Chicago Bears: Looking Toward the Offseason

Even after finishing with a winning record at 9-7, the Chicago Bears have much to improve on looking on to the 2009 NFL season.  It is apparent that the defense is getting old and the offense needs some help.

Even though the Bears were the No. 1 defense in takeaways this year, it is not the same defense we saw two years ago when they made their Super Bowl run. You rarely hear Urlacher’s name, the pass rush is not consistent, and the secondary seems to be full of holes and mistake prone.  

It was actually more fun to watch the offense this year, because for a while, it looked as though the Bears had found their quarterback in Orton. This was until he sprained his ankle and he really never performed the same.

Although showing improvement, the offense is lacking any real threats at receiver. In addition, the offensive line is becoming old and has a hard time consistently opening up holes for Forte and keeping Orton off his back.

I think the No. 1 target the Bears have to make this offseason is a receiving threat. Unfortunately for the Bears, there is only one great receiver set to become a free agent in T.J. Houshmandzadeh. I think the Bears should try to go after him because he is a great dual threat, with good speed and he runs solid routes.

I also believe the Bears have to spend a first or second-round pick on a receiver. With the 18th pick, the Bears might have a shot to draft Percy Harvin out of Florida. He has tremendous speed and looks to be a great threat. 

He seems like a Top 10 talent but teams may shy away because of his ankle injury. If he is unavailable, Jeremy Maclin from Missouri would be a great match for the Bears.  He reminds me of a Bernard Berrian, with the ability to run after the catch.

The Bears should next look to shore up their defense. If not re-signed by the Titans, Albert Haynesworth would be a great addition to the Bears defense.

Tommie Harris is very injury ridden and the Bears desperately need to push the pocket from the middle. Haynesworth is also a great run defender and if brought in by the Bears you may be able to compare this defensive line to that of the Vikings, I don’t see it happening though. They may also draft a defensive tackle, look for the Bears to draft one from rounds 4-7.

There are many great defensive backs set to hit the market and in my opinion the Bears should look to pick one of them up. Charles Tillman has shown he cannot be relied on to cover a No. 1 receiver and it looks as though the famous Tampa-Two defense should be thrown to the curb.

Four names perk my interest: Nnamdi Asomugha from Oakland, Brian Dawkins from Philadelphia, Dawan Landry from Baltimore, and Dunta Robinson from Houston. These are all players that could bring something new to the Bears. 

I would expect them to go after Landry and Dawkins before the other two because safety is more of a positional need. Look for the Bears to also shore up the secondary through the draft between rounds 2-5.

The last position the Bears should look at helping out is the offensive line. Mike Goff from San Diego, Jordon Gross from Carolina, and Mark Tauscher from Green Bay are all great offensive linemen the Bears should look at. They may also look between rounds three through six in the draft to pick up offensive linemen.