For this week's edition of "Behind Enemy Lines," we found some guy named Wiederer. Says he used to cover the Vikings back when Leslie Frazier, the Tampa 2 and Christian Ponder were 10-6 and not thought of as Larry, Curly and Moe. Dan, I think it is. Old @StribDW — which allegedly caused one co-worker to ask "What's the DW stand for?" roughly one year into Dan's 28-game Minneapolis layover – now covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune.

We threw five questions at him as the Vikings get ready to play the Bears in Chicago on Sunday. Here goes:

From your observations this season, does Jared Allen have anything left in that 32-year-old body?

A: "That's the million-dollar question here, or however many millions they paid him back in March. I don't know. Jared's only got 1 ½ sacks in eight games. He had that setback with pneumonia that kept him out of the Packers game in Week 4. And I would say he was 75 percent the next week when he played through it at Carolina. But eight games in and 1 ½ sacks? It sure seems like it's not all there. Now, to be fair, it didn't seem like it was all there last year for [Julius] Peppers and he's having an OK year in Green Bay. So sometimes you wonder about this defensive system and whether players are being put in the right calls to do what they do best. … It's also worth pointing out that the Bears played a bunch of read option quarterbacks early in the year, where basically the D-line's responsibilities were to make sure they kept contain. You have to be a little bit more restrained with your pass rush in that case. So you can't do what Jared likes to do, which is pin your ears back and go, which would give these quarterbacks a running lane. So there were games where they were so much more cautious and measured with their rush. So I think there is some of that. … Jared has seemed slower at times. And he's admitted that whether it's technique or something else, he's needing to find a way to get home a half-step quicker. Also, this team is built to play from ahead. They were supposed to have an explosive offense and be in games where they could turn the pass rush loose with a lead in the fourth quarter. But they haven't had a lead since Week 6. Not even for a second. So all of a sudden, that changes things as well. I don't want to take Jared off the hook too much for his lack of production. Certainly there are signs of age. He needs to be better."

We've never heard of a team doing something so poorly that it gets compared to a stat from 1923. Giving up 50 points in back-to-back games made the Bears the first team to do that since the 1923 Rochester Jeffersons. How horrendous is this defense?

A: "They have been horrendous. No way around it. You take the Patriots game and the first half of the Packers game, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers had a combined 11 touchdown passes and 11 incompletions. Chew on that stat for a minute. The Bears were atrocious. Those are two great quarterbacks, but nobody is that good. Blown assignments, discipline problems. The Bears had the worst defense in franchise history last year and they're no better this year. … People in the fan base want [defensive coordinator Mel] Tucker gone yesterday. They'll put the moving van out in front of Halas Hall ready to take him wherever he needs to go. So we'll see just how long Mel lasts. … I think it will be gut-check time Sunday to see how many guys have just folded it in and aren't entirely invested with their heart this week. If that's the case, the Vikings will win by 15 or 20 points and there will be boo birds from start to finish. The Bears certainly have enough talent to beat a team like the Vikings. I don't think they'll be intimidated by the offense they're facing. But after watching the last two weeks, you cannot predict anything but a gloomy, dim forecast. It's hard to pick the Bears after what they've shown really for three weeks. That loss to the Dolphins in Week 7 was bad, too."

Yeah, Marc Trestman is only in his second season as Bears coach. But is there a chance he doesn't survive this season?

A: "Definitely a chance now. If you had asked me that going into the bye week, I would have said no. Certainly this organization doesn't knee-jerk with that kind of decision. But the way these last two losses have been, you get a couple more uncompetitive blowouts and who knows? People say, `What record does he need to keep his job?' Our argument isn't about the final record, it's how they get there. If you lost to the Patriots and Packers and it was by two or three points, people would say, `OK, those are two better teams. Now, we have a winnable stretch with five of the next six games at home.' But the Bears just got their doors blown off and they're not anywhere near competitive. And you get zero sense that they're on the verge of turning the corner. To come out after the bye week and have zero answers, I think that's the most discouraging part – even for the coaching staff and the players."

Has it been the same old Jay Cutler. Talented, but sloppy with too many turnovers?

A: "It's been sloppy interceptions. It's bad decisions. It's poor throws and bad ball security in the pocket. Cutler's turnover total is up to 15. That's not what you pay $127 million over seven years for. And the turnovers have been in bad situations. Week 1 with the Bills. Tie game. He throws that one to [Bills defensive tackle] Kyle Williams in the middle of the field on a third-and-short with the Bears in field goal range. Busted play, across his body, into traffic. These are grade-school errors on some plays. They lost the Panthers game with three turnovers, including one that was air-mailed to Santonio Holmes in the fourth quarter with the Bears ahead by three. They come at bad moments. They come with bad decisions. And Jay just doesn't correct them. Now, he has made progress in some areas. He's completing a higher percentage than ever. He's using Matt Forte really well as a checkdown option which is why that guy has 61 receptions already. But none of that matters when you're constantly turning the ball over. Fourteen of his 15 turnovers have come in the Bears' six losses. Not a coincidence that Jay's struggles mirror the team's."

It's a different defense, obviously, but the Vikings have had trouble with the big receivers (Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery) and the tight end (Martellus Bennett) in the past, particularly in the last meeting in Chicago. How have they looked this season and how is Marshall's attitude during a 3-6 start?

A: "With Marshall, two notable things. No. 1, he hurt his ankle in the season opener and basically played all of September with a bad ankle. That limited his production and affected him mentally. He hurt his ankle again on Sunday night in Green Bay. So that's worth keeping an eye on. He'll play because he always plays. But now what for him? … Brandon has this journal he keeps now on the sideline to write down positive thoughts after drives. It's something he's started to do this year. It's been part of this urgent push to try and be a very positive person. Cutler said Marshall's like 180 degrees different with that perspective than what he was in Denver years back. I think this is a guy who is trying to be positive, is trying to channel his passion into leadership. But it doesn't always come naturally to him. And with the losses and his production lagging, he's been very short-fused and stressed and not a very jubilant person. … Jeffery has not made progress this year. Simply put. He has dropped passes and his production isn't what it was. And you'll hear every couple of weeks, they'll talk about a busted play that happened because he wasn't in the right spot. You don't see that kind of thing when you're watching the game live. But Trestman will say, `Oh yeah, Alshon was supposed to be in motion there. Not sure why he didn't do it.' Those are signs that he's taken a half-step back, but it's been overshadowed because there are 14 other problems with this team that have been bigger. But he has not ascended the way everyone thought he would coming off of last season. … Bennett has played really well. He and Forte are the two brightest spots that you can take out of this season for the offense. He's been really good after the catch this year. He talked about it all through OTAs and training camp this year. This was going to be the Year of the YAC. He's been productive. And obviously he had the game-winning TD against the Vikings last year at Soldier Field too."