Chiefs vs Bears: 6 Chicago Players Who Need to Elevate Their Games Most

The Bears five-game winning streak was snapped in Oakland by the Raiders ridiculous kicking tandem, helped by the Bears growing pains behind a young first-time starter.

But the Bears playoff hopes aren't strained and quarterback Caleb Hanie showed int he second half that he has what it takes to keep the Bears competitive and lead Chicago into the postseason.

Coming up in Week 13, the Bears face an interesting story line.  

The Chiefs are a team in trouble, with their playoff hopes slipping slowly out of their grasp.

Kansas City will start Tyler Palko, who has been anything but good in his first two NFL starts.  Palko has been responsible for seven turnovers over the past two weeks, including a fumbled snap and two interceptions in three consecutive offensive plays last week.

Enter Kyle Orton..  The Chiefs claimed Orton off of waivers last week ahead of the Bears who also put a claim in.  Orton is a game manager who makes few mistakes but won't carry the team on his back.

Yet Palko will start against the Bears according to Chiefs head coach Todd Haley.  But while Palko is starting, expect Orton to make an appearance early and increase the Chiefs chances.  How?

First Orton has a history of success in this situation.  He may not be experienced in this offense, but it won't be the first time he took over when the teams starter is injured.  In 2005, Orton helped the Bears win 10 of 15 games that glass soldier Rex Grossman missed through efficient play and limited mistakes.

In addition, Orton has extensive experience with the Bears defense, playing against them in practice for three seasons.

Interestingly enough, the Bears figure to face off against their leading passer and rusher from the 2005 season.  Alongside Kyle Orton, former Bears rusher Thomas Jones will split carries in the Chiefs backfield.

The Chiefs are reeling, but the Bears aren't exactly on solid ground, either.  Ahead, we'll look at the six Bears that Chicago needs to step up against the Chiefs. 

The Young Safety Tandem

Chris Conte and Major Wright have been surprisingly decent since the Bears started rolling with the tandem.

But last week, the duo had a rough game, especially in run support.  The Michael Bush touchdown run was a perfect example.  Both made the wrong initial move and Conte couldn't recover fast enough to fill the hole.

Additionally, both need to learn that leaving your feet to tackle a player who is running towards you is a bad idea.  This came back to bite Conte this week, as he was in position to stop Marcel Reese as he reached the first down marker, but instead dove at Reese, who avoided him and turned a first down play into a 47-yard reception.  

These safeties are young and inexperienced and there is plenty of reasons to believe they will continue to grow.  The Bears need them to avoid the mental mistakes and remember their fundamentals, though.

Roberto Garza

While Garza has done a somewhat decent job in replacing Olin Kreutz as the Bears center and line-leader, he has had a rough year.

Garza is currently ranked 34th overall of the 35 qualifying centers in the league by Pro Football Focus.  He is also ranked 31st in pressures allowed, 32nd in run blocking and 33th in pass blocking.

With a young quarterback making only his second NFL start behind him, Garza must step up and solidify the middle of the line. 

The Bears running game has suffered from the lack of interior blocking, as well, and Garza is at the heart of the problem.  Adjusted line yards measure the impact of the offensive line on the running game, differentiating the contribution of the running back from that of the offensive linemen.  The Bears rank 26th in the league in adjusted line yards mid/guard, according to Football Outsiders.  

Garza, who is by far the lowest ranked run-blocker on the team, is a significant part of the problem.

As Garza has always been a solid run-blocker from the guard position, the only reasonable explanation is that snapping the ball is seriously hampering his push off the line.

Either Garza must improve his technique in this aspect or the Bears should seriously consider switching Garza and right guard Chris Spencer, who was signed as a center and played the position in Seattle.

Israel Idonije

This is becoming a weekly affair and Israel Idonije's "breakout season" in 2010 is looking more and more like a fluke season, instead.

After his third straight game without so much as touching the quarterback, Idonije is becoming a liability.  His pass rush is becoming laughable and his run defense isn't much better.  At some point, the Bears need to seriously consider a change in the starting roster.

Chauncey Davis played all of 15 snaps Sunday against the Raiders and recorded more tackles than Idonije did in 54 snaps.  

Why is Idonije faltering?  Is he banged up and the Bears aren't advertising it?  Was last season an anomaly?  There's no way to know.  But the fact remains that he has been ineffective and he must either step up or step down.

Johnny Knox

Johnny Knox?  Didn't he catch four passes for 145 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders?

Yes, he did.  He also registered three drops in that game.  

We hear the mantra consistently about Roy Williams and drops.  Knox has dropped as many passes as Williams this year and has caught only 56 percent of his targets, as opposed to Williams' 63.2 percent.

Knox has the physical ability to be a top receiving target.  But his focus and his hands must get better for that to happen.

The Bears and Caleb Hanie need for him to step up his game another notch.

Caleb Hanie

At times, Caleb Hanie looked like a seasoned veteran against the Oakland Raiders.  But on far too many occasions, Hanie looked like a young quarterback making his first NFL start.

In the first half of the game, Hanie threw 15 passes resulting in seven completions for 72 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions.  That's a 43.6 quarterback rating.  Being fair, Johnny Knox dropped three passes int he first half, as well.

Hanie came out in the second half settled down and looking decidedly more comfortable.  He threw 21 passes, completing 11 for 182 yards and a touchdown for a 97.7 quarterback rating.

There are rumblings from fans and the media about a desire to scoop up recently released quarterbacks Donovan McNabb or Sage Rosenfels, but the Bears aren't likely to nab either of them as anything more than an emergency backup.  First, neither is familiar with this system so making an significant impact on the team is unlikely with what would be four games left int he regular season.

More importantly, neither did anything this year in systems they did know to prove that either would be more effective or safer than Hanie.

Hanie is learning and growing in the system.  As he gets more real-game reps, he will improve each week.  The physical ability and confidence are there.  The Bears just need him to make a leap in protecting the ball and making better decisions.

And now it's you turn, ladies and gentlemen.  Step up to the soapbox below and let your voices be heard.