Chicago Bears Football Preview: 2008 Season

The Chicago Bears finished a disappointing 7-9 a year after playing in the Super Bowl. And they had to win the last two games to finish with that good of a record. What happened? For starters, the Bears traded away Thomas Jones to give Cedric Benson the opportunity to play every day. That experiment failed miserably and now Benson is no longer with the Chicago Bears.

The Chicago Bears offensive line began to look its age. In combination with a poor running game and poor quarterback play, the offense was absolutely terrible.

Finally, the defense suffered some key injuries exposing its lack of depth, especially in the secondary. When all of the starters were healthy, the defense clicked. But, it wasn't the same when a few spots had to be replaced.

Here's a look at the personnel at each position and a preview for the Chicago Bears 2008 season.

Quarterback

Quarterback has been a merry-go-round of mediocrity for the Chicago Bears in recent years. Rex Grossman showed some promise a couple of years back, but he's never been able to put it together and has looked bad more than he's looked good. At times, you think the Chicago Bears offense would be better off handing the ball directly to return man Devin Hester on every play.

Kyle Orton has not looked a whole lot better. He played quite a bit in 2005 during a winning season, but hasn't been given the chances that Grossman has. He may this year by necessity.

Brian Griese is gone and will likely be replaced by one of the undrafted free agents, Caleb Hanie or Nick Hill. Rumor is that the Bears may also have interest in the Tampa Bay Bucs' Chris Simms, but as of now, these are the Chicago Bears quarterbacks for 2008. Not a very inspirational thought.

Running Back

Could the Bears' running back situation actually improve without Benson? The answer depends more on the play of the offensive line than on the running backs themselves. With the recent signing of Kevin Jones, the Chicago Bears have four backs that will battle for playing time. Rookie second-rounder Matt Forte, Adrian Peterson (no, not that Adrian Peterson!), and Garrett Wolfe will all get a chance in training camp. Forte is the favorite to exit with the starting job.

Jason McKie should remain the starting fullback for the Chicago Bears. He did an adequate job, but between the running backs and the offensive line, there just wasn't a lot to work with. JD Runnels will fight to be the backup.

Wide Receiver

Former University of Illinois product Brandon Lloyd and former Chicago Bear Marty Booker were signed as free agents, and Earl Bennett was drafted in the third round to bolster the receiving corps for the Chicago Bears. With the loss of Mushin Muhammad and Bernard Berrian, the Bears will need all the help they can get. They will be leaning very heavily on the newcomers as well as holdovers Mark Bradley and Rashied Davis.

Devin Hester was also used at wide receiver last year, especially as the year went on. He may get a chance to see a lot more time at receiver this year for the Chicago Bears if he can pick up the offense. Hester showed some flashes at receiver and the more the Chicago Bears can get the ball in his hands, the better off the Bears will be.

Tight End

The Chicago Bears should be set at tight end. Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen have both proven their worth. The combination turned in a combined 936 yards and six touchdowns for the Bears. In addition, the Bears spent a fifth round pick on Kellen Davis, a mammoth tight end from Michigan State.

Offensive Line

The offensive line transformed from a strength in 2006 to a weakness in 2007 for the Chicago Bears. To address the drop-off and the age of the unit, the Chicago Bears spent the 14^th pick in the draft on Vanderbilt's Left Tackle Chris Williams. If Williams can win the left tackle job, the Bears would be able to move John Tait to his more natural right tackle position. With Olin Kreutz anchoring the line, there is room for improvement over last year. Roberto Garza and Terrence Metcalf have the experience and the upper hand for the guard positions.

John St. Clair and Kirk Barton will be the backup tackles unless the Bears can find another tackle through free agency. Many younger players will vie for time as backups to the guards. The Bears would like some of the younger lineman to provide depth and competition for the positions.

Defensive Line

The Chicago Bears will have a great defensive line if they can avoid injuries. Tommie Harris (8 sacks) is a perennial All-Pro at defensive tackle with a brand new contract and will anchor the line. Next to Harris will be either Anthony Adams or Dusty Dvoracek. Adding to the depth at defensive tackle is Bears third round pick Marcus Harrison.

The ends for the Chicago Bears will be Adewale Ogunleye (9 sacks) and either Mark Anderson or Alex Brown. Israel Idonije and Dan Bazuin will back up the ends. The defensive line has the most depth on the Bears. There will be a lot of rotating players and everyone will get a chance for a breather.

The Bears hope that this unit will be able to stop the run and start to rush the quarterback a little more. After a surprising rookie year, Mark Anderson failed to maintain the momentum. He dropped from 12 sacks to 5 last year for the Bears.

Linebackers

If they can stay healthy, the linebackers will be strong again this year for the Bears. Brian Urlacher (5 sacks, 5 interceptions), Lance Briggs, and Hunter Hillenmeyer are all returning starters. For all of the contract talk over the past year, Briggs wound up resigning with the Bears.

The Chicago Bears have spent draft picks in recent years on Jamar Wilson, Michael Okwo, and Rod Wilson. They will back up the starters and produce on special teams. But, none of them have proven that they can step into starting roles if the Bears need.

Secondary

The Chicago Bears return starting cornerbacks Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman. Most other teams in the NFL would kill to have two starters of this quality. The Bears would kill to keep them both on the field and healthy at the same time. Trumain McBride, Ricky Manning Jr., and fifth round pick Zack Bowman will spell the starters and come in on nickel and dime packages.

Mike Brown will try to stay healthy and man one of the safety spots for the Bears. The odds of this occurring are very low, if Brown's history of injuries is taken into account. The other starting safety will be either Danieal Manning or Brandon McGowan. Whichever one winds up the starter will have to pick up his play for the Bears. The safeties are the weak spot in an otherwise staunch defense. Fourth round pick Craig Steltz will also find playing time.

Special Teams

The loss of special teams star Brendon Ayanbadejo hurts the special teams units of the Chicago Bears quite a bit. But, the Bears have the most exciting return teams in the National Football League. Hester is magic every time he touches the ball. It always seems like a matter of when, not if, he will break a return.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Brad Maynard will return as the punter and Robbie Gould as the kicker for the Chicago Bears. Gould had a very good year last year for the Bears.

Newcomers

The newcomers will determine how this season turns out for the Chicago Bears offense. Williams, Forte, Lloyd, and Booker will all be counted on to provide a little more firepower this season. The four of them have a good chance to secure starting spots in training camp. Earl Bennett is likely to get some time on the field as a wide receiver for the Bears as well.

On the defensive side of the ball, the newcomers will primarily provide depth for the Chicago Bears. Bowman, Steltz and Harrison will all likely see some time on the field, especially for special teams. But, unless injuries hit, they will not counted on to start for the Bears this season.

Projections for Upcoming Season

The Chicago Bears will once again have a great defense if they can avoid key injuries. However, they will still struggle to score points when Devin Hester isn't on the field. The Bears scored 34 touchdowns last year. Eight of those were by Devin Hester, who rarely even played on offense. It is very difficult to win when your biggest offensive weapon primarily returns kicks. The Chicago Bears are hoping that rookies Chris Williams, Matt Forte and Earl Bennett can help the Bears turn around their offense.

Training camp for the Chicago Bears will take place from July 23 - August 14 in Bourbonnais, IL. There will be a lot of battles in camp for starting roles on the offense. But, the defense will primarily be determining the pecking order of the backups.

Looking at their schedule, I predict 7-9 wins for the Chicago Bears on the year. If Williams helps solidify the offensive line and if Forte can carry the load at running back, the Bears may surprise and make another playoff run. Conversely, the Bears may struggle to integrate Williams and Forte. The Bears offensive will rely heavily on rookies and newcomers. These players will determine how far the Chicago Bears will go this year.

Sources:
ESPN