Bears' fallback position doesn't involve positions

The Bears are 2-3, Dennis Green, and pretty much exactly who we thought they were.

They have an NFL quarterback and otherwise precious few NFL starters on their offense.

Their offensive line is a disaster and their receivers a joke, none funnier than No. 1 wideout Devin Hester.

They have an aging defense and barely a single defensive back who can cover or tackle anyone.

And the surprise here is what, exactly?

The Bears were extraordinarily lucky last year, a fact seemingly known to everyone except Ted Phillips, Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith.

They got away with facing all those second-string quarterbacks — and some thirds — while having the healthiest year anyone can remember.

It continued in the postseason when they received the 8-9 Seahawks in Chicago before running into the buzz saw that was the 2010 Packers.

And now the Bears are who we thought they were a year ago, only with new kickoff rules and a defense a year older that isn't making plays and getting turnovers every time they need one.

It's not much of a shock.

Yet, there are calls for just about everyone to be fired, and rest assured that isn't going to happen.

Phillips and Angelo made sure of that when they extended Smith for a couple more years after last season.

There was simply no need since Smith had a contract through 2011, and if he had another great year Smith would have cashed in again and the Bears would have been happy to pay him.

But by extending his coach, Angelo made certain they were both signed here through 2013. It happened before George McCaskey took over last spring and there's little he can do about it now unless he wants to munch on a whole bunch of salary.

McCaskey must know his GM is in his 11th season here and the head coach his eighth, and they have a grand total of 3 playoff victories, including the monumental win over the Seahawks last winter, the NFC title victory over New Orleans in 2007 and another win over Seattle the week before that.

But consider where this all might have gone if not for Lance Briggs.

Against Seattle in that initial postseason victory on Jan. 14, 2007, Briggs stopped Shaun Alexander on third-and-1 at the Bears' 21 in the third quarter, on third-and-1 in the fourth quarter, and fourth-and-1 in a tie game with two minutes left on the Bears' 44.

If Briggs doesn't make any one of those plays, the Bears would have lost and we wouldn't be having this conversation right now.

Smith likely would have gone into '07 without a contract for 2008 and Angelo would have entered '07 with a contract expiring after 2008.

Without a single playoff victory and a 7-9 mark in 2007, it's possible both would have been fired.

The Bears are 36-33 since 2006, including last year's ridiculous 11-5 season, with a lonely postseason win over that fabulous Seattle squad in January.

But Angelo rushed to get the extension for Smith, ensuring his own security, and now they're locked in for a few more years — unless Angelo retires, a threat he's issued in the past.

Still, if this keeps up someone's going to go. Perhaps Angelo will try to blame the doctors and trainers again, like he nearly did two years ago, but that's a transparent attempt to shift blame. The fans aren't going to buy it and McCaskey shouldn't, either.

So rather than point to a bad draft record, maybe the Bears will sacrifice Mike Martz, who for all his faults is simply being Mike Martz.

They knew that when they interviewed him. They knew that when they hired him. And they knew that when they brought him back again this year after he nearly got Jay Cutler killed last season.

Martz is not a fit for Cutler and he's not a fit for this abysmal offensive talent, but someone's going to have to pay the price — after the Bears paid such a heavy price to get Cutler and have failed to get much out of him.

There isn't great reason to think it will get better the rest of the way, but this is still the NFL, where the pitchforks are out in style today and could be stowed just as quickly.

The Bears have Minnesota at home, Tampa in London and then Philly on the road after the bye week, three games the Bears could conceivably win if Hester can makes some plays in the return game and Cutler isn't decapitated.

If that were to happen — and I'm not suggesting it will — all would be forgotten and management will have bought more time.

It seems unlikely, but just about every time this regime has needed to put out a raging blaze, these men have relied on one thing to bring the rain, the one thing that has bought them winning seasons and new contracts.

That one thing is luck.

They seem to have used up their share. We'll find out if they have any in reserve.

brozner@dailyherald.com

Hear Barry Rozner on WSCR 670-AM and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter.