Forget the bus and the run, and throw the ball

It is a function of the NFL schedule that the barometer skyrockets and plummets, sometimes by the possession.

One week, fans and media have you headed to the Super Bowl.

The next week, you'll be lucky to make the playoffs.

Among 16 games there's no such thing as a big game - because they're all huge. It's why Monday mornings around the NFL are so predictably schizophrenic.

With that in mind, the sky did not fall and the dome roof did not collapse on the Bears Sunday night in Atlanta.

But they did get, uh, dribbled on.

Despite that, they're a respectable 3-2 and firmly in control of their own destiny. Even if they lose in Cincinnati, the next three games are very winnable and they could be 6-3 with 10 days off before the Philly game.

With four division games remaining, the Bears have every chance to make the playoffs.

The question you ponder, however, is what would happen if they did reach the postseason?

The Bears still don't know who they are, having yet to determine an identity on offense or defense.

So let's take a step back for moment and remember the concerns going into the season.

In no particular order, the three biggest worries involved the receiving corps, the offensive line and defensive line.

Through five games, you'd have to say the receivers - after the opener in Green Bay - have been much better than expected, and good enough to win.

Include the tight ends and running backs in the discussion, and the Bears have plenty of weapons from which QB Jay Cutler can choose.

So the receivers - due to GM Jerry Angelo's very smart pick of fifth rounder Johnny Knox - have not been a problem. They should improve as the season goes along, and as players become more in tune with Cutler.

As for the offensive line, it has lived down to expectations, and there is no running game.

Angelo has always had trouble recognizing and addressing the weaknesses in his line and once again it looks to be a problem.

So maybe the Bears ought to stop pretending they're a running team. They ought to forget the bus and get off the plane in Cincinnati using the pass to set up the run.

Plenty of teams - plenty of very good teams - do it. They do it in bad weather, they win with it, and go to the playoffs with it every year.

The common denominator is having a special talent at QB, and the Bears have that.

There are going to be times when Cutler gives away a game, but you knew that when the Bears got him from Denver, where his penchant for forcing the ball was legendary.

When he doesn't do that, when he protects the football in the red zone and takes what the defense offers, the Bears are never out of a game and rarely far off the lead.

They should not hesitate to empty the backfield, go no huddle, let Cutler make the reads, and find more creative ways to use the speed of Garrett Wolfe and Devin Hester, as they did with Hester in the wildcat Sunday.

That's not exactly the deep ball that excites everyone, but Cutler has been brilliant using the hot read and short passes to move the Bears downfield with ease.

Put the game in his hands and, if he's patient, the Bears' offense will be fine even without an old-fashioned running game.

And that brings us to the defensive line.

We know, you're thinking, "What defensive line?''

Fair question.

The line has created little pressure on its own, and only when Lovie Smith has sent the blitz have the Bears been near the opposing QB.

They have 14 sacks in five games, which isn't bad, but 5 came against a terrible Detroit line, and 4 were in the second half when the Bears were teeing off in a blowout.

They followed that up - after a bye week's worth of coaching - with zero against the Falcons, who have a good offensive line.

The reality is the Bears simply haven't had consistent pressure.

They're getting no push or disruption on the inside, thanks in no small part to Tommie Harris, who has yet to show for a game this year.

So Smith is going to have to choose between getting picked apart in the bend-and-break, or sending everyone and hoping somebody gets there fast.

Neither is a great option, and that would be scary come playoff time.

So some of their problems are solvable and some aren't, as is the case with nearly every NFL club.

It's too early for panic in the streets but not so early that the Bears shouldn't be thinking about whom they are, what they want to be, and how to go far with what they possess.

Though inching toward one, it's not yet an identity crisis.

Then again, it's not Monday morning, either.

brozner@dailyherald.com