Late Collapse Dooms Bears

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Oct 10, 2005 9:41PM

There's been very little Chicago Bears football that could be called pretty this season, but they've sometimes shown just enough to make us think they might be able to win the weak NFC North. They entered Sunday's games in first place with a 1-2 record, and for a while it looked like they'd even up their record.

However, a low scoring affair between two offensively inept teams changed in the final three minutes and the Bears saw a 10-6 lead evaporate into a 20-10 defecit in a matter of 38 seconds. Browns win, Bears fall to 1-3.

The biggest story of the day was the mistakes made by the numerous rookies that have been thrown into the lineup by coach Lovie Smith. While rookie QB Kyle Orton rebounded from his 5 interception game against the Bengals 16-26, 1TD, 0 int), he was one of three rookie who fumbled during the game, along with wideout Mark Bradley and running back Cedric Benson. Two of them resulted in points by the Browns. And rookie safety Chris Harris blew coverage in the end zone that resulted in a Browns TD. This was a game that was very winnable but the inexperience cost the Bears the game.

At 1-3 a quarter through the season, the question is: Do they give their youngster the opportunity to learn on the field, or do they play the veterans and push for the playoffs? Some think that they should continue to try and contend. But where does that get them? Even if they win the NFC North with an 8-8 record, do they really stand a shot at advancing? Chicagoist would rather see the kids play, and give the Bears that much more opportunity to move beyond mediocracy next year. And sometimes, after taking their lumps the kids can surprise us. Look what the Bulls did last year.