The rest of this week, we'll be asking you three questions a day about the Bears as they start training camp in Bourbonnais.
The Bears enter training camp today in Bourbonais with more question marks than ever under Lovie Smith. During the previous years of Smith's reign, it always felt like the Bears were building towards something. Those feelings seem to be gone this season. Or do they? To get a gauge on public perception for the 2008 Bears, here are some of the team's most important questions as they head into training camp that all you guys can take a shot at:
1) Is second round rookie Matt Forte ready to be the offense's primary option?
From everything we've read, he certainly sounds ready. Still, I fear the Bears are putting too much on Forte's plate. The NFL has become a two-running back league, and even if Forte can live up to the hype, he'll need help. Kevin Jones was brought in for that reason, but some think he could start the season on the PUP list, which would mean he's out until Week 7. Even if Jones is ready to go right away, it all comes back to Forte. He's one of the biggest keys to the Bears having a successful season.
2) Who will be the starting quarterback, Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton?
No need to waste time with clinically stupid Urlacher for Farve trade ideas: if Lovie Smith is to be believed, Grossman and Orton are neck and neck(beard) right now. I've always been a Rex supporter, but the days of "Rex is our quarterback" are long gone, as they should be. Longtime Bears insider Hub Arkush recently said that he believes Orton will be the starter, as did the Sun-Times' Jay Mariotti. The most underrated factor in deciding who the quarterback is may be what kind of offense Ron Turner is set to run. If the Bears are going to pound Forte between the tackles, and rely on a short, quick-strike passing attack, Orton is the better option. If they want to alleviate pressure on Forte and try to air it out to Devin Hester and Mark Bradley, Grossman is the guy. If Grossman does win, I just hope Turner won't handcuff him like he did last season. Grossman will never be successful running The Trent Dilfer Offense, so don't try it again.
I think Orton wins the job out of camp, but I doubt we've seen the last of Rex. Who knows, maybe he can rally the troops to the playoffs if he comes in off the bench. Say what you will about Rex (and all of you have), but his teammates have always respected him.
3) Can Mike Brown stay healthy?
An amazing stat from Brad Biggs last week:
The Bears are 14-2 in the last 16 games (Brown) has started and haven't lost a game he has started and finished since Oct. 9, 2005, at Cleveland.
Everyone behind Brown is unproven. If the Bears are going to compete in a very winnable division, Brown will need to be on the field. I like rookie Craig Steltz and second year man Kevin Payne a lot, but Brown takes this defense to another level. The Bears have a shot at the playoffs this year if the defense returns to its 05/06 form, regardless of how inept the offense is. For that to happen, everyone needs to stay healthy, particularly Brown.
We'll be back with three more Bears questions tomorrow.
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Also, if you like fantasy football, go check out The Fantasy Factor, a new fantasy sports blog here at the Sun-Times.
Roman Modrowski is an assistant sports editor for the 
Where do Peterson and Wolfe fit in RB picture ??
1. Forte will only be as good as the offensive line and the play calling allow him to be. Not sure he's the stud everyone makes him out to be, but he might be serviceable.
2. Kyle should start, but the cards are stacked against him. He could have the best training camp in Bears history, but I think the Bears vaunted "braintrust" would rather have their franchise "pet"...er... Rex play. Btw, Kyle had the best training camp last year and sat. Only QB with a winning record last year.
3. Mike Brown making it out of pre-season, much less starting the regular season without another season ending injury is about as likely as Adam Archuleta making an open-field tackle. Aint gonna happen. Brown's heart is there, but his body isn't.
Perhaps wishful thinking is too prominent in my cogitations, but "yes" to questions one and three, and Rex over Kyle on question two.Mike Brown desrves to show what he can do in a fully healthy complete season,and Forte does not need much of a hole to pile up good yardage. He's also smart enough and dedicated enough to make a quick impact.Now let's hope Williams signs and hits training camp at full speed.
How are they gonna decide who gets reps with the first team first? And whoever does, is that a message in itself? And how long before the controversy really heats up? And who's the 3-stringer? I say give him a shot too. Personally I'd like to see the O-line be very vocal about who they want as starter.
Like sands through the hourglass, these are the days of our Bears.
I now have to type the code "2fartng" I'm not kidding!
Hey Ricky...can you look into the possibilty of us trading for Carson Palmer...he all but cut his throat over the weekend with Ohio fans when he bashed OSU. I think he is "crying" for a trade out of CopLand.
Is there anything we could do to make this happen?
I would run the rexwagon into a telephone pole, while Chuck was mid teen wolf if we had a chance at Carson.
1. Forte will be fine. Not much of a bar to hurdle.
2. Orton please. Just protect the guy!
3. I surely hope so. I feel for Brown because he is so good and such a nice guy. But this is his last go round. Bears have to move on.
My opinions on the posted questions:
1. The Bears don't really a have a choice but to thrust him into one of the primary weapons on offense. Acquiring Kevin Jones was great, but he still might not be 100% by the time the regular season starts, which means that he'll likely miss all of the preseason games. Trial by fire for Matt Forte. I sure hope he's the real deal.
2. I've always said that a decent quarterback can be great if he has great players around him. The Bears don't have that right now, but based on the personnel they have, Kyle Orton appears to fit in running the offense better because he's not as much a risk taker as Rex is. Give Rex the speed burners and solid line protection, then I'd take him over Orton. Both guys aren't bums like the guys we've had in the past dating back to maybe Erik Kramer, I don't care what anyone says, but It all depends on what we have surrounding the QB and whether the young guys on offense have made progress or not. Sure, Devin Hester is a speed guy, but he's not an every down wide receiver like Steve Smith is. Hester is still the Bears primary return specialist on special teams.
3. Mike Brown is as important on defense as Briggs & Urlacher. He's not only the brains on defense, but is also one of the primary leaders as well as his talent. I still believe the injuries he's had in the past were just pure bad luck, especially the cheap shot by Lorenzo Neal of the Chargers last season in the first game of the regular season. It's not a case of Mike Brown being a fragile and injury-prone football player. Injuries from pile ups and cheap shots are just unfortunate. For me, I'm just hoping that he's 100% recovered and then cross my fingers from there that nothing happens again during the season. As for Craig Steltz and Kevin Payne, I like both of them too, but still unproven of course, and really, any one of those 2 is an upgrade to Adam Archuleta, thank you very much.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the offensive line in your first three questions of training camp. In my mind, the offensive line is the biggest question mark - and the biggest key - for this team. If the offensive line gels and plays well (which I believe they're capable of) this team will be able to run the ball and make enough plays in the passing game. Rex and Kyle have both proved they're competent enough to lead us deep into the playoffs, and will probably be better this year because of the competition. Forte, Jones, Peterson, whoever - they all should be able to run effectively behind a quality line. Heck, OUR Adrian Peterson rushed for five yards a carry back when our line was kicking a**. Check the stats. Wide receiver? The '90 Giants won the Super Bowl with Stephen Baker and Mark Ingram at wideout. The '07 Giants won with Plaxico Burress and...well, I can't remember. Whoever emerges from the wide receiver battles will be able to get open and catch the ball. Hester could be dynamite. Ditto Bradley. Booker is a pro. Davis, according to the coaches, is excelling. WR will not make or break us.
The D will be good if it stays healthy, as has been said many times. The special teams are outstanding.
It's up to the O-line. They better get nasty and kick some a** this year. Everyone's worried about Metcalf, but check the stats of the first 13 games of '05 when Metcalf was starting and healthy. We had NO passing game under rookie Orton, yet the Bears ran the ball out of their minds against 8-man fronts while Orton was putting up 90 yards a game. Granted, we had Thomas Jones, but Benson's and AP's stats were just as good.
It's the line, people. Can Chris Williams run block? Are Kreutz and Tait getting old? These are the real questions.
Oh, and I forgot to mention - what did the Bears finish in rushing last year? 30th? 31st? How much better do you think we'll fare if we can return to being a top-10 or top-15 rushing attack? The defense will get rest as we grind out first downs, the passing game (especially play-action, which was almost completely useless last year) will open up...
The line's the thing, wherein we'll kick a** again.
By the way, Roman, can I say "ass" in these posts, or is that obscene?
Julie B: Perhaps your code has something to do with the content of your post?
Shanemon: I think you're right about the o-line. Why we get it, but the coaches don't is beyond me.
However, I would say for the Bears, their tight end play is more important and critical to their success than their wide receiver play. If Olsen and Clark improve over last year's performance, the offense could turn in a solid year (yes, the line is the key, but "bear" with me). Olsen and Clark force defenses to change their schemes to account for them. We haven't had that in a while. Hester in man on man coverage is a heckuva lot more dangerous than in zone coverage. Olsen in man on man coverage should be a monster, especially now that he has a year under his belt. It won't really matter who is at wide receiver if our tight ends have productive/good to great years. Great tight ends mean more single coverage for everyone else. Hester and/or Bradley could have good to great years as a result.
One last thought: Our offensive play calling has GOT TO IMPROVE DRAMATICALLY. It is so bad that it's...it's... offensive. Quit trying not to lose and start playing to win. Our defense is good, but it's not great enough to win without an effective offense. Ron Turner, outside the o-line, could be the Bears biggest make or break point this season. I would rather have Orton draw plays in the dirt than to run some of the crap Turner has called.
Finally, Lovie and his regime are on the clock and it's getting damn close to midnight.
First, can we please take the millisecond to add a "u" and spell gauge properly, please?
Second, no rookie is ready to be a No. 1 option at running back, especially when you consider he will be running behind a line that is 4/5 old and 1/5 rookie and will not be helped by the fact that no defense respects the Bears' quarterback or receiving situation and thus will stack the box to stop the run.
Third, it doesn't matter who the QB is because neither of them is going to get the job done.
Lastly, no. He hasn't been able to complete a season in years and there's no reason to expect him to do so now.
Ricky responds: Millisecond taken. Thanks.
Sorry, Jason, but in our dumbed-down society (hey, like our offense!), spelling 'gauge' without the 'u' is now perfectly acceptable. Even if you consult a recent printing of Webster (I do a lot of technical writing).
Dan Breed: Webster's has dumbed-down "gauge?" America = dead.
1) No, Forte isn't ready, but it seems like he's going to have to be (especially now that Hester's holding out. Might have wanted to extend the contract of someone that actually scores touchdowns, Jerry!). We'll see what happens.
2) If Kyle Orton were going to be the starter, they wouldn't have extended the Rexperiment. Kyle could have the best preseason of all time and not start. Sometimes you just gotta unleash the dragon.
3) No.
"America = dead."
Darryl M, you may have just accidentally activated my STUPID COMMENT proviso...
what exactly does this mean? i may have missed something...can you explain?
dan breed..
its weird you think our society is dumb down, when at no time in human history have individuals had access to more sources of information EVER.
also, as an expectant parent, i am amazed at how much information the Parents of today actually use, my wife is reading books, she is on line everyday looking up medical facts and reading drs and maternity sites and baby blogs and exchanging info with other expectant moms all over the world at the speed of light......
I know my parents werent doing that stuff....and their parents didnt know a 100th of the stuff my wife knows about whats happening inside of her...
I cant control what you do in your own house, but in this house, and my peers houses, ITS FAR FROM DUMB BROTHA!!!
Congrats on your impending father-hoodness. But America has dumbed down a great deal. Maybe not in your household and maybe not in mine but overall it is dumbed down. When a kid can go on line and get the highlights of a book doesn't that mean that he won't read the whole book? People don't break out a piece of paper to add-they use a cell-phone. Who can remember a whole telephone number, nowadays? If you have my name in your phone that's all you need. The military used to be adjusted to anyone with at least a 5th grade education now if you can aim and shoot that's all they want. McDonalds and most restaurants have pictures of food instead of having them add. Have you ever given someone 21 dollars and 20 cents at the Jewel or the Walgreen to pay a 16 dollar and 18 cent bill and they stare at you for a second while trying to figure out that you want a solid five and 2 pennies? Cashiers at grocery stores used to know what everything cost in the whole store and even what was on sale. Now they call for a price check on everything that won't beep even though if it is the commonly sold item in the store. One man's convenience is another man's head ache. Oh and didn't you say that you rely on spell-check? Maybe Mrs Culz is using the computer for vital things while the Mr is using it to enter blog sites.
1. Mark Forte a starter? I'll see it when i believe it and i doubt he does any good.
2. Orton or Grossman? That's like acting which one is dumb & dumber?? Neither one of them are NFL quarterbacks
3. The bears are a cheap organization and Rashed Mendenhall should of been our RB along with Colt Brennen or Joe Falco or any of the other QBs the the bears passed on because they are cheap!
Ricky responds: Passing on a QB had nothing to do with being cheap. First, it would have been impossible to land both Flacco and Mendenhall. Both players were selected in the first round. Besides, Flacco blows anyways. As for Brennan, he was a sixth round pick, and the reason the Bears didn't take him is because he is horrible, horrible, horrible. Candice Parker probably has a stronger arm.