Bears believe quick turnaround possible

It took the defending NFC champion Bears until the final day of the regular season to fashion a two-game winning streak and salvage a 7-9 record.

So, even in the glow of the 33-25 consolation victory over the Saints, the focus was on what effect the fall from grace will have on the makeup of next year's team as it tries to recapture the magic of 2006.

The consensus is that a return to glory is possible with only minor changes. But with eight starters or significant contributors facing free agency and several other players not performing up to their inflated contracts, major turnover is a possibility.

"Each year you want to continue to try to get better, and we'll do that," coach Lovie Smith said. "But as far as major changes, no. I think we're close.

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"You look at the games we lost this year; I know there were quite a few of them. (But) we were in every one of those games. We'll tighten up some things, try to make some minor adjustments to improve our ballclub and come back strong."

The performance of both the offense and defense nosedived this season, leading to speculation on the future of offensive coordinator Ron Turner and defensive coordinator Bob Babich. But that debate was seemingly put to rest by Smith, who was asked if changing coordinators qualified as a major change.

"I guess to somebody that planned on changing the coordinator(s), yeah, it probably would be," Smith said.

For clarification, Smith was asked if he planned to change coordinators.

"No, I don't," he said.

Smith and the Bears won't have to spend any time in the off-season fretting over the return game, thanks to the record-setting efforts of Devin Hester, who went 64 yards untouched for his fourth punt-return touchdown of the season to widen the Bears' lead to 31-17 just 2:29 into the second half.

That gave Hester 6 kick-return touchdowns this season (4 on punts), breaking the NFL record he set last season. It was also Hester's eighth touchdown of the season, all more than 50 yards. It was his second TD of the game, following a 55-yard reception from Kyle Orton that put the Bears ahead 24-14 with 1:48 remaining in the first half.

Although this was Hester's first season as a full-time offensive player, and he caught just 9 passes in the first 12 games as he learned the wide receiver position, he could play a much bigger role next year.

Smith sees Hester as a go-to wide receiver in the future, and Turner shares that vision.

"I think he can do about anything he wants to do and I look forward to that in the off-season for him to take another step," Turner said. "He moved over (from cornerback) in the off-season and slowly, gradually learned the position. Now it'll give us an opportunity to give him a chance to (become a No. 1 receiver). He's got to totally commit to it, practice time and everything else. If he does that, he can do it."

With this season's go-to wideout Bernard Berrian more than likely to test the free-agent market, the Bears probably need Hester to step up on offense sooner rather than later.

The speedy Berrian will attract plenty of attention after catching 71 passes for 951 yards and 5 touchdowns, despite working with three quarterbacks. Berrian caught just 3 passes for 28 yards against the Saints, but his 9-yard TD reception on a halfback pass from Adrian Peterson gave the Bears a 17-7 lead.

"I'm keeping an open mind about it," Berrian said in regard to his future as he watched his teammates file out of the locker room, maybe for the last time. "I really don't try to look at it like that. I don't feel like going around and saying goodbyes or anything like that yet. I have no clue. We haven't had any talks."

On offense, the Bears know they'll have quarterback Kyle Orton back next season, although Rex Grossman may leave in free agency.

Orton made a case for his candidacy as the starter next season by winning two of his three starts. He threw a 19-yard TD pass to Mark Bradley to get the Bears off to a 10-0 lead and finished with a respectable 77.7 passer rating Sunday and 73.9 for the season. He distinguished himself by taking just 2 sacks and throwing only 2 interceptions as the starter.

Despite a running game that struggled most of the season and an inconsistent passing game, Orton said the offense isn't in need of a major overhaul before next training camp, and he plans to be involved.

"I think I'm part of the conversation," he said of discussions regarding next season's starter. "Hopefully, I did (enough). I've got all the confidence that, if I get a chance, that I'm going to win the job."

Smith wasn't ready to rank Orton on the 2008 depth chart, and he wasn't prepared to excuse the shortcomings of the current team, but he is optimistic that his team is close to getting back to where it was.

"You have to be ready to play each week, (and) we weren't," Smith said. "With that many losses, there were lots of things we did wrong. Hopefully we've learned from those mistakes.

"I just look forward to people talking about us being one of the teams that went to the Super Bowl, (then) the following year didn't have a great year, but that next year came back strong. That's all we can do now."

What remains to be seen is how many players -- and coaches -- return for that task.

Game ball

OK, it's been two years now and still some in the league haven't learned -- you don't kick to Devin Hester. The Saints did, and paid the price when Hester returned a third-quarter punt for a touchdown. He also had a 55-yard TD catch and almost added a pass attempt on a razzle-dazzle play gone awry. Just another day at the office for Hester.

Offense

Quarterback: 3#189; balls

You're 2008 starting quarterback ... Kyle Orton? Could be after the way he wrapped up the season with back-to-back wins, including Sunday's workman-like performance against the Saints (12-for-27, 2 TDs).

Running backs: 3#189; balls

Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe came oh so close to 100 yards rushing. Peterson was solid, averaging 4.3 yards per carry, while Wolfe turned in a spectacular 32-yard gain on a screen pass.

Receivers: 3 balls

For the second week in a row, this group was pretty quiet. Hester led the way with a pair of catches, including a TD grab of 55 yards. Bernard Berrian and the rarely seen Mark Bradley each had a TD catch

Offensive line: 3#189; balls

Opened some solid rushing lanes and protected the quarterback pretty well. Solid.

Defense

Line: 4#189; balls

Adewale Ogunleye, Alex Brown and Tommie Harris -- if those three are happy and healthy next season -- look out.

Linebackers: 4 balls

They made an early impact. Brian Urlacher started it off with his fifth interception of the season and then Lance Briggs just destroyed Marques Colston on a short pass. If this is Briggs' final game with the Bears, he sure left quite an impression ... on quite a few Saints players.

Secondary: 4 balls

Safeties Brandon McGowan and Danieal Manning (a team-leading 13 tackles) did nothing but hit all day. Ricky Manning Jr. chipped in with 9 tackles.

Special teams: 4#189; balls

How good is Brad Maynard? On a day when Devin Hester was the absolute standout, the Bears' punter consistently buried the Saints deep in their own zone. Rashied Davis had a great coverage tackle early on, and Robbie Gould made his only field-goal attempt.

Coaching: 4 balls

A well-balanced offense, a stifling defense and spectacular special teams play. They've got some big decisions to make for next season, but they ended this one on a good note.