So what are the chances for the Bears this season. Regrettably, I don't think they are that good. Chicago is going to be caught in the middle of a prize fight between two heavy weights in the NFC: the Vikings and the Packers. Unfortunate, they still have big problems on the offense line. I truly believe that the Bear offensive line was Jay Cutler's downfall last season. You can't blame a QB who gets such dreadful protection.
There is another and more important issue. At the time Cutler was acquired by the Bears last season, former Bear QB Jim McMahon did an interview for Myers and Hartman. McMahon issued the disclaimer that he is no longer closely following NFL football, but he still has some savvy about the Bears. He said he loved Cutler's talent and skill, but he serious doubted that Cutler would continue to produce as he did in Denver.
You see Chicago has always been a run-first smash-mouth franchise, and there is a reason for that fact. The team plays in an open air stadium, on the shores of Lake Michigan. They have one of the worst facilities in the league, especially in the merry merry months of November and December, where the playoff shakeout always occurs. [San Francisco has the absolute worst facility in the League.] Given the cosmic wind that comes off lake Michigan and the outer-space cold the players endure, it is extremely difficult to throw the football well during November and December in Chicago. As an organization, the Bears have never trusted any QB to throw the football that much. They have always built and rebuilt themselves as a nasty smash-mouth running team.
Fans in Chicago could be heard beginning a discourse about getting a Domed stadium shortly thereafter.
Ergo, the two biggest factors militating against The Greatest Show on Turf in Chicago are:
- The lack of offensive linemen
- The dreadful cold wind coming off the shores of Lake Michigan.
You have to admit, both of these factors are going fuck with Mike Martz's vertical passing attack. I think Cutler is the most talented QB that Mike Martz has yet worked with; though we should have caution that there is a lot more to being NFL QB that pure physical talent, or even mechanical polish. If talent was all you needed, Brady Quinn would have made it in this league. You also have a natural turf field and a lack of wide receivers working against you. These are not the conditions under which you launch a Greatest Show on Turf attack.
I recently saw Jeff Joniak on NFL Total access, and he was quite sanguine about the Bears' offensive prospects. He felt they had a shot at scoring 30 points per game. I honestly doubt it. You need some linemen and some better receivers for that task. Mike only achieved this feat once in his career, and that was in St. Louis. Those were 'Perfect Storm' conditions also.
I wish you guys lot of luck. I want Mike and Lovie to be successful together again. I think you will win more than you did last year. As far as taking out both the Vikings and the Packers... I don't think so. Provided that the Lions have an excellent defensive draft, they will be more troublesome also.
Perhaps two more victories and a 9-7 record. I think the Bears will be a lot more competitive with top end teams. I think they will be a lot more threatening than last season, when they really struggled. I felt the Bears were fortunate to go 7-9 given the degree of their struggles last season. You guys struggled to beat my Rams. That was not impressive. Ergo, I think we can reasonably say that the 2009 Bear team finished with a soft 7-9 record. However, I just don't see a very soft 7-9 turning into more than a robust 9-7 this year.
