BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- Chicago natives know their two seasons -- winter and road construction. So seeing Interstates 80 and 57 restricted to one lane in each direction is normal.

What's baffling is what sign to hang on the Bears. In 2001, the Bears were the league darlings at 13-3. Last year, traveling for 16 games, they were an injury riddled 4-12. Ownership hung the detour sign on the 2002 Bears by playing home games in Champaign while Soldier Field was rebuilt. The first two games this fall will be played on the road.

	Rex Grossman and Kordell Stewart play catch at Bears training camp.

So it was only fitting that the Bears would carpool into the season with Kordell Stewart as their quarterback. If the theme to the Bears travels of late is "To Hell and Back," then Stewart is the perfect designated driver. Stewart's seen his hell. During his eight years with the Steelers, he's bounced between starter and backup. He's been booed. His reputation has been attacked. All of which seems unfair for a quarterback whose career record is 46-29.

Slash had been butchered at times in Pittsburgh but he's always bounced back.

"This is a second opportunity," Stewart said. "I've been through it all. At the end of the day, it can't get any worse than it was in Pittsburgh. From being a quarterback one week to not being one the next. From going to the Pro Bowl and then going back to the bench."

As he did so often in Pittsburgh, Stewart scrambled in bringing back the memories. "Fresh start, fresh start," Stewart said. "When you're talking, tell everyone that Kordell loves a fresh start."

For good or bad, Stewart is a symbolic quarterback for the Bears. With the Steelers, Stewart was either great or not. That's the Bears team. One year they can win 13. The next year they can lose 12. Add a quarterback of extremes to a team of peaks and valleys. Go figure.

"I can tell you that we are a good football team when we are healthy," Bears coach Dick Jauron said. "How good, I don't know."

It was hell for the Bears last season. Halfback Anthony Thomas went from Rookie of the Year to a halfback whom management wanted to challenge with a more explosive threat this offseason. They looked at Willis McGahee until he blew out his knee. They considered drafting supplemental choice Tony Hollings. Thomas went from 1,183 yards a rookie to 721 yards and a 3.4 yards average last year.

"You can't pinpoint one thing that happened last year; it was just so many at one time," Thomas said. "Injuries hurt us all at the same time. I don't think I was any different as a runner. I had to change up a few things because of the guys that went down and got hurt. A lot of guys got banged up. We changed some things up to gain some yards and it just didn't work. I had to run with more power, trying to push the ball and move the ball "

And that's part of the problem entering this season on offense. The Bears released veteran right tackle James "Big Cat" Williams to get younger but their supposed best young lineman, tackle Marc Colombo, is out indefinitely following two knee procedures. Mike Gandy, an athletic career guard, moves to left tackle and former Lions first-rounder Aaron Gibson battles Steve Edwards for the right tackle job. If that doesn't work, the Bears offense is once again operating on a one-lane highway.

To his credit, Stewart enters with a positive attitude. Now 30-years old, Stewart knows this is a detour in his career. He signed a two-year deal understanding that the Bears wouldn't draft a quarterback and then they came back and took Rex Grossman in the first round. Young at the skilled positions, the Bears genuinely like Stewart.

"There's been some talk that he's been picking up the offense slowly, but in minicamp and in June, it seems like he's looked pretty good to me," wide receiver Marty Booker said. "He also adds a dimension of a guy who can move around and scramble and make plays with his feet. I think it's going to help our offense get that much better."

Stewart said all the right things to endear himself to his new teammates. He told Booker (No. 86) and Dez White (No. 80) that he's used to throwing to Pro Bowlers with the same numbers -- Steelers receiver Hines Ward (No 80) and Plaxico Burress (No. 86). He won over the A-Train by telling him he's used to handing off to transportation vehicles.

	“	There's been some talk that he's been picking up the offense slowly, but in minicamp and in June, it seems like he's looked pretty good to me. He also adds a dimension of a guy who can move around and scramble and make plays with his feet. I think it's going to help our offense get that much better. ”
		— Marty Booker, Bears WR on Kordell Stewart

Here's the problems Stewart faces. The Bears are in the midst of a quarterback merry-go-round that at times hasn't been merry. Take Booker, for example. This is his fifth season. Stewart is the sixth different quarterback to start for the Bears during that time, and at some point, Grossman will be the seventh.

And they all have played in an offense that is one of the most criticized in the league. John Shoop is a bright, young offensive coordinator, but each Monday he's the punching bag for every columnist in Illinois. Shoop's receivers are tall and have speed. Booker's a Pro Bowler with 100-catch credentials. White and David Terrell could break out any season. Shoop's system, though, is considered conservative -- loaded with short passes to let the receivers run after the catch.

"They look at us as big, strong guys who can run after the catch," Booker said. "But the last couple of years, it's been looking bad. We've been constantly on the short game. We've been looking terrible. Now that we have a quarterback who can move around, maybe we can sneak in the back door because everybody is counting us out."

Stewart is an unusual fit for what critics call the "Run and Shoop" offense. He's not much for the short game. Remember, he might still be best known more for a "Hail Mary" in college. He's a 56-percent career passer from a Steelers team that surrounded him with enough talent that they only expected him to turn in 15-touchdown, 11-interception seasons.

Credit Stewart for effort so far. He signed March 14 and came to the office four to five days a week, missing only two days to move his belongings. Because the Bears throw so short, you can see from watching practice that he should be a 60-percent thrower, something he did twice in eight seasons in Pittsburgh.

Sure, there are times he mechanically goes awry. Once in maybe every seven throws, his footwork might be off and the pass might miss the mark. But considering that Stewart is thinking and learning about a new system on the run, he's off to a much better start than outsiders might believe.

"It's exciting because I come into something brand new," Stewart said. "They were 4-12 last year, and they just want to get something done as opposed to the Steelers with four Super Bowls in the '70s that they haven't let go. They are still thinking about that. It's 2003."

No problems in Chicago. The most beloved quarterback for Bears fans is Jim McMahon. As long as Stewart doesn't remind fans of Cade McNown, he'll have a chance to succeed.

"I really like Kordell," Jauron said. "I think he can do well. I'm not gong to say that we are going to worry as much about the stats as much as we are concentrating on the one stat that's most important -- wins. Kordell can keep opponent's offenses off the field with what he can do with his arm and his legs."

The Bears are somewhere between the four- and 13-win area, and Stewart just has to make the best of it before he moves onto his next destination in a year or two when the franchise is turned over to Grossman. Remember, it's the construction season in Illinois.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.