Easy to see why Bears struggling
Listen, the Bears' problems on offense aren't exactly as complicated as the New York Times crossword puzzle.
Heck, they aren't even as much of a mystery as Brian Urlacher's insufferable behavior.
The Bears are starting a backup quarterback, a running back still unproven after 2½ NFL seasons and receivers who insist on dropping passes.
Doesn't exactly remind you of the Cowboys' old triplets -- Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin -- does it?
So it's clear why the Bears couldn't run or pass well enough to prevent Sunday's 16-7 loss to the Lions in Soldier Field.
Why Urlacher wants to keep behaving like a dumb jock is another story.
The all-pro middle linebacker sat in front of his locker again, dripping inanely short responses and saying he would answer fans' questions about his allegedly arthritic back on a dot-com this week.
What day? Didn't know. Why not answer the local media's questions? Wasn't sure. Will the sun rise in the east or west tomorrow? Probably.
Anyway, the Bears' offensive struggles are much more transparent than Urlacher's struggles with imaginary demons.
As mediocre as the Bears' defense was, they needed only 17 points to win this game and had little chance to muster them.
A week ago, quarterback Brian Griese went out of his way to credit offensive coordinator Ron Turner for the playcalling in the victory over Philadelphia. This week it'll be interesting to see who gets the blame for the loss to Detroit.
Heck, kick returner Devin Hester's mere presence continued to provide excellent field position and the offense still couldn't convert it into scores.
Griese threw 4 interceptions -- 3 in the Lions' end zone -- because he is a second-stringer attempting to salvage the unsalvageable.
"He's trying to make plays, but it's simple: We can't turn the ball over," Bears head coach Lovie Smith said.
Consider the Griese-for-Savior campaign over.
The Bears don't play again until Nov. 11 at Oakland. In the meantime, the clamor will begin for third-stringer Kyle Orton to start at quarterback.
Oh, no, you mean we're back to Orton time again?
The truth is if you combine Griese, Orton and Rex Grossman, the Bears still don't have their quarterback of the future.
Even worse, the way Cedric Benson is leaking oil, they don't appear to have their running back of the present.
Benson rushed for a measly 50 yards against Detroit because he doesn't have a burst of speed and the offensive line isn't opening wide-load holes.
"I don't know," Benson said when asked what he'll see in the mirror this week. "I guess I … it's tough sledding out there … there's a lot of (defenders) in the box … I gotta break more tackles, run guys over, be Superman out there …"
If only Urlacher were that forthcoming.
Oh, yeah, those dropped passes. When somebody mentioned "4 or 5" to Turner, he uttered "at least."
The question is when is the last time a team made the playoffs with a hole at quarterback, had a running back who will have to rally to gain 1,000 yards and a collection of receivers with the dropsies.
No wonder the Bears are 3-5 at midseason, 1-3 at home, 1-3 inside their division, closer to 1-7 overall than 4-4 and close to having to wait until next year.
mimrem@dailyherald.com