The Bernstein Brief: The Bears Need Work
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) As first tastes, go, the John Fox-led Bears didn't exactly put the "amuse" in "amuse-bouche" in a sloppy 27-10 win against the Dolphins in their preseason opener Thursday night at Soldier Field.
The starters on defense got dog-walked down the field on a drive that featured a familiar assortment of bad angles, missed tackles, blown gap assignments and costly penalties, culminating in a score when Brock Vereen got pantsed. And if this is what Pernell McPhee means when he describes himself as "violent," we're all going to be violently ill.
Their opening play on offense was a Jordan Mills false start. Then three-and-out. Perfect.
In either quantity or quality, the Bears didn't give us much. We didn't get to see them as envisioned, either, not with both Kevin White and Alshon Jeffery injured. The former went from day-to-day to maybe whenever, while the latter apparently suffered a calf injury that has him on crutches and in a walking boot. Per Fox, he's day-to-day, for now.
It was a glorified practice, and this team clearly needs a whole lot more of it.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. Follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.