How the NFC North Will Be Won: By the Chicago Bears
Published by Bryan Dietzler on June 25, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
As crazy as it sounds, the Bears could easily be the NFC North team that ends up winning the division in 2010. You might think it’s simply nuts to think this way, but let’s look at the facts heading into the 2010 preseason.
The NFC North consists of four teams: the Bears, the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Detroit Lions. Barring some kind of miracle (and anything is possible in the parity driven NFL), the Lions shouldn’t be much of a threat to the Bears.
The Minnesota Vikings are still waiting to see if Brett Favre is going to join the team or not for 2010. All indications point to the fact that he will return and if he does that will give the Bears some problems. If he doesn’t return, however, it leaves either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels as the Vikings quarterback and this means that Minnesota will probably take a step or two backward this year.
The real problem lies with the Green Bay Packers. They bullied the Bears in both their games last season and have only gotten better during this offseason. They have improved their offensive line, which was their most glaring weak spot and they look like a tough team to beat this season. But they can be beaten.
We know that a lot of the Bears success hinges on how well quarterback Jay Cutler plays, as well as the new-look defense. With a new offensive coordinator in town (Mike Martz) known for his passing prowess, Cutler could end up being one of the top rated quarterbacks in the NFL.
You may say that’s impossible because of the wide receivers that he has but keep in mind, this group was productive last season and with a year of experience with Cutler they will only get better.
On defense, the acquisition of defensive end Julius Peppers was huge and it’s hoped that he will help lift up the rest of the defense and help everyone play better. The linebackers should be great in 2010 but the secondary may be a little suspect. With Zachary Bowman still somewhat of a question mark and Charles Tillman suffering injury problems from time to time, the Bears look a little shaky at the cornerback position.
In a perfect world, the Bears would learn Martz’s playbook, execute it right and score a lot of points. Their defense would hold opponents to next to nothing in points and the Bears would win every single game. But that’s not going to happen.
So why should we think that the Bears will end up winning the NFC North? What has all this been about? It’s simple: Parity. The NFL is driven by parity and for all the time that we spend predicting who is going to do well it can all be wiped away in an instant.
For example, I never predicted that the Saints would win the Super Bowl last year much less get there. I would have never thought that the New York Jets would have done as well as they did either.
So who’s to say that the Bears aren’t going too very well in 2010? They have a lot of the pieces they need in place and their schedule isn’t bad enough to prevent them from winning the North.
The only thing that will prevent them from doing that is themselves. So look for the Bears to play some good football next year, put some great numbers up on offense, do well on defense and win the NFC North to get back into the playoffs again.
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