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Why the Bears can repeat as NFC North champio
Why the Bears can repeat as NFC North champions
<LI id=article-hdr-meta-author>By Elliot Harrison NFL.com <LI id=article-hdr-meta-title>Analyst
If there is one 2010 playoff team that hasn't received much respect from the media this offseason, it's the Chicago Bears -- myself included. Jason La Canfora's recent Super Bowl predictions didn't include much love for these guys, either.
So what's with the lack of love for a team that went 11-5 and was a drive away from tying up the NFC Championship Game and maybe headed to the Super Bowl?
Well, their front man, quarterback Jay Cutler, didn't engender much respect with the fallout from his play, and reaction to a knee injury, in that title game. Not to mention, the receiving corps sorely needs a playmaker, a guy you have to rotate coverage to. Lastly, the offensive line has been in need of an upgrade for some time and is considered the biggest culprit for the team's struggles over the last couple of seasons.
So is there hope this team can finish 11-5 again, or at least make a run at the playoffs? Put another way: If one had to make a case for the Bears in 2011, can they?
Yes.
While their schedule is certainly not easy, if the Bears can survive the first three games (vs. Falcons, at Saints, vs. Packers,) things get a bit more loving down the stretch. Chicago plays the AFC West in 2011, and the two best teams in the division -- the Chiefs and Chargers -- will be home games. Lovie Smith's group also has very winnable home games against the Panthers and Seahawks.
Putting the schedule aside, there are other positives.
First off, this team is not the Headless Horseman. Cutler has top-five quarterback talent and made strides from his interception-happy campaign of 2009. I like what the Bears did in the NFL draft, finally spending a top pick on some protection for the quarterback. If Gabe Carimi is as good as his press clippings at tackle, then Cutler and the offense just got better.
If Chicago improves its performance even slightly in a few categories, this is a team that will be formidable. The Bears finished last in the NFL in 10-play drives, sacks allowed, and turning the ball over in the red zone. Mike Martz's offense had more three-and-outs than the punchless Dodgers. But at least his offense wasn't ranked last -- just 30th, that's all.
With all that in mind, let's use some reverse logic. If Chicago was that bad in all these major categories, then they must also be pretty damn good to still finish 11-5. It's so easy to point to all the stats that reflect a crappy club, without recognizing the fact that the same group can be so good at the intangibles: Having the most dangerous return man in the history of the league (Devin Hester), great leadership on defense, clutch players, and one of the most versatile backs in the league (Matt Forte).
Most importantly, the 400-pound gorilla in the room is that defense, a unit that gave up a measly 17.9 points per game, fourth best in the NFL. No team has given up so few points and had a losing record since the 2006 Dolphins.
As long as the Bears keep teams out of the end zone like they did in 2010, they've got a puncher's chance in the NFC North again. And considering only four of the 10 NFC champions in the 2000s have even made the playoffs the following season, Green Bay is not exactly guaranteed to repeat. Meanwhile, the improved Detroit Lions aren't an 11-5 team (yet), and Minnesota could go 5-11 if Christian Ponder or Joe Webb falls flat.
So don't count the Monsters of the Midway out just yet. They caught some breaks in 2010 and might not win 11 games again, but there still could be reason to go to a Chicago sports bar to watch the Bears come mid-January.
This and that
» I wrote part of this column at a sports bar on 3rd Street in Los Angeles, thinking that it would be quiet. Instead, I had David Arquette doing his best Rage Against the Machine, yelling "$^%* you, I won't do what you tell me!" at the top of his lungs. Karaoke night, no joke.
» Be sure to watch the "Top 100: Players of 2011" this week. It's getting down to the nitty gritty, with just 20 players to go. Twenty through 11 will be revealed Sunday. I'm curious to see where Aaron Rodgers ranks. That's a tough one.
» I'm predicting the lockout ends July 15th, on a Friday. Wishful thinking?
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A nice counter to laconfora's always negative bears stuff on nfl.com.. lacanfora picked all 16 games against bears last year, not sure why he hates the bears so much, its realy odd( at least charles robinson was the 'excuse" of the taunts and crap he Deservedly took from his 2005 "if the bears win the division, i'll eat my laptog" stuff, that he still cries about.
As have been saying "IF" the "O" has the usual jump in year 2, we are going to be a very tough team in 2011 and expect us nack int eh plaayoff's again and this time finish what we started : )
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yah if the offense can jump from 30 to 10 we will be fine. But if the best they do is 20 ranked the defense will have to carry the team and on nights they dont show up its going to suck.
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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Originally Posted by
motownbear 
yah if the offense can jump from 30 to 10 we will be fine. But if the best they do is 20 ranked the defense will have to carry the team and on nights they dont show up its going to suck.
even at 20 i'd say it would improve the record IMO.. with the exception of the NE game game all the other loses were close and a td or less entering the 4th quarter, so even a 'few" extra scores could have turned those around( esp the redskins and seattle games)
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Originally Posted by
dabears54 A nice counter to laconfora's always negative bears stuff on nfl.com.. lacanfora picked all 16 games against bears last year, not sure why he hates the bears so much, its realy odd( at least charles robinson was the 'excuse" of the taunts and crap he Deservedly took from his 2005 "if the bears win the division, i'll eat my laptog" stuff, that he still cries about.
As have been saying "IF" the "O" has the usual jump in year 2, we are going to be a very tough team in 2011 and expect us nack int eh plaayoff's again and this time finish what we started : )
It never ceases to amaze the misguided " respect " that geeks like Lacanfora get just because they are on tv. Just another waterboy who never made the team ........ and who's opinion is no more important than all the others who have no genuine NFL pedigree i.e : former coaches and players. Jason Lacanfora, Zach Zaidman, Jim Rome, David Kaplan etc..... big whoop.
What should you call any : Fumble , Hold , Interception , Three and out , or Sack ?
A " F.H.I.T.S " ? or a J'Marcus ?
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High Fives / Like - 2 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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Originally Posted by
dabears54 A nice counter to laconfora's always negative bears stuff on nfl.com.. lacanfora picked all 16 games against bears last year, not sure why he hates the bears so much, its realy odd( at least charles robinson was the 'excuse" of the taunts and crap he Deservedly took from his 2005 "if the bears win the division, i'll eat my laptog" stuff, that he still cries about.
As have been saying "IF" the "O" has the usual jump in year 2, we are going to be a very tough team in 2011 and expect us nack int eh plaayoff's again and this time finish what we started : )
All it does is show his predjudice and stupidity when he does that. What gets me is how the guys editor lets him do it without pause.
And can't anybody ever write an article about the fortunes of the 2011 Bears without mentioning Cutler and the 2010 Championship Game for the 10,000th time. Chirst it gets old when they won't just let that dog die.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. 
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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Jason LaCanfora has to be the ugliest son of a bitch I've ever seen. One ear is three inches higher than the other and he looks like a goggle-eyed dickhead. I don't know what his deal is about the Bears but I seem to remember the twerp throwing out a couple of barbs at Brian Urlacher on the issue of whether he deserves to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. That madness of that man is outrageous! How can you question Urlacher's qualifications for the Hall of Fame when his numbers are on par with Ray Lewis' in terms of tackles, not to mention he is a far superior pass rusher to Lewis? The guy shouldn't even have a job with the network if he's not going be impartial when it comes to all teams.
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Originally Posted by
Blue Horse-shoe It never ceases to amaze the misguided " respect " that geeks like Lacanfora get just because they are on tv. Just another waterboy who never made the team ........ and who's opinion is no more important than all the others who have no genuine NFL pedigree i.e : former coaches and players. Jason Lacanfora, Zach Zaidman, Jim Rome, David Kaplan etc..... big whoop.
Agreed,, and while don't think you need to be a ex-coach or player to have good insights, there are waaay to many idiots in media that really don't have a clue and do stuff not because true or even beleive it, but just do to create contoversy( call it the moronatti syndrome), which becomes more important than facts or truth..Zaidman IMO is good for tweets during camp to get updates on how practices are going.. after that, not so much : )
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Originally Posted by
Dagan81 Jason LaCanfora has to be the ugliest son of a bitch I've ever seen. One ear is three inches higher than the other and he looks like a goggle-eyed dickhead. I don't know what his deal is about the Bears but I seem to remember the twerp throwing out a couple of barbs at Brian Urlacher on the issue of whether he deserves to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. That madness of that man is outrageous! How can you question Urlacher's qualifications for the Hall of Fame when his numbers are on par with Ray Lewis' in terms of tackles, not to mention he is a far superior pass rusher to Lewis? The guy shouldn't even have a job with the network if he's not going be impartial when it comes to all teams.
Plus he's also a former hockey writer. Many of them just get put on this beat or that beat by their bosses....... which is why I wonder why anyone gives any thought to what they have to say. I don't. But it disgusts me that they get any cred at all. Ah well, it's the way things are. On to more important topics.
What should you call any : Fumble , Hold , Interception , Three and out , or Sack ?
A " F.H.I.T.S " ? or a J'Marcus ?
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Originally Posted by
Blue Horse-shoe Plus he's also a former hockey writer. Many of them just get put on this beat or that beat by their bosses....... which is why I wonder why anyone gives any thought to what they have to say. I don't. But it disgusts me that they get any cred at all. Ah well, it's the way things are. On to more important topics.
Oh really? I didn't know that. Did he bash the Blackhawks too? Does he have a mad hate-on for the city of Chicago?
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