Sixty-five seconds into today’s 41-21 drubbing courtesy of Arizona, Tommie Harris decided the best way to right his increasingly uncertain situation in Chicago was to punch a man in the face. The defense then proceeded to give up touchdowns on four straight possessions and the rest was awful, cursory history. Sounds like the worst game plan ever!

The most unfortunate part of losing today–besides falling three games back of Minnesota and, you know, formally crushing the hopes of Bears fans for a winning 2009 campaign–was that the offense mostly played well. Whenever you fall behind early and then must play catch-up for the rest of the game, you can bet on abandoning the run like it was the Swine Flu. And the Bears did. But, even when everyone at Soldier Field knew Jay Cutler would be throwing, he managed to spread it around enough (29 completions to six different receivers) and be very efficient.

The sad reality is that the beatdown two weeks ago to Cincinnati was not the fluke we all hoped it would be. Our defense is battered, absent and regular. The top-flight defense we’ve grown accustomed to relying on is not there. Part of this is injuries: Urlacher and Tinoisamoa; part is personnel: Al Afalava, Danieal Manning and Nick Roach; and the last, most significant part is once-great players in decline for one reason or the other: Orlando Pace, Olin Kreutz, Nathan Vasher, Tommie Harris and Adewale Ogunleye.

At the halfway point of the season, it’s unlikely our defense will find its way or our offensive line will improve dramatically. But, there is still reason to believe, with some huge games left on the schedule, that the Bears will rise to the occasion regardless of their playoff stance. Yes, this is me doing the proverbial “everyone feel sorry for me as I act melancholy and officially concede the season on my blog”, but you’re in denial if you prefer to think otherwise.

Big games left: San Francisco on Thursday night against Mike Singletary, two games against Minnesota, one game against Green Bay at Soldier Field, and one game at Detroit. The 49ers game is a tossup and I suspect the Bears will take one from Minnesota and the remaining game against Green Bay and Detroit, as well as St. Louis. Philly and Baltimore look like losses to go with the one Minnesota loss.

So, in summary, eight or nine wins will not win a wild card, let alone the division. I know. Boo fucking hoo.

And now, Tommie Harris punching Deuce Lutui:

Video courtesy of NFL Network. All rights reserved.