Bears hanging with Hutchinson

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bears are turning to a surfer dude to perk up their listless offense, prompting the Minnesota Vikings to search the videotape archives and check out his moves.\n"We had to dig up some World League tape. We have a little bit of an idea what kind of player he is, but not much," Vikings defensive end Lance Johnstone said.\nThe Bears aren't quite sure, either, what they have in Chad Hutchinson, their fourth starting quarterback of the season, who hasn't played -- not counting a stint in NFL Europe -- since 2002 with Dallas.\nTwo months ago, he was surfing. On Sunday, he'll more than likely be scrambling -- Bears quarterbacks have been sacked 43 times.\n"Hopefully he'll come in and he'll be just as rusty as we think," Minnesota defensive tackle Spencer Johnson said.\nWhile Hutchinson auditions following lackluster stints by Craig Krenzel and Jonathan Quinn after an injury to Rex Grossman in the first meeting with Minnesota on Sept. 26, the Vikings are making a late push to the playoffs behind a stellar season from Daunte Culpepper.\nThey can't and won't forget what happened a year ago when they lost to the Bears and to Arizona in a late collapse that cost them a postseason berth.\nCulpepper's last-minute lob to the end zone for Randy Moss wasn't a game-winner for Minnesota last December, it was ripped out of his hands and turned into a game-saving interception by Chicago's Charles Tillman in a 13-10 victory.\nThis season Culpepper is completing an almost unbelievable 70 percent of his passes. Moss, meanwhile, returned to catch the go-ahead TD pass against the Jaguars last week after missing three games with a hamstring injury.\nMoss had seven catches in Minnesota's 27-22 win over the Bears in September and has 82 catches in 13 career games against Chicago.\n"We know that Randy is the centerpiece of their offense. We know what he brings to their offense and what Daunte Culpepper can do. They have a lot of weapons," Bears defensive back Jerry Azumah said.\nTillman is returning to a starter's role after battling a knee injury most of the season, and at 6-foot-1 could be matching up again against the 6-4 Moss, who still might not be at full speed.\nChicago's defense has often been its only offense this season. And now the Bears (4-7) want to see if the 6-5 Hutchinson, who was 2-7 as a Dallas starter during his rookie season two years ago, can find a way to get into the end zone.\nThe former Cardinals baseball pitcher has a strong arm and is facing a defense ranked 27th overall.\nChicago's offense has managed just one touchdown the last three games, and the Bears were so challenged they went out and signed 36-year-old Jeff George, who hasn't played in a game since 2001.\n"We're in desperate straits on defense if you've been watching us. So we've got to get our house cleaned up first," Vikings coach Mike Tice said.\n"Right now I haven't seen our defense better against anybody, and we've played Detroit and we've played Jacksonville -- not exactly prolific offenses -- so we've got a long way to go before our defense is even average," Tice added. "We've got our work cut out for us no matter who we're playing against right now."\nThe Vikings (7-4) are 2-3 on the road this season and have just one win in three games on natural grass. But the elements shouldn't be a big factor Sunday with temperatures forecast for the 40s.\nVikings defensive back Corey Chavous said that's all in the mind, anyway.\n"I just think it's a challenge to win on the road period, regardless if you're a dome team or not," Chavous said.\n"I just look at it as another game and hopefully that's the same way everybody else looks at it -- 100-yard field, 53 1/2 yards wide or whatever it is -- and basically go out and play football, because that's the way you have to look at it," he added.