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FBF All Star Running Back!
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Richmond, VA
Posts: 981
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BEARS TRAINING CAMP
Hungry for more?
Bourbonnais should be good gauge of Bears' appetite for winning in '06
By John Mullin and K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporters
July 22, 2006, 6:31 PM CDT
Urgency or complacency?
That question will hang over the Bears when they report to training camp Wednesday for Year 5 at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais.
The first practice is Thursday.
As they aim to post consecutive seasons with double-digit victories for the first time since 1990 and '91, the Bears believe they improved their defensive backfield and offensive line depth, upgraded their return game and finally solidified the quarterback position.
But they also stood pat with 22 returning starters, a rarity in today's NFL.
"I'm going back to the three things I said the first day I got the job," coach Lovie Smith said. "We want to continue to beat Green Bay. We want to win the NFC North, which is tough to do. And our main goal is to win the Super Bowl."
The tenor of training camp can reveal if there is enough hunger or whether last year's success produced a false sense of achievement. Here are other questions as the Bears try to distance themselves from the divisional playoff nightmare against Carolina and Steve Smith.
How much scar tissue?
What looked to be a mark of stability for an emerging team—all 22 starters back—began to fray during the off-season when linebacker Lance Briggs and running back Thomas Jones stayed away from enough voluntary sessions for Smith to give them mostly second-team repetitions at the mandatory mini-camp.
Jones sought a trade. Briggs, after a Pro Bowl season, wanted a contract extension.
Jones, with his work ethic, is held in very high regard by teammates. It would not be a stretch to expect some small measure of resentment at seeing Jones, the centerpiece of the 2005 offense, losing his job to Cedric Benson for passing up a voluntary component of the off-season program.
Relations between Benson and Jones appeared cool last season. What will be the mood if Benson is handed Jones' job after the veteran's 1,335-yard rushing year?
Expect Briggs, if he shows for the start of camp, to win back his job from Leon Joe quickly.
How open is QB job?
Management insists it's Rex Grossman's job to lose. But signing Brian Griese gave the Bears more than a veteran backup.
Griese has a higher career completion percentage and passer rating than Grossman. He also has 25 more touchdown passes than interceptions, compared with Grossman's four touchdowns and six interceptions. At 31, Griese is entering his NFL prime, and he has won other training camp battles.
In Grossman's favor, if he stays healthy, is his teammates' belief in him.
"When Rex throws it, that ball comes out hot," one offensive lineman said.
The energy surge Dec. 14 in Soldier Field when Grossman came out to start the second half against Atlanta was palpable.
If there is to be a controversy, it may come once the exhibition games start. If Grossman falters, Griese's credentials to replace him are established. And his exhibition numbers against second-teamers should be strong.
Will somebody finally catch on?
The search for an impact No. 2 receiver continues until Mark Bradley demonstrates he can finish an NFL season and is as good as he appeared to be before he tore knee ligaments.
The need for a threat opposite Muhsin Muhammad was underscored by the failed effort to sign free agent Antwaan Randle El. The offense desperately needs a passing game with more than Muhammad.
Muhammad had seven games with five or more catches but tied for second league-wide with 11 drops. His arrow no longer is pointing up at age 33.
Establishing another consistent option is vital, leaving Muhammad to be the crafty vet who works all areas of the field but is not the home run hitter. Bernard Berrian, Justin Gage, Bradley, the oft-injured Airese Currie and even converted DB Rashied Davis are the hopefuls.
Is Benson a franchise back?
His rookie season revealed little, thwarted by the contract impasse that cost him camp, the knee injury that cost him six games and Jones' play. If he had been in camp on time, speculation was that his first NFL start would have come far earlier than Nov. 13 against San Francisco.
Now he apparently has been installed as the top back for a run-oriented team. In the town of Walter Payton and Gale Sayers, where the 1,000-yard season was born with Beattie Feathers in 1934, Benson will get the opportunity to keep Jones as his backup.
"We're really excited about what he might be able to do for us," Smith said.
Does defensive line get better?
The Bears invested a first-day draft pick on a defensive tackle (Oklahoma's Dusty Dvoracek), even with Pro Bowler Tommie Harris, nose tackle Ian Scott and solid depth in Tank Johnson and Alfonso Boone.
But Johnson is out with a leg injury, Scott is in the final year of his contract and Boone will be 30 on opening day. Dvoracek played next to Harris at Oklahoma, and few would be surprised if he is Harris' sideman in the NFL sooner rather than later.
The Bears also added rookie end Mark Anderson. He's behind Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye, who is aiming to become the first Bear since Rosevelt Colvin in 2002 to post double-digit sacks in consecutive seasons.
"We're going to work extremely hard this next phase," Smith said. "We can't wait to get started."
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