The Blog Down Breakdown is a new feature of Blog Down, Chicago Bears intended to deliver insight, opinion, and general notes of every Bears game.

Sure, it’s only the preseason, but you have a feeling if the play of the Bears defense doesn’t improve within the next ten days, the team could be looking at one long night in Indianapolis, and quite possibly, staring Tim Tebow in the face come next April.

Let’s not completely panic and sound the alarm, but after all, it is the defense that’s supposed to keep them in most games. God forbid they have to actually rely on quarterback Kyle Orton to make plays.

With the first-team defense in for the first quarter of Thursday night’s 16-10 win over the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland quarterback Brady Quinn and company were able to move up and down the field at will. Long drives of 66 and 73 yards yielded 10 points, and now the first-team defense has allowed scores on seven of it’s last nine possessions.

At least, there is hope that the playcalling – as simple and basic as it is kept in the preseason — is the reason for the team’s lack of defensive success. The only way to know for sure is to wait until Sept. 7.

Just a few other thoughts left: Newly-anointed starter Orton and the rest of the first-team offense were ok. Orton went 4-7 for 51 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. Leave it to Rex Grossman to bring his “A” game two games too late, and subsequently, against a second-team defense. It was nice to see Robbie Gould hit on a couple of field goals (48, 29, 46 yards). His couple of misses early in preseason were uncharacteristic. And finally, it’s official: I’m now the President of the Keep Brandon Rideau Club. Forget that he came into the league as an undrafted free agent. He’s a playmaker. And he’s 6′3.