What if?

Let's just say we still had Kyle Orton. Or let's say we had traded for Philip Rivers or Aaron Rogers instead of Jay Cutler.

Do you think the Bears would be any better?

I don't.

Watching Cutler go out and play it safe on Sunday night made me want to puke. Jay Cutler is a gunslinger. Let him do what he did last year when he made the Pro Bowl for the AFC. The AFC, the conference that has quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Phillip Rivers, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer...Cutler was up there with those guys.

Now he plays for the Bears. He's our bright and shiny new toy and we're breaking him in the first year.

Ron Turner ought to be absolutely ridden out of town on the third rail. If I see that bubble screen to Hester ONE MORE TIME I'm going to throw my television out the third story window of my building.

Jay Cutler isn't the problem. Does he deserve some of the blame? Absolutely.

But he has wide receivers who don't run good routes, who are never open, who don't fight for the ball. Greg Olsen, who was supposed to be his best weapon, looks like a big, slow wide receiver who can't block.

He has an offensive line that can't stop anyone.

He has no running game. Running back Matt Forte hasn't done anything this season ... you know you're not doing well when undrafted rookie runner Kahlil Bell comes in and makes you look like a second stringer.

Lovie Smith took over the Defense. They've looked better the last couple of weeks, but terrible before that.

How's that trade for Gaines Adams looking right now? How 'bout drafting Jaquin Iglesias in the third round? Or pool jumper Jarron Gilbert in the second?

I don't believe in what the Bears are trying to do any more. I think Jerry Angelo got cocky after a one-year-wonder team made it to the Super Bowl, and wasted draft picks on guys like Garrett Wolfe and Dan Bauzin and Jarron Gilbert, luxury picks for teams that already have all the pieces in place. I think that our system, the Tampa-2, has been passed by in a league where if you don't evolve you die.

I think you've got to do something drastic to shake this franchise out of this funk or your going to be in a 5-year tailspin and you're going to waste the best quarterback this franchise has had take the field in my life time.

Bear down.

Looking ahead

Don't let Lovie's "5 losses won't keep us out of the playoffs" talk fool you. This season is over. The only real excitement left will be seeing whether or not Ron Turner keeps his job (how 'bout Charlie freakin' Weis as your next Bears O-Coordinator? Though the smart money is probably on Mike Martz...).

With no picks in the first two rounds of next year's draft, here's my wish list for free agent signings this off season (assuming the player's union and the owners hammer out a new salary cap agreement)...

Offensive Line:

Logan Mankins, OG, New England Patriots

Winston Justice, OT, Philadelphia Eagles

The market for guards has become inflated, and he won't come cheap, but Logan Mankins would shore up the interior of that line. He would immediately be your best lineman.

Winston Justice struggled famously earlier in his career, giving up four sacks in his debut start against the Giants, but he's putting together a very solid season this year, and at only 24 he could be a long-term solution at right tackle, allowing Chris Williams to slide over to the left side. Pace will be gone after this season.

Wide Receiver:

Brandon Marshall, WR, Denver Broncos

The bidding for Vincent Jackson (WR, San Diego Chargers) is going to be too high. Marshall will come at a bit of a discount because of his off the field problems and his sub-par performance this season. But the history and rapport with Cutler is there. He would be a legitimate number one receiver if you can live with his baggage. Marshall, Knox, Bennett ... get Devin Hester back to returning kicks ... that would give you some real fire power.

Defensive Secondary:

O.J. Atogwe, FS, St. Louis Rams

Richard Marshall, CB, Carolina Panthers

O.J. Atogwe is another guy who isn't going to come cheap, but he's exactly the kind of playmaking FS we've been coveting forever. At 28, he's got some milage left. He would be a perfect fit for the Bears defense.

Richard Marshall has been a tackling machine for Carolina the past three seasons. He's consistent and doesn't give up big plays, is a physical corner, and is only 24.

Blueprint for a sad season

There are still eight games to play ... The way it looks right now, here's my predictions:

@ 49ers W

Eagles L

@ Vikings L

Rams W

Packers W

@ Ravens L

Vikings L

@ Lions W

I think the game against the 49ers this Thursday and the game against the Pack December 13th could easily go the other way. But if we're able to sweep the Lions, beat the lowly Rams, beat the Packers at home, and find a way to rebound and beat Mike Singletary's 49ers this week, we could finish .500 this season. I don't see it getting any better than that under any circumstances. And I think 6-10 or worse is a real possibility.

So what's gone wrong this season?

1. Offensive Line. In 2002 we drafted Marc Columbo and Terrence Metcalf on the first day of the draft (rounds 1 and 3, respectively). Since then the only other offensive lineman we've drafted on day one has been Chris Williams in '08, in the first round, though he has not played like a first round pick up to this point. They were surprised by the retirement of John Tait and had to scramble. They came up with Orlando Pace, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but at the midway point of this season it's clear that he's no longer a good option as a starter in this league. It wouldn't surprise me if he retires following this season. How much does Garza have left in the tank? Or Kreutz for that matter? You've got a real problem on the o-line and Frank Omiygale isn't the answer. Football is won and lost in the trenches. We've taken lots of shots at the defensive line. Not so much on the offensive line.

2. Wasted draft picks. Michael Haynes. Cedric Benson. Rex Grossman. Dan Bauzin. Mark Bradley. Tank Johnson. Those players were chosen in first or second round of the draft between 2003-2005 and Bauzin in 2007. None of those players are currently with the organization. That ain't good. That is not a recipe for building a winner. And we have only one pick on the first day this year. Given the way we draft on day one maybe that's not such a bad thing...

3. Coaching. Since Ron Rivera was unceremoniously forced out of Chicago following the Super Bowl loss to the Colts, the defense has taken a nosedive. Period. So Lovie takes over the defense this season. And we hire Rod Marenelli to coach the defensive linemen and John Hoke to coach defensive backs (moves which, admittedly, I applauded at the time), and we thought that was going to make up for our defects from a year ago. Not even close. Coaches can't make plays. It's up to players. They haven't. Or maybe they haven't been put in a position to make plays? And, no matter what happens with the rest of the staff, I sincerely hope Ron Turner is looking for employment after the season is over.

If we go 8-8 this year, I think they'll probably retain Lovie et al. If it falls of the tracks and ends up 6-10 ... I think there are going to be some lovely homes up for sale in the Lake Forest area. And maybe that would be for the best.

You can already hear the Mike Shanahan, Bill Cowher mumbles starting.

Well, at least we beat up on the Browns

I don't ever remember feeling so down on my team after a 24-point victory.

I was too despondent to post after the whooping we took at the hands of Cedric Benson and the Bengals. I mean, ouch. That game hurt worse than any I remember in the last several seasons.

But the Browns are sure a remedy for whatever's ailin' ya. Wow. Do they stink or what? You want to talk about a franchise with the arrow perpetually pointing down, they are it.

And yet, if it wasn't for five takeaways by the Bear defense in that game, it could have been a much different story. Our offense sure couldn't do much. Even against the lowly Browns. And especially in the red zone.

I'm still awfully concerned about the offensive line. I was glad to see Josh Beekman replace Frank Omiygale, but Orlando Pace is still looking terrible and Chris Williams should not be on playing the right side. You need a mauler at right tackle. At best, Williams is a finesse guy. At worst, he's soft. The jury is still out.

I'd like to see the Bear yank Pace, move Williams to the left where his technique and frame are better suited to play, and insert either Kevin Shaffer, or even Omiyale (who had played exclusively tackle in his pro career until the Bears decided he was a guard) at right tackle.

We better do something. Watching that Minnesota D come after Aaron Rodgers scared me. If we can't get some better play out of that offensive line Cutler may just get killed.

Stinker in Atlanta

That was just a pitiful, ugly game the Bears dropped in Atlanta tonight. They were in it until the end, but they absolutely deserved to lose that one. Nothing I liked about that game, so let's get to what I didn't like.

Offensive line looked just terrible. Penalties, blown assignments, nothing in the running game, bad pass blocking. I think it's time to start talking about Frank Omiygale being a bust at guard and putting Josh Beekman back in there. I thought Beekman played well last season starting throughout his rookie campaign. I think Omiygale looks spotty at best, at worst he looks down right bad.

I thought the entire team played sloppy throughout, especially coming off the bye week. Lovie Smith's defense looked unprepared. They couldn't generate the slightest bit of pass rush, they looked downright surprised when Atlanta went to the no-huddle, and Zack Bowman looks BRUTAL back there at corner. The special teams, usually spot on, looked awful (what is it about playing in the Georgia Dome that those guys on special teams don't like?)—bad punting by Brad Maynard, bad kick coverage, that awful 12 men on the field call that cost them possession before Nate Vasher miraculously made a play. And all those penalties. Ee-gads.

We had a serious case of the red zone blues tonight. Three lost turnovers in the red zone, not counting the turnover on downs at the end of the game (which was probably more a result of penalties than anything else). That's the difference in the game right there. And that's an important difference between the haves and the have-nots in this league. Good teams take advantage of their trips to the red zone. Mediocre teams and bad teams ... well, you get the idea.

Mostly I'm disgusted by the sloppy play and lack of preparedness for this one. Ultimately it's up to the players to make plays, but it's hard not to hang this one on bad coaching. Sloppy play reflects directly on the coaching staff. That was an undisciplined, ugly game.

Beautiful

The Bears beat the Detroit Lions in convincing fashion Sunday at Soldier Field, 48-24, to advance to 3-1 heading into the bye week. We're in a three-way fight for the lead in the division, behind Minnesota and Green Bay, but we're in it.

Things I like about the Bears win over the Lions:

Line play. Both the offensive and defensive lines looked damn solid. The offensive line had easily its best day of the season, allowing Matt Forte to rush for 121 yards on 12 carries. The defensive line continued its strong play, putting consistent pressure on Lions QB Matthew Stafford, registering four sacks and an interception by DT Tommie Harris.

Special teams. What can you say about the Bears special teams play? A 52-yard field goal by "Chip Shot" Robbie Gould. A 102-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Johnny Knox. Four punts downed inside the opponents 20-yard line by Brad Maynard. There isn't a better special teams coach in the business than Dave Toub.

Coaching. The Bears and Lions were tied at the half. They made some adjustments in the locker room at the half, and came back out and dominated. I especially like the way CB Charles Tillman was moved to man coverage on Calvin Johnson with safety help in the second half.

Things that scared me (as much as you can be "scared" after hanging 48 on a pro team):

Zack Bowman. Granted, Calvin Johnson is a tough draw for anyone, and he's going to make a lot of DBs in this league look bad. But Bowman looked atrocious against Johnson. Thank god they moved Tillman on him in the second half or Johnson would have had 200 yards receiving in the game.

Wide Receivers. Two drops by Johnny Knox, and not a whole lot else by anyone. As big as their play was against the Seahawks a week ago, they were a non-factor against the Lions. It looked like the receivers struggled to get open most of the day.

Greg Olsen. Yes, he caught a touchdown pass. But six other throws to him fell incomplete. He hasn't been nearly as a big a factor in the passing game as advertised.

Winning ugly, part deux

We're 2-1 right now, and while I'll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day, this team is making me awfully nervous. If not for some missed field goals by the Steelers and the Seahawks, field goals those kickers normally make, we could easily be 0-3 at this point instead of sitting at 2-1 and looking like we might be in the race in the NFC North.

Things I liked:

Lance Briggs was all over the field. He finished the day with an interception, a sack, seven tackles, and two tackles-for-loss. He's stepping up his already high level of play and doing everything he can do to make up for the loss of Urlacher.

Jay Cutler again orchestrated a come from behind victory and finished the day with a QB rating of 126.4, completing 77.8% of his passes. Those numbers are lights out.

The Bears wide receivers looked solid. Devin Hester made some really nice plays and looked as close to a legit number one receiver as I have seen. Johnny Knox continues to impress with another touchdown and solid kick off return work, and Earl Benett finished the day with four catches for 80 yards.

Things that scare me:

The Bears offensive line looks dreadful. They're just not opening up the holes in the run game. Seattle is not noted for its run defense, and they pushed the Bears O-line around all game. They get solid marks for pass protection, but failed miserably in the run game.

Why is Ron Turner calling a run up the middle when the diminutive Garrett Wolfe is in at tailback? That shows a total lack of awareness in the game situation. That just baffles me.

Brett Favre showed some of that old magic as the Vikings cruised to a win over Mike Singletary's 49ers, improving to 3-0. They're looking awfully tough.