We're not going to be waiting till the second half happens.  Not a single player on the field will mean anything to the 2010 Chicago Bears.  Here are my first-half notes:

The Bears have finally brought in a backup quarterback that is capable of winning football games.  Todd Collins looked poised and polished at times, finding receivers across the field and checking down when appropriate. 

Can someone please explain the appeal of DJ Moore to me?  Everything I think he's a complete waste on the defensive side of the ball he does something eveb more wasteful on special teams?  What purpose does his making the roster serve?  (Joshua Moore, on the other hand, might be able to play some kind of role.)

I don't quite understand the Desmond Clark-to-fullback transition.  Clark may not be the fastest man on the roster but he is still our most reliable pass-catching tight end.  I can't imagine he'll be able to last an entire season withstanding the physical duress of a lead blocker.

I don't know how the Bears are allocating roster slots but Garrett Wolfe can not make this team over Kahlil Bell.  Bell is a professional-caliber tailback and shows a genuine reluctance to being tackled.

If you're struggling kicking field goals during the preseason, kick more field goals.  Don't go for a fourth-and-one in the first quarter and certainly don't throw an out route to Richard Angulo.  You've got a shot to work on something that will actually take place in the regular season.  Why not work on it?  (Nice to see the snap and kick executed at the end of the half.)

Brian Iwuh is pretty impressive at the linebacker.  He hits like a freight train and charges the hole like a running back.  I'd imagine he's the sixth man right now at the position.

Of all the third-tier players that seem longshots to make the roster, Henry Melton seemed to have the most promise. 

I'm not going to lie.  The chances of me getting away from some preexisting plans to watch the Bears fourth preseason game are not very good.  I'll give some of it a watch when I come home later in the evening but the thought of watching our parade of rookie quarterbacks horrifies me.  Here's what I will be watching for.

Who Plays, How Long.  We'll know what positions Lovie & Co. are still undecided about by the amount of playing time allotted across the field.  Who is going to start opposite Orange Julius (and does it matter)?  Will Danieal Manning really be starting at free safety against Detroit (sweet God)?  Will the coaches want to see Chris Williams log some more playing time before the season opens (they might)?

Todd Collins.  Watching Collins navigate the offense will probably be the only real football-related item to keep an eye on.  I'm frequently obsessed with the backup quarterback at this time of year because it's painful to think how bad this team will become should a defensive end roll up on the wrong part of Jay Cutler's leg in Week Three.  Collins was a solid signing and it'd be refreshing to see him play an efficient, mistake-free game and instill some confidence in the position moving forward.

The Result and its Aftermath.  If the Bears lose this game, and I'm kind of hoping they do, it will be interesting to see how Lovie handles the winless preseason questions that will follow from the press.  There is literally no difference between 0-4 and 1-3 in the preseason but a meaningless win will soften the confrontation between media and coach.  Lovie can be pushed to testiness and I like it when that happens.  Why?  Because it's an emotion.  And too often the stoic approach lends an arrogance to his tone.  

Dan Pompei Joins the Over-Reactors.  I'm starting to wonder if the Tribune is ordering their writers and staffers to sound the doomsday alarm over preseason games because it's getting a bit absurd.  I live in Queens and read the Daily News and New York Post (two of the nation's most hostile, rabble rousing rags) every day and neither has sounded nearly as despondent about the Giants and Jets - two high-expectation teams that have looked abysmal this summer.  Pompei goes so far as to reach, "But great quarterbacks don't have games like Cutler had Saturday."  Really?  Great quarterbacks don't have bad preseason games?  Do I even have to do the research or can we assume Pompei is incredibly incorrect?  I've said it before and I'll say it again: the only thing I don't love about being a Chicago Bears fan is the seeming joy some fans and media derive from wallowing in the misery of failure.

Major Wright seems to not have not gotten the Lovie Smith memo.  He is brash and vocal.  He's not married to the "do what the team feels is best" and "whatever helps the team" language that seems to permeate out of Halas Hall under this regime.  He may be the kind of thing this defense needs and he's not shy about letting us know about it.  Shortly said, I'm rooting like hell for this kid.

Positivity and Jay Cutler?  In Chicago?  Say it ain't so!  Neil Hayes cites both Joe Thiesmann and Rich Gannon as believing Prime Cutler is going to do big things this season in Mike Martz' system.  I happen to agree with them.

Third and Long.  Anybody who has rooted for the Chicago Bears during the Lovie Smith era knows that third-and-long defense have been the blight of the entire organization.  This difficulty usually leads to an in-depth (and somewhat angry) dissection of the Lovie Deuce scheme and the usage of teams like "soft" and "terrible".  The reason is simple: third-and-longs depend on pass rush and coverage and the Bears have been wretched at both for years.  That is why there is more pressure on Orange Julius this season than any other player on the team.

There is going to be a push from the media and frantic fans to get the Bears to march their starters onto the field in Cleveland for another meaningless football game.  There are going to be echos of "you're not ready" and "we need to build momentum".  It's all nonsense.  Lovie Smith needs to start Todd Collins and Garrett Wolfe in Cleveland.  Orange Julius in civies.  Hell, he can even leave Johnny Knox in Chicago.

I do not believe the Bears are ready for the season opener against Detroit.  And I don't believe they're going to flip a switch and start playing flawless football.  But the pressure to be a complete football team on the first week of the season is a product of over-obsessive fan bases and wall-to-wall NFL coverage on the Four Letters and across the internet.  We know more than we've ever known before and - thanks to certain people who go through the pains to create a web site - we are able to vocalize our frustrations in a public forum.

Until I'm proven wrong, the most important thing about the preseason is the avoidance of season-altering injuries.  The Bears have done that.  Urlacher and Briggs are knicked but I'm confident (and am being told) both will be practicing fully in the week leading up to Detroit.  The Bears have not sustained a single injury on the offensive side of the ball, with the possible exception of a bruised psyche.  Nothing positive that can be achieved against the Browns could outweigh the negative of a pointless injury.

So be men.  Get better.  Come out in two weeks and electrify the Chicago faithful who'll be where they always are: in the seats.  Just don't risk being full strength by attempting to make an unnecessary point in the preseason.

Two weeks from today the Chicago Bears will kickoff the 2010 campaign, having managed to lower expectations with three plodding, boring preseason outings.  For those of you who choose to ring the doomsday bell, remember that the 2006 Bears - the ones that went to the Super Bowl - were one of the worst preseason teams in fanchise history.  They lost painfully to the Niners and Cardinals and needed an INT return and kickoff return to beat the Chargers.  They were bad.  And folks like David Haugh were challenging the confidence of Lovie Smith every day in the Tribune. (David is at it again.  Possibly a good omen.)

What matters from this preseason?  The quarterback and receivers haven't fully developed their rhythm yet but they will.  The linebackers are battling some nagging injuries.  The offensive line has struggled on obvious passing downs.  The defense still can't really stop the pass and will be reliant on Orange Julius and the pass rush.

What else matters?  Nothing.  Zero.  If the Chicago Bears hold Detroit scoreless in the first half, no one will remember the preseason.  If Cutler & Co. drive the length of the field for an opening drive score, no one will be talking about timing.  The preseason does not count and it seems the only ones who've forgotten that are the fans.  Why?  Because we're hungry for football and this is the only football on. 

It starts in two weeks against the Detroit Lions.  Real football.  Bears football.  And I think we're going to see a terrific Bears effort and an important Week One victory.  But whatever the case may be, I'll reserve my evaluation for games that count towards the standings.  And I'm looking forward to that 1-0.

Mike Florio refers to the third preseason game as the "least unimportant" and that's actually a more positive view than I hold.  None of it matters.  Not one quarter.  Not one play.  Not one substitution.  The trick is not getting hurt and possibly - just possibly - developing the kind of rapport that comes from practicing together for the summer.  Still there are things for us to take a look at in the confidence-building department.

THE SECONDARY.  If Derek Anderson completes more than 60% of his passes against your secondary in a street game, you need to fire everybody.  Coaches, corner backs, Old Style vendors in the end zone.  The Cardinals are looking into the barrel of a 4-12 season due to the complete lack of a viable, professional quarterback and the Bears can not be responsible for instilling confidence in the position.

CHRIS WILLIAMS.  No sacks.  For the sake of Week One confidence, no sacks.  If this means the Bears throw some help to the left side, do it.  No sacks.

THE SECOND RECEIVER OPTION.  It has become clear that Mike Martz and Jay Cutler are impressed with Johnny Knox's speed and route running but I'm still wondering who is going to be making the big first-down catches over the middle.  I'm hoping that answer is a combination of Devin Aromashodu and Greg Olsen.

KICKOFF COVERAGE.  I know everyone has been clutching at their knickers about Dave Toub's units this offseason but I am not ready to start doubting the best special teams coach in the league.  The third preseason game - if nothing else - is the week we start seeing who the coaches think will be the ten guys running down the field with Robbie Gould half-a-dozen times a game.  A couple nice holds inside the thirty will put all that to rest.

HEALTH.  Get off the field in one piece.  No hamstring pulls.  No slight sprains.  No "may not be available for the regular season openers".  Just get off the damn field and start preparing for the Detroit Lions.

Been a while since we did one of these open debates and they usually yield an interesting result.  I stumbled on the Tribune site tonight and they are asking fans:

WHICH WIDE RECEIVER WOULD YOU CUT?

1. Earl Bennett

2. Rashied Davis

3. Juaquin Iglesias

My vote: Iglesias.  As much as I've ragged on Davis in the past, I can't overlook his impact on special teams to award a roster spot to a player whose upside is probably 10-15 catches this season.  Iglesias will find a home elsewhere and probably make a few big catches that will piss us all off but he adds nothing to the coverage units.