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After two pre-season games Kyle Orton has been declared the winner of the Bears QB battle royale. The Neckbeard will be the Bears starting QB tonight against San Francisco, and September 7th in Indianapolis, but if you ask me Rex Grossman never really had a chance.

Now I’m bitter about this for a number of reasons, not the least of which was a pledge to grow a neckbeard of my own if Orton won the battle. But perhaps the biggest reason is after the game in Seattle it’s pretty obvious Rex never had a shot. Granted Rex’s performance in the American Northwest wasn’t fantastic (9/15, 74yrds, 1INT), but given the constant duress he was under I think it was pretty good. Then Orton comes in for a 3 ‘n out, a 2 minute drill that results in a FG, and he’s declared the winner. Tell me THAT doesn’t smell a little fishy.

This decision was made long ago, but they had to string Rex along so he wouldn’t feel like an idiot for signing that contract (you think he couldn’t have had a better chance in some place like Atlanta or Miami?). The Bears have decided to transport us all back to 2005 and pray a dominant defense and outstanding special teams can carry us to victories. Listen, I’ve got nothing against Kyle Orton, but I’ve never seen anything from him that seems to demonstrate he can be effective. But he brings the allure of the unknown. They always say the back-up QB is the most popular man in town and now as Bears fans we get to reap those words.

I’ll have the opportunity to see Kyle Orton with the #1 group tonight from the United Club in Soldier Field. And hopefully afterward I’ll have a lot better feeling about all of this. I’m by no means saying the Bears season is already over, although the recent O-Line play may suggest otherwise, but I am saying this supposed “QB Competition” was never a fair fight.

If I had known all it took to get this kind of fame was light up the Chief’s 3rd string defense then I would’ve thrown my hat in that ring a long time ago. If you listen to people talk in this town Rex and Kyle should be cut immediately. This is Caleb Hanie’s team now and he will lead us to glory starting September 7th when he makes Peyton Manning look like yesterday’s news… yeah right.

I admit to being excited by what Hanie did against the Chiefs. In this Quarterback starved town anything that even remotely resembles competence should be noted and celebrated. That’s why we singled him out on Bearscast, but if you’ve visited message boards any time recently you know a lot of people feel a lot more strongly than Herman and I did. Fans have started chanting his name at practice and he recently signed AUTOGRAPHS FOR 30 MINUTES! Unless those people all got confused by the #12 and thought it was Eric Kramer, that’s absurd. He’s an undrafted free agent threw 16 passes to and against players who’ll likely be cut in a week. And while he shows some promise I think Mr. Haine has the right approach, “I know. The coaches said I showed some poise, showed some courage in there, but I realize I have to keep improving if I want to be around.”

Maybe in two or three years after taking time to develop on the practice squad and run with the 2nd or 3rd team offense there might be a chance. He just might be our very own Tony Romo. But in the mean time there’s no way he’s competing with Rex or Orton this year, and if he see’s the field during the regular season then 2008 has been an immeasurable disaster. In the mean time though, I’ve written a small Ode to Caleb Hanie.

Well, with one preseason game in the books we have a slightly better idea of how this season is going to look. After the 24-20 loss some questions seem to be getting answered but others loom even larger than ever before. So let’s take a moment and do a quick overview:

The QB Derby: Neither Kyle Orton (7/10, 56 yds) or Rex Grossman (4/8, 44 yds, TD) were particularly impressive in their debuts. Orton fumbled while attempting to scramble, Rex was tripped while dropping back to pass, and neither moved the offense well. It says a lot that rookie undrafted free agent Caleb Hanie was by far the most impressive QB against the Chiefs.

RB Committee: We got our first look at Matt Forte and it was solid if not spectacular. He showed solid vision, good hands, but just wasn’t given much room to run. Garrett Wolfe did everything he could in fighting for a roster spot with a 42-yd run and also scampering for a 25-yd TD reception off a screen pass from Rex. He looked like the ideal 3rd-down back. However, Kevin Jones has been cleared to practice this week and his potential as a starter, coupled with Forte’s ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, could still leave Wolfe out of a job even with the impressive showing.

Ohhhh! Line: This is where things came apart for the Bears last year and prospects aren’t looking much better. Chris Williams is now out for half the season after having surgery for a herniated disc, and the Bears are now so desperate for depth they are considering bring back turnstile Fred Miller. On a positive note John St. Clair looked serviceable and I was extremely encouraged by the effort of 2nd-yr LG Josh Beekman. But this “solid” performance was against a D-line without a single difference maker, so it’s safe to say this is still a work in progress.

The D: The first unit struggled to get off the field during KC’s first drive but followed that up with three consecutive 3 and outs. Overall they looked pretty solid and it was good to see Mike Brown back on the field. The biggest questions left for this unit is whether or not Brandon McGowan can hold down the job at SS and who’s going to start next to Tommie Harris. If healthy they should be back to being a top 5 unit, that’s if the offense could ever stay on the field.

Hands Up: By far and away the most disappointing group against the Chiefs was the Bear’s wide receivers. Rookie’s Earl Bennett and Marcus Monk both made huge drops on the final drive. No WR caught more than one pass and Devin Hester, who needs more work than anyone, barely got on the field. Brandon Lloyd caught a nice pass from Grossman and then disappeared. And there was even a drop from the ultra-reliable Marty Booker. I’d say odds are right now a TE is going to lead this team in receptions if not yards as well.

Is it just me or is the Rex Grossman v. Kyle Orton QB battle turning into your typical election where neither option really excites you, and at the end you throw your support behind the lesser of two evils? All of it is so distastefully politically correct. Right down both players’ comments and Lovie’s coin toss, like some debate moderator trying to decide which candidate gets the first question. Personally I get the feeling of Kerry v. W. Bush or maybe Dukakis v. H. Bush, just one of those uninspiring decisions where either way the people are probably getting screwed.

Both Quarterbacks are flawed. Rex is prone to just as many fumbled snaps and poor decisions as he is to the big plays that have kept Bears coaches enamored with him. Orton on the other hand, besides from having possibly the world’s worst facial hair, has never moved the Bears offense with consistency and seems to check down to a fault. Perhaps the gods will bless us the ability to put Rex’s arm and flair for the big play on to Orton’s body and the Bears can finally have their franchise QB, but given the unlikelihood of that we’ll have to make do with just one of them as is. So what do we know about both?

Orton is often lauded for his care-taker play that allowed the Defense and Special Teams to carry the Bears to victory. He won 11 games as a rookie and 2 out of 3 during trial run at the end of last year. The stats are underwhelming: 54% completion, 160yrds/gm, 3 TDs, 2 INTs. But you do need to take into account that one of those games was played in horrible windy conditions against Green Bay where the Defense and Special Teams scored and the Offense focused on running the ball and controlling the clock. That aside Orton had 1 good game, 1 bad game, and 1 average game and makes me think that he might by the “myth of consistency” that Brian Griese was supposed to be last year.

Rex on the other hand might be the most polarizing sports figure in Chicago in my lifetime. Despite leading the Bears to a Super Bowl his limited goodwill with the fans has been thrown away in strings of careless mistakes: taking bad sacks, fumbled snaps, and throwing off his back foot into double coverage. And yet to watch Rex at his best is the closest thing we’ve had to a legit QB in the last 15 years. Rex had an awful start to last year, but after replacing Griese in the middle of the Oakland Raiders game actually played 3 very solid games. In his second stint at the helm Rex threw for 897yrds, 3TDs, just 1 INT, and averaged 6.7 yards per attempt. But the Bears only went 2-2 in those games and he took a whopping 16 sacks. It’s hard to say if improved line play would help that, but we can be certain that last years 2nd incarnation of Rex was a lot better than the first.

So where does that leave us? I’m personally throwing my support behind Rex because I believe the player he was in the second half of 2007 gives this team their best chance to win. I don’t want to revert all the way back to 2005 and watch 8 and 9 men in the box completely stifle rookie Matt Forte. The Bears need a threat at QB, even if it’s an inconsistent one, because outside of Devin Hester they don’t have one anywhere else. That’s why I am voting for Rex in ’08.

And based on the amount he’s getting paid, returning better not be all Devin Hester does this year. I will personally admit to initially being staggered by the size of Devin’s new contract, reported as 4yrs/$40mil by many outlets. I felt it was important for the Bears to pay him and I was glad he reported after only two days, but that much money made it seem like Jerry Angelo had been well… had. However, like so many other NFL contracts things are never as they seem.

The reality of Hester’s extension is that he is now on a 6yr/$33mil deal with about half of that guaranteed. That seems to be a fair combination of highest paid Special Teams player (about $3mil/yr) and young developing receiver (about $2.5mil/yr). A lot has been made of the $10mil performance bonus he could receive, but that’s only coming if he turns into Larry Fitzgerald or Braylon Edwards… so it’s never coming. In the end this is another well done contract. Like with Peanut Tillman, Nathan Vasher, Alex Brown, Desmond Clark, and Tommie Harris before Angelo managed to nail down a market level contract without a significant holdout or PR battle during fairly tumultuous times in the NFL. The man simply does not get enough credit for keeping the cap situation under control and important players in town. And he deserves even more credit given that Hester is such a unique player and as such it was a negotiation without precedent.

The Bears needed to find a way to pay Hester for his production, excitement, marketability, and potential and this contract seems to do all of that. Now all the remaining questions will be answered on the field. Like, how many offensive snaps can he play without his returns suffering? And will he ever be able to learn more than one route as a WR? While I reserve the right to be incredibly apprehensive about Hester and his ability to live up to this deal (and reference back to this at some point in the future with an “I told you so”), I’m going to forget all about that when he’s fielding the opening kick-off in Indianapolis, or more likely it’s kicked out of bounds, and that’s the point.

The clock struck 3 and Superman was nowhere to be found. At a time the Bears need Hester being faster than a locomotive and leaping diving defenders in a single bound more than ever it appears his contract situation has poisoned Bourbonnais with kryptonite. Now at this point Jerry Angelo has to find a way to get Hester to camp for fear of being painted as Lex Luther.

In reality this is a pretty complicated situation. While no one would argue that Devin Hester is an elite NFL talent and grossly underpaid at $445,000 for the ‘08-’09 season, there is also no contract or player in the NFL to compare him to. The Bears and many fans are optimistic that Hester can develop into a #1 WR, but so far he has just 300 career receiving yards and rumors abound that he’s had trouble picking up the offense. So while the Bears would happily project him as the cornerstone of their offense for the foreseeable future, they also need to protect themselves against the chance that Hester’s pro career mirrors his college career and he never finds a true position. So do you pay him as the best special teams player in the NFL, and therefore about $2.5mil/yr? Or do you pay him as a #1 WR, about $7mil/yr? Where can the two sides land in between? Hester and his agent obviously understand how important he is to a Bears team that is currently lacking and sort of established threat, but there’s a decent chance if the Bears and Angelo cave too much it could really come back to bite them.

Just as we were settling in for the Rex/Orton derby and prepping for our first looks at rookies Chris Williams and Matt Forte the landscape has completely changed. Now the only question that will matter early in camp is, when will Superman return?

Well it’s finally over and more than likely most Bears fans will just be happy to stop hearing about it. When Brian Urlacher arrives from training camp (which begins Wednesday) he will sign a deal that will include $6mil signing bonus, add $1mil to his salary for the four years remaining on his original deal (thru 2011), and finally adds the 2012 season to the deal for $7.5mil.

At the end of the day the deal looks an awful lot like what the Bears initially offered ($5mil bonus and an extra $1mil/yr) so a lot of people feel like Urlacher caved. I personally think it’s an extremely fair deal given that Urlacher has some injury concerns at this point, but has also maintained an extremely high level of play while the cap has increased by over $35mil. Unfortunately Jay Marotti wasn’t so kind in his thoughts on the deal. All in all Urlacher got $18mil and a contract level that is more representative of his status as one of the best LBs in the NFL. However, this season will go a long way to determining if the money was worth the PR hit he took in the off-season.

Epsiode 100 of Bearscast will be out later this week to discuss this move and the opening of training camp.

Well in an off-season in which contract extensions have been all the rage for the Bears, Tommie Harris has joined Alex Brown, Robbie Gould, and others in inking for more years in Chicago.

Harris signs 4yr/$40mil extension

The contract is the richest in Bears history, the highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL, and includes $18 million in guarantees. Harris was one of 3 players the Bears had strongly targeted for an extension this off-season (along with Hester and Gould), and this signing should allow Jerry Angelo to focus on Urlacher, who’s been attending voluntary OTA, and Hester who might be the default #1 WR whether he is ready or not. There undoubtedly will be some criticism out there given that Harris has struggled heavily with injuries over the last two years. The Bears will also lose some leverage in the Urlacher negotiations given the money they just committed to a player with recent injury issues. However, I strongly believe that Harris is the second most important player to this defense after Urlacher and might even be harder to replace. So I tip my cap to Angelo for getting this done… now if he could only find a QB…

UPDATE: He gone.

Big Brown cost me my exacta box at the Belmont and normally I would be upset about losing, but l cashed in on my Cedric Benson BWI/DWI exacta to make up for it. Still awaiting trial for drunken boating, Benson was arrested for suspicion of drunk driving, Saturday morning in Austin, Texas. He now has been charged with boating while intoxicated and driving while intoxicated. Let’s all hope for safety of everyone living in Texas, Cedric does not have his pilot’s license.

How dumb does one have to be to get in a car after drinking while awaiting a trial for his arrest of boating while intoxicated? I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt after the first arrest, after all athletes are human and make mistakes and there even seemed to be a chance Police harassed Benson on the water. Given that he has been arrested again for drinking and driving, I am done with Cedric Benson. He needs to go spend 28 days with Lindsay Lohan before coming to camp.

To be a quality running back in this league you need to be a good decision maker and it is clear that Cedric Benson is not. After being drafted with the 4th pick in the 2005 draft, the former Longhorn has disappointed on the field and off. The Bears wasted a first round pick and now this year’s second round pick to find his replacement. The Matt Forte era looks like it will begin sooner than expected. Let’s hope Jerry Angelo is right about the Tulane star.
Angelo has a decision to make, whether or not Benson should remain with the Bears.

“Disappointment is too much an often-used word when we’re talking about Cedric, and the number one lesson for every player is protect your job,” Angelo said. Not exactly the ringing endorsement fans want to hear about their “star” running back as training camp begins.

The Bears Fan Expo is this Saturday and Sunday (June 7th and 8th) at the Cadillac Club.

I will be there on Saturday along with my lovely girlfriend taking in all the sights, sounds, spin, and everything else the Bears have to throw at us. Hopefully I’ll also get to do a bit of networking and bring in a few more fans for the show. If you are also going to be in attendance, shoot me an email at hosts@bearscast.com. Or if you just have some questions you’d like me to try and get answered (like why in the world is Cedric Benson still a Bear?) just post them on the boards and I will do my best to get them answered and bring that knowledge back to you.

Starting this Monday (June 9th) with the Post-Expo show I am going to do everything in my power to get Bearscast back up and running at an episode a week. I will need all and any of you to suggest topics, raise questions, or just pick a fight we me so I’ll have something to talk about. This is going to be amongst the most crucial off-seasons in a long time for the Bears (and intrigue already abounds with rumors that Orton is out front in the QB derby) so join me for the ride.