[CBFF] ESPN - Bears need offense to help defense

[Jerry Madsen]

Updated: Aug. 3, 2006, 12:41 PM ET
Bears need offense to help defense
Clayton
By John Clayton
ESPN.com
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BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- Lovie Smith's address to the Chicago Bears at the
start of training camp was simple. He wanted the league's top defense
to find a way to recover more of the fumbles it causes (the Bears
recovered only 10 of 26 caused fumbles last season). He wanted better
offensive production on third down. And finally he wanted to find a
way for the offense to score 21 points a game.

"In the playoff game against Carolina, we scored 21 points," Smith
said. "With our defense, that's a good starting point."

Even though the Bears lost that playoff game to Carolina, 29-21, the
game was significant because Rex Grossman was the quarterback.
Grossman has been jinxed by numerous injuries in his three years with
the Bears. But that 21-point effort against the Panthers offered some
hope. If a healthy Grossman can regularly produce 21 points, the Bears
will be hard to beat with a defense that gave up only 12.6 points a
game.

"That helped my confidence going into this year," Grossman said. "I
don't think you can look and say 21 points was good enough because we
lost. We've got a lot of work to do on offense. We scored 21 points
but we didn't do anything in the first quarter and that's when
Carolina got a lead. There is a lot more than just scoring points."

Chicago is a city that doesn't expect much offense. Only one Bears
team in the past 10 years averaged more than 21 points a game (21.1 in
2001). Chicago is a city in which defense has been king, and that's no
different now. The Bears have six Pro Bowlers on defense between the
ages of 23 and 29. As good as they were last year, they should just be
entering their prime. Even though Chicago needed a receiver and a
tight end, it used its first five draft picks in April on defensive
players.

Grossman, who missed the first 14 games of the 2005 season after
breaking his ankle in the preseason, knows all eyes are on him. Fans
have seen his strong arm. They've seen a little bit of his leadership.
Bears players believe in him, but he's played in only five
regular-season games in the last two years. The Bears hedged their bet
on Grossman by giving Brian Griese, considered the game's best backup
quarterback, $6 million as an insurance policy. Grossman and Kyle
Orton make a combined salary of $975,000. Griese earns more than six
times that.

The picture is clear. Grossman's next major injury turns the team over
to Griese.

"I'm just hopeful this is my year to get established," Grossman said.
"At any time, any player in this league can get hurt. I'm glad to put
that part of it behind me, I can't control it. I've just got to play
my game, and if I do, hopefully that will take care of itself. It was
huge to come back at the end of the year and salvage something."

In 2005, the Bears made a commitment in the draft to get the best
offensive player available. Despite the presence of Thomas Jones, the
Bears chose running back Cedric Benson over a number of available wide
receivers. In their thinking, the 2005 receiving class wasn't overly
appealing compared to running backs Benson, Ronnie Brown and Cadillac
Williams. Plus, if anything happened to Grossman, the team could still
win by running the ball with Jones and Benson.

That strategy worked. After Grossman got hurt in the preseason, Orton
ran a scaled-back offense that saw the Bears run the ball 30 times a
game. Despite finishing 29th in the NFL in offense and scoring just
16.3 points per game, the Bears finished 11-5 and won the NFC North.
While Orton served admirably last season, he's an afterthought this
year behind Grossman and Griese.

"I think we will have more explosive plays on offense, more plays of
15-plus [yards] if we can keep our quarterback healthy," wide receiver
Muhsin Muhammad said. "We need to have more consistency in the passing
game. You may even see more explosion in the running game because we
won't face as many eight-man fronts. Our passing game will probably
draw more attention."

The question facing the Bears -- aside from Grossman's ability to stay
healthy -- is whether they have enough other talent to sustain a good
passing game. Muhammad is the only proven part, a big, strong
possession receiver with Pro Bowl experience. Competing for the
starting receiver job on the other side are Bernard Berrian and Mark
Bradley. Bradley is coming back from knee surgery and is about 90
percent, so Berrian should get the nod.

"Bernard is a receiver with deceptive speed, and I put him in that
category with Ashley Lelie," Muhammad said. "He's deceptive and he's
strong. He's 6-1, streamlined and runs good routes. He forces
cornerbacks to come out of their backpedal. I told Bernard that he has
to average 20 yards a catch whether it's on long routes or comeback
routes."

Berrian averaged 18.9 yards per catch last year, but he caught only 13
passes. Bradley is a promising second-round pick from a year ago, who
caught 18 passes in seven games as a rookie before injuring his knee.

"I'm praying Rex stays healthy," said Muhammad, who had only 64
catches for 750 yards. "I need him this year. I went from a productive
role into doing what I can. It's totally out of character for me to be
watching football games. With Griese here, we have a solid backup. But
Rex is definitely the most talented of the three."

The offseason drama on offense has been how Benson beat out Thomas
Jones for the starting running back spot without any competition.
Lovie Smith has already announced Benson will start over Jones, who
missed most of the offseason program because he wanted more money,
then hurt a hamstring upon his arrival in training camp.

"I just think you start over each year," Smith said. "That's my
policy. Thomas hasn't been here for the offseason work and he hasn't
been here for training camp. There is no competition for the job."

Grossman, though, doesn't buy the idea that Jones, whom the Bears
won't trade unless they get a first-round choice, will be forgotten.
He doesn't discount the possibility that Jones could even end up
starting once his hamstring heals. Jones is the more complete back. He
catches the ball well and is a good blocker in the backfield on pass
plays.

But Benson looks good, too. He held out of last year's training camp
and opened the door for Jones to be the Bears starter. This offseason,
Benson was as no-nonsense as his style of running. He didn't miss an
offseason workout. He lifted and seems stronger and thicker around the
chest and shoulders.

Benson's best runs are between the tackles, but he has surprised
offensive coordinator Ron Turner with how quickly he gets to the
outside on stretch plays. Turner plans to implement more of them into
the offense.

"I'm not a dance around guy; I'm a north-south guy," Benson said.
"When I see an opening, I hit it hard. I like to run between the
tackles. I'm not a big fan of the stretch play because my shoulders
aren't square to the line of scrimmage."

Grossman likes what he sees.

"Cedric's got great balance," Grossman said. "You think he's going
down, but he doesn't fall over. He'll use his hands on the ground and
stay upright. He's unreal. He bounces right and left. Once he gets out
of the box, he can just burst it. I'm excited for him. I also feel
Thomas [Jones] is going to be here. I feel he's going to play a lot."

The mission for the Bears offense is to score 21 points a game. Their
schedule is considered easy. Their division is considered easy. The
Bears defense isn't asking a lot, just 21 points. Keeping Grossman
healthy will be the key.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

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