Bears still lack No. 1 receiver
The Bears went to training camp six weeks ago looking for a No. 1 wide receiver. With the season opener four days away, the search continues.
Mark Bradley (8 catches, 106 yards) and Brandon Rideau (5 catches, 127 yards, 3 touchdowns) were the two preseason leaders in yardage, but Bradley was lucky to make the team and Rideau got whacked Saturday before being re-signed to the practice squad a day later.
Neither one will be the 1, although they combined for more receiving yardage than the other five wideouts on the active roster. It should be noted that most of their production came against second- and third-stringers.
Marty Booker, a former No. 1, and rookie Earl Bennett each had just 2 catches, and the team's best big-play threat, Devin Hester, had 4 catches for 36 yards, a 9.0-yard average. Veteran Brandon Lloyd had 7 catches for 69 yards.
None of the four scored a touchdown.
Rashied Davis caught 5 passes for 69 yards, including 2 touchdowns, even though he missed one game.
So, do the Bears have a go-to guy?
Who knows?
"I don't know if we do or not," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said, "and I don't think you have to. I don't think you have to say, 'This is our No. 1 guy.' I know everyone always talks about who's the No. 1 receiver, who's the No. 2 receiver. I don't think you really have to (decide).
"I can see four or five guys playing and contributing. And the quarterbacks have confidence in all those guys, so they're going to see a lot of different guys out there."
Since starting quarterback Kyle Orton and backup Rex Grossman split reps in the off-season work, during training camp and through the first two preseason games, they both had an opportunity to work with all the receivers.
Booker is by far the most experienced with six seasons of 50 or more catches in his nine previous campaigns.
Lloyd had 43 and 48 receptions in back-to-back seasons with the 49ers in 2004-05 before falling off the map the past two seasons with the Redskins, but he's still just 27.
In the off-season, the Bears offered Lloyd what could be his last chance to make it in the NFL after he wore out his welcome in Washington, where he failed to mesh with teammates and coaches.
He was given a clean slate and told by coach Lovie Smith that he could determine his future with the Bears, although he's still not sure how that will play out.
"I don't know what the situation is going into the first game," Lloyd said, "but he's a man of his word, and that's what he's been, up until this point.
"I've prepared and I've done the things I need to do to be here, so wherever I fall in that category is where I'm going to be, and I'm fully committed to helping the team. There's not much else I can do."
Davis has been in the Bears' system longer than anyone else, and this could be the year he breaks out after catching just 39 passes in the previous two seasons.
Hester has the highest upside, but he's still learning the nuances of the position.
"I think no matter what the rotation is, everybody's going to see time," Orton said. "I don't know that we have the one standout guy, but I think we've got four or five guys we can count on to have big games week in and week out."
Orton seemed to develop a rapport with Davis in the third preseason game, when they hooked up four times for 58 yards, including TDs of 21 and 7 yards.
"He's been with Rashied for four years, so they have a little better relationship," Lloyd said of Orton. "So when you get in those games where it's really loud, the only thing you can really depend on is your relationship. That's kind of what you fall back on."
The Bears can count on it being loud Sunday night for the first regular-season game at Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Field.
Captain, my captain: The Bears' captains for this season will be center Olin Kreutz and quarterback Kyle Orton on offense, middle linebacker Brian Urlacher and safety Mike Brown on defense, and long snapper Pat Mannelly on special teams.