August 3, 200916 yr comment_66602 Could disappoint in '09 Chicago Bears Why the pessimism? Believe it or not, the Bears had the third-worst pass defense in the league last year ... at least yardagewise (241.2 yards per game). They were fifth overall in stopping the run, which is a pretty wide gulf. Even with the arrival of Jay Cutler, I'm just not sure if the Bears offense is going to be significantly better this season since he doesn't have any reliable receivers to throw to. In other words, we could be in for more of the same. And oh, by the way ... Chicago only registered one special teams touchdown last season, which is certainly far less than we're accustomed to seeing from them. Worst-case scenario? Here's a bit of a twist on what I touched on above — let's say Cutler magically transforms the Bears passing attack into a potent one. That means they'll be ringing up the scoreboard, right? So how are teams going to have to attack the Bears defense in order for them to keep up? Yep ... in the air. That means the Bears secondary is going to concede more points. Don't get me wrong — the Bears still have a pretty good D/ST which can force some turnovers. They should be owned and started in all leagues, but it just appears as if their time as the elite and dominant force may have passed. Please note by clicking on "add a comment" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Use and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Be polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed by the moderator. Report
August 3, 200916 yr comment_66604 I'm so sick of this. They have a good group of guys who can catch- Forte, Jones, Olsen, Hester, and Bennett. Also, Rideau has looked great catching the ball in TC, and Knox + Iglesias might give us some catches. Had a team on the East Coast got Cutler, it'd be a huge ESPN circle jerk. Instead, Buffalo gets TO and that's all you hear about. "Buffalo had 5,000 people here today, how great!" Yeah, except the Bears have had 6,000, 6,000, and 11,000 respectively. Eat it, east coast bias. Report
August 3, 200916 yr comment_66605 I think of it this way. 7 wins would be a disappointment, and 13 wins would be a surprise. However, I think we have more of a shot at 13 than we do 7. Unless this team gets crushed by injuries, I can't see us winning less than we did last year. Also, by saying Cutler is ringing up the points so that will work against the defense is silly. How many times did we have 3 and outs last year? Or drives lasting only 5 or 6 downs? Cutler is going to allow the Bears to extend drives and keep the defense fresh. That is huge and cannot be overlooked. Report
August 3, 200916 yr comment_66606 Could disappoint in '09 Chicago Bears Why the pessimism? Believe it or not, the Bears had the third-worst pass defense in the league last year ... at least yardagewise (241.2 yards per game). They were fifth overall in stopping the run, which is a pretty wide gulf. Even with the arrival of Jay Cutler, I'm just not sure if the Bears offense is going to be significantly better this season since he doesn't have any reliable receivers to throw to. In other words, we could be in for more of the same. And oh, by the way ... Chicago only registered one special teams touchdown last season, which is certainly far less than we're accustomed to seeing from them. Worst-case scenario? Here's a bit of a twist on what I touched on above — let's say Cutler magically transforms the Bears passing attack into a potent one. That means they'll be ringing up the scoreboard, right? So how are teams going to have to attack the Bears defense in order for them to keep up? Yep ... in the air. That means the Bears secondary is going to concede more points. Don't get me wrong — the Bears still have a pretty good D/ST which can force some turnovers. They should be owned and started in all leagues, but it just appears as if their time as the elite and dominant force may have passed. This article sounds like its written by a 12 year old. Report
August 3, 200916 yr comment_66607 I see a pretty big contradiction in his argument. On one hand, he talks about how bad our pass defense is. Even if Cutler and the offense are good, he points out how that will only mean our defense will give up more points. Then, toward the end, he says our D/ST should be owned and started in all leagues. I assume he is talking FF here. As most leagues are (on average) 10 teams, that means he considers our D/ST to be top 10. Um, if our secondary is being scored on at will, which he initially indicates could happen, how can we have a top 10 D? Could disappoint in '09 Chicago Bears Why the pessimism? Believe it or not, the Bears had the third-worst pass defense in the league last year ... at least yardagewise (241.2 yards per game). They were fifth overall in stopping the run, which is a pretty wide gulf. Even with the arrival of Jay Cutler, I'm just not sure if the Bears offense is going to be significantly better this season since he doesn't have any reliable receivers to throw to. In other words, we could be in for more of the same. And oh, by the way ... Chicago only registered one special teams touchdown last season, which is certainly far less than we're accustomed to seeing from them. Worst-case scenario? Here's a bit of a twist on what I touched on above — let's say Cutler magically transforms the Bears passing attack into a potent one. That means they'll be ringing up the scoreboard, right? So how are teams going to have to attack the Bears defense in order for them to keep up? Yep ... in the air. That means the Bears secondary is going to concede more points. Don't get me wrong — the Bears still have a pretty good D/ST which can force some turnovers. They should be owned and started in all leagues, but it just appears as if their time as the elite and dominant force may have passed. Please note by clicking on "add a comment" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Use and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Be polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed by the moderator. Report
August 3, 200916 yr comment_66608 I see a pretty big contradiction in his argument. On one hand, he talks about how bad our pass defense is. Even if Cutler and the offense are good, he points out how that will only mean our defense will give up more points. Then, toward the end, he says our D/ST should be owned and started in all leagues. I assume he is talking FF here. As most leagues are (on average) 10 teams, that means he considers our D/ST to be top 10. Um, if our secondary is being scored on at will, which he initially indicates could happen, how can we have a top 10 D? Didn't we upgrade our D by signing Marinelli and with Lovie taking over the play calling and also by the signing of Cutler. Seriously people really should look at everything that has happened instead of just basing it on last year. Report
August 3, 200916 yr comment_66618 On a good note, at least we have some intelligent posters on here who usually back up their comments with valid facts and arguments - and even though most are excited to add Cutler, you usually don't see the OMFGWEZRGONAGO16N0NWINDASUPABOWL posts! Report
August 4, 200916 yr comment_66642 Ha! Great post! It's just more fluff before the season... Yes, we could disappoint, and yes, we could win the Super Bowl. I see a pretty big contradiction in his argument. On one hand, he talks about how bad our pass defense is. Even if Cutler and the offense are good, he points out how that will only mean our defense will give up more points. Then, toward the end, he says our D/ST should be owned and started in all leagues. I assume he is talking FF here. As most leagues are (on average) 10 teams, that means he considers our D/ST to be top 10. Um, if our secondary is being scored on at will, which he initially indicates could happen, how can we have a top 10 D? Report
August 4, 200916 yr comment_66651 Ha! Great post! It's just more fluff before the season... Yes, we could disappoint, and yes, we could win the Super Bowl. Yeah your right, its also possibly to finish the season 0-16 just ask Detroit. Report
August 4, 200916 yr comment_66652 Nah, both of us have a better chance of mutating into crime-fighting superheroes than the Bears do going 0-16! Yeah your right, its also possibly to finish the season 0-16 just ask Detroit. Report
August 4, 200916 yr comment_66655 Sorry, but Madlithuanian has more of a villian sound to it than a hero. Nah, both of us have a better chance of mutating into crime-fighting superheroes than the Bears do going 0-16! Report
August 5, 200916 yr comment_66720 I'm just misunderstood! <_> Sorry, but Madlithuanian has more of a villian sound to it than a hero. Report
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.