Bears Beat Browns

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Aug 29, 2008 3:43PM

If the Bears play but nobody watches does the game matter? In their final tune-up before next week's regular season opener, the Bears finally notched their first victory of the preseason by beating the Cleveland Browns 16-10.

While the third exhibition game was the dress rehearsal for the starters, last night's game was all about rounding out the roster. With final cuts just days away, the Bears gave guys on the bubble one last shot to prove they belong on the 53-man squad.

Caleb Hanie is among those who look like they'll stick. The undrafted QB impressed once again, completing 12 of 17 passes for 115 yards. While many would like to see some kind of veteran presence behind Orton and Grossman, perhaps Hanie can develop into the passer neither of those have. After all, Tony Romo also began his career this way.

Guys like Brandon Rideau, who looked to be suiting up in the navy and orange for the final time, might have played themselves onto the team while others like Dan Bazuin and Michael Okwo might be looking for work in spite of their fairly recent selections on the first day of the draft.

Even as the exact composition of the roster sorts itself out, there remain more questions than answers about this Bears team. We still have little faith in the quarterback situation. The running back are still unproven. The defense continue to look like a shell of its former self. Just how poorly can we expect this team to play? We'd hoped last season's 7-9 record was the fluke after a Super Bowl appearance the year before. It's become more and more clear that '06 was the aberration. But at least we can hope distract ourselves with baseball until well into October.

AP Photo/Tony Dejak