So this is what it costs to beat the Packers.
In 14 weeks, when most Bears fans will turn their attention to a high first-round draft pick, a few will look back at a lost season and wonder what it all meant.
Thoughts of snaring the NFC Central throne likely were dashed when King Rex fell. The Bears’ dynamic young leader will miss the rest of the season because he wouldn’t give up on a game. Quarterback Rex Grossman tore his ACL on Sunday as he dove for a touchdown against the Vikings, a fitting moral victory that reflects the fate in store for his teammates. Grossman is not the Bears’ first devastating injury of 2004 and perhaps not the last.
The Bears will regroup as Grossman rehabs, but this season deserves an asterisk, a mulligan, an incomplete. Whatever happens the rest of the way, the Bears’ moral victory was that glorious triumph at Lambeau Field. Perhaps the football gods have demanded sacrifices for that minor miracle.
Brian Urlacher. Mike Brown. Charles Tillman. If a player on this team has heart, it seems it’s destined to be ripped out.
And now the vultures are circling these wounded Bears, with the Eagles swooping in to draw first blood. A glance at the rest of the schedule would make anyone wince. The Redskins, Buccaneers and Jaguars are all top 10 defenses, and on the offensive side, the Colts’ Peyton Manning has shredded better defenses than what’s left of the Bears.
This squad won’t go down quietly, however. That’s at least one other lesson we’ll learn about Lovie Smith’s regime. Some backups will step up to replace fallen heroes.
The question: Which Bears player would be the hardest to replace?
MLB Brian Urlacher (hamstring)
The Bears defense allows an average of 17 points per game. That’s better than Carolina (17.5) and the vaunted Patriots (18). Urlacher has a lot to do with that. Even with his hamstring problems, he has a sack and 18 tackles. Fortunately, the team’s talent at linebacker takes away some of the sting.
S Mike Brown (Achilles tendon, injured reserve)
Brown doesn’t fill the highlight reel with devastating hits, but he’s the secondary’s unquestioned leader and big play man. While his toughness and tenacity aren’t easily replaced, he can infuse those intangibles from the sideline and in the meeting room.
CB Charles Tillman (knee)
If you could find shutdown cornerbacks in every draft, the Bears would have never had the pleasure of Walt Harris and Tom Carter. Randy Moss’ manhandling of R.W. McQuarters on Sunday demonstrates how valuable Peanut is. In one game last season, Moss caught just four passes for 27 yards. In the rematch, Moss had nine catches for 93 yards and a score. But Tillman defended three passes and intercepted another.
The Bears’ saving grace without Tillman: They do the “team” thing in zone coverage.
RB Thomas Jones
While uninjured, let’s throw him in just for the sake of the argument. He accounts for about 42 percent of the offense, and the most successful Bears teams have been running teams. Jones has been an unexpected godsend, leading the NFC with 329 rushing yards. But his success is in part due to Grossman, which is why Grossman is the most irreplaceable Bear.
Grossman hasn’t done too much statistically, but he performs that old saw of “keeping the defense honest.” His ability to move out of the pocket, throw on the run and add incredible touch on his lobs to receivers keeps drives alive–and defenses off Jones.
Grossman also helps keep the defense fresh by minimizing the interceptions, fumbles and sacks you’d expect from a signal caller his age. But most important, he instills confidence. All of those other invaluable guys know the person who mans the game’s most important position won’t lose it for them.
And that intangible can’t be measured.
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Which Bear would be hardest to replace?
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