Expert: John Miller - 10/31/2005

Question
Can you give me an analysis of the team and basically tell me their stregnths and weaknesses, in a sorta overall team way, and also in a star position by position way.  Im trying to get into football, cause alot of my classmates make fun of me because i dont know anything about football. Write as much as you want.

I'd really appreciate it!!!

Answer
Hi Justin -
The Bears strength is defense. Brian Urlacher is the marquee player, but Lance Briggs is also extremely talented; both are linebackers. The defensive line is greatly improved over the last couple of years with draft choices Tommy Harris and Tank Johnson getting a lot of time at defensive tackle rotating with Alphonso Boone and Ian Scott. The Bears acquired Adowele Agunleye (Ad-oh-wall-ay A-goon-lee-ya) from Miami at defensive end and have Alex Brown at the other defensive end, and the play and depth of the defensive line has really been impressive. The defensive backs are decent, with Charles Tillman and Nathan Vashar starting at cornerback and Jerry Azumah rotating in. Mike Brown is a big play guy at safety; he won two games for the Bears 2 years ago on interception returns for touchdowns. The other safety currently starting is Chris Harris, a rookie who has made some mistakes but shows lots of promise. Overall the Bears defense is one of the best in the league.
The offense begins with the offensive line, and they have been hurt with some injuries there. I think the line is clearly better than it was last year with the addition of Fred Miller at right tackle and the move of John Tait from right to left tackle. Left tackle is the hardest position to play on the line, since most teams put their fastest rusher at right end (since with a right-handed quarterback, that end is rushing from the QB's blind side). Thomas Jones has been having a career year at running back; he had been an okay back in prior years, but has really been outstanding this year, so much so that the Bears' first round draft choice, the 4th player taken, Cedric Benson, a running back from Texas, has hardly played (didn't help that he held out through the whole training camp). The Bears also sign a veteran receiver, Musin Muhammed, who is a terrific player and a terrific person and I am sure has been a great influence for the young receivers. Unfortunately the rookie receiver that has looked really good for the Bears, Mark Bradley, hurt his knee during last Sunday's game, and the Bears don't have a lot of depth at receiver. Quarterback has been a problem for the Bears for the past 20 years. This year Rex Grossman, perenially the "going to be the starter," was hurt in training camp again. Kyle Orton, a rookie from Purdue taken in the 4th round, is the current starter. He has done a great job for a rookie, but NFL quarterback is not really a position meant for rookies. Unfortunately the Bears have little depth at quarterback, so they are one injury from being in deep trouble.
The Bears are fortunate to be in the worst division in football this year, the NFC North. The other teams are the Detroit Lions (mediocre), Green Bay Packers (devastated by injuries and not very good to begin with), and the Minnesota Vikings (who just lost their quarterback for the season and were terrible before that). The Bears just beat the Lions on Sunday on an interception return for a touchdown by Charles "Peanut" Tillman in overtime. The Bears are leading the division and will probably make the playoffs, though the chances of them beating anyone in the playoffs are slim.
Anyway, feel free to ask any other questions, and don't feel to bad about not being a football junkie - I didn't pay much attention to football until I went to college, and I don't think it really hurt me much :)