LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) -All along, the Chicago Bears insisted they’d be back in the spotlight. This wasn’t quite what they had in mind.
With three games left, they’re fighting for a playoff spot.
“We don’t have any room for error,” quarterback Kyle Orton said.
The same goes for the New Orleans Saints, who visit Soldier Field on Thursday night.
“There’s definitely a sense of urgency for us,” running back Reggie Bush said.
At 7-6 and trying to claw their way into the playoffs, Chicago and New Orleans are in a familiar spot: playing another high-stakes game at Soldier Field.
The Bears beat the Saints in the NFC championship game two years ago and sent them home again last year with a 33-25 victory that wiped out any shot New Orleans had at the postseason. Of course, Chicago had been eliminated by then.
Bears’ best shot at a playoff berth is by winning the NFC North, but help is needed. They trail Minnesota by a game and would need to finish with a better record because the Vikings have the tiebreaker.
The Bears invested heavily in their defense during the offseason, signing Lance Briggs to a six-year contract and giving Tommie Harris and Brian Urlacher extensions. They also gave Devin Hester a four-year extension and a bigger role at wide receiver after two-record setting seasons on kick returns, but the returns on their investments have been minimal.
Instead of showing the dominant form of 2005 and 2006, the defense has been mostly average. Although they’re sixth against the run, the Bears have been picked apart by slants and rank just 28th against the pass thanks in part due to a lack of pressure up front.
That doesn’t bode well for the New Orleans game, considering the Saints boast the NFL’s top offense and are getting almost all their yards in the air – although they are coming off their most balanced performance.
se offense.
“He’s just proven time and again that when given the opportunity he takes full advantage of it and he can really help this offense and help this team win,” said Brees, who with 4,100 yards is challenging Dan Marino’s single-season passing record.
In Chicago, there’s a sense that a veteran core could be in for a shakeup despite the contracts handed out last offseason.
“We do have a lot of veterans, and I think now is important because we have a shot,” Briggs said. “We have an opportunity to get into the playoffs. If we don’t do it now, we’ll do it next year.”
One area the Bears probably will need to address is a wide receiving corps that got a major overhaul last summer, when Bernard Berrian signed with Minnesota and Muhsin Muhammad got released. The current group is having trouble getting open and hanging onto the ball, particularly Rashied Davis, who has six drops, according to STATS.
“It’s disappointing,” he said. “No one wants to drop balls. It’s disappointing, but all you can do is try to push through it.”
Hester, meanwhile, has four drops and Marty Booker two, so Davis is not the only one who has had some difficulties. Tight ends Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen also have three apiece, but Orton wasn’t about to point any fingers.
ain when somebody drops the football,” Orton said.
There were some good signs for the passing game in last week’s 23-10 win over Jacksonville.
Orton had his best outing since spraining his ankle last month, going 20-of-34 with 219 yards, two touchdowns and an interception after being picked off three times in a loss at Minnesota. Five of those completions went to Hester, who caught a 31-yard pass and finished with 80 yards. He also just missed his first touchdown return since the New Orleans game last year, when he stepped out of bounds while running back a punt and settled for a 22-yarder deep into Jacksonville territory.
But along with those flashes came two dropped passes and two muffed punt returns, adding more fuel to the notion the Bears should have just left him alone. He got stripped of his kickoff return duties a few weeks ago, and Hester simply hasn’t rediscovered the explosiveness that made the Bears think he could develop into a top receiver.
“Whatever the coaches feel,” Hester said. “I’m just trying to win ballgames.”
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