Bears Blitz

Published by Daylon Morrison on July 24, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

With all the hype surrounding Jay Cutler, several key issues have been thrown to the wayside this offseason. As a die-hard Bears fan, I’m not only interested in the 2009-2010 season, but also the seasons that follow. So, without further ado, here are 10 things that will decide if the Bears are a dynasty or a dud in the coming decade:

10. Is Brian Urlacher finished?

At age 31, a premium, healthy linebacker could easily finish out his remaining years (the contract extension he signed last offseason keeps him wearing orange and blue through the 2012 season) while still playing at a reasonably high level.

Neck and back issues have fans worried that the days of Urlacher dominance have passed and he has become, at best, a shell of the former defensive wrecking ball he was in 2006. The team has career projects behind Urlacher and could take years to replace one of the more important positions in Lovie Smith’s antiquated cover-two defense.

9. Is this secondary for real?

We’ve been fooled in the past, and a lack of defensive line pressure isn’t the only reason this group has been tragic the last two seasons (Mike Brown being hurt didn’t help, although he was in for 15 games last season) Charles Tillman belongs at FS, Corey Graham was a corner last year, Josh Bullocks looked completely lost at times with the Saints, Al Aflava is yet another strong safety (no matter how physical Al may be, Jerry needed to draft a true free safety this offseason).

So, we’ve got Tillman who is chronically over-matched against the likes of Greg Jennings (Packers), Bernard Berrian (Vikings), and Calvin Johnson (Lions), all of whom are in our division, Vasher, who is suddenly seriously weakened by his lack of size, and Trumaine Mcbride, who seems to be an up-and-coming star at corner and who will likely take Vasher’s job within the next season or two.

Then there’s Manning, a return man who has been switched between nickel back and free safety so many times it has severely stunted his growth, Graham, a project at free safety who will likely take at least a season or two to develop into a solid starter, and Payne, an in-the-box coverage liability. 

Marcus Hamilton has been a bright spot at corner in OTA’s, but he was injury prone in college and got injured in his rookie season last year. Craig Steltz is another liability in coverage. It seems Steltz, Payne, and Bullocks all come with hard-hitting and coverage headaches. 

The only way this group works out is if Tillman can get help over the top from a reasonably talented and smart FS, Payne isn’t asked to drop back into coverage, Bullocks never sees the field, McBride takes Vasher’s job, Manning finds his niche at nickel back and isn’t moved back to FS, and rookie DJ Moore develops into a strong back-up with starter potential.

If Steltz or Bullocks takes the field this season at free safety, get ready to do some serious screaming at your TV.

8. Is Tommie Harris finished?

One scout said Harris had the body of a 35-year old pre-draft, and several teams had the young defensive tackle taken off their draft boards because of serious injury concerns.

Those teams have been proven right by Harris’s bum knee and inability to stay on the field long enough to be the disruptor he was in seasons past. If he can somehow regain form, this defense will dominate again.

Lovie Smith has said consistently that the three-technique defensive tackle position is what moves his questionable cover-two defensive, so we shall see. Marcus Harrison was a bright spot in a limited role last season as a rookie, and he could take Harris’s job by 2012—or at least a majority of his snaps.

7. Is Devin Hester a No. 1 wide receiver?

Count me as one of the minority that believes Hester will dominate for several years. He better soften his hands by 2015, as his elite speed will start to go as he approaches 30, but he will be a highlight reel for years to come.

If the cynics are right (they’re always quick to point out that he was a man without a position in college and spent his first NFL season learning the corner position), he could be a full-time return man again by 2012, but let’s hope he and Jay Cutler form a Montana/Young-to-Rice sort of connection.

6. Will a legit defensive end please stand up?

Seriously. ‘Wale hasn’t been the man we traded for (Marty Booker was a prime receiver when we made the trade), recording ten sacks only once in his five seasons as a Bear. Alex Brown plays like a man possessed at times and a man asleep at others, and Mark Anderson’s twelve-sack rookie season has proven to be a fluke.

Hopefully one of the no-name rookies Jerry drafted this season pans out, or its going to be another longggg season for the secondary and D-line.

5. Matt Forte, please, please stay healthy. Please?

Forte is the most important part of this offense. The Bears might be better off with Haine/Forte than Cutler/Jones, if we had to pick one to get injured. Knock on wood.

With Cutler opening up the playbook this season, Forte is going to destroy seven-man fronts and, with a healthy decade, he will go down as one of the greatest the NFL has ever seen. Its not the homer in me, I promise.

Forte has the size, speed, elusiveness, power, maturity, blocking, and smarts it takes to be a deity and a Godsend for the rest of his career. Hopefully he goes the Payton route and spends most of his career on the field and not on the IR and eventually retires as a Bear.

Kevin Jones is a great backup, but I cringe at the prospect of the Lions-castoff being asked to carry the full workload with, gulp, Garrett Wolfe and Adrian Peterson playing back-ups.

4. Will the young’uns on offense develop and stay healthy?

I will actually say this and not throw up in my mouth a little bit: the Bears can have a No. 1 offense for the next decade. No, seriously. The Jay Cutler/Greg Olsen/Matt Forte/Devin Hester connection could be the best thing to happen to Bear fans since the Brett Favre drama-festival made Packer’s fans everywhere cry.

With Cutler’s once-in-a-generation arm strength, Hester’s deep-threat ability, Greg Olsen’s size and speed, and Matt Forte’s blend of Westbrook-esque receiving ability and Payton-esque power, the Bears could become known as a serious offensive threat for years to come. Here’s hoping.

3. Can Jerry Angelo actually develop young offensive linemen?

Orlando Pace has two more good seasons, we hope, and Olin Kruetz isn’t the spry young jerk we’ve enjoyed watching punch and scream at opposing linemen for many seasons, so its time for Jerry to learn how to evaluate young talent.

Chris Williams better pan out, and Josh Beekman looks like the successor to Kruetz, but we need young depth and elite talent, not career stop-gaps and elderly cast-offs. Learn to evaluate all the positions on the field, Jerry.

2. Does Lovie Smith still deserve this job?

Yes, we went to the Super Bowl in 2006, and yes, we went to the playoffs in 2005, but the last two seasons have stunk of bad coaching, and Lovie makes such terrible halftime adjustments that I suspect he simply takes naps and groggily returns to passively watch the third quarter.

How about getting angry once in a while? I understand he has a Dungy-like coaching style, but some players don’t respond to it. That’s a problem. Sleepy also clings to game-plans and refuses to deviate away from what doesn’t work. He goes pass-heavy at the worst times, and vice-versa.

The absolute worst is his insistence on stocking his staff with his under-qualified slumber-party BFF’s. Excuse time is over, you have a real offense, and you’re calling the defensive plays.

I hope Jerry has the common sense to fire you after this season if you don’t win the division and a playoff game, especially if old-man Favre is tossing interceptions for the Vikings. Otherwise, you might both be out on your rears by 2011.

1. Jerry Angelo, have you finally become a real GM?

I never thought you had the stones to trade for Cutler and stock our line with able starters this season, plus you’ve done some damn good drafting in the past. That said, you’ve also done some terrible drafting.

Your habit of drafting project athletes over proven college talents is maddening, and just because a Hester-esque talent emerges every couple years doesn’t make you a good drafter, it makes you lucky.

Your starter/bust ratio is pathetic, and several of what initially looked like great picks turned out to be one or few-season wonders. Get better scouts and anchor a strong young offense with an elite line and draft defense later and smarter. Lance Briggs was a fourth-rounder, enough said.

Learn to recognize when your picks don’t pan out and cut your losses. Shoving Rex Grossman down our throats for six seasons set the franchise back…six seasons. Trading Thomas Jones to keep Cedric Benson was a joke and you spent that pick on another project, Dan Bazun.

Everyone makes mistakes, the sooner you recognize them and work to correct them, the more forgiving fans will be. Again, the time is now to stop drafting projects and supplement this young roster with proven talent. Now.