2008 Chicago Bears Season: Applying What We Learned

Things are pretty busy around Halas Hall these days. Even though the Bears don't start meeting as a team for a few more weeks, their scouts, coaches, and personnel evaluators are doing their best to figure out what needs to get done this offseason.

But there are questions Bears fans have this offseason that won't be answered in the draft or in minicamps or during the first few weeks of free agency. The most prominent question can only be answered one year or longer from now.

Are the Bears on their way up or on their way down?

In the two seasons following their Super Bowl run, the Bears have teetered around a .500 mark, failing to make the playoffs both years.

Some fans point to the quarterback position as the chief concern heading into the 2009 season. Others think the problem lies in the receiving corps, pointing to the departure of free agents Muhsin Muhammad and Bernard Berrian as the reason for the Bears' woeful passing game.

But if there is one thing that this past NFL season taught us, it's that you cannot underestimate the value of an airtight defense.

This past season, four of the five top-ranked defenses went to the playoffs, while only one of the top five offenses saw postseason action this year.

This statistic is somewhat baffling when you consider the emphasis the league places on offensive football, with rules being changed or installed to protect and favor offensive players. It may sound cynical, but this trend shouldn't come as a surprise, considering that offensive players sell more jerseys and tickets for their teams and make far more money for the NFL at large than defensive players ever could.

Let's face it: money talks, defense walks.

But it says something when high-octane offenses like the Saints' and the Broncos' are cooling their heels in January, while modest, conservative offenses like that of the Ravens make the playoffs on the shoulders of outstanding defensive play.

So what implications does this trend have for the Bears?

Clearly, the defense needs fixing, but it's hard to determine what the biggest area of concern is. While their front seven were tough to run against, they routinely failed to get to opposing quarterbacks. And although the secondary had many games with multiple takeaways, they also allowed some mediocre quarterbacks to shred them through the air in third-and-sometimes-very-long situations.

For the time being, the Bears seem to be heading in the right direction. All indications point to them taking a defensive player in the first round of the 2009 Draft, and they're going to start the year's minicamp two months earlier than they have in previous offseasons. Most media outlets believe this move was made to give new defensive coaches Rod Marinelli and John Hoke a jump start on working with the Bears' players.

But what if it's not enough? Where will the Bears stand if the defense fails to deliver once again in the 2009 season? With so much money tied up on defensive veterans, the impact of another year of mediocrity on that side of the ball could be devastating for all parties involved.

Perhaps the Bears need to get back to doing what they've always done best, and stop trying to win games on offense. After all, defense has been the backbone of this franchise for decades.

Chicago has a unique fanbase in that they never expect all that much from their offense. If there was one group of fans that appreciates defense, it's Bears fans. They're the only team whose top-selling replica jersey is a linebacker's.

Chicago's faithful might be the only people who would be happy to win every game by shutting out opponents and scoring solely off turnovers and safeties without their own offense ever converting a third down. There were many years where Chicago's offense seemed to exist solely to give the defense a chance to catch their breath and sip some Gatorade on the sidelines.

So maybe the Bears need to learn from some of the teams that won it with their defense all year long in 2008, and get back to what they've always been at heart: a defensive football team.