Many of Bears' problems rooted in off-season mistakes

The Bears' troubles began long before opening-day injuries deprived them of safety Mike Brown and nose tackle Dusty Dvoracek for the season.

Blame it on overthinking, hubris or the inability to leave well enough alone, but the organization just couldn't stop itself from trying to fix what wasn't broken.

It started with the swift kick out the door given to defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, even though he had overseen a unit that was frequently dominant and, even at its worst, much better than the product the Bears are putting on the field these days.

Rivera's ideas didn't always mesh those of head coach Lovie Smith, who chose to promote from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator his longtime friend Bob Babich, who sees things exactly the same way as Smith.

Maybe an exchange of different ideas is more productive. It seemed to work pretty well the previous two years, when the Bears allowed 14.3 points per game. This year the average is 21.7.

Also, defensive line coach Don Johnson was canned in favor of NFL rookie Brick Haley. Johnson was pink-slipped partly because, according to him, he didn't play defensive end Mark Anderson enough. With Alex Brown starting and Anderson playing as a situational pass rusher, he had 12 sacks in 2006, the most ever by a Bears rookie and the fourth-most in the NFL by a rookie since the sack became an official statistic in 1982.

But that wasn't good enough. Smith and Babich gave Brown's job to Anderson, who has responded with 4½ sacks, including just a half-sack in the past six games. He has 9 solo tackles all season, is frequently overpowered vs. the run and has disappeared for such long stretches that it wouldn't be shocking to see his picture on the back of milk carton.

Anyone think the Bears' defensive line has played better this year than it did in 2006? Or 2005?

At least the Bears didn't get rid of Brown, as they did with defensive tackle Alfonso Boone and strong safety Chris Harris.

Boone left as an unrestricted free agent, signing with the Kansas City Chiefs for $7.2 million over four years, a pittance compared to the ludicrous $25 million over five years that the Bears felt compelled to lavish upon 30-year-old Darwin Walker in a panic move during training camp.

Boone has started all 10 of the Chiefs' games and has 15 solo tackles. Walker has 6 solo tackles in five starts for the Bears, missing two complete games with a sprained knee and having no impact in another. Both players have 1 sack, and Boone is the better run defender.

Harris was swapped to the Carolina Panthers for a fifth-round pick because Smith and Babich mistakenly believed that they could get Adam Archuleta to recapture his glory days when they were all with the Rams.

That hasn't happened. Archuleta is solid in run support but lacking in coverage, same as Harris, who has started all 10 games for the Panthers while forcing 5 fumbles, more than anyone on the Bears and half as many as the entire team. Harris and Archuleta each have 1 interception.

Archuleta cost the Bears $8.1 million over three years, $5 million of which is guaranteed. As a sixth-round pick in 2005, Harris is making $435,000.

Oh by the way, both the Chiefs and the Panthers have better defenses this year than the Bears.

In retrospect, the Bears could have kept Boone and Harris and put the money they would have saved toward a new contract for Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs, a defender who actually makes a difference.