CHICAGO BEARS REVIEW

Starting with the QB. No surprises last night. Chad Hutchinson continued to look like Rick Mirer. He takes forever to get rid of the ball with a long throwing motion that I can't believe has yet to be corrected. But the biggest thing I noticed is his utter lack of instinct. It seemed he got a play in his head and he was going to run it. I don't think I saw him find anyone other than his first option, and that was only 3 times. He can't possibly be this bad. His numbers were actually decent last year. Maybe the criticisms that he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer are true. He looks as if he is out there thinking too much instead of playing. I didn't see that last year with him. Odd. Could be the new offense, could be the pressure, could be he is just not that good.

In his defense, where in the world is the shotgun? For a guy that takes a while to release the ball, you would think they would give him a little help and let him work out of the gun. At least in those long 3rd down situations. Also in Chad's defense, I'm convinced that Fred Miller and Ruben Brown are totally overrated. I think they may have name recognition around the league but from what I have seen they have not looked good. Still, Chad hurt himself by holding on too long. Go ahead and laugh, but the Bears best Lineman may be Terence Metcalf.

Kyle Orton looked great again. I think the worry is that rookies can be ruined by getting thrown into the fray so quickly. But I'm not sure an earthquake would shake this kid. Unlike Hutchinson, he has tremendous instincts and zips the ball into tight places. He made some great plays where he made completions with not a lot of space.

The other worry is that fans are always calling for the backup when most of the time the starter is the better and more experienced QB. That's not the case here in Chicago. I can't believe I'm saying it but I now advocate the Bears starting Orton next week and in the season opener. Blake moves into the #2 slot and I can't imagine that Hutchinson is even better than Kittner at this point. But you won't see Hutchinson get waived.

The defense is excellent. They swarm to ball with speed and agility. Thomas Jones looked great. Muhammad is so impressive. Impressive in the way he runs routes, leads on the field and simply makes the plays. He's fun to watch. He has great moves to get seperation on his patterns and then uses his body to keep it. He's the goods. And he seemed to have a nice rapport with Orton.