CHICAGO -- It's a nonstop replay of the movie "Groundhog
Day" for the Chicago Bears.
Every season, it seems, they wake up to the same dilemma: their
starting quarterback, because of injury or ineffectiveness, has to
be replaced.
Six times in the last seven seasons, the Bears have been forced
to use at least three different starters at the most crucial
position on the field. Since 2000, they've had nine starters at
quarterback.
Now, even before the first snap of the regular season, they're
already on their third No. 1. After missing most of last season
with a torn knee ligament, Rex Grossman is out at least three
months with a broken ankle. Chad Hutchinson was so shaky, he went
from first team to the waiver wire in less than a week, and the job
is now Kyle Orton's.
Orton goes from fourth-round pick to leader of the offense, one
that was the NFL's worst a year ago.
"I think he's going to be a good quarterback in this league,
and I think he's expecting that, too," said wide receiver Muhsin
Muhammad, the Pro Bowl receiver who was the team's major offseason
acquisition.
"Anything less is just cheating the team and cheating himself.
I think you do have to be patient and you do have to understand
that it's not going to be perfect every single time you go out
there, and mistakes are going to be made," Muhammad added.
"It's going to be a learning process, but how fast that's going
to take for him to learn everything and do everything right, it's
on him. It's how much he can handle."
The question is how much more can Bears fans handle or endure on
the 20th anniversary of the season that led to the team's only
Super Bowl.
Losing has been ongoing for more than a decade. Since "Da
Coach" Mike Ditka was fired after the 1992 season, the Bears have
had just three winning seasons and made two playoff appearances.
Second-year coach Lovie Smith is counting on what he knows best
-- defense -- to keep the team in games and also score points as the
offense finds its way with yet another quarterback at the controls.
In a division where there is no dominant team, how competitive
will the Bears be?
"Only time will tell. We feel like we have good players. We
brought Moose in, we brought Fred Miller in on offense," said
linebacker Brian Urlacher, who made four straight Pro Bowls before
injuries limited him to nine games a year ago.
"Things have gotten better on defense. It looks like our whole
team has gotten better. We just have to go out there and do it on
Sundays. We can talk all we want, but until we go out there and
prove it, it doesn't mean anything."
The Bears' defense appears healthy with Urlacher, Mike Brown,
Jerry Azumah, Charles Tillman and Adewale Ogunleye -- starters who
missed time last season with injuries -- ready to go, even though
Azumah is making his way back from arthroscopic hip surgery during
training camp. He's expected to play Sunday in the opener at
Washington.
"We're semihealthy. That's the main thing, we're pretty healthy
going in," Urlacher said. "I think the atmosphere around our team
and our locker room is a lot better. We think we are a good team.
We have to go out there and do it, like I said."
The hiring of Ron Turner as offensive coordinator and the
signing of Muhammad were significant moves to pump up the offense.
Their offensive line has been bolstered with the acquisition of
veteran Miller at right tackle to go with John Tait, Ruben Brown
and center Olin Kreutz. Last season, Chicago gave up a team-record
66 sacks when its offensive front was forced to move players
around.
Rookie first-round pick Cedric Benson frustrated the team with a
36-day holdout and didn't participate in training camp or any
preseason games. He said he's ready to challenge starting running
back Thomas Jones, who just missed gaining 1,000 yards last season.
Justin Gage, Bernard Berrian, Bobby Wade and rookie Mark
Bradley, a standout in the preseason, will be the other receivers
opposite Muhammad, who caught 93 passes for Carolina last season. Turner, fired as head coach at Illinois, returns for his second
stint as offensive coordinator. His predecessor, Terry Shea, lasted
just one season.
Under Turner in 1995, Erik Kramer set several team passing
records. Turner's offense relies on the run but can also throw the
ball downfield, something Orton has shown the ability to do at
times in the preseason. Veteran Jeff Blake and Kurt Kittner, who
played at Illinois for Turner, are Orton's backups.
One national magazine rated the Bears as the NFL's 32nd team.
Smith wasn't concerned.
"We know what we have on the inside right now," he said. "I
don't listen to a lot of that stuff, to be truthful."