Flashback to February 2007….

Your Bears were fresh off a Super Bowl season. They headed into the offseason with a lame duck head coach signed only through the upcoming season. National pundits and fans were outraged at the possibility that the first coach to take the Bears to the Super Bowl in 20+ years could actually walk away a season later!

Well, the dude calling the shots did not let that happen. Jerry Angelo did what everyone was begging him to do at the time – he locked up Lovie for the foreseeable future.

Now fast forward from that flashback to the summer of ’08…

Brian Urlacher – a 6-time Pro Bowler – was lobbying for a contract extension. Tommie Harris – 3-time Pro Bowler – was getting dangerously close to entering the final year of his rookie contract without an extension in place. Fans across Bears nation were clamoring for Angelo to lock up the cornerstones of the Bears D. Before that season’s kickoff, Angelo accommodated our requests by signing both players to long(er)-term contacts.

Dateline: April 2009.

With a young, strong-armed All-Pro QB shockingly on the market and in high demand, Angelo asked the Broncos “What’s it going to take to make this happen?” In the blockbuster deal of the decade, the Bears landed Jay Cutler…albeit for a hefty price. And just like that, the Bears had their first franchise quarterback in 60 years.

I won’t even get into his nixing of the proposed Briggs-to-‘Skins deal that would’ve netted us what – a talented but inconsistent safety (Laron Landry)? Could your stomach really handle the thought of the 2009 Bears D without Urlacher AND Briggs?

I think you get the moral of this story – let’s lay off Jerry.

I’m guessing 90% of you would have done exactly the same thing he did in each of the above instances. But now, with an under-achieving team mired in mediocrity, every Grabowski worth his weight in sausages wants to run GM Jerry out the back door.

Sure, he’s missed on some personnel moves:

· Passing on a proven WR to pair with his rocket-armed QB.

· Refusing to stock-pile some young O-line depth (Chris Williams and Josh Beekman could put that argument to rest though).

· Continuously refusing to move up in a handful of drafts to get a difference making player, only to settle for the next best thing.

But let’s face it Bears fans – this roster has enough talent to compete for the playoffs (as we did last year and where we are (at least mathematically) this year). Angelo deserves a lot of the credit for that. He built a Super Bowl team through a perfect mix of the draft and free agency. He aggressively acquired our QB of the present and future. He’s turned his share of late-round draft picks into productive players (Briggs, Alex Brown, Robbie Gould (who went undrafted), Johnny Knox).

Let’s see how the remainder of this season and 2010 shake down before we launch the ‘Fire Angelo’ social media smear campaign. Jerry won’t stand pat this offseason. Coaching changes on the offensive side of the ball are on the horizon, and Jerry will have a hand in that. The team is in good shape cap-wise, which will allow us to lock up some good young players either currently on the roster or through free agency.

So let’s cut Jerry some slack. At least for another year.

The Chicago Bears will be with one less running back for the short-term as Brad Biggs of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that running back Garrett Wolfe will miss the remainder of the regular season with a lacerated kidney; Wolfe was hospitalized for three nights following the Bears-Cardinals game on November 8 and while the team held out hope that he would be able to return before the end of the season, apparently that is not an option.

What is not clear as of this post is whether the Bears will place Wolfe on the injured reserve; look for either Wolfe or linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa to be put on the list in order for the team to sign a third running back to back up Matt Forte and Adrian Peterson. Prior to the injury, Wolfe was the Bears’ second leading rusher with 22 carries for 120 yards; however, his value was enhanced as he was an ace on special teams, being tied for third with nine tackles – 8 of those of the solo variety.

The Chicago Bears are a maddening team in that quarterback Jay Cutler has been consistently inconsistent up to this point of the regular season while the team languishes at 4-5. If any of you watched Fox NFL Sunday this past weekend, then you probably saw and listened to the critique of Bears general manager Jerry Angelo and Cutler.

In case you missed it, here’s a recap. Terry Bradshaw said that a couple defensive players get in Cutler’s face, much like Bradshaw’s former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, used to do to him on occasion. Jimmy Johnson put his two cents in, saying that Cutler should be compared to Rex Grossman, not Tom Brady. Gee, no kidding Jimmy. Meanwhile, former New York Giants great Michael Strahan went even further, stating that Angelo should take some responsibility for the Bears’ current state of affairs.

But regardless on who the true blame rests on, the Bears have to face a tough final seven games of the regular season. Here’s a look at what they’re up against:

Sunday vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The Bears win if: The defense kicks it up a notch against Donovan McNabb, as they did last season when the Bears pulled out a 24-20 win. McNabb will probably put up some decent numbers; howeer, they need to keep the Eagles out of the red zone as much as possible.

The Bears lose if: Cutler has another of those outings resembling his 5 interception effort; interestingly, Cutler has thrown 11 INT’s in three night games this season. Eat your carrots, Jay.

November 29 at Minnesota

The Bears win if: Brett Favre has another epiphany and abruptly retires and Adrian Peterson plays like his namesake in Chicago.

The Bears lose if: Favre has the kind of success he has had this season and AP has the numbers he usually enjoys while playing under a dome. Let’s not forget the key to the Vikings defense: Jared Allen. Dude’s a beast.

December 6 vs. St. Louis Rams

The Bears win if: They simply score points – it’s that simple. Keep in mind that the Bears defeated two soft teams on their schedule (Cleveland and Detroit) by averaging 39 points/game. The Rams should join these two.

The Bears lose if: Kurt Warner leaves Arizona, Torry Holt bolts Jacksonville and Marshall leaves the broadcasting booth and suits up. But since that’s not going to happen, this should be a cakewalk for Chicago.

December 13 vs. Green Bay Packers

The Bears win if: The weather should be cold then, so a running attack will work to their advantage. In other words, use Matt Forte early and often. The defense should be able to harrass Aaron Rodgers, with a fair degree of success.

The Bears lose if: The “Bad Cutler” throws picks. The Packers have success against Bears tight end Greg Olsen.

December 20 vs. Baltimore Ravens

The Bears win if: They get to Joe Flacco. The Ravens’ QB has been rather mediocre as of late as he has thrown 5 picks in the Ravens’ four losses prior to Sunday.

The Bears lose if: Ray Lewis and Ed Reed play like several years ago when the Ravens’ D was the rave of the league. Of course, that is predicated on Cutler having a decent effort. So basically, which Ravens defense shows up and which version of Cutler shows up?

December 28 vs. Minnesota

The Bears win if: The Vikings lock up home field advantage throughout the playoffs, which means they will rest some starters.

The Bears lose if: The Vikings are fighting for the #1 seed in the playoffs; if that’s the case, the Bears are certain to get a beatdown.

January 3 vs. Detroit

The Bears win if: They learned a lesson when they let the Lions hang around in their last two contests. Their last game agaisnt the Lions (a 34-7 win last season) should be clser to the end result.

The Bears lose if: They’re distracted, due to free agency and other football-related matters. Futures are at stake, after all.

Jay Cutler had a nightmare of a game, throwing five interceptions, including one on the last play of the game with the Bears driving towards what would have been the game-winning score. Looking for tight end Greg Olsen in the end zone from the Niners 12, Cutler ran up in the pocket, and threw, only to have it picked off by the Niners Michael Lewis to end the game.

On the night, Cutler was 29-for-52 for 307 yards with no TD’s and five picks and a QB rating of 33.6. Between Thursday night and the loss to the Packers in week one, Cutler has thrown 9 of his 17 interceptions. Clearly the Bears lack of being able to run, as well as playmakers at the wide out spot have killed them, but Cutler also has to take the blame for some of the costly picks that killed the team vs the Niners.

San Fran did just enough to get the win. They put up just 216 yards, but were led by a run game of Frank Gore that put up 110 yards, 104 of it by Gore. They held the ball for 31:33 to 28:27 for the Bears. Alex Smith was 16-for-23 for 118 yards with no TD’s and a pick, but he didn’t make the killer mistakes that Cutler did.

The only TD of the night came in the second quater with the Bears up 3-0. After Cutler was picked by Tarell Brown and returned it to the Bears 14, Gore went in from 14 yards out to give San Fran the 7-3 lead. It would hold up the rest of the night to help San Fran snap their four-game losing streak.

Robbie Gould kicked a third quarter field goal to make it 7-6, but then in the fourth quarter with 10:11 left, Joe Nedney made it 10-6 with a short 21-yard field goal. The Niners D made it hold up from there, and San Fran also was able to put together a five plus minute drive in the fourth quarter to be able to take away a good chunk of the clock.

The Bears had one last shot, and Cutler helped out with a questionable defensive holding call on 4th down, was able to lead the team down the field when he and the offense had two shots with :13 seconds left . The first play Cutler was off the mark to Olsen, the second, the ball was picked off, ending the game.

Chicago is now 4-5, and they seem a long way away from the team that started the season 3-1. They will be at home a week from Sunday to take on the Eagles on Sunday nigth football.

Given good blocking and a fresh start, Larry Johnson might still be the power-running Pro Bowler who had back-to-back 1,700-yard seasons for Kansas City. Or he might be a declining malcontent who’ll only cost money and cause trouble. Any team with a faltering running game is bound to be tempted by Johnson, despite his baggage and his age (he turns 30 on Nov. 19). “Any player that’s available, we look at,” said Bears coach Lovie Smith. “That’s been our standard policy throughout. That’ll be the case with Larry.”

If I were Lovie, here are 5 lineup changes I’d make just for the hell of it…

1. Insert Jarron Gilbert as a DT/DE. The Bears only managed one measly sack against the less-than-fleet-footed Kurt Warner. And if that doesn’t scare you, remember the Falcons starting left tackle was Bear cast-off Wayne Gandy. Put Gilbert in with Brown, Ogunleye and Harris (assuming he stops pouting and punching guys with helmets on) in long-yard situations and see what happens. On a related note: Man, I can’t wait till Gaines Adams joins the squad…

2. Give Adrian Peterson more opportunities at RB. In only 7 touches this year, he’s averaged over 5 yards per carry. For his career, he’s over 4 ypc. I’m not saying he needs to get 20 carries a game, but he’ll get the job done…and isn’t afraid to blow up a blitzing LB.

3. Get Vasher & Graham more playing time at corner. Not sure this would make any significant impact unless Lovie stops giving opposing WRs 10-yard cushions. But it gives the defensive backfield some playmakers, especially if Tillman’s shoulder keeps him out for a while.

4. Totally revamp the O-line. Insert Schaeffer at LT. Leave Williams at RT (only because he needs some seasoning). Move Beekman to center and Omiyale back at guard and hope he responds well to his benching. I know, this is a pipe-dream because Lovie will never bench the future HOFer Pace. Nor will he sit Kruetz because he’s been hiking a ball between his legs for 12 years. And coaches love his tenacity — remember, he once punched a fellow lineman in the face at a shooting range on an off-day.

5. Incorporate some 3-4 schemes within the defense. Hell, if the front 4 can’t generate a pass rush or get off blocks in the run game, just go with 3 down linemen. Then leave Hillenmeyer in the middle and let Briggs/Roach/Jamar Williams freelance on the outside. No one seems to be controlling their assigned gaps anyway.

The defense lost its poise early in the game, as just four plays in DT Tommie Harris was thrown out after throwing a punch on one of the Cardinals. It set the tone for the defense to have its problems, as Warner, even without wide out Anquan Boldin, picked apart the Bears secondary all day.

Warner threw four first half TDs, and ended the day 22-for-31 for 261 yards with five scores and a QB rating of 135.9.

The Cards improve to 5-3 on the season, and rebounded nicely after their loss at home a week ago to the Carolina Panthers at home. Arizona ran away with the game early, going up 14-7 at the end of the first quarter, the scoring 17 second quarter points to lead 31-7 at the half.

Chicago heard plenty of boo’s on their home field, as the team was beat up badly a week after the offensive struggles continued despite a win over the awful Cleveland Browns. Jay Cutler, who was forced to throw almost every down in the second half, was 29-for-47 for 369 yards with three TD’s and a pick.

Greg Olsen hauled in all three scores for Chicago, catching 5 balls for 71 yards with the three scores. The Bears run game again wasn’t very good, as leading rusher Matt Forte ran for just 33 yards on five carries. On the day the Bears were outrushed by the Cardinals 182 to 70.

Warner found his favorite target, Larry Fitzgerald, often in the game. He had 9 grabs for 123 yards and two scores. Steve Breston, playing in the second WR role for an injured Anquan Boldin, had five catches for 66 yards and a final score that put the Cards up from 34-21 to 41-21 with 4:30 left.

The embarrassing setback leaves the Bears at 4-4. They have a Thursday night game scheduled in San Francisco in just four days.

At the end of an Arizona running play, Harris and Lutui ended up on the ground and a replay showed Harris hitting Lutui near the face.

The Bears got a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and Harris got a quick shower after referee Ed Hochuli announced he had slugged Lutui and was ejected.

Chicago: CB D.J. Moore, WR Devin Aromashodu, DL Jarron Gilbert, FS Josh Bullocks, WR Juaquin Iglesias, OG Lance Louis, DL Matt Toeaina, LB Pisa Tinoisamoa.

Thurs. – At 49ers
11/22 – Eagles at home
11/29 – At Vikings

If the Bears lose to the Cards, consider they’d…

Fall 3 games behind the Vikes in the division.

Fall to .500 with 3 tough games on the horizon.

Already have 3 key head-to-head losses with teams they’re battling for wildcard playoff positioning – the Packers, Falcons and Cardinals.

On the flip side, a win would…

Allow the Bears to pick up a half-game on the idle Vikings, with 2 games vs. Minny still to come.
Mean a 5-3 record at the half-way point. A 5-3 finish would likely get them to the show.
Improve their record vs. NFC teams to 3-2, with 7 of their last 8 against conference foes. With a wildcard race that’s bound to come down to tie-breakers, head-to-head results and conference records are crucial to continuing the season.

Prediction: I don’t think the Bears are ready to put us out of our misery just yet. They’ll continue to flash potential and keep us actually pondering playoff positioning…for at least another week:

Bears – 27, Cards – 21