Chicago Bears' Midseason Report

Lovie Smith likes to break up the season in four-game segments, so after posting a 5-3 record, it’s time to grade the Bears.

Offense

The Bears' offense was in the top three in scoring going into Week Nine. The Bears have put up a lot of points, mostly due to the fact that the defense has been lacking.

Kyle Orton has benefited from having Matt Forte in the backfield and vice versa. The oldest adage in football is you have to establish the run to set up the pass. It’s worth noting that there are five Bears that have 20+ receptions and four with two TDs. Spreading the ball around so opponents can’t focus in on one player.

QB: Kyle Orton has played like a veteran midway through the season. Being on the bench for a few years seems to have its benefits for young quarterbacks wanting to learn the game (see Tom Brady and Tony Romo). Orton may be out for a few weeks, but there’s no doubt that he’s a big part of the Bears success this season. Rex Grossman has all the tools necessary to be “Good Rex,” so we can only hope he’s also learned from being on the bench.

RB: Matt Forte, I can’t think of a nice thing to say about this guy that hasn’t already been said. I guess if I had to pick something, which I do, it’d have to be Forte’s patience in the backfield.

WR: The wide-receiver position has been a revolving door of sorts as Kyle Orton spreads the ball around so much and seems to prefer throwing to the Bears tight ends. However, it looks like Rashied Davis has got his head back in the game and hasn’t dropped a pass in month. We’re still waiting for the return of Brandon Lloyd, who looked good until he was sidelined by an injury.

TE: The Bears have the best tight end tandem in football. A veteran like Desmond Clark runs across the middle and come back routes, while big athletic rookie Greg Olsen runs the seam route to overpower cornerbacks and safeties for passes. The more these two are involved in the scheme of things the better off the Bears are.

OL: While we await the debut of Chris Williams, the Bears' offensive line has done a good job protecting the quarterback and opening holes in the running game. I know this unit is aging, but it looks like they’ve got one more good half year together. The addition of Chris Williams into the running and blocking schemes should put more quickness and open bigger holes for Matt Forte. All he needs to do is lean on Olin Kreutz and learn the ropes of playing offensive line in the NFL.

Defense

Here where it gets sticky. The Bears' defense shows glimpses of its former self but can’t play consistently and has cost the Bears at least two victories. It all starts up front. With a banged-up secondary, the Bears need to get pressure on the quarterback or they can’t hope to win games.

The worst part is that the Bears haven’t really played against an elite passer with the exception of Peyton Manning and Donovan McNaab. So god forbid the Bears have to play the likes of Drew Brees, Tony Romo, and Eli Manning in the playoffs.

To be fair, the Bears have been able to stop the run pretty consistently this season, allowing only one 100 yard rusher.

DE: No pressure on the quarterback. The Bears have some speedy pass rushers on the ends, but they haven’t been producing and getting pressure on third down or many other downs for that matter.

DT: Dusty Dvoracek and Israel Idonije have played well in stopping the run but can’t get the pressure necessary to force the opposing QB into bad throws. Tommie Harris has been silenced so far this season. If he plays better the whole line will.

LB: Brian Urlacher has not been playing well this season, that’s the bottom line. He and Lance Briggs are responsible for the second level of the field and aren’t blocking up passing lanes nor getting the pressure when they blitz. Nick Roach has played nicely in the absence of Hunter Hillenmeyer.

CB: Vasher and Tillman have been ailing all season and it shows. Corey Graham has done an average job filling in but it all comes down to owning the line of scrimmage and getting pressure on the quarterback (Have I said that enough?). If your corners are forced to cover for six-plus seconds after the snap, chances are someone’s going to be open, and that’s been the case all season for the Bears.

S: Mike Brown looks to be hurt again and the Bears secondary is in even worse shape than it was after four games this season. Craig Steltz is a rookie who brings a spark and youth but also inexperience. On the plus side the Kevin Payne is proving a formidable run stopper.

Special Teams

Still no return for Hester, but his mere presence has aided the Bears all season. Coverage of kicks has been good and capitalizing on special-teams mistakes has been key for a few victories this year. Garret Wolfe was rewarded for his exceptional special teams play with his first NFL touchdown this season after a punt miscue by the Vikings. Wolfe keeps this up and he’ll be playing in Hawaii for the first time.

P: Brad Maynard has had a few shaky punts but has been able to kick consistently when called upon. It’s nice having a kicker who can help your defense by pinning the opposing team inside their own 20.

K: Robbie Gould continues to pay dividends for the Bears. He’s missed one kick and had one blocked this season.

KR: Return touchdown or not, bottom line is that teams still fear Devin Hester.

Pass rush must improve. I’ll leave it up to Bob Babich to figure out how to make that happen, either with the blitz or lighting a fire under the defensive linemen, but it needs to happen soon, especially with the secondary banged up the way it is.

5-3 is better than anyone had predicted the Bears to be this point in the season. Success has come from surprising sources, but if the Bears want to continue to challenge for the division and conference title, they need to improve their defensive play. There’s absolutely no way around it. Unless the Bears' D plays better, the team will come up short in the end.