Entering the final weekend of the season, the Bears are in the seventh position for next April`s draft.
Based on current records, New England (2-13) and Seattle (2-13) would draft first and second, respectively, followed by Tampa Bay (4-11), the New York Jets (4-11), Phoenix (4-11), Cincinnati (5-10), the Bears (5-10), Detroit (5-10) and the Rams (5-10).
Ties among teams with identical records are broken by the records of their opponents. In other words, the worse a team`s opponent`s record is, the higher that team selects in the draft.
The draft order could change after this weekend`s games.
Silent night: `Twas three nights before Christmas and all through Halas Hall, not a creature was stirring . . . .
Not even Mike Ditka or Michael McCaskey. They apparently have retreated to neutral corners until their postseason meeting next week to discuss the coach`s future.
”My intention is to coach in 1993. That is my intention,” said Ditka on WSCR-AM on Monday. ”If something would change that . . . I would have no control over what would change that. That is my intention totally. There are a lot of ways to get a job done, and I will find a way, if that opportunity is there.
”I think there will be changes that everybody will make, including me. I have all intention of coaching here in `93, and I think things will be done properly.”
Green with envy: Punter Chris Gardocki, who averaged more than 47 yards against the Lions last Sunday, has moved up to sixth in the NFC in that category.
His season-long average is 42.9, highest for the Bears in 25 years. Bobby Joe Green averaged 42.9 in the 14-game 1967 season.
Open and shut case: Jim Harbaugh has struggled the last two weekends, completing only 11 passes in each contest.
”There were times when people were open, but there also were times when he didn`t have a chance to do anything,” said Ditka of Harbaugh`s 11-for-24 outing against the Lions.
Mismatch: Mike Singletary was isolated on shifty Lions running back Barry Sanders last Sunday, and he picked up a good chunk of yards.
”Normally, when Barry takes off out there like that, they run a quarterback draw,” said Singletary. ”They knew I was one-on-one with him. He cheated over a little bit and lined up behind the offensive tackle. He took off and the wideout was close, in tight.”
Ditka explained: ”We were in a `Bear` defense, and we were blitzing. Other people could have come up and helped, too. The defense got beat. It wasn`t that Mike got beat.”
