Not exactly Grade A

Super Bowl XLII now seems like a pipe dream.

Playoffs? Think playoffs the way former Saints coach Jim Mora did in his infamous rant, which lives on thanks to a beer commercial.

The defending NFC champions' 3-5 record, with essentially the same personnel as last year, has Bears fans wondering what's wrong with a team that appeared poised to take the next step.

Bears coach Lovie Smith likes to break the season down into quarters, and even he admits that his team's first-half performance leaves little room for error in the second half.

Breaking their performance into semesters at the halfway point, the Bears are in danger of failing as a team and, in many cases, individually.

Quarterbacks

Evidently it wasn't all Rex Grossman's fault, although the four-year veteran made himself an easy target with back-to-back-to-back lousy showings, throwing just 1 TD pass and 6 interceptions.

Brian Griese has been picked off at the same rate, 10 interceptions in five starts, but he has thrown 9 TD passes and thrown for more yards in all five of his starts than Grossman did in any of his starts.

Grossman, however, did not have the advantage of utilizing rookie tight end Greg Olsen and explosive receiver Devin Hester, since neither had been given much of a role in the offense at the time of his benching.

Grade: D-plus.

Running backs

Statistically the Bears have the worst running attack in the NFL. No runner with 80 or more carries has a worse average than Cedric Benson's 3.1 yards per attempt.

When Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said, "Cedric is performing to the best of his abilities. He's giving us top effort," he seemed to suggest it wasn't all Benson's fault that the ground game has ground to a halt.

That seems to be a knock on the offensive line, but evidently Benson's top effort isn't good enough because he hasn't gained much more than what has been blocked.

Backup Adrian Peterson deserves more chances based not only on this year's 4.5-yard rushing average but his career average of 4.7 and his ability to catch (24 receptions, third best on the team) and block. Garrett Wolfe hasn't seen enough action (6 yards on 5 carries) to get anything but an incomplete.

Grade: D.

Receivers

The abundance of drops stands out more than the big plays.

Bernard Berrian leads the team with 38 catches and 518 yards, but he also has had more drops of well-thrown balls than anyone. He has just 1 TD.

The other starter, Muhsin Muhammad (19 catches, 248 yards), has only on rare occasions offered evidence to the contrary that he's descending quickly on the down side of his career.

The tight ends have been a godsend. Even with rookie Greg Olsen missing the first two games with a sprained knee, he and veteran Desmond Clark have combined for 49 catches and 577 yards with 4 touchdowns, as many scores as Muhammad and Berrian combined.

Devin Hester's coast-to-coast potential portends well if his role continues to increase. His 81-yard TD grab to tie Minnesota with 1:38 remaining was one of the highlights of the season.

Grade: C.

Offensive line

As a group, they appear to be suffering from a rapid acceleration of the aging process. Almost overnight the line appears to have gone from a solid unit to one that can't impose its will as run blockers or provide consistent protection in the pocket.

Pass protection seems to have improved recently, though, allowing just 6 sacks in the past four games after permitting 15 in the first four. The run game has been consistently poor, failing to average more than 3.7 yards per carry in any game this season. It's not all Cedric Benson's fault.

Grade: D-plus.

Defensive line

As a group, they've sacked the quarterback 17 times, including 7 by Tommie Harris, but none of them has performed well vs. the run since stopping LaDainian Tomlinson and Larry Johnson to start the season. That's why they are 26th in rushing yards and 27th in average gain per rush allowed.

The performance against the Vikings (311 rushing yards) was embarrassing. The loss of tough, stout nose tackle Dusty Dvoracek in the season opener hurt. So has the inability of big-ticket trade acquisition Darwin Walker to pick up any slack at tackle since suffering a sprained knee almost a month ago.

After getting 16 sacks in his first 20 NFL games, right end Mark Anderson has one-half of a sack in the past four weeks. Left end Adewale Ogunleye leads the linemen by a wide margin with 34 tackles and is tied for second with 4 sacks.

Grade: C-minus.

Linebackers

Lance Briggs looks like someone who is playing for a big payday after the season.

Oh, yeah, he is.

Whatever his motivation, Briggs may be the defensive MVP thus far, leading the team in tackles despite missing 1½ games with a hamstring injury.

Brian Urlacher, bad back and all, still makes some impact plays, just not as many of them. He had 3 sacks in the first three games but none since. If he makes a seventh Pro Bowl, it'll be on reputation, not merit. Hunter Hillenmeyer has been as solid as always.

Note: Briggs and Urlacher have not played well with the media, but that extracurricular inactivity did not impact the unit's overall grade.

Grade: B-minus.

Defensive backs

Losing cornerback Nate Vasher the past five games proved too much to overcome after safety Mike Brown, the quarterback of the secondary, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the season opener.

Strong safety Adam Archuleta is a presence as a run stopper in the box but struggles in coverage. Free safety Danieal Manning has been inconsistent in all phases, but his play wasn't helped by moving back and forth between corner and safety.

Cornerback Charles Tillman has done his best to hold down the fort, but neither he nor any other cornerback has an interception this season.

But seventh-round rookie corner Trumaine McBride has been a pleasant surprise.

Grade: cornerbacks, B-minus; safeties, D.

Coaching

Defensive coordinator Bob Babich's blitzes have produced more sacks than Ron Rivera's schemes did last year. But at this point last season the Bears' defense was No. 1 in total yards and passing yards allowed and No. 2 in points allowed. This year those same rankings are 26, 24 and 22.

Missed tackles, lack of gap responsibility and injuries are more responsible for the defensive drop-off than Babich, but he's Lovie Smith's guy, so both have to accept some blame.

Offensive coordinator Ron Turner has integrated big-play threats Devin Hester and Greg Olsen into the mix. The running game hasn't done its part, and it seems to lose effectiveness when forcing Cedric Benson to run wide, rather than power plays inside the tackles.

After big wins at Green Bay and Philadelphia, the Bears came out flat the following weeks, losing at home to the Vikings and the Lions while appearing unprepared and unmotivated.

Grade: D.