchdowns, and a pick.  Devin Hester and Earl Bennett each had over 90 yards receiving and Greg Olsen found the endzone for all 3 of the Bears touchdowns.  The young group of receivers combined with the talented Jay Cutler continues to improve ever week.  This will be a good group to watch in the upcoming seasons.

The Bears players should be embarrassed after today’s loss and about their recent performances lately.  The Bears have been blown out twice in the last 3 games and have a tough next 3 games ahead including a Thursday night game in San Francisco.  The Bears will only have 3 days off until then and they’ll have to make the trip out west.  Expect the Bears to look tired and unprepared again as they battle the 49ers.  After San Francisco, the Bears return home to face the Eagles and then head to Minnesota for the Vikings.  We could easily see the Bears with a 4-7 record after this stretch unless some big changes happen with the team.

Bears – 30

Browns – 6

After a disappointing loss to the Bengals last week, the Bears bounced back for an easy win against the Browns today.  The Bears defense played well against a pathetic Browns offense, forcing 5 turnovers, blocking an extra point, and returning an interception for a touchdown.  The Bears offense on the other hand proved they shouldn’t be feared by any team in the league.

Although they took the loss, the Browns defense gave the Bears problems in the trenches today.  Cutler was sacked 4 times and rarely had time to make good throws.  The Browns defensive line was consistently getting good pressure against the poor Bears O-Line.  Meanwhile, Cutler was taking an absolute beating and is lucky to have walked off the field alive.

Josh Beekman got the start at left guard over Frank Omiyale today but the offensive line still failed to get a good push against the opposition.  Forte managed to find the endzone twice but was held to just 3.5 yards per carry in the game.  However, he looked a bit quicker today than he had all season long.  Hopefully his explosiveness starts to return as the Bears try to get rolling in the second half of the season. The move to Beekman was long overdue as Omiyale looked pathetic for far too long this season.  This was the right move and

Overall, the Bears offense put on a mediocre performance.  Again, they struggled in the red zone and were forced to settle for field goals early on after taking the ball deep into Browns territory.  Although the team did a better job of protecting the ball in the redzone today, the playcalling and execution inside the 20 was just sad as the Bears scored only two touchdowns on six trips.  Ron Turner is really struggling to call effective plays when the Bears get near the endzone and that is really going to hurt the Bears in the long run this season.

Devin Hester continued to make great strides as a receiver, hauling in 7 catches for 81 yards.  He showed excellent hands and explosiveness as Jay looked towards him often throughout the game.  Hester has clearly emerged as the Bears go-to receiver this season.  His play has improved since the start of the season and it should only get better as the season continues.

On the defensive side, the Bears were in control all game long.  The Browns had success with the run but the Bears were able to contain the running game when necessary while completely shutting down the passing game.  Cleveland’s quarterbacks completed 7 of 20 passes for 74 yards and looked absolutely awful in the process.  Derek Anderson threw two interceptions.  Daniel Manning made a great diving catch on the first interception and Charles Tillman took the second one to the endzone.  Manning also forced and recovered a fumble, one of three fumble recoveries on the day for the Bears.  Daniel has been criticized in his career for his safety play but he can silence the critics with more performances like this.

The Bears were fortunate to get the Browns at home after two straight losses.  Although the Bears offense looked a bit lethargic against a pitiful Browns team, a win is a win and right now the Bears need them.  The team needs to step up their game next week however as the Cardinals come into town with a high powered pass offense.  The Bears secondary better be ready for Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.

Bears – 25

Seahawks – 19

A week after beating the defending Superbowl champion Steelers, the Bears looked to get on a roll with a tough match up in Seattle.  After falling behind 13-0 early in the game, the Bears got on track and battled back for a victory.

With the running game struggling again, Jay Cutler stepped up and threw 3 touchdown passes while completing 21 of 27 passes for 247 yards.  He finished with an excellent quarterback rating of 126.4 after overcoming an early interception off a tipped ball.  He saved his best for last however, as Cutler completed 5 of 5 passes for 60 yards and a game winning touchdown to Devin Hester during the 4th quarter.  Seattle got the ball back and had enough time to move the ball into Bears territory, but the Bears defense made the necessary plays to force a turnover on downs, sealing the victory for the Bears.

The Bears got good play from their receivers again today as Devin Hester and Earl Bennett both had productive games.  Hester took a throw from Cutler late in the 4th, broke through two defenders, and sprinted to the end zone for the 36 yard game winning score.  Greg Olsen as well was able to find the end zone to record his first touchdown of the year.  Johnny Knox also found the end zone again.  Hopefully both Knox and Olsen can continue their success throughout the season.

On defense, the Bears still have some room for improvement.  Seneca Wallace was consistently able to find wide open receivers with ease on third downs, allowing for easy conversions.  The Bears pass D needs to step up their game a bit if they want to become a force this season.  In addition, the defense needs to learn to wrap up the ball carriers.  Too many times Bears players were trying to strip the ball as the runner ran right through the tackles for extra yards.  Turnovers are great to have, but sure tackling is a necessity.  On that note, the Bears did force 2 turnovers via a Daniel Manning strip and a Lance Briggs interception.  Manning’s forced fumble came at a crucial point early in the third quarter as the Seahawks looked to expand their 13-7 lead.

Offensively, the line is simply not getting the Job done as they fail to open holes for Forte to run though.  They shouldn’t take all the blame though.  Matt Forte has not looked like the same back as he did in his rookie year.  In the limited times where he found some brief daylight, he seemed sluggish to accelerate and make progress.  Although he struggled to run the ball, he quietly finished with 106 total yards.

After a tough start to the season, the Bears should be very happy to come out 2-1 since things could have been a lot worse at this point.  Next week the Bears take on the Lions in Chicago as they look to improve to 3-1.

Packers – 21

Bears – 16

With so much anticipation and excitement surrounding the Bears season opener, could there be a more pathetic way to start off?  From the start Jay Cutler and the Bears offense looked rattled.  Cutler couldn’t pass, the line couldn’t block, and Forte had no room to run.  Meanwhile, the Bears defense looked excellent as they kept the team in the game the entire night.  The good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of the game are discussed here.

The Good:

Defense: The Bears defense played very well tonight due to the play of the D-Line.  Aaron Rodgers was pressured early and often as the Bears recorded multiple sacks including a safety for the team’s first points of the season.  Ogunleye was consistently creating pressure while recording 2 sacks and hitting Rodgers numerous times.

Robbie Gould: For lack of other good aspects tonight, Robbie Gould gets the nod here.  He was perfect on two attempts, both of which gave the Bears the lead.  It’s always to see Robbie drilling kicks with perfect accuracy each and every week.

The Bad:

O-Line Blocking: Matt Forte could not find a hint of daylight tonight and Cutler faced pressure all night long.  Omiyale looked awful tonight as him and Orlando Pace were eaten alive all night on the left side.  The offensive line looked horrible tonight and must improve if the Bears are too be successful.

Jay Cutler/Receivers: The Bad Jay was clearly present in the first half tonight, throwing 3 horrendous interceptions.  2 could be credited to miss-communication and receiver error, but nevertheless they were bad throws.  Jay needs to learn when to eat the ball and not make the risky throw.  With these inexperienced receivers, risky throws are not going to have a happy ending very often.  Cutler seemed to settle down in the second half when he hooked up with Devin Hester for a 36 yard touchdown pass.  However, he quickly threw an interception on the first play of an attempted game winning drive to finish with 4 picks on the night.

Nathan Vasher: Vasher blew the coverage late in the game as Aaron Rodgers hit a wide open Greg Jennings for a game winning score.  Nathan Vasher needs to be benched. Also, he is officially stripped of the nickname, “the Interceptor.”  The old Vasher is gone and he isn’t coming back.  When your starting corner back stumbles on his most crucial coverage of the game, you know it is time to take him out.  What is the harm in putting in Zakary Bowman or Corey Graham?  They could not possibly be any worse than Vasher.

The Ugly:

Ron Turner Play Calling: Turner relied heavily on the pass early tonight as he failed to utilize the running game early.  Having a big arm quarterback does not mean the team needs to abandon the run.  Running the ball helps win games and in tonight’s case, might have resulted in less picks for Cutler.

Partick Mannelly: If long-snappers made the Hall of Fame, Mannelly would have been a certain first ballot entrant.  Until now.  Tonight he made possibly the most bonehead play any Bears fans have ever seen, and that says a lot.  With the Bears in their own territory on a 4th and long, Mannelly tried to take advantage of the Packers having 12 men on the field by quickly snapping the ball to the personal protector, Garrett Wolfe.  That 12th man had left the field prior to the snap and Wolfe ran for a handful of yards before being tackled.  Then, challenge happy Lovie Smith made his second bad challenge of the night and contested that the Packers had 12 men on the field.  The play stood as called and the Packers took over, leaving Bears fans everywhere scratching their heads and shouting obscenities.

Nathan Vasher: Vasher is both bad and ugly out there on the field.  It is as simple as that.

The Injury Bug: The Bears suffered some bad injuries tonight.  Pisa Tinoisamoa left the game early with a knee sprain and Urlacher soon followed with a dislocated wrist.  Desmond Clark went down as well later in the game but he said after the game he should be fine.  Trumaine McBride also went down with a knee sprain.  The key here are starting linebackers Urlacher and Tinoisamoa.  Comcast SportsNet just reported Tinoisamoa is suffering from a similar injury to Greg Olsen last year where he missed about 3 weeks.  Hopefully that is the worst it is for Tinoisamoa.  Regarding Urlacher, he needs to do whatever it takes to be out there next week.  However, early reports indicate he may need surgery.  This is obviously bad news and a big blow to the Bears defense if true.

With the exception of good defensive play, this was a really ugly game for the Bears.  This makes one wonder what the Bears were doing all preseason long.  So many of these mistakes tonight should have been worked out weeks ago.  Receiver/QB miss-communication is unacceptable when they have 4 exhibition games and all of training camp to work this out.

The Bears need a quick bounce back win next week, but unfortunately they take on the Superbowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.  The Bears have the home field this time and the Steelers will be without the elite Troy Polamalu, but this is still a very difficult game for the Bears.  The Steelers are a good team where ever they play and they have enough talent on defense without their star safety to still cause problems for the Bears.

There is no need to panic just yet, but there are big improvements to be made for next week and for the remainder of the season if the Bears want to be competitive.

It feels like forever but finally the Bears will again take the field for regular season action.  Tomorrow’s prime time showdown will feature the best rivalry in the NFL as the Bears travel to Lambeau Field to take on the Packers.  This week 1 match up is crucial for both teams as both are expected to compete for the top of the division.  Expect this game to be an offensive battle as both teams have their problems on defense.

This game will provide immediate insight on how the Bears secondary can play against a high powered passing attack.  With Aaron Rodgers at the helm of a talented and proven receivers corp, this Packers offense will be difficult to stop by the Bears weak secondary.  If the Bears can get a solid pass rush on a weak Green Bay offensive line, the secondary will certainly have an easier day.  This is absolutely a key to victory tomorrow.

On the offensive side the Bears should be able to run wild against the Packers.  Look for Matt Forte to have a big day on the ground as he gashes through the Packers new 3-4 defense like it’s nothing.  Maintaining a solid running game and thus keeping the defense on their toes will open the doors for Jay Cutler to look downfield for some nice completions.

Another important issue to watch for tomorrow is the play of the Bears wide receivers.  One of the WRs needs to step up and emerge as a legitimate go to receiver.  Greg Olsen will certainly be Cutler’s go to guy this season but defenses will key in on that quickly, leaving Cutler to look elsewhere.  Earl Bennett will likely be the one who steps up and solidifies himself as a wide receiving threat in key situations.  He looked good in preseason action while Cutler looked his way often.

Special teams will also be key in tomorrow night’s matchup.  The Bears are consistently excellent on special teams play and they get the edge here.  If Devin Hester can re-emerge as an elite returner, look for him as an X-Factor tomorrow.

The Pick:

Both teams should be able to put up some points with high powered offensive attacks tomorrow.  While the Packers passing attack will likely expose the Bears defense, the Bears D will make the necessary plays late in the game in order to seal a victory.  This game will be a close offensive battle, but the Bears get the edge on defense in this one and that will be the deciding factor in what would otherwise be a even match up.  The Bears defense may not be great but they get the edge on the Packers.

Bears – 31

Packers – 27

Bears- 17

Giants- 3

What a difference one week and two offensive starters can make.  After another week of practice the Bears took the field, this time with Matt Forte and Greg Olsen in the starting lineup.  The improvements from last week were noticeable right from the start.  The Bears third offensive play featured Cutler hooking up with Earl Bennett with an absolute strike on 3rd and long to pick up a first down.

The Good:

Jay Cutler: Cutler finished up completing 8 of 13 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown.  He threw a few risky passes and one almost ended up in an interception, but overall he had an excellent performance.  Also, while rolling out, he hurled a ball 60+ yards to a wide open Devin Hester who misjudged the ball and could not catch up to it as it landed incomplete.

Earl Bennett: Bennett finished up with 2 catches for 42 yards and looked like a legitimate #1 receiver throughout his time on the field.  His first reception was the previously mentioned strike from Cutler on 3rd down and his second catch was just as impressive as Cutler was rolling out.

Matt Forte: Forte was back in action tonight after missing last week’s game but he seemed to pick up right where he left off last season.  He broke through for 2 great carries of 17 and 32 yards (TD) and finished up with 9 carries for 58 and that one touchdown.  He seemed to have the same great vision that led to his success last year and also brought in a 9 yard reception.

Offensive Line: The run blocking looked poor at first but quickly improved to provide great holes for Forte to run through.  In pass protection they were just as good, providing plenty of time for Cutler to make his throws.

Defense/Defensive Play Calling: It looks like Lovie Smith called a great game on D tonight.  The Giant’s starters could not get anything going on offense aside from a few good Brandon Jacob runs.  There was consistent pressure from the D-line, especially from Alex Brown and Adawale Ogunleye.  Brown forced Eli Manning to fumble early on as he came around behind him on the rush and tipped the ball out of his hand.  Eli also was not able to find wide open receivers on short routes each time he dropped back.  Overall it was a great performance by the D as they allowed only 3 points in the game.

The Bad:

Devin Hester: There seemed to be some miscommunication between Cutler and Hester on a 3rd down in Giants territory early in the game.  It appeared that Hester broke the wrong way on a comeback route and Cutler threw it wide of him.  Later, as mentioned previously, a wide open Hester misjudged a deep pass thrown by Cuter.  This is unacceptable for a “#1 receiver.”  Hester continues to look lost while running routes and tonight he was clearly outperformed by Earl Bennett.

Brian Urlacher: On two instances early in the game Urlacher was ran over by Brandon Jacobs.  While Brandon Jacobs is an absurdly huge running back, Urlacher is no slouch himself.  He needs to be the guy who can bring down those big backs instead of getting trucked like it’s nothing.

Overall this was a great performance by the Bears.  The offense seemed to gel nicely with Cutler at the helm and the defense looked to have their act together as well as they wreaked havoc upon the Giants offense.  There is still room for more improvement before they take the field next week in Denver and hopefully the Bears bring the same intensity then as they face off against former Bear Kyle Orton.

Bills- 27

Bears- 20

This new weekly piece will cover the Bears latest game and basically touch on the good and bad points in the game.

The long awaited first preseason Bears game came, went, and disappointed many.  When the game finally ended the Bears left with lots of room for improvement and a 27-20 loss.  This specific piece will focus on the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of tonight’s loss.

The Good:

Al Afalava

The rookie safety lived up to his brief hype tonight.  While he wasn’t tested much in pass coverage, he consistently broke quickly to provide run support and even made a great stop in the trenches while shedding a block.  He started the game and most of his action came against the Bills first team offense.  Right now there seems to be great potential for him at a position that the Bears need strong production out of.

Brian Urlacher

Simply put, Urlacher looked fast.  He seems to have regained the burst that he seemed to have lost the past two seasons.  Hopefully this continues throughout the season as he provides a dominant force at the middle linebacker position.

Caleb Hanie

Hanie completed 8 of 11 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown after taking over for Cutler in the second quarter.  After Brett Basanez went 3 for 11 with a touchdown and 3 picks, Hanie has likely solidified himself as the number 2 quarterback unless Basanez greatly outplays him the next 3 weeks.  However, Basanez’s touchdown pass was a great throw and probably the best of the night from any QB.

The Bad:

Defensive pass rush

The Bears pass rush seems to have picked up right where it left off last year.  They just weren’t getting the push needed to consistently put pressure on the Bills QBs.  This in turn freed up the receivers as the Bills QBs were able to complete 29 of 34 passes.  Preseason or not, allowing 85% completions is not acceptable.

Devin Hester

Hester hauled in 2 catches for 22 yards in one quarter of action.  I certainly didn’t expect much from him in one quarter so his receiving numbers are not what concerns me.  In fact, he looked good on a deep route over the middle that resulted in a 20 yard catch from Cutler.  The problem with Hester in tonight’s game was his resistance to go up and try to prevent a Cutler interception.  On the Bears’ second offensive possession, Cutler tried to go deep but came up a bit short and Hester had to stop and come back for the ball a bit.  This made an easy interception for Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin.  However, Hester did nothing to prevent the pick.  He simply stood there and looked the ball into McKelvin’s hands.  In this situation where a pick is likely because of a poor throw, Hester needs to spring into action and play defender.  He needs to at least jump and try to get a hand up there to bat it down.  That was pathetic.

The Jay Cutler Pick

Cutler can’t be criticized too much after only one quarter of sub par QB play, but the interception he threw was pretty awful.  The ball was badly under thrown which angers me because Cutler has been advertised to have “the arm to make all the throws.” Over the long haul though this will probably work out and he will hit that pass more times than not.  For the time being however, that throw was just plain bad.

Defensive Coordinator Lovie

Like said previously, the defense seemed to pick up right where it left off last season.  However, Bears fans were put at ease when after the 2008 season Lovie Smith assumed all defensive playcalling responsibilities.  Well, tonight’s game showed no improvements over the play calling from last year.  The same bend but don’t break scheme seemed to be in effect while the Bills just picked the Bears apart with the short slant routes.  Gameplans for first preseason games are generally limited if anything at all, but Lovie again showed no signs to make adjustments mid game and move away from what wasn’t working.

The Ugly:

Offensive Coordinator Ron Turner

Calling pass after pass after pass after pass is not the way to win football games.  The first series of the game opened with 3 straight pass plays.  Turner now has Cutler to play with on the field but that does not mean he should abandon the run game.  The Bears threw the ball 32 times and only ran it 17 times.  This is not a winning formula.  In addition, Jeff Joniak mentioned early in the 4th quarter that out of 11 offensive possessions, 8 went for either zero or one first down.  It seems like Turner was trying stretch the field too often instead of picking up first downs and moving the chains slowly.  Again, this is not a recipe for success on offense.  Moving the chains is the key to keeping the defense rested as well.

After tonight, Jay Cutler does not fall into any category.  He was neither good, bag, or ugly.  He disappointed many but people need to remember that this was only the first season game.  When Cutler gets to play a full game we will all see his full potential and see the quarterback he is cabable of being and has been in the past.

The Bears PR Machine has been painting a beautiful picture of the Bears training camp work so far.  However, according to a story at Midway Illustrated, the Bears continue to struggle on some fronts and still need improvement on important aspects.  Brett Solesky at Midway Illustrated mentions that wide receiver Devin Hester is struggling to get off the jams and also struggling with some catches.  In addition, Jay Cutler been consistently throwing interceptions in camp while Adewale Ogunleye seems unmotivated.  While it is still early in camp, I’m glad that someone is pointing out that players are under performing and that there is room for improvement.

Cutler’s interceptions don’t worry me too much.  He’s a gunslinger and likes to take risks with his throws but so far in his career the positive results have outweighed the interceptions.  If that continues, I don’t see any problems with him throwing some interceptions as long as he is throwing touchdowns and keeping his TD:INT ratio up a bit.

As for the rest of the players that are struggling, there is still plenty of time for improvement.  But regarding Ogunleye, his lack of motivation may be a big problem come the regular season.  Hester just needs to focus on catching Cutler’s high velocity throws while learning how to get off the line at the snap.

Again, there is still plenty of time left in training camp but it is still good to see someone point out that the Bears still have their struggles.

The big day is finally right around the corner.  Tomorrow, July 31, the Bears report for their first practice of the long anticipated training camp.  With training camp come numerous questions that surround the Bears team this year.  Here are a few things to look out for this training camp:

1. Jay Cutler. This one is a no brainer.  Every single Bears fan has been itching to see him in full practice.  We know he can play ball, but is he going to be able to lead this offense to a playoff caliber?  Even with the lack of receivers, he still has some weapons in Matt Forte and Greg Olsen.   Cutler and Olsen have already developed a good relationship, and hopefully that continues onto the field.  If so, we could see Greg playing in the pro bowl this year.  The other question, will Cutler be able to get a lot out of the Bears inexperienced receivers?  A good quarterback can get good production out of mediocre receivers and the Bears are going to need that for success.  Devin Hester should be in for a decent year but more important is to also get production from the 2 and 3 receivers.  If Cutler can get these young guys going, us fans are in for a treat this season.
2. Defensive Line. A key to the Bears defensive success is the defensive line.  Last season, there were countless third and longs that were converted simply because the Bears could not produce a good pass rush.  This off-season they have brought in Rod Marinelli to coach the D-line.  The success on defense starts with the line and hopefully Marinelli can get them moving in the right direction.  Tommie Harris is another important factor.  If healthy, he can be an absolute monster.  The problem is at time he doesn’t seem to be giving a full effort.  This season, he needs to get down to business and cause havoc in those trenches so our LBs and secondary can have it a bit easier.  Similarly, the ends need to be more of a dominant force.  Alex Brown led the team with 6 sacks last season and Ogunleye totaled 5.  Both of them need to be getting to the quarterback more to take pressure off the rest of the defense.
3. Brian Urlacher. How is Brian Urlacher going to perform this season?  It has been reported that he is close to the best shape of his career, but how much of that is simply a product of the “Bears PR Machine?”  Regardless, Urlacher needs to perform at a high level this season and the defense performance highly depends on it.  If Urlacher can get back to pro bowl form and the defensive line improves, this defense will be tough to beat.
4. Secondary. With Tillman already expected to miss some training camp action at the least, the Bears secondary is even weaker than previously advertised.  Nathan Vasher needs to stay healthy and get back to his old ballhawk form, otherwise it is time to place him on the bench and let some of the younger players get some time.  The safety position is where I feel the Bears are weakest.  Kevin Payne is serviceable, but he needs to learn to wrap up a ball carrier and not go for the knockout hit each time.  Daniel Manning is slated to start training camp at free safety.  He has great athletic ability, but that does not make up for his lack of skill and instincts at the safety position.  They also plan to move him to the nickel position and move Steltz to free safety on passing downs.  I like Steltz but have too many memories of him getting run over by running backs, both last season and at LSU.  If he is going to be in on passing downs, he needs to display good instincts and a nose for the ball otherwise teams will pick him apart.  Last season the Bears ranked 30th in pass yards allowed.  If that doesn’t improve they will be in for a very long season.
5. Offensive Line. With the addition of Orlando Pace, the Bears definitely improved the line this year.  If he can stay healthy and Chris Williams succeeds on the other side, this line should be more than enough to open holes for Forte and protect Cutler.  Josh Beekman will battle Frank Omiyale for the left guard spot.  Who is the answer here?  Beekman started all 16 games last season but he really needs to step up his game or he risks losing his job.  The left guard options are not ideal, but the rest of the line should be solid enough to hold up and do its job well overall.

Of course there are other areas to focus on in training camp, but those previous 5 are worth keeping an eye on as well.

Also, keep an eye on the potential rift between Urlacher and Cutler.  Matt Williams at Blog Chicago Sports thinks that it is no big deal if the two stars hate each other.  Personally, I disagree and feel that they need to get along in order to bring success to the team.  Matt says as long as the Bears can win, who cares if they don’t play nice.  Very true.  But, I don’t think winning will come easily if the two are at odds with each other.  They need to get their act together and do what is best for the team.  Get along, play hard, and win.  It is a team effort out there after all.

The NFC North division is wide open right now, and it really does seem like the Bears have the best chance at winning it.  They have the quarterback, the running game, and a defense that plays good enough to win ball games.  No other team in the division has all of those key areas figured out.  The Packers will be lucky to play any good defense this year with the switch to the 3-4 and the Vikings QB situation is reminiscent of the Bears in years past.

Good luck to the Bears in camp.  Let’s hope the injury bug stays away so we can hit the ground running with all our starters on the field.  Bear down!

Although he is entering the season as the Bears primary receiver, Devin Hester is especially excited and eager to return kicks.  Most importantly, he is looking to bounce back from his 2008 season where he failed to return any kicks back for touchdowns.

According to a recent article on ChicagoBears.com, Hester is going to try to benefit from more experienced special teams blockers this season.  Also, he is striving to focus on more north/south running.

Running north might be the most important thing for Hester to focus on this season in the return game.  Last season, it was obvious he was trying to break a long return each time by cutting sideways too often and dancing all over the field, only to lose 3 yards and or fumble the ball.  According to the article, Devin agrees that more northbound running is the key, but let’s see if he can stick to that game plan.  I certainly don’t expect him to break a touchdown on each return as I would rather see him pick up a few yards each time, and maybe then find some space in the open field.

In other Bears news, training camp is 10 days away.  I have never in my life been this excited for a Bears season to begin.  There is just such a great buzz surrounding the team, almost all due to the Jay Cutler acquisition.  This is a big season for sure.  The fans have high expectations, and jobs may be on the line if the Bears fail to live up to the expectations.