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Where do the Bears go from here?

By Bo Vandy | October 29th, 2007

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This team just isn’t very good. That has been evident for a while, but I, and I believe many other Bears fans have been denying the inevitable for a few weeks, hoping the team would magically flip a switch, and Voila! Chicago would look like the same team that rolled to the Super Bowl a year ago.

So following a 2nd loss to Detroit, this time in Chicago, and without Detroit getting the benefit of 34 4th quarter points, where do the Bears go from here?

It’s become obvious to everyone that Brian Greise is not the quarterback of the future. That was underlined by his Rex Grossmanlike 4 interceptions yesterday, with two of them in the Lions endzone. Heck, if the alternative was someone other than Grossman, Griese (9 TDs, 10 INTs) wouldn’t even be the quarterback of the present.

Cedric Benson appears to be shaping up quite nicely to be a huge bust, as he couldn’t manage as much as 70 yards for the 7th time in 8 games. Chicago dumped Thomas Jones, who ran for 1,300 yards in 2005, and 1,200 yards a year ago in order to hand the rock to Benson. Jones hasn’t exactly been lighting the world on fire with the New York Jets, but as bad as the Bears are, the Jets are much worse, and he’s still managed to run for 100 yards more than Benson.

Then there’s the receiving corps. As much as I like to see Tight Ends getting catches, the fact that our TE’s are the most productive receivers on the team speaks volumes about the talent of our receivers. Muhsin Muhammed is a shadow of his former self. After 3 straight seasons of 60+ catches, Moose is on pace for 38 this season. Bernard Berrian is growing into a very nice #2 receiver, the problem is, the team is counting on him as a #1, and his numerous drops on potential big plays has kept him from being that go-to guy they need so badly.

The defense has been up and down, although they allowed just 1 touchdown yesterday, and held the Lions to 16 points. Certainly in the NFL your team should be able to score more than 16 points. However, there have been several games this season where the offense has shown up, and the defense has disappeared. Injuries could be playing a large part in that, a new defensive coordinator could be too.

What’s clear is that this team has more holes than anyone thought when the season began, and it doesn’t appear that everyone is on the same page.

So what to do? Do the Bears pull a Celtics and go for the worst record in the NFC, thereby guaranteeing themselves a high draft pick, one which they could use on Brian Brohm? Or at 3-5, does this team try to make a run at 9-7 and a playoff spot? Is it wrong that my vote is for folding?
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This entry was posted on Monday, October 29th, 2007 at 12:39 pm and is filed under Brian Griese, Muhsin Muhammed, Chicago Bears, Thomas Jones, Rex Grossman, Cedric Benson, Game Recap. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

12 Responses to “Where do the Bears go from here?”

E-ROC says:

October 30th, 2007 at 7:58 am

What do u think of Garrett Wolfe as a starter? Sure, he is short in stature, but the kid has a lot to offer to the Bears. The Bears should use him more than Benson, IMO. What about trying Kyle Orton at QB? It can’t get any worst and he already knows the offense. The team might as well see what he has to offer before thinking about drafting a QB of the future next year.

Also, don’t forget about Andre Woodson, Dennis Dixon, Colt Brennan, and………….Donovan McNabb.
Bo Vandy says:

October 30th, 2007 at 10:00 am

E-ROC, the problem is, Benson is going to be the starter for the rest of this year, and probably next, simply because of the investment the Bears have made in him. Wolfe is a nice backup, but I don’t think he’s the answer either. Don’t let his numbers at Northern Illinois fool you, he’s not a 1,700 yard running back.

We saw what Orton could do a few years back. He’s a game manager, not a starting QB. If our running game wasn’t so abysmal, I’d say give him a shot, but I don’t want to see Orton throwing 40 times a game.

I’ll admit Woodson and Dixon would be nice grabs, though Brohm is still my #1, but I think Colt Brennan is just the Western version of any Texas Tech quarterbacks the last decade.

And I think we’d be getting Donovan a little too late in his career, but he would certainly be an improvement over the G-Men (Grossman, Griese)
E-ROC says:

October 30th, 2007 at 11:29 am

Wolfe isn’t a bruiser and he won’t carry the 25 times. With that said, he has good vision and can catch the football out of the backfield. Benson can pound the rock later in games. But u’re right, the investment in Benson won’t make that possible.

I wouldn’t dismiss Colt Brennan so easily. Yes, he plays in a very weak conference and in an offense that scripted for success, numbers wise at least. Brennan does show characteristics that might show well in the NFL. He’s at least worth a look along with that QB from Texas Tech. We can’t forget about Chad Henne. Would u draft Mike Hart?
Mick Miller says:

October 30th, 2007 at 3:17 pm

benson is a 4th overall pick and is paid as such. It had to be the deciding factor in dealing Jones, as we know it wasn’t production.

Wolfe is a specialist in my view, as blitz pick-up is major for a back to be able to do. He is so small, I don’t know how that would work.

You couldn’t go wrong with Hart, tough, productive, and DOES NOT FUMBLE. Henne seems to be done progressing, as he seems to have been the same player for four years at Michigan.
Bo Vandy says:

October 31st, 2007 at 1:51 pm

You can’t go wrong with Hart, although hopefully the injuries he’s suffered this season aren’t the lingering kind, but honestly we’ll have no shot at Hart, we won’t draft another RB in the 1st round.

I don’t want any part of Henne unless it’s as an undrafted free-agent
Boo says:

November 1st, 2007 at 2:54 pm

Jones was dealt because Angelo had a deal in place with Jone’s agent prior to last season. Angelo promised that if Jones behaved like a good solider that Angelo would trade him. Angelo was simply keeping his word. Production and salary have nothing to do with the decision, it was made a year before it actually happened.
Patrick Patterson says:

November 8th, 2007 at 6:52 am

HEre’s to an injury free game between our teams on Sunday.
Patrick Patterson says:

November 12th, 2007 at 12:30 am

congrats on the win.
jon says:

November 13th, 2007 at 5:33 am

start A. Peterson
start Grossman
throw coordinator Turner in lake Michigan
then we should wim out
kelly says:

December 9th, 2007 at 1:42 pm

we all can point fingers at the QB position , but the bears have never had a great QB.!!!
rememeber what happened in pittsburgh a year atfer theier superbowl.. we need a solid running game maore than anything else ..i do think Mike Hart would be the answer ..defense wise ..Can anyone stop the passing game.. looking forward to the 2008 draft also ..Go Bears !!!!
brian bruner says:

December 11th, 2007 at 6:25 am

there’s always next year. I’ve been a fan for over 30
years, and I won’t give up now.
Ramon says:

December 12th, 2007 at 2:27 am

I just want to say that after following Colt Brennan this past season I think I have been more impressed by his ability to read defenses and deliver accurate strong throws than any other QB in college this year. With that being said I think he would be the perfect spark for the Bears offense and would develop into a great franchise QB the Bears so desperately need.