Chicago Bears: 12 Winners and Losers from Preseason Week 1

Last year the Bears went 0-4 in preseason games and yet went on to win 11 games during the regular season. So, Saturday night's 10-3 victory over the Bills is not something to get excited about.

But it was interesting to watch players match up against real competition (though calling Buffalo "real competition" may be a slight exaggeration).

Meanwhile, there were Bears players who were "winners"—that is, players who increased their stock—and "losers"—players whose performance left something to be desired.

While the ever-evolving depth chart will get clearer each week, some guys are fighting for their football lives. Try telling an undrafted free agent rookie that these are meaningless exhibition games and they will look at you as if you've lost your mind.

So let's take a look at the winners and losers from Week 1, and try and extrapolate what this means for the Bears going forward.

Come join me, will you?  

Winner: Kahlil Bell

Kahlil Bell may have assured himself of making the roster with his performance Saturday night.

Bell was part of a very effective rushing attack for the Bears. He gained 73 yards on just 13 carries against Buffalo. And, as usual, he was very physical.

Bell can also play special teams, enhancing his value. If he continues to run like this, expect that Bell will make the final roster.

Loser: The Offensive Line

I could have nominated left tackle J'Marcus Webb for this honor, but instead I'll include the entire offensive line. Collectively, they gave up nine sacks on the night.

Four of the five linemen are playing new positions, and Chris Williams is the only guy playing the position he ended with last season. But he is bad, so that is not necessarily a good thing.

Mike Tice is a good line coach, but he can't work miracles. Two things that make me go "hmmm": Will they try Gabe Carimi at left tackle if Webb continues to falter? And, how long before they use Chris Spencer behind center and slide Roberto Garza over to guard?

Look, there is no cause for panic yet. But if changes aren't made and this unit doesn't improve, we will not see the real Mike Martz offense.

This unit can run block, but they are deficient in pass blocking. Which means one of two things have to happen: One, they get better. Or two, Jay Cutler needs to get rid of the ball more quickly.

And the second option is not what Martz wants.

Winner: Marion Barber

Marion Barber took advantage of the compromise the Bears apparently made with Matt Forte. The Bears running back, who wants a contract extension, agreed to suit up Saturday but did not carry the ball. Instead, he caught a shovel pass for one yard.

So Barber and Bell carried the load, and both took advantage of the opportunity.

While Barber is a lock to make the team, unlike Bell, he looks to be the punishing runner in short yardage situations that the Bears hoped Chester Taylor would be last season.

Barber averaged 6.4 yards per carry, rushing for 45 yards on seven carries.  

This could make a loser out of our next guy...

Loser: Chester Taylor

Chester Taylor may be a loser, but it's not because of anything he did, or did not, do on Saturday night.

The arrival and performance of Marion Barber may mean that Taylor becomes a preseason causality. Last year, the Bears kept four running backs, but I only expect them to carry three this year.

Matt Forte and Barber are two of the backs, and Kahlil Bell, who can contribute on special teams, is looking like the third back. That leaves no room for Taylor, who had a terrible year in 2010.

It wasn't much of a night for Taylor, who only ran the ball three times while gaining three yards, all of them on one play.

Winner: Johnny Knox

Knox seems to have fallen out of favor as a wide receiver, but his play on special teams was a bright spot for the Bears on Saturday.

It is a credit to Knox that he pushed aside trade rumors and the demotion to gain 97 all-purpose yards against Buffalo.

He only caught one pass (the only one thrown to him), but he returned a kick 70 yards  

Loser: Marcus Harrison

Marcus Harrison came into camp once again looking like a guy who needs to stay away from the cheeseburgers. Now he's injured again.

It shouldn't be a serious injury, but it's another setback for the Bears defensive tackle. Harrison suffered a stinger making a tackle in the second quarter.

He was listed as questionable and remained on the sidelines the rest of the game, where he was seen laughing with teammates.

It won't be so funny if he doesn't make the cut, however.

Winner: Amobi Okoye

Free-agent acquisition Amobi Okoye had two sacks in the first half and could earn additional playing time if he keeps performing like he did on Saturday.

Okoye is not a run stopper, but he gets upfield quickly and sacked Bills backups Brad Smith and Tyler Thigpen in the second quarter.

Photo credit

Loser: Corey Wootton

Defensive end Corey Wootton suffered a knee injury on the opening kickoff and didn't play the rest of the game.

The Bears have high hopes for the second year player and expect a breakout season from him. But depending on the severity of the injury, those plans may have to be dashed for now.

The extent of Wootton's injury wasn't immediately known. Wootton has played well in camp.

Winner: Henry Melton

The Bears like Henry Melton, and he lived up to the hype with a solid performance on Saturday.

Melton made two tackles over two series in the first quarter, including a stop for a 3-yard loss.

Loser: Zack Bowman

Zackary Bowman delivered a hit to Bills receiver Paul Hubbard.in the third quarter, knocking the crap out of Hubbard, but also, unfortunately, knocking himself unconscious in the process.

I love to see that kind of furious hitting, but the oft-injured Bowman doesn't need any more setbacks, particularly in his contract year.

The defensive back remained on the ground for awhile but walked off the field under his own power. He was ruled out for the rest of the game.

The injury apparently isn't serious, and the decision to hold him out was considered precautionary.

Winner: Backup QB Play

Jay Cutler barely played, so backup quarterbacks Caleb Hanie and Nate Enderle got plenty of action. And while they didn't produce a ton of impressive stats, both were fairly decent.

Hanie was sacked three times but used his feet effectively at times, including a four-yard run for the game's only touchdown

Matt Spaeth dropped a pass from Hanie, and he almost connected on a long pass to Earl Bennett.

Meanwhile, Enderle did throw an interception but also had 110 yards passing and looked better than he did early in camp.

Thank God there is no more Todd Collins.  

Loser: Robbie Gould

Gould's preseason performance really is meaningless since there is no competition, and he has been such a good kicker for the Bears that there is nothing to be concerned about. 

In fact, if he has to miss, he might as well get it out of his system now when the games don't matter.

But, if Saturday had been a real game, his miss late in the fourth quarter could have cost the Bears the game. His 33-yard attempt with 1:41 left would have sealed the win for the Bears, who won anyway when the Bills final drive stalled due to lack of timeouts.

Gould also missed a 56-yard field goal attempt to end the first half, but he had plenty of leg on the long try.

He did make a 45-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter for the only score of the second half. 

Meanwhile, the Bears and Gould booted their first two kickoffs from the 30-yard line instead of the 35, defying a rule change the owners voted for in March.