chicagotribune.com: "5 things to watch during Chicago Bears-New York Giants exhibition"
It has been 59 years since
Sid Luckman retired as the best quarterback in Bears history.
That was the last time Chicago has seen a player as talented as Jay Cutler pull on a navy home jersey along the lakefront at the game's most important position.
They say
NFL exhibitions have no meaning, and there is a good reason for that. But it would be ignoring the buzz all over the city since the trade for Cutler April 2 -- V-Jay in Chicago -- to say Saturday night's first appearance at
Soldier Field won't be meaningful to many.
Just seeing Cutler in a No. 6 jersey against the
Giants will be fun, and here are the five other things most worth watching.
1 Can
the Bears see what they have at wide receiver?: The Bourbonnais portion of training camp ended with the same question that loomed as it began: How good are the Bears wide receivers?
The team still doesn't know.
The debate on whether to search for a veteran to help the group will continue until evidence mounts to make that seem unnecessary. Earl Bennett has been the most consistent receiver in practice, but that's practice.
Devin Hester could use the confidence boost a couple of big plays could provide.
If Saturday's game passes and no pass makes a wide receiver stand out in your memory, the situation may need re-evaluation.
2. Establish a pass rush: So much focus after the
Bills game centered on the uncertainty in the secondary that the lack of a difference-making pass rush was overlooked.
The Bears No. 1 defense did produce two sacks --
Corey Graham's corner blitz and
Alex Brown's coverage sack -- but overall the impact of the D-line wasn't what new coach Rod Marinelli had hoped.
Identities begin to be etched in August. Nothing will help a struggling secondary gain confidence more than a dominant front four, which should get a boost Saturday night from the 2009 debut of
Tommie Harris.
Harris may not play much but, when he is in uniform, he is the most important player in that defense.
3. Get running back Matt Forte going: Forte sat out last Saturday as a precaution, but offensive coordinator Ron Turner stressed the need to get his star running back between six and eight touches against the Giants.
Preserving Forte for the regular season should be the top priority, but he still needs a modest number of exhibition carries to calibrate his timing to game speed.
He's not in the elite class of NFL running back who can skip preseason action just yet, though he is on his way. Forte's importance was underscored against the Bills after backup Kevin Jones left some yards on the field and didn't play as well as coaches had expected.
4. The safety dance: A crafty, veteran quarterback such as
Eli Manning gives the Bears' young safety tandem of
Kevin Payne and rookie
Al Afalava its best opportunity yet to grow from the experience.
The cornerbacks were exploited more than the safeties against the Bills, but that trouble spot should improve once
Charles Tillman and Zack Bowman return.
At safety, the longer Payne and Afalava play together -- and play well -- the more tempted the Bears may be to return
Danieal Manning to his nickel back role instead of free safety once he returns from a hamstring injury that has lingered.
5. Fine Cutler-y: Whether it was in the pocket or at the podium, Cutler didn't make the best decisions in his Bears debut last Saturday.
But, OK, he gets the benefit of the doubt.
He locked in too long on Hester and made tentative throws that weren't Cutler-like, though it would be silly to overreact. He's a proven talent. His ability buys Cutler time until Sept. 13, if he needs it, to show the skills that make him among the most gifted quarterbacks in the league.
Still, it would be beneficial for the Bears, their fans and Chicago for Cutler to look as sharp in his Soldier Field debut as he has most of the last month at training camp.
Turner said Thursday he knew the Bears had a good offense, but it would help if he started letting everybody else in on the secret Saturday night.
