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Charles “Peanut” Tillman is hoping to come back next season as a new man after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his right shoulder. The shoulder was originally injured week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles but Tillman played through the pain, missing only one game after he doubled up hurting the other shoulder two weeks later at Atlanta. This is the second time Tillman has had surgery on his right shoulder the first being after 2005.

Now the pessimist will ask if it was Tillman’s bum shoulder that let ex-Bear Bernard Berrian loose for that 99 yard touchdown pass in Minnesota. But for the skeptics out there it should be noted that the last time Tillman caught serious ire from Bears fans was in 2005 when he got torched by Steve Smith and also played with a bum shoulder. The two years following Peanut came back at a Pro Bowl caliber level.

The question really shouldn’t be, will Tillman’s play return to its previous level? Over his six year career with the Bears he has proven to be one of their top defensive performers. The question is, what position will Charles Tillman be returning to and how will that effect the players around him?

It’s a question that is not likely to be answered for a long time, but given the Bears desperate need at free safety if one can’t be found in the draft or via free agency it could signal a move for Peanut. Talk of Tillman moving to safety is nothing new, former defensive coordinator Greg Blache thought he could be a Pro Bowler at the position when he was drafted in 2003. His coverage skills would certainly be welcome in a safety group that could rarely stop anyone this season.

Can they afford to lose him as a cornerback though? With plenty of doubt surrounding the return/revival of Nathan Vasher from two injury riddled years the move to safety for Tillman could leave the Bears with Corey Graham and not much else at the position. Not a welcome thought in a division filled with Berrian, Greg Jennings, and Calvin Johnson.

That more than anything will probably have Peanut back against the oppositions best WR, but a strong return for Vasher or the emergence of Zach Bowman could allow the Bears to make the switch. But cornerback or safety the Bears defense is at their best with a healthy Charles Tillman on the field.

How have the Chicago Bears chosen to respond to two years of under performance by a veteran laden and well compensated defense? By hiring the only man to ever coach an 0-16 team in NFL history of course. That’s right the Bears have hired former Lions head coach and Tampa Bay colleague of Lovie Smith, Rod Marinelli to be their new defensive line coach and assistant head coach.

There are a lot of ways to spin this story, from continuing incompetence to the second coming of Bob Babich. Some of those concerns are legitimate, especially considering the last time the Bears went out of their way to bring in one of Lovie Smith’s pals the Bears defense dropped from top-10 to bottom-10. Also, it’s never particularly good PR to bring in the man in charge of the most imperfect team in league history to turn around a struggling unit.

However, while those criticisms have some validity it seems shortsighted to get hung up on the 0-16. After all former Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron, who was at the helm for their 1-15 season last year, is now the offensive coordinator for the AFC Championship game bound Ravens. It’s an important reminder that just because someone failed as a head coach doesn’t mean that they can’t be an important contributor to a coaching staff.

Rod Marinelli does still have the reputation as being one of the best defensive line coaches in the league. His work for 10 years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is what helped land him the job with the Lions in the first place. Now after watching an entire Bears season and defense crumble because of their inability to pressure the quarterback it would be foolish to turn any help away. Marinelli is credited with helping mold Warren Sapp into the dominant force that he was and any similar help with Tommie Harris could turn the Bears defense around in a hurry.

Granted a lot of this still doesn’t look good. Lovie brings another one of his friends on to the staff while refusing to part ways with a defensive coordinator who appears in over his head. Though while Lovie and Jerry Angelo have publicly stated so far that Bob Babich’s job is safe I am sure this hiring has to have him feeling at least a little uneasy. Another slow start from the Bears high priced defense and the presence of Marinelli could ease the decision to show Babich the door.

At the end of the day though Rod Marinelli is being brought in to do what many NFL teams already know he can do well. That’s why teams like the Texans and Seahawks were also pursuing him. The Bears offer him the most comfortable position and the biggest opportunity to make an impact, as the emergence of a pass rush could solve so many problems. So hold off on the 0-16 jokes and give the guy a chance, we need all the help we can get.

As the Bears prepare to take the field in a must-win game against the Houston Texans they will have to do so without Safety and defensive captain Mike Brown. It’s a common end to the season for Brown who will now finish up his fourth year out of the last five on injured reserved, with yet another leg injury — this time his calf — putting him on the shelf.

Now with free agency approaching it has put Mike Brown’s career with the Bears in doubt. Many thought it could’ve been over last season when a cheap block from Lorenzo Neal bent Brown backwards and led to an ACL tear. But as he had many times before Brown worked diligently all through the year rehabbing and has provided a stable veteran presence for the team through 15 games.

Yet, the cumulative effect of the injuries has been obvious. Once amongst the most dynamic playmakers at his position the loss of explosiveness has changed turnovers and big hits into solid tackles. While that along with his leadership should be enough, the Bears have needed more because his presence has pushed Kevin Payne out of position to free safety.

The injury should open the door for rookie Craig Steltz who was expected to challenge for a starting spot immediately but has developed slower and been relegated to special teams. Next year he will likely be competing with Brandon McGowan for a full-time spot next to Payne.

It is a sad day for Bears fans that this injury likely close door on the Mike Brown era. In the last nine seasons no one had worked harder or more embodied the soul of this Bears defense than Brown. The memories he has left here will be ones we cherish for years to come and it will be those moments and not the games he missed that this warrior will be remembered for.

For the first time since the Bears have been in their “win out or no playoffs” scenario they finally got some help from other teams. Losses by Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings mean both the division and a wild card spot will still be in play Monday night.

But no matter how much will or will not be on the line when the Bears and Packers will take a frozen Solider Field it should be a hard fought football game. Five weeks ago Aaron Rodgers and Co. destroyed and embarrassed the Bears 37-3 forcing a 3-way tie for first place in the NFC North at 5-5. Now with their own playoff chances gone the Packers could have the opportunity to keep the Bears at home with them in January.

So as we try to do every week over at Bearscast.com we set five over/under’s that will be key this Monday night:

Over/Under: Kyle Orton passing yards 200

The last Bears/Packers game was Orton’s first back from the ankle injury he sustained in week 9 against the Lions and it showed. Without any mobility or the ability to push off and put sufficient velocity on his passes Kyle finished 13 of 26 for only 133 yards. In fact Orton has only one 200 yard passing game since the injury.

But the Orton’s ankle is a lot healthier and the Packers’ secondary is a lot more beat up than they were five weeks ago. Also the Packers defense will be focused on stopping the injured Matt Forte. That should mean even under less than ideal weather conditions the Bears passing game should be a lot more effective and important.

Over/Under: Ryan Grant rushing yards 100

Ryan Grant has come back to earth a bit during his second season with the Packers, but that didn’t seem to matter in the first match-up. Grant had only one 100 yard rushing game prior to week 11 against the Bears but gashed what had been the most consistent part of the Bears defense for 145 yards on just 25 carries. That effort was part of over 200 team rushing yards, the most the defense has given up all year.

The major reason for Grant’s big time performance was the focus the defense put on Aaron Rodgers and stopping the Packers top 10 passing offense. While it’s safe to expect that the Bears will be slightly less stubborn about bringing Mike Brown down into the box to stop the run, slowing down the aerial attack will still be the top priority. That should open enough holes for another solid game from Grant.

Over/Under: Devin Hester receiving yards 65

The press coverage of the Packers corners complete took the wide receivers out of the game up in Green Bay. Hester was just another victim being held to only 1 catch for 7 yards, his quietest performance since the first two weeks of the season.

Since then though Hester has established himself as the undisputed #1 wide receiver for this team. Averaging 62.5 yards per game over the last three as well as drawing two key pass interference penalties Hester has become a complete threat on offense. The Packers will undoubtedly try to jam him often, but if Hester can get off the press it will open up big play opportunities.

Over/Under: Brian Urlacher tackles 8.5

Earlier in the season Urlacher’s struggles made him the poster child for the decline of the Bears defense. For a former defensive player of the year fresh of a contract extension is never seemed to show up on Sundays. Averaging less than six tackles a game, without any sacks, and only two turnovers forced through 12 weeks it’s not shocking that he missed the Pro Bowl for the second straight year.

However, over the last two weeks announcers have been calling his name a lot more. The result has been 18 tackles, two strong defensive performances and two crucial wins. Now with the playoffs still a possibility and a long hated rival coming to Chicago in prime time Urlacher will need to continue his strong play that could help many fans forget his slow start.

Over/Under: 3rd down conversion rate 45%

Early in the season the Bears got by with an efficient offense that made sure to get into third and manageable situations and had a very high conversion rate. As teams have started to key on Matt Forte though the number of 3rd and longs has increased and the Bears season conversion rate is down to 40%. While that is not awful without the dominating defense of the past the offense needs to do a better job of pulling their weight.

It starts with a more consistent running game getting the Bears to 3rd and 5 or less. The Bears also need improved play for the WR position to give Orton more options as well as holding on to the ball. With the season on the line and perhaps his job for next season in doubt expect Kyle Orton and Co. to rise to the occasion, you have to as a Bears fan.

Give the Bears credit, since the 34-14 disaster up in Minnesota three weeks ago their backs have been against the wall and they’ve come up with two must have wins. Two strong defensive performances as well as the arrival of Devin Hester as a receiver have them half way to the 10-6 record they need to have a chance.

Unfortunately in the mean time the Bears have not gotten much help from anyone else. The Vikings consecutive wins of the Lions and Cardinals leaves the Bears two games back with two to go. Also with 4 teams ahead of them fighting for only two spots the chances for a wild card birth appear even slimmer.

The concern was always there, looming in the hangover after each close loss, and it looks like the early blown opportunities against the Panthers, Buccaneers and Falcons have come back to bite the Bears. From Greg Olsen’s fumbles to Charles Tillman personal foul to Robbie Gould’s disastrous squib kick this has been a year close but not close enough. So instead of competing for the best record in the NFC or even just even with the Vikings for the division the Bears can only wait and hope for help.

This week none of that matters with the rival Packers coming in for Monday Night Football. Even without any playoff implications the 37-3 beating the Pack put on the Bears five weeks ago should be more than enough motivation for this game. And maybe with a little help from the Atlanta Falcons – who play the Vikings this Sunday – the finale in Houston will mean something to.

Unfortunately wins in their final two games could still be just too little too late.

It’s hard to say that a victory over one of the worst teams in the NFL is a cure for all there ills but it should at least help shake off the hangover of the debacle in Green Bay. Sunday in St. Louis the Bears manhandled the Rams and finally did all the things we’ve been waiting for this season, like rushing the passer.

While the cries of victory should be tempered by the quality of the opponent it was certainly satisfying to see Brian Urlacher making plays and Tommie Harris and Adewale Ogunleye get to the quarterback. The Bears defense finally played with the passion fans had become accustom to, now the hope is the injuries coming out of this game don’t prevent a repeat performance in Minnesota.

So with a battle for first place against the Vikings on the horizon, we look back at the Bears and Rams in five:

1) It starts and ends with Forte
Everything the Bears have been able to do this year has started and ended with Matt Forte. Now fifth in the NFL in rushing with 909 yards and leading in total offensive touches with 270 the offense doesn’t go unless Forte makes it go. With 132 rushing yards Sunday he allowed the Bears to coast through the second half.

There is still some concern that he’ll hit that inevitable rookie wall, but if he could hold it off for just one more week he could give the Bears a serious leg up in the chase for the NFC North division crown. The Vikings commitment to stopping Forte the last time these two teams met allowed Kyle Orton to shred their secondary en route to 48 points. The Bears will need more out of Forte this time in an attempt to control the ball and keep his counterpart off the field.

2) The snap to Hester…
Sunday marked the long awaited debut of the Bears version of the “wildcat” formation. While the play wasn’t quite the homerun that it had been in other places around the league Hester still managed to work his way towards a first down and give opposing defensive coordinators a lot more to think about.

While Hester continues his struggles as a returner, even being relieved of his kickoff return duties, his nearly 90 yards of total offense Sunday shows the kind of contributions he can make. Ron Turner did an outstanding job of using Hester successfully in a variety of ways that should put all the Bears remaining opponents on notice.

3) Slow but steady
That’s the mantra Kyle Orton needed to have against the Rams. The play of his defense and Forte made sure that Orton had to do little more than dink and dunk and keep the offense moving. The ankle injury appears to have limited his ability to get the ball deeper down the field, but his accuracy was vastly improved from the game against Green Bay.

Now as the Bears travel to the Metrodome Orton will need to find his deep touch again. Four weeks removed from the injury against Detroit the Bears will need the QB who was creating all sorts of long-term extension buzz before the bye week to return.

4) Did the real Bears defense just stand up?
We’ve seen 1-game aberration from this group before and it’s hard to overstate how terrible the Rams are, but success has to start somewhere. It’s obviously unreasonable to expect this team to return to a top-5 or even top-10 defense given the body of work they’ve put out this year, but improvement is the key. The defense needs to avoid the drop-off they experienced after their last dominant performance in Detroit.

Then again the return of a pass rush from Tommie Harris and Adewale Ogunleye make pretty much anything possible. If the Bears can return to getting pressure with just their front four it allows them to get more creative in disguising their coverages. Perhaps most important though was the return of the run defense going into their second match-up with Adrian Peterson.

5) The injury bug
The only significant injuries the Bears had going into St. Louis were Marty Booker, who hadn’t caught a pass in three weeks, and Kevin Jones, who’s been ineffective all season. Now coming out of that game the Bears could be down half of the starting secondary. Mike Brown’s lower leg injury and Nathan Vasher’s hit to his surgically repaired wrist could likely keep both out next week.

The silver lining here is that both of their back-ups have seen playing time and played well. Corey Graham was already on the verge of taking Vasher’s starting spot and his superior tackling probably would’ve had him on the field most of the time anyway.

Craig Steltz for Mike Brown on the other hand should be more concerning. While Brown is not the playmaker he once was in coverage he is still excellent at playing downhill and attacking the line of scrimmage, that’s something the Bears could sorely miss in Minnesota.

Bearscast will return with brand new episodes this week. We have to much to discuss after the awful drubbing in Green Bay and the awesome drubbing in St. Louis. Stay tuned!

- The Bearscast Crew

This season has been a little different for Devin Hester. After shattering return records and elevating himself to an elite level as the best return man in NFL history after only two years, the ride has gotten a bit bumpier.

On many occasions Superman has looked frighteningly human. Fumbling returns, tackled for no gain, losing yards inside his own 10, and even sustaining a rib injury. He just doesn’t seem to be the same guy back there — too much hesitation, too much back and forth and perhaps just flat out trying too hard.

Early on the theory was he was pressing too hard, trying to justify his new contract by taking every return the distance. But as the season has worn on the theories have turned elsewhere:

“There’s only one deduction that make sense: The experiment of turning Hester into a fulltime receiver has failed miserably, and should be scrapped. Maybe then Hester’s rare return magic will return.” (Don Banks, SI.com)

Don Banks of Sports Illustrated is not the only one to propose such a theory. He joins pretty much every color analyst covering Bears games, several writers and radio personalities in Chicago, my occasional Bearscast co-host Mr. Payne and probably most fans.

That’s a lot of people who know a lot about football who think Devin Hester’s additions on offense have not offset the diminished returns on special teams. So with respect to most of those people, allow me to disagree.

Admittedly Hester’s first season as a full time contributor to the offense has not been ideal. He started slow as a WR, still doesn’t have a reception longer than 32 yards and hasn’t seemed like the dynamic and dominant force we all envisioned. But there has been improvement. His production over the last five weeks would put him on pace for about 900 receiving yards in a season, better than Bernard Berrian in 2006 and about on par with what Berrian did in 2007.

Considering he’s only in his second year playing a position that generally takes three years to master at the NFL level. The last two weeks have also shown that the deep strikes are coming as Hester was overthrown twice on passes that should’ve been touchdowns by a rusty backup QB.

Hester is playing a key role in an offense that is now scoring more and passing the ball better – prior to Orton’s injury – than Bears fans had seen since the days of Erik Kramer. Part of that is the fear that Devin creates when he’s lined up out wide. Teams are forced to respect his speed and game-breaking ability and it’d be foolish to think he has not done a lot to open things up for Rashied Davis, Marty Booker and Greg Olsen.

The Titans game also provided a glimpse that the Hester magic is not gone in the return game, as he came the closest he’s been all season to breaking a kickoff and punt return. Teams are doing everything they can to slow him down and he set a pace that was unseen in NFL history his first two years. The law of averages states pretty clearly the opposition was going to catch up with him a bit; the pendulum is just swinging the other way.

When criticizing Hester’s returns, Banks and others have referenced his return average “a mind-boggling 31st in the league in kickoff returns, with a 20.9-yard average and a long gain of 51.” It does sound horrible when you put it like that, but not nearly as bad when you consider Hester’s average last year was only 21.7 yards per kickoff return. The average is down because teams do not treat Hester like a normal kick returner, regularly send kickoffs much higher and shorter to give him less room to work with. The key stat is average starting field position on kickoffs, which is out near the 30 yard-line for the Bears and still among the best in the NFL.

I am not foolish enough to think that his play at WR hasn’t had any effect on his return game. The additional plays and hits have to take something out of him. However, turning Hester into a wide receiver is a long-term investment. It can’t be scrapped after nine games especially as it appears he’s making progress.

I miss the event that was watching Hester return a kick for a TD as much as anyone. It was the most exciting 15 seconds in sports and I should stress that it’s not gone forever. But over the next five years it’ll be more important that Hester turns into a threat at WR. As nice as his returns were, if the Bears don’t see a significant drop in starting field position, they are better off with sustained drives that eat up clock and protect there defense than waiting for lighting to strike.

It’s amazing how sure Bears fans and pundits were just two years ago or a year ago that Hester should be on offense using his gifted return ability to break big plays and revolutionize the Bears offense the way he did the return game. Then when it doesn’t come easily or quickly it needs to be scrapped so the Bears can return to the old safe ways that probably weren’t going to hold up anyway.

2008 has not been the year we all dreamed of for Hester, but it’s all a work in progress. Those looking to get out now are the kind of people who sell stock at its lowest point, right after it plummets. For those brave enough to ride out the storm there are much bigger returns still to come.

As the Bears face their toughest test of the season almost certainly without starting QB Kyle Orton, the odds will be stacked against them. The Titans defense will look to feast on mistake-prone Rex Grossman and turn what could’ve been a close game into a blowout.

Still, the Bears are not without hope. This is a team that has played its best football against its toughest opponents with wins over the Colts and Eagles. The Bears will need to rise to that challenge again and play their best game of the year this Sunday.

For a look at how they might do it Bearscast sets the over/under on five key topics for this week:

Over/Under: 1.5 turnovers for Rex Grossman
Turnovers have always been Rex’s biggest issues. In games he’s committed one or zero turnovers the Bears are 17-6, and it will likely take one of those games for the Bears to eek out a victory this week.

Unfortunately it’s hard to imagine Rex standing up to the constant pressure of Albert Hansworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch and not making a few mistakes. Rex could still play a solid game, but the odds of him making a few mistakes especially given his lack of playing time are too great to go under.

Over/Under: 115 rushing yard for the Titans
The Titans average nearly 150 yards rushing per game and the Bears average giving up about 80, so 115 is right in the middle. Stopping the run is what the Bears D has done best all season holding 6 of 8 opponents to under 100 yards for the game,

But one of the two opponents to go over 100 was the Carolina Panthers and the Titans feature a similar two-back system. LenDale White will handle most of the between the tackles work and rookie speedster Chris Johnson is their home run hitter. The Bears should keep them contained most of the day, but one big run from Johnson could easily put the Titans over 115.

Over/Under: 7 tackles for Brian Urlacher
For the season Urlacher is only averaging 5.5 tackles per game. While that still has him second on the team it’s also far from the production we’ve come to expect. One reason for the low total could be how quickly teams abandon the run against the Bears, limiting opportunities for Urlacher and the entire front seven.

But this week they face a team that will not abandon the run. With Kerry Collins under center the Titans need to consistently pound the ball to take the pressure off of him. This should be and needs to be the game that Urlacher regains his form. He finished last year playing outstanding after taking some criticism over his early play; hopefully this season will pan out similarly.

Over/Under: 35% 3rd down conversion rate for Titans
For the year the Bears D has been great on 3rd down holding teams to a measly 32% conversion rate. However, they have still had a tendency to give up prolonged drives, which wears the defense out especially against a physically team like the Titans.

The Titans offensively have not been all that great converting only 39% of their 3rd downs on the season. The Bears ability to stop the run should put the Titans in lots of 3rd and 6+. Getting off the field then will be crucial to avoid breaking down in the 4th quarter against Tennessee’s running game.

Over/Under: 125 all-purpose yards for Matt Forte
Last week Forte showed the same flashes he had week-one against the Colts and reaffirmed that he was capable of carry the Bears to victory. If the Bears are going to get to 6-3 this Sunday he’ll need to do it again and should get plenty of opportunities.

With Hansworth clogging up the middle expect to see a lot of swing passes and stretch runs with Forte. He’s the Bears best and most consistent playmaker on offense and more than likely he’ll need to create something from nothing several times this week. If Forte can consistently get positive yards and keep the offense out of 3rd and long he’ll have put the Bears in a position to compete.

This Sunday the hapless Lions will visit Soldier Field, and amazingly they will be even more toothless than they were in Detroit five weeks ago. But even without Jon Kitna and Roy Williams no team in the NFL is a complete pushover.

Still the Bears somewhat maligned defense unit should be able to feast on a back-up QB, Dan Orlovsky, who leads an offense with only one legitimate weapon in Calvin Johnson. Aiding the cause should be the return of starting CBs Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher who both appear to have recovered over the bye week.

The real test, at least in my eyes, is to see if the Bears offense will come out of the bye week without missing a beat. Kyle Orton had been playing like a Pro Bowler over the last three games and it’ll be important to the Bears second half that he immediately squash any potential doubts that it might have been a fluke. He should have default #1 wide receiver Brandon Lloyd as well as Devin Hester on the field to help.

So now for those and more keys to the game we turn to the Bearscast Over/Under:

Over/Under: 100 yards rushing for Matt Forte

The last time these two teams met the Lions stacked the line, shut down Matt Forte, and paid the price. This game should signal a change in that trend as more teams, especially the Lions, respect Orton’s ability to beat them through the air.

This should hopefully mean a reemergence of Matt Forte as a more dominant running threat. As he sees fewer and fewer 8-men boxes he will need to break tackles and get into the second level. If Forte can’t pick up his performance to compensate for the extra attention Orton is going to get the Bears are in trouble.

I think he will.

Over/Under: 2 sacks for the Bears defensive line

Here we are, another week into the season and still wondering if the Bears’ pass rush is ever going to show up. Tommie Harris and Adawale Ogunleye are by far the biggest culprits and if we are to see an appreciable improvement in the overall defensive performance it will start with those two.

What does it say that the Bears are paying them nearly a combined $17mil for 3 sacks at this point? Probably that the team and fans are getting ripped off. We’ve seen that Harris, Ogunleye, and Mark Anderson all have the talent to get to the quarterback, and yet if it were anyone other than Detroit I’d be going under here.

Over/Under: 10 snaps for rookie Chris Williams

I’ve already made my case for Chris Williams to be starting as soon as this Sunday, but now my fear is that he probably isn’t even going to see the field. For all those who cry out about line continuity, the counter is the incomparable value of live NFL action. Williams hasn’t seen any yet and he needs to get his feet wet.

The one hope is that this Bears/Lions game is as lopsided as the last so Williams can protect Rex Grossman’s blindside for most of the fourth quarter. Unfortunately the odds are against that and Lovie Smith and Co. will likely squander the opportunity to get him even as little as a dozen snaps. Why such blatant disregard for game action that could advance his development by lightyears? Because they’re the Bears.

Over/Under: 140 combined receiving yards for Lloyd and Hester

As fun as the approach by committee has been for the Bears passing game they eventually need true leaders to emerge there. Prior to his injury Lloyd looked as if he was well on his way to becoming Orton’s favorite target, as evidenced by the fact that he’s still third on the team in receiving despite missing 2.5 games. Additionally Hester has shown flashes that he’s starting to get it and it would be huge if he could build on his earlier success against the Lions.

Still you can’t argue with the ability the move the ball the Bears have shown without Lloyd and that could mean he is worked back into the offense slowly. With Hester his injuries, though both have been sustained while returning kicks, could make coaches a little gun shy.

These two will probably still be the source of most of the big passing plays while they are healthy but for the time being they will have to settle for playing a smaller role.

Over/Under: 250 yards of total offense surrender by Bears defense

400 yards and 41 points are way too much for the Bears to give up any Sunday. To make matters worse they got an extra week to think about it and an extra week’s worth of question from the media digging at them about it. If they can’t come out motivated for this game then they really have become fat and complacent.

There is still enough pride on this D to muster a big time performance. With the return of Tillman to help slow down Calvin Johnson the Bears should thoroughly out-man Detroit. Not that dominating the Lions will really serve as a barometer for the second half, but the healing has to start somewhere.

Thankfully for the Bears, the Lions are just what the doctor ordered.