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Steve Rosenbloom
December 11, 2007

Maybe someone can help me out here, because I'm confused.

First, Bears coach Lovie Smith said Kyle Orton will start against the Vikings on Monday night. OK. Fine. What little playoff hopes the Bears held were pretty much done last Thursday, and it makes sense to see what they have at the most important position on the field with Rex Grossman likely done for the year and Brian Griese proving to be a backup, period.

But then, Smith said he's not in an evaluation period. No, he said he's just trying to win a football game, or some such coach-speak, and Orton gives them the best chance to win.

A guy who hasn't played all season gives the Bears the best chance to win? And in maybe the loudest dome in the NFL? Excuse me?

Griese might be no better than a backup, but he has won games this season and has done it under hostile circumstances.

But wait. There's more. When asked why it was Orton over Griese, Smith said, "It's time to see exactly what Kyle can do." That sounds like an evaluation period to me. It sounds like the Bears are doing the right thing and saying the wrong thing.

Maybe the head coach can't admit that it's over. But it's over. And the right thing to do when it's over is to use games as a way of figuring out what you have, not just at quarterback but at all positions.

I would hope that all of what passes for a Bears playbook is available for Orton. There's no reason to play it safe the way they did when Orton managed a running game and a had a great defense help him out two seasons ago. If you're going to see what Orton can do, then let him try to do all the things you expect to get out of your offense.

And they ought to use the rest of the season to see what players such as Mike Hass can do at wideout, what Josh Beekman can do on the offensive line and what Jamar Williams can do at linebacker. I'd play Devin Hester as much as I could at wideout too. If the Bears are going to commit to making him a bigger part of the offense, commit now.

And can we please see an end to Brian Urlacher's and Tommie Harris' seasons? This year doesn't matter anymore, but those players matter a lot next year and after that. The sooner they can start getting healthy, the better the chance the Bears can avoid putting us through this next season.

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