5 CHICAGO BEARS

As quarterback Rick Mirer struggled to learn the offense this
summer, there was grumbling among the coaches and the players
that Mirer--the son of a high school football coach, the former
star at Notre Dame, the No. 2 pick in the 1993 draft by the
Seahawks, the player Chicago traded its '97 first-round
selection for last February--wasn't nearly as effective as Erik
Kramer, Chicago's incumbent, who is returning from two herniated
cervical disks, which sidelined him for all but four games last
year. Even late in the preseason one of the Bears said he was
amazed that Mirer, given his football pedigree, was so slow to
master the offense.

But coach Dave Wannstedt and the front office have to share in
the blame. They could have made virtually the same deal for
Mirer last October, at the 1996 trading deadline, and while
Mirer wouldn't have made much difference in Chicago's
injury-ravaged 7-9 season, he at least could have used that time
to learn the offense. Then when new offensive coordinator Matt
Cavanaugh hit town in January, Mirer could have devoted more
time to the 25% of the playbook that was rewritten.

As it was, Mirer didn't begin learning the offense until March,
and though he was diligent about it, he was way behind Kramer,
who looked far more polished and game-ready than Mirer at
off-season minicamps.

The Bears went down to the wire before choosing a quarterback to
start the '97 season, picking Kramer less than two weeks before
the Monday-night opener against the Packers. But success won't
come easily for Kramer--or Mirer if he gets a shot--early in the
season. Wideout Curtis Conway, who led Chicago in receiving last
season with 81 catches for 1,049 yards and seven touchdowns, is
out for at least the first month after breaking his collarbone
in a preseason game against the Cardinals. Journeyman Ricky
Proehl, who caught 23 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns
with the Seahawks last year, moves into the starting lineup.

With a 32-32 record over four seasons in Chicago, Wannstedt was
already under the gun before Conway went down. In May club
president Mike McCaskey relieved the coach of some of his
authority when he hired the Chiefs' Mark Hatley as vice
president of player personnel. "We don't have enough talent,"
Hatley said this summer, and you can be sure that what remains
of Wannstedt's job will be in jeopardy if what talent he has
doesn't generate nine wins. That's all the more reason the coach
needs one of his quarterbacks to emerge.

Late in the preseason Mirer seemed surprised, and a bit hurt,
when it was suggested that he was slow to grasp an offense that
no one will ever confuse with the complex systems used by San
Francisco and Green Bay. "Untrue," he said. "I've come a long
way, being a rookie in this system. I came here with the idea of
making improvements in my game and being the starter, but stuff
doesn't happen overnight. I never looked at this as a quick-fix
career move. I knew it might take time, and I'm learning a huge
amount in a short time. I'm here for the long haul."

Mirer won't rip the coaching he received in Seattle, where he
completed just 53.3% of his passes and had a quarterback rating
of 65.2 over four seasons, but apparently he was pretty much
starting from scratch in Chicago. "Matt is working with me on
things I have never even heard of before," Mirer says. "In terms
of the drops, for example, he goes over exactly where your feet
should be, how big the steps should be--all the itty-bitty
details that it takes to be precise."

No matter who's barking signals, the Bears must also have a
strong ground game to be formidable. They ran on only 45% of
their offensive plays last year and ranked 16th in the league in
rushing offense, but Wannstedt hopes the sturdy backfield tandem
of Rashaan Salaam (496 yards on 143 carries in '96) and Raymont
Harris (748 on 194) can control the clock. Without Conway, the
Bears will need to win a lot of low-scoring games early to
remain in the playoff hunt.

"I still remember going into Denver and Kansas City last season
all beat up, and we should have won both games," Wannstedt says
of the two close calls. "So we're not that far off."

--P.K.

COLOR PHOTO: JOHN IACONO Although he was re-signed to be the backup, Kramer (12) was more impressive than Mirer in the preseason and won the starting job. [Erik Kramer in game]

BY THE NUMBERS

1996 Yards per Game (NFL rank)
1996 record: 7-9 (third in NFC Central)

Rushing Passing Total

OFFENSE 107.5 (16) 199.1 (19) 306.6 (21)
DEFENSE 101.1 (11) 204.2 (14) 305.3 (12)

Bad Stats, Good Omen?

Rick Mirer's 56.6 passer rating last year was the worst in the
NFL and the fifth-lowest single-season mark in this decade for a
quarterback who has averaged at least 14 attempts per game. But
Bears fans can take heart in the poor passer ratings put
together by some other young quarterbacks who would eventually
play in the Super Bowl.

Single-Season Passer Ratings for Rick Mirer and Five Super Bowl
QBs

Season Age Att. Comp. Yds.

Terry Bradshaw, 1970* 22 218 83 1,410
Steelers

Jim Plunkett, 1972 25 355 169 2,196
Patriots

John Elway, 1983* 23 259 123 1,663
Broncos

Troy Aikman, 1989* 23 293 155 1,749
Cowboys

Rick Mirer, 1996 26 265 136 1,546
Seahawks

Bob Griese, 1969 24 252 121 1,695
Dolphins

TDs Int. Rating Super Bowl Starts

[Terry Bradshaw, 6 24 30.4 4
Steelers]

[Jim Plunkett, 8 25 45.7 2
Patriots]

[John Elway, 7 14 54.9 3
Cowboys]

[Troy Aikman, 9 18 55.7 3
Cowboys]

[Rick Mirer, 5 12 56.6 --
Seahawks]

[Bob Griese, 10 16 56.9 3
Dolphins]

*Rookie season

SCHEDULE SKINNY

Pity the Bears. In the first five weeks they play at Green Bay,
at New England and at Dallas. Then they come home for emotional
games against Mike Ditka's Saints and the rival Packers. With
consecutive games against the Dolphins (Oct. 26) and the
Redskins (Nov. 2) looming after that, Chicago could be out of
the wild-card race before the schedule eases up.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
NFL rank: 22 (tie) Opponents' 1996 winning percentage: .484
Games against playoff teams: 7

The Lineup With 1996 Statistics

Coach: Dave Wannstedt

Offensive Backs

QB Erik Kramer[*] 150 att. 73 comp. 48.7% 781yds. 3 TDs
6 int. 54.3 rtg.
RB Rashaan Salaam 143 att. 496 yds. 3.5 avg. 7 rec. 44 yds.
6.3 avg. 4 TDs
FB Raymont Harris 194 att. 748 yds. 3.9 avg. 32 rec. 296 yds.
9.3 avg. 5 TDs

Receivers, Specialists, Offensive Linemen

WR Chris Penn[*] 49 rec. 628 yds. 5 TDs
WR Bobby Engram 33 rec. 389 yds. 6 TDs
WR Marcus Robinson (R)[*] 21 rec. 505 yds. 1 TD
TE Keith Jennings 6 rec. 56 yds. 0 TDs
PK Jeff Jaeger 23/23 PATs 19/23 FGs 80 pts.
KR Tyrone Hughes[*] 70 ret. 25.6 avg. 0 TDs
PR Tyrone Hughes[*] 30 ret. 5.1 avg. 0 TDs
LT Andy Heck 6'6" 298 lbs. 16 games 16 starts
LG Todd Perry 6'5" 312 lbs. 16 games 16 starts
C Chris Villarrial 6'4" 305 lbs. 14 games 8 starts
RG Todd Burger 6'3" 303 lbs. 11 games 8 starts
RT James Williams 6'7" 340 lbs. 16 games 16 starts

Defense

LE John Thierry 13 tackles 2 sacks
LT Jim Flanigan 41 tackles 5 sacks
RT Carl Simpson 36 tackles 1 1/2 sacks
RE Alonzo Spellman 46 tackles 8 sacks
OLB Ron Cox 14 tackles 0 sacks
MLB Bryan Cox 59 tackles 3 sacks
OLB Barry Minter 56 tackles 1 1/2 sacks
CB Tom Carter[*] 61 tackles 5 int.
SS Marty Carter 101 tackles 3 int.
FS John Mangum 31 tackles 0 int.
CB Walt Harris 98 tackles 2 int.
P Todd Sauerbrun 78 punts 44.8 avg

[*]New acquisition Rookie statistics for final college year