Which Holes Have the Chicago Bears Failed to Address?

On the one hand, the Bears have been very active since the lockout ended, re-signing their own players as well as signing undrafted and unrestricted free agents. But they have failed to make that big splash.

Look, this is a team that's on the clock. With the core of the defense all 30 and older, the time is now to win a championship. But the moves that GM Jerry Angelo have made still fail to address some fairly significant holes in the team.

This is a Bears team that played in the NFL Championship game and won 11 games last year, yet they're treating this as if they are building for the future.

Sure, it's nice to do both, but the Bears must keep an eye toward a championship window that may be closing fast as players like Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers and Lance Briggs each climb over 30 years of age.

No, those players aren't quite ready to collect social security, but in the often violent world of pro football, careers are short and you have to strike while the iron is hot.

Recognizing that, let's take a look at where the Bears still come up short.

Replacing Olin Kreutz

The offensive line was awful at times last year, at least until the bye week when Mike Tice allegedly threatened to bite the head off of Mike Martz if he didn't start calling a more balanced offense.

But with Martz and the Bears discussing opening up the playbook more this season, blocking becomes an even bigger concern.

While drafting Carimi was nice, the loss of Olin Kreutz may hurt. It's as if the Bears took one step forward, and one step back.

We aren't sure how well Chris Spencer will play at center, and the thought of Roberto Garza or Edwin Williams taking the starting job doesn't exactly instill confidence.

Incidentally, Matt Williamson doesn't have kind things to say about Spencer.

Protecting Jay Cutler's Blind Side

Protecting Jay Cutler's blind spot is no laughing matter, especially in a Mike Martz offense that requires strong blocking upfront.

The Bears drafted a left tackle in Gabe Carimi, but he is expected to be a starter on the right side long term, because, as Dan Pompei notes, scouts say his footwork may not be good enough to play left tackle in the NFL.

So the plan is to start J'Marcus Webb at left tackle and while Webb is a big, athletic prospect, he is unproven at the position.

At least it won't be Chris Williams. Which brings us to our next question mark.

The Guard Position

Welcome to the continuing saga of "where do we play Chris Williams now"? This is the game where Greg Angelo directs Lovie Smith to play Williams somewhere on the line because he was a first round pick, even though Williams hasn't shown much as of yet.

One scary proposition is that Williams, is said to be the Bears center of the future. Until then, however, he will likely start at guard.

Maybe with more time to prepare, Williams will do better than last season. Still, it's quite a gamble to take.

The Defensive Line

The Bears re-signed Anthony Adams, which should help in the defensive trenches, but he is not worthy to be a starter.

Yes, the team added Amobi Okoye and Vernon Gholston, two first-round draft busts. They do have talent, so the gamble may pay off. Still, you can't rely on either of them.

The team drafted Stephen Paea to play the three technique but as a rookie, it's difficult to gauge how quickly he will come along. Someone will have to replace Tommie Harris. That shouldn't be too difficult, as Harris was in steep decline, but it's a very critical position in a Tampa 2 defense,.

Wide Receiver

The Bears didn't draft a wideout, but they did attempt to address their glaring need for an upgrade by signing ex-Cowboys Roy Williams and Sam Hurd.

Still, Williams dropped a lot of passes in Dallas and plays inconsistently. The Bears are banking on a reunion with Mike Martz.

Martz was the coordinator in Detroit, which was the only season in which Williams gained over 1,000 yards receiving.

The holdover receivers from last year have looked good so far in camp. In fact, Johnny Knox and Devin Hester appear to have worked hard in the offseason.

But there is still a gaping hole with no true No. 1 wideout on this team.  

Safety

The Bears drafted Safety Chris Conte in a surprise move in the third-round, a move which smacks of a significant reach. Scouts weren't impressed with him and he is a project at this point.

But Chris Harris returns, and the big hitter played pretty well much of the time last season. Still, the guy everyone is watching is second year safety Major Wright.

Wright had his moments as a rookie, though he was injured a lot. But beware of small sample sizes as we do not yet know what kind of player the ex-Gator will be, especially in coverage.

Meanwhile, safety Danieal Manning swapped uniforms, going from the Chicago Bears to the Houston Texans. That created a void that will be difficult to fill, unless Wright plays well immediately.

Cornerback

This is an area of need for the simple reason that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers receivers live in the same division as the Bears. The need to cover those guys is obviously of paramount importance.

Yet the Bears failed to address this position in the draft, instead reaching for a safety in Chris Conte when better corners were still available.

The only truly reliable corner the team has is Charles Tillman. He's not a star by any means, but he is a capable player.

Brad Biggs of the National Football Post did a breakdown of the playing time at corner for the Bears in 2010:

Charles Tillman: 1,032 snaps, 99.4 percent
Tim Jennings:  815, 78.5
D.J. Moore:  512, 49.3
Zack Bowman:  227, 21.9
Corey Graham:  2, 0.2
Josh Moore: 0, 0.0

Zack Bowman, who has been hurt and inconsistent when healthy, is entering his contract year, so the hope is that either he or Josh Moore can step up for the Bears this year.

Meanwhile, DJ Moore apparently was the sixth best blitzing defensive back last year.