NFL 2010 Camp Preview: Chicago Bears

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Lovie Smith enters would many see as a make-or-break season for him in Chicago.  Since going 13-3 and making a Super Bowl appearance following the 2006 season Smith’s Bears have failed to make the playoffs while posting a mediocre 23-25 record.  The heat is definitely on after the Bears broke the bank to land Jay Cutler only to see themselves go 7-9 last season.

The Bears made the biggest splash in free agency by landing, arguably the biggest fish in the pond, defensive end Julius Peppers.  The Bears are spending a ton of money on Peppers in hopes that he will revitalize a defense that struggled to make stops at times last season.

The addition of Peppers and the return of linebacker Brian Urlacher, the heart, soul, and captain of the defense, should help restore some of the defense’s glory next season.

The biggest questions in Chicago are on the offensive side of the ball.  The biggest change on offense is that of hiring Mike Martz to coordinate the offense.  While Martz is an accomplished coordinator it remains to be seen if the Bears have enough weapons to succeed.

Of all the changes they made the team failed to even attempt to bring in an established receiver who could be a potential go-to-guy.  The main problems the Bears face is Greg Olsen is their best pass catcher and Martz, historically, has had little use for the tight end in his offense.  The team is pinning its hopes on Martz being able to create a star receiver out of Devin Aromashodu, Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, or Earl Bennett.

Key Veteran Additions – Julius Peppers (DE), Chris Harris (S), Chester Taylor (RB)

The Bears are hoping Peppers will provide more than the 6.5 sacks that team leader Adewale Ogunleye posted last season.  Peppers should eclipse that mark, however, he is prone to stretches of disappearing at times and really only stepped his game up last season after being called out in the media by Jon Beason.  As long as someone is lighting a fire under his butt he should help re-energize the pass rush.

Chris Harris is being brought back after three years in Charlotte and is expected to re-assume his role as the starting strong safety for the Bears.  He brings an attitude and physicality to the secondary that the Bears have been missing of late.

Taylor is expected to serve as Matt Forte’s backup.  The only quibble with this is he does not provide anything different than Forte does.  Both guys are between the tackles backs who catch the ball well and do not possess great break away speed.

Key Rookie Additions – Major Wright (S), Corey Wootton (DE)

Major Wright is expected to see his share of playing time in the Bears secondary next season and some think he could challenge for the starting free safety job.

Fourth round pick Corey Wootton was a nice value pick from a talent standpoint but is still recovering from a bad knee injury suffered in 2008.  He is not expected to start but should provide the Bears with a nice backup at the end positions.

Key Position Battles

Given that nobody in the receiving corps emerged as a real threat last season and the presence of a new offensive coordinator there is no real depth chart at receiver right now.  Martz has already said he envisions Hester being more of a slot receiver leaving Knox, Bennett, and Aromashodu to duke it out for the top two receiving spots.

Players to Watch

Devin Aromashodu came on strong down the stretch catching 22 balls for 282 yards and four touchdowns over the Bears last four games.  Chicago is hoping he builds on that momentum and breaks out as a star receiver this season.  If he does the Bears should be in the playoff mix come December.

Jay Cutler really struggled with consistent play during his first year in Chicago.  The Bears cannot survive another season where he throws 26 interceptions.  Can offensive guru Mike Martz settle him down and get him back to throwing like he was in 2008?

Will Julius Peppers bring his “A” game next season?  He basically went through the motions the first three games of the season last year and at times there were games when one did not even know he was on the field.  However, he did still end the year with 10.5 sacks and five forced fumbles and the Bears will be thrilled with that kind of production.

Was Matt Forte a one-hit wonder?  After a strong rookie season Forte saw all of his rushing numbers decline significantly across the board and he never really got it going last season.  A bigger back like Forte should benefit some from Martz’s preference to run a lot of spread formations putting more defensive backs on the field.

Can Brian Urlacher come back and return to form?  The Bears defense looked lost at times without its leader on the field last season.  Urlacher’s play has declined a bit over the past couple of years, but he still brings fire and leadership to that defense.

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