Dan Pompei Joins the Over-Reactors.  I’m starting to wonder if the Tribune is ordering their writers and staffers to sound the doomsday alarm over preseason games because it’s getting a bit absurd.  I live in Queens and read the Daily News and New York Post (two of the nation’s most hostile, rabble rousing rags) every day and neither has sounded nearly as despondent about the Giants and Jets – two high-expectation teams that have looked abysmal this summer.  Pompei goes so far as to reach, “But great quarterbacks don’t have games like Cutler had Saturday.”  Really?  Great quarterbacks don’t have bad preseason games?  Do I even have to do the research or can we assume Pompei is incredibly incorrect?  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the only thing I don’t love about being a Chicago Bears fan is the seeming joy some fans and media derive from wallowing in the misery of failure.

Major Wright seems to not have not gotten the Lovie Smith memo.  He is brash and vocal.  He’s not married to the “do what the team feels is best” and “whatever helps the team” language that seems to permeate out of Halas Hall under this regime.  He may be the kind of thing this defense needs and he’s not shy about letting us know about it.  Shortly said, I’m rooting like hell for this kid.

Positivity and Jay Cutler?  In Chicago?  Say it ain’t so!  Neil Hayes cites both Joe Thiesmann and Rich Gannon as believing Prime Cutler is going to do big things this season in Mike Martz’ system.  I happen to agree with them.

Third and Long.  Anybody who has rooted for the Chicago Bears during the Lovie Smith era knows that third-and-long defense have been the blight of the entire organization.  This difficulty usually leads to an in-depth (and somewhat angry) dissection of the Lovie Deuce scheme and the usage of teams like “soft” and “terrible”.  The reason is simple: third-and-longs depend on pass rush and coverage and the Bears have been wretched at both for years.  That is why there is more pressure on Orange Julius this season than any other player on the team.

There is going to be a push from the media and frantic fans to get the Bears to march their starters onto the field in Cleveland for another meaningless football game.  There are going to be echos of “you’re not ready” and “we need to build momentum”.  It’s all nonsense.  Lovie Smith needs to start Todd Collins and Garrett Wolfe in Cleveland.  Orange Julius in civies.  Hell, he can even leave Johnny Knox in Chicago.

I do not believe the Bears are ready for the season opener against Detroit.  And I don’t believe they’re going to flip a switch and start playing flawless football.  But the pressure to be a complete football team on the first week of the season is a product of over-obsessive fan bases and wall-to-wall NFL coverage on the Four Letters and across the internet.  We know more than we’ve ever known before and – thanks to certain people who go through the pains to create a web site – we are able to vocalize our frustrations in a public forum.

Until I’m proven wrong, the most important thing about the preseason is the avoidance of season-altering injuries.  The Bears have done that.  Urlacher and Briggs are knicked but I’m confident (and am being told) both will be practicing fully in the week leading up to Detroit.  The Bears have not sustained a single injury on the offensive side of the ball, with the possible exception of a bruised psyche.  Nothing positive that can be achieved against the Browns could outweigh the negative of a pointless injury.

So be men.  Get better.  Come out in two weeks and electrify the Chicago faithful who’ll be where they always are: in the seats.  Just don’t risk being full strength by attempting to make an unnecessary point in the preseason.

Two weeks from today the Chicago Bears will kickoff the 2010 campaign, having managed to lower expectations with three plodding, boring preseason outings.  For those of you who choose to ring the doomsday bell, remember that the 2006 Bears – the ones that went to the Super Bowl – were one of the worst preseason teams in fanchise history.  They lost painfully to the Niners and Cardinals and needed an INT return and kickoff return to beat the Chargers.  They were bad.  And folks like David Haugh were challenging the confidence of Lovie Smith every day in the Tribune. (David is at it again.  Possibly a good omen.)

What matters from this preseason?  The quarterback and receivers haven’t fully developed their rhythm yet but they will.  The linebackers are battling some nagging injuries.  The offensive line has struggled on obvious passing downs.  The defense still can’t really stop the pass and will be reliant on Orange Julius and the pass rush.

What else matters?  Nothing.  Zero.  If the Chicago Bears hold Detroit scoreless in the first half, no one will remember the preseason.  If Cutler & Co. drive the length of the field for an opening drive score, no one will be talking about timing.  The preseason does not count and it seems the only ones who’ve forgotten that are the fans.  Why?  Because we’re hungry for football and this is the only football on. 

It starts in two weeks against the Detroit Lions.  Real football.  Bears football.  And I think we’re going to see a terrific Bears effort and an important Week One victory.  But whatever the case may be, I’ll reserve my evaluation for games that count towards the standings.  And I’m looking forward to that 1-0.

Mike Florio refers to the third preseason game as the “least unimportant” and that’s actually a more positive view than I hold.  None of it matters.  Not one quarter.  Not one play.  Not one substitution.  The trick is not getting hurt and possibly – just possibly – developing the kind of rapport that comes from practicing together for the summer.  Still there are things for us to take a look at in the confidence-building department.

THE SECONDARY.  If Derek Anderson completes more than 60% of his passes against your secondary in a street game, you need to fire everybody.  Coaches, corner backs, Old Style vendors in the end zone.  The Cardinals are looking into the barrel of a 4-12 season due to the complete lack of a viable, professional quarterback and the Bears can not be responsible for instilling confidence in the position.

CHRIS WILLIAMS.  No sacks.  For the sake of Week One confidence, no sacks.  If this means the Bears throw some help to the left side, do it.  No sacks.

THE SECOND RECEIVER OPTION.  It has become clear that Mike Martz and Jay Cutler are impressed with Johnny Knox’s speed and route running but I’m still wondering who is going to be making the big first-down catches over the middle.  I’m hoping that answer is a combination of Devin Aromashodu and Greg Olsen.

KICKOFF COVERAGE.  I know everyone has been clutching at their knickers about Dave Toub’s units this offseason but I am not ready to start doubting the best special teams coach in the league.  The third preseason game – if nothing else – is the week we start seeing who the coaches think will be the ten guys running down the field with Robbie Gould half-a-dozen times a game.  A couple nice holds inside the thirty will put all that to rest.

HEALTH.  Get off the field in one piece.  No hamstring pulls.  No slight sprains.  No “may not be available for the regular season openers”.  Just get off the damn field and start preparing for the Detroit Lions.

Been a while since we did one of these open debates and they usually yield an interesting result.  I stumbled on the Tribune site tonight and they are asking fans:

WHICH WIDE RECEIVER WOULD YOU CUT?

1. Earl Bennett

2. Rashied Davis

3. Juaquin Iglesias

My vote: Iglesias.  As much as I’ve ragged on Davis in the past, I can’t overlook his impact on special teams to award a roster spot to a player whose upside is probably 10-15 catches this season.  Iglesias will find a home elsewhere and probably make a few big catches that will piss us all off but he adds nothing to the coverage units.

THE CHICAGO BEARS SIGNED TODD COLLINS and it’s a wise move.  I’d like to see Collins log some serious minutes this weekend against the Cardinals as the Bears were essentially running out the clock after Cutler’s exit from the Raiders game.  Collins also sounds like a pretty confident guy, “It’s a hard offense to learn, especially for a young guy, and I have seven years in it,” he said. “It’s not exactly the same but I feel pretty good about learning it in a shorter amount of time.”  Nothing is lost if the organization spends another year developing Caleb Hanie to be Jay Cutler’s long-term backup.

LAST YEAR THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS were one of the best passing offenses in the league.  Coupled with the second-best runner in the game, it turned them into an offensive juggernaut and all-but assured them the NFC North division title.  Adrian Peterson is still there and will get his, especially behind the big middle of that offensive line, but let’s look at the passing numbers.  In 2009, the Vikes threw for 4,156 yards.  Chester Taylor (Chicago Bears) had 44 catches for 389 yards.  Sidney Rice (old man hip) had 83 catches for 1,312 yards.  Percy Harvin (bad brain) had 60 catches for 790 yards.  Needless to say, Chilly and Favre are entering the 2010 campaign with questions they believed they had answered in 2009.  

THE GREEN BAY PACKERS have been clicking in the passing game but their passing game is not a concern for them.  Their running game?  Non-existent thus far.  Whereas the Bears seem to have re-found their running form, the Packers first-teamers have carried the ball only eight times in two preseason contests.  The other major concern for the Packers has been injuries to their top four linebackers.  None of them has yet to suit up this summer.

THERE IS NOTHING MUCH TO REPORT ON THE DETROIT LIONS (I’ve looked) but I’m kind of hoping they’re much improved.  I don’t find any solace in beating a terrible team twice every year and it’s starting to give our management a false sense of mediocrity.  They are excited up there about Stafford’s development and the emergence of Jahvid Best and that’s fine.  But the entire division would be improved by them knocking off a few big teams this year.

So watching the first half of tonight’s game, I ran the gamut of emotions.  But I’ll break down my thoughts.  First, special teams. No worries here, though it’d be nice if the Bears had a backup long snapper.

Offense.  Clearly the pass-blocking is going to be the focal point of this performance, with Lance Louis being blown off the ball by Tommy Kelly and Chris Williams looking like he’d never played left tackle before.  (I’d be surprised if Louis is the starter next week.)  I will be cautious with my overall negativity as I just don’t see the Bears using the formations you saw tonight as frequently as you saw them tonight.  And if the Bears have struggled to block early, they’ve always been quick to add help to a side of the line.  

An issue that has now emerged in two consecutive games is Jay Cutler’s tossing the ball well over the head of Johnny Knox on both complete and incomplete passes.  If Knox is going to be the #1 guy, Cutty is going to need to get the ball down.  On the flipside, the receivers need to catch the ball.  Olsen and Hester both had silly drops that could have resulted in big gains.

The positive notes?  Jay Cutler has the best scrambling ability we’ve ever seen in navy and orange.  And the running game looks in midseason form, with the addition of the Chester Taylor screen pass bringing a much-needed dimension to the offense.  I’d like to see Matt Forte cut more balls to the outside but he looked like the forte of 2008 tonight.

Defense.  Ugh.  I’ll start with the positives.  I liked Julius Peppers’ work against the run.  I liked our linebackers very much, especially after Brian Urlacher took to the bench.  Nick Roach has become a real player.  I liked seeing Chris Harris, a safety, coming up to make hard hits.  

I didn’t like much else.  The plague of the Lovie Deuce was on display tonight.  A lack of pass rush.  Wide open tight ends over the middle.  Screens going for distance.  Failure to get off the field on third-and-long.  Danieal Manning trying to tackle professional football players.  On and on and on.  This defense has a lot of work to do to keep the offense from needing thirty a game to win every week.

Overall.  Still a glorified practice but the pressure escalates next week against the Cardinals.  (Side note: the last Bears v. Cardinals third preseason game was that which spawned Denny Green’s brilliant midseason rant.)

I’ll be watching the Bears take on the Raiders from the Redi Room, a small biker bar on Saratoga Avenue in San Jose, California.  The place will have about four people in it and three will be Raiders fans.  (It’s amazing out here.  Every tough person likes the Raiders.  All the nice people like the 49ers.)  Here’s what I’ll be watching.

Cutler and the Receivers.  It seems most teams are giving the starting offenses about a quarter and a half of playing time in these second games and I’d expect the same for Cutler.  In the first game, he zeroed in on Johnny Knox for a pair of completions but I’d expect to see Mad Mike try and incorporate both the Devins and some of the screen package against Oakland.

Pass Rush.  We can bark all we want about the preseason not mattering but if Jason Campbell has the kind of time Phil Rivers had in the pocket, warning flags will be raised around the city of Chicago.  The Bears paid an awful lot of money for a double-digit sack man and are expecting a rejuvenated middle of the defensive line (especially Tommie Harris).  The question will be: when does it start to shows its face?

Establishing the Starting Five.  I would expect that whomever Mike Tice lines up along the offensive line to start the game tomorrow night will be the five guys he hopes to line up against Detroit to open the season.  Who he decides to sub out and when could be the most interesting coaching decision of the evening.

Those are my big three.  What are yours?