Nowhere to go but ...

New-look Bears still at the bottom, looking up

New number, new attitude: If Curtis Enis can stay focused and healthy, the Bears offense should improve. AP

The Chicago Bears, the worst team in the tough NFC Central last season, opened training camp on July 22 in Platteville, Wis. Here are a few questions from Sports Illustrated's Dr. Z, followed by CNNSI.com's perspective on some of the issues facing the Bears this season. SI's season previews will be posted August 24.

Dr. Z wants to know :

1) New coach Dick Jauron shocks the world by axing his quarterback, Eric Kramer, after assuring everyone that Kramer's the man -- for now. How do we read this? Is it:

a) Still more Bear wackiness;

b) Jauron making sure he's got his kind of people in place; or

c) Jauron sending it all in on rookie Cade McNown? (Sorry, but Jim Miller, Moses Moreno, Doug Nussmeier and Shane Matthews don't thrill me.)

2) Flash: The Bears were shut out of the Pro Bowl for the fifth consecutive season in '98. Is there anything here to like, in terms of personnel? Is there, say, any unit you could call better than average? O.K., running back, with Curtis Enis, if he stays healthy. Anything else? Nope, I can't find anything, either.

The Bears can make the playoffs if : Everything -- and we mean everything -- goes right. Coming off back-to-back 4-12 seasons, no Pro Bowlers in the last five seasons, in the difficult NFC Central, with a new coaching staff and new front-office boss ... all now seems stacked against the Bears. Curtis Enis has to run well, coming off his ACL tear, and the defense (28 sacks, worst in the league last season) has to buckle down.

Pivotal games : Oct. 10 at Minnesota, Dec. 5 vs. Green Bay. The Bears lost seven of their last eight last season. They need to get off to a strong start. And they need to do better than their 1-7 record in division last season.

On the hot seat : Wide receiver Curtis Conway, maybe the only real offensive weapon on the team, is in the last year of his contract and will be catching passes from his ninth different starting quarterback going into his seventh year in the league. He's had problems, but he has to get open -- and make the catch -- if the Bears stand a chance.

Up-and-comers : If Conway can't, maybe Bobby Engram, in his fourth year in the league, can. The little (5-foot-10) wideout showed he's not just a possession guy last season with a team-high 64 catches.

Player Movement Unrestricted Free Agents Restricted Free Agents Players Lost Blake Brockermeyer, T, from Car. Keith Burns, LB, from Den. Jamal Duff, DE, from Wash. Chris Hudson, S, from Jax. Shane Matthews, QB, from Car. Clyde Simmons, DE, from Cin. Sean Harris, LB, re-signed Frankie Smith, DB, re-signed Bobby Engram, WR, re-signed Paul Grasmanis, DT, re-signed Chris Villarrial, G, re-signed Casey Wiegmann, C, re-signed in exercise of first refusal Marty Carter, S, Atl. John Thierry, DE, Cle. Carl Reeves, DE, Den.

1999 Draft Picks Round Overall Pick Player Pos School 1 12 Cade Mcnown QB UCLA 2 48 Russell Davis DT North Carolina 3 66 Rex Tucker OT Texas A&M 3 71 Dwayne Bates WR Northwestern 3 78 Marty Booker WR NE Louisiana 4 106 Warrick Holdman OLB Texas A&M 4 111 Rosevelt Colvin DE Purdue 5 143 Jerry Wisne OG Notre Dame 5 144 Khari Samuel ILB Massachusetts 5 147 Jerry Azumah RB New Hampshire 6 184 Rashard Cook S USC 7 221 Sulecio Sanford WR Middle Tennessee St. 7 253 James Finn RB Pennsylvania