There''s nothing more the Chicago Bears want for Christmas than to see the 2002 season come to an end  and fast. There''s three games left before the bleeding ends. The countdown continues with today''s noon (WCIA) game at Memorial Stadium against the New York Jets, a team hoping its season doesn''t end without a stop in the playoffs. What the Bears have left to play for is themselves, and for those who expect to be back in 2003, a way to head into next year, away from Champaign, on a positive note. "I think we know where we want to go," said Bears quarterback Jim Miller, whose season ended last week in Miami after he sustained a bone bruise in his knee and a sprained medial collateral ligament. "We obviously don''t want to be where we are. This is a good football team. We honestly know that." Maybe when they''re healthy, but with eight key players on injured reserve and some inexperienced backups, the Bears are no better than the other team that shared Memorial Stadium with them this season. Chicago has started 44 different players this season, a number coaches have nightmares about when thinking about health. If there''s a bright spot, it''s that Chicago, when healthy, will have the same players back on the field that went 13-3 last season. That can make for a cohesiveness, but are they really worthy of NFL acclaim? Chicago general manager Jerry Angelo thinks so. "The good thing is the nucleus of our football team will be back next year," Angelo said on the team''s Web site this week. "Most of the guys are under contract." That could be their downfall down the road. Players like cornerbacks R.W. McQuarters, Jerry Azumah and defensive tackle Alfonso Boone have long-term deals but have struggled this season and might not be anything more than solid role players. Linebacker Rosevelt Colvin, who leads the team with 10Ö sacks, will be an unrestricted free agent, and the Bears will have to decide if they are willing to spend the coin to keep him in Chicago. Even with everybody healthy in 2003 and additions through the draft and free agency, Chicago isn''t guaranteed to be a playoff contender. There are still questions to be answered in key areas  quarterback, running back and offensive coordinator for starters  and the Bears'' young talent hasn''t exactly taken the league by storm. Still, Chicago will take comfort in believing there is good fortune ahead with the same cast of characters. "We''ll get back to where we need to be," Miller said. "I believe that. And that''s with the same people we have in that locker room. There are some very talented people on this team."