After already predicting the Packers to remain as the team to beat in the NFC North, and doing an extensive review of how the Lions are shaping up for this year, I want to take some time to discuss the team that won’t seem to go away – the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears are on the opposite end of the spectrum as the Lions, who are young and on their way up. The Bears are the aging team that everyone is waiting for to finally go away so they can forget about them. What many people have been trying to predict for years with the Bears is the demise of their stellar defense. The popular thought is that “they are old” and that it is just a matter of time until they collapse. That was the prevailing thought in 2009, 2010 and 2011. And each time you would have been wrong.
I think this plays on everyone’s natural tendency to be able to predict the future in some small way. If you keep predicting the demise of the Bears then eventually you will be right, and no one will force you to talk about the five times you were wrong. It’s playing it safe – very safe. It is much simpler in these situations to let these things play out by themselves. Let the Bears defense tell you when it is done. When the results show up on the field (in the regular season) then it may be time to jump ship, but until then you are just wasting time waiting for the Bears to decline. They still have Julius Peppers, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. They still have the coach that brought them their system they have played so well. Does the fact that each player is 365 days older really make you think that everything is suddenly going to fall apart for them?
Of course the injuries start to mount more frequently with increased age, so the team has to be monitored with increasing regularity. I suppose that makes the Bears riskier. Coach Lovie Smith isn’t panicking over his aging defense, so I suppose we shouldn’t either. We have to let the Bears’ defense tell us when they are shot and assume all is normal until that time comes.
The fact is that Jay Cutler is a dynamic player, and even though he operates behind a poor Bears offensive line, he makes it work the way few other could. The addition of Brandon Marshall can’t be understated because he is such a force in his own right, but also because he already had a chemistry with Cutler from their days in Denver. Expect Cutler to look for Marshall more than ever when all those plays break down due to defensive penetration through their leaking O-line.
Even though their styles are dramatically different, the Bears and Lions are close to each other in terms of overall talent. Both teams started 7-3 last season, but the Bears were not able to build on their hot start due to an injury to Jay Cutler. In terms of head-to-head matchups the teams split the season series with each team taking care of their home date. Don’t expect the Lions to make another leap and don’t expect the Bears to suddenly fall off a cliff. Instead expect both teams to have similar success as last year, and be in the playoff hunt.
I would not be surprised at all if a playoff position comes down to head-to-head match-ups between the Bears and Lions this year.
