The Real Problem

By: Eli Kaberon

Remember the 1997 film “Wag the Dog”, starring Dustin Hoffman as a Washington, DC public relations executive and Robert De Niro as a Hollywood director? The plot involves a President who needs to cover up a sex scandal to be re-elected, so he calls on Hoffman and De Niro to create a fake war to divert the media focus. Soon the United States is ‘fighting’ with Albania, all the public cares about is a poor little girl whose house was ‘attacked’ and the President goes from being a scum-bag to a hero.

Now try and picture this season’s Chicago Bears roster. The quarterback competition is being decided not by Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton, but by a simple call of heads or tails. The best running back on the roster is a rookie who has yet to take a snap of NFL play. The team’s wide receivers can all be described as either too old, too inconsistent, too injury-prone or all of the above. And yet all the attention being given to this joke of an offense might be a great distraction for head coach Lovie Smith and defensive coordinator Bob Babich, who have a lot of work to do on an under-performing D that will quickly be getting loads of criticism if some changes are not made.

In 2006, the season that the Bears went to the Super Bowl, it was the team’s defense that led them to that rainy night in South Florida. Opponents scored only 255 points during the regular season, third fewest in the NFL, while the defense forced 44 turnovers, tops in the league. It seemed that every week a new player was stepping up, making huge plays, and intimidating foes. Even Grossman’s inconsistencies on offense and Lovie’s stubbornness on the sideline (I think Danieal Manning is still having nightmares about attempting to cover Reggie Wayne) couldn’t contain the 21st Century version of the Super Bowl Shufflin’ Crew- until the Super Bowl that is.

Then last season, with nearly every important part of the defense returning, Bears fans were hoping for more of the same, or maybe an improvement. And early on, it looked like it might happen. During the regular season’s first two weeks, the Bears faced the NFL’s two best running backs: San Diego’s LaDanian Tomlinson and Kansas City’s Larry Johnson. And combined, the two All-Pros ran for 72 yards. LDT’s 25 yards rushing in that game was by far his lowest of the season, and it was a pretty impressive way to start the year, even though the team was 1-1 in the two contests.

But in Week 3, things fell apart worse than Roger Clemens’ career. Safety Mike Brown got hurt, defensive tackle Tommie Harris got lazy and the entire defense just stopped trying. Want proof? How about the 431 total yards the Cowboys put up in that third week. Or the 318 passing yards Brett Favre posted in week five. And lets not forget about Minnesota running for an astounding 311 rushing yards during a week six loss. In a span of four games, the Bears D went from being the Monsters of the Midway to the Disaster on the Drive.

The Bears ended the 2007 season ranked right in the middle of the NFL- 16th- in points allowed, with 348. So to turn that around, the Bears spent a good amount of their draft loading up on young, defensive talent. Oh no, never mind, that’s not right, their first three selections were all on the offensive side of the ball. So they must have addressed the holes in the D in free agency then. Well, that’s only if you count giving new contracts to about half of last season’s starting lineup on that side of the ball. The only positive thing the Bears did this off-season addressing their defense was releasing former starting safety Adam Archuleta, a big disappointment in 2007. Still, holes remain in the once-feared Bears D.

Now the 2008 season has begun, and the holes have yet to be plugged. Who is lining up next to Harris on the interior line? Is Alex Brown back to starting at right end or will it still be Mark Anderson? Can Brian Urlacher play every down even after having off-season back surgery? Are cornerbacks Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher 100 percent after each missed games last season? Has Lance Briggs figured out how to drive his Lamborghini? And who on Earth will be the two starting safety’s? In the five weeks between now and the season opener at Indianapolis, all of these questions need answers.

Thankfully for Smith, Babich and General Manager Jerry Angelo, not much focus is being paid to the defensive side of the ball. All the newspapers, sports talk radio and the so-called ‘experts’ want to do is discuss how bad the Bears offense will be, and with good reason. But remember, after Rex overthrows Marty Booker on a deep route, or Matt Forte is stuffed for a loss on third and short, it will be the defense that takes the field. And that might be where the real problems lie.

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Eli Kaberon is a 2005 graduate of Evanston Township High School and currently is attending Columbia College in the loop, majoring in print journalism. A life-long fan of the Cubs, Bears and Bulls, Eli also works as a seat vendor at Wrigley Field and has sold hot dogs to everyone ranging from Bears tight end Greg Olsen to Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Eli can be reached at ekaberon@yahoo.com.

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