Don't worry fellow bears fan, Green Bay is a threat, but we should be able to generate more pressure with the addition of peppers, a healthy tommie harris will also be a force to be wreckoned with. Urlacher, Briggs, and Pisanoma are arguably the best line backing core in the league. Tillman is a very good corner, zach bowman had 6ints in only his second season, we got chris harris back at safety the guys a beast. Major wright the rookie from florida looks good. On offense we got a great 1-2 punch in forte-taylor at rb, greg olson one of the best pass catching te in the league along with clark a great 1-2 punch. Jay cutler is a young perenial pro bowler who has had a year to adjust to a new system, plus martz is the oc, hester and knox are two of the fastest wr in the league, they both had good numbers last year, we have one of the best special teams in the league hands down, gould is a pro bowl type kicker we have atleast three great kickoff returners knox,hester, and manning. our offensive line is good anchored by oline kreutz. The bears are simply a better rounded team in terms of all three phases of the game than the packers.
Urlacher and Tommie Harris need to show they can still play at a high level (although I will be the first to point tout that the two games Harris missed last season were where we got spanked the worst gainst the run).
Kreutz is done. Great career, but it's time to hang em up. Our line sucked last year. worst line all-around in the league. I have confidence in Williams turning into a solid left tackle,and Garza is decent, but they only have 2/5ths of a pro line out there right now. Maybe Tice can work his magic, but I'm not sold on Omanyale as a right tackle (a position he hasn't played since his sophomore year in college) and he ownright sucked last year at guard.
We do have goo dtight ends, but Clark's a lot more consistent than Olsen. Olsen has talent if he can hold onto the ball, but he's way too inconsistent and he can't run a route for ****. On top of that, he couldn't block a five year old girl.
Hester is not a receiver. Plain and simple. He's slightly dumebr than cat **** and doesn't know the routes. At least a few of Cutler's INT's last year can be chalked up as Hester brain farts. Aromashodu showed signs of potential last season towards the end, but until that point he was a career practice squad player. Knox is still learning, and he needs to run better routes as well, but I have more faith in him than Hester.
Cutler hasn't had a year to learn the system, because the system from last year is gone. He's learning an all-new system... again. And one that leads to lots and lots of sacks. If his receivers and line aren't having great years, it's going to be a very long one for Jay.
I'll reserve judgment on bowman till he actually does something of worth. Sure he had picks last year, but just a few years ago Nathan Vasher was "the interceptor". I don't get my hopes up anymore over a one year performance. Tillman is a very good corner, and I dislike that they are moving him to the other side in favor of bowman.
Harris was good a couple years ago with the panthers, but that was in a different system. He's an upgrade from what we had. Wright's a rookie who hasn't even played a single preseason game, let alone a real game. It's impossible to say if he's good, bad, or average. He does't look like anything yet.
If forte bounces back, and taylor plays well for a RB on the wrong side of thirty (the RB wall is 30) and the line learns how to run block, we have a chance for a decent running game. If everything plays out like last year, we will suck.
Peppers was a good signing, but he is also on the wrong side of 30. They signed him to a smart contract, so he has to perform to get his money. I expect about 8 sacks from him, but he coud surprise me.
Gould is money from within 50. I've got no worries with his kicking. We'll have a solid kick return team as well.
So basically, I see the bears as having big question marks at the two biggesat phases of the game and one phase where they are very good.
I have to ask, though. Are you a Cubs fan? Your faithful optimism is so stereotypically Cubs-fan that I have to ask. :lol: