The lack of respect for the Chicago Bears. (1 Viewer)

[Joe Bryant]

People are making valid points here. I know they're not hands down the best team in the NFL and I can't find anyone who would disagree with me.

Ok. So you agree they're not the best. But probably in the top 5 or so? That's elite level.That's basically what everyone else thinks.J

 

[Hairy Snowman]

People are making valid points here. I know they're not hands down the best team in the NFL and I can't find anyone who would disagree with me.I'm trying to figure out why people are overly skeptical & critical in comparison to other teams.Think about how quickly people jumped on the Carolina bandwagon ... then the Giants badwagon. Then Dallas. Saints are next --- although I finally agree with them. The Saints are awesome right now.

Welcome to the NFL, where a team is only as good as it's last game. Early in the season, this Bears team was being compared to the Super Bowl Shuffle team. A month ago, Indy was going to go undefeated for the season and were a lock for the title...now they're all bums that aren't going to get out of the first round. That's life.

Give it away, give it away, give it away, give it away now............. Give it away, give it away, give it away, give it away now............. The Bears are the Rodney Dangerfield of the NFL. The Saints are the Chris Rock.

 

[PsychoMan]

People are making valid points here. I know they're not hands down the best team in the NFL and I can't find anyone who would disagree with me.I'm trying to figure out why people are overly skeptical & critical in comparison to other teams.Think about how quickly people jumped on the Carolina bandwagon ... then the Giants badwagon. Then Dallas. Saints are next --- although I finally agree with them. The Saints are awesome right now.

Welcome to the NFL, where a team is only as good as it's last game. Early in the season, this Bears team was being compared to the Super Bowl Shuffle team. A month ago, Indy was going to go undefeated for the season and were a lock for the title...now they're all bums that aren't going to get out of the first round. That's life.

True dat.

 

[JBTV]

People are making valid points here. I know they're not hands down the best team in the NFL and I can't find anyone who would disagree with me.I'm trying to figure out why people are overly skeptical & critical in comparison to other teams.Think about how quickly people jumped on the Carolina bandwagon ... then the Giants badwagon. Then Dallas. Saints are next --- although I finally agree with them. The Saints are awesome right now.

Welcome to the NFL, where a team is only as good as it's last game. Early in the season, this Bears team was being compared to the Super Bowl Shuffle team. A month ago, Indy was going to go undefeated for the season and were a lock for the title...now they're all bums that aren't going to get out of the first round. That's life.

Give it away, give it away, give it away, give it away now............. Give it away, give it away, give it away, give it away now............. The Bears are the Rodney Dangerfield of the NFL. The Saints are the Chris Rock.

Hey, when the guy has turned it over 21 times this year, and 7 times in the last two games, people are going to take shots at him. Including his own fans who booed him at home. Too bad Bears fans don't give the Bears any respect.

 

[sainttillidie]

People are making valid points here. I know they're not hands down the best team in the NFL and I can't find anyone who would disagree with me.I'm trying to figure out why people are overly skeptical & critical in comparison to other teams.Think about how quickly people jumped on the Carolina bandwagon ... then the Giants badwagon. Then Dallas. Saints are next --- although I finally agree with them. The Saints are awesome right now.

main reason = QB.

Awsome is a good description, but i like the word Superior better.

 

[PsychoMan]

Even the draft ... many knocked them big time on the Hester pick. 5 return tds to date. Rookie Record.

AHEM ... let me rephrase ...6 return tds to date. ALL TIME NFL RECORD.

 

[King of the Wolfies]

da Bears were way overhyped early in the season due to their bigs wins over some horrible teams. I just don't think da Bears could beat any of the top 5-6 teams in the AFC. Altho they probably are the best in the uber weak NFC.

 

[flapgreen]

I'm not sure what you mean by disrespect. I think my opinion is pretty conventional:Fantastic, championship-caliber defense.Offense is not merely average, but error-prone, which is a huge achilles heel in the playoffs.Match up the Bears DEF with an average, low-mistake offense (see: Patriots offense), and they can easily win a SB. But unless Grossman starts playing a LOT better, I don't see how they survive an aggressive playoff defense.And you are dead wrong when you say that Grossman had been playing better than Roethlisberger in the past 4-8 weeks.

Any opinion that doesn't acknowledge the Bears as the best in the NFC = disrespecting them.At least that is how I have read a week's worth of this stuff coming from the Bears crowd.The above is how fans and sportswriters see the Bears - and offense is king to the television media.Bears are not being disresepcted - they need to play better to get the respect nation-wide that their fans seem to think they deserve. Or did you forget all the gushing while they were undefeated and playing well offensively?

See what happens when I leave for a while - your true colors come out! Offense may be King, but Defense win Championships.Besides, when has the Bears ever had a great QB? I'll take doesn't turn the ball over.

:shuked:not my opinion - the TV media.

Like how they were playing Red Hot Chili Peppers when they had the camera on Rex - Give it away, give it away, give it away now............. no respect.

 

[flapgreen]

People are making valid points here. I know they're not hands down the best team in the NFL and I can't find anyone who would disagree with me.

I'm trying to figure out why people are overly skeptical & critical in comparison to other teams.

Think about how quickly people jumped on the Carolina bandwagon ... then the Giants badwagon. Then Dallas. Saints are next --- although I finally agree with them. The Saints are awesome right now.

Welcome to the NFL, where a team is only as good as it's last game. Early in the season, this Bears team was being compared to the Super Bowl Shuffle team. A month ago, Indy was going to go undefeated for the season and were a lock for the title...now they're all bums that aren't going to get out of the first round. That's life.

Give it away, give it away, give it away, give it away now............. Give it away, give it away, give it away, give it away now............. The Bears are the Rodney Dangerfield of the NFL. The Saints are the Chris Rock.

Hey, when the guy has turned it over 21 times this year, and 7 times in the last two games, people are going to take shots at him. Including his own fans who booed him at home. Too bad Bears fans don't give the Bears any respect.

It's unfortunate but that's how it is. I don't like it.

 

[msommer]

Like how they were playing Red Hot Chili Peppers when they had the camera on Rex - Give it away, give it away, give it away now............. no respect.

That's cruel but very funny!

 

[Green94]

Welcome to the NFL, where a team is only as good as it's last game. Early in the season, this Bears team was being compared to the Super Bowl Shuffle team. A month ago, Indy was going to go undefeated for the season and were a lock for the title...now they're all bums that aren't going to get out of the first round. That's life.

Exactly, nothing really to worry about, the media loves nothing more than talking about the "next best thing".

 

[flapgreen]

Another stat. Chicago is 2nd in the NFL in points scored this season, second to only San Diego. Ahead of New Orleans.

ETA: 2nd in points allowed. Pretty damn impressive.

 

[Green94]

Another stat. Chicago is 2nd in the NFL in points scored this season, second to only San Diego. Ahead of New Orleans.

Wow, that's interesting. Never would have thought they had more pts than NO.

 

[Liquid Tension]

Bear bashers, please read on and hesitate before throwing out the mindless "PTTS", "You're a whiny Bear homer" & "Rex sucks" comments. Please save those for all the other Rex Grossman and Chicago Bear threads. I completely understand that the Bears may fall in the playoffs this year and am not betting money on them winning the Super Bowl. I'm trying to figure out why the Bears seem to be the team that everyone picks on, and no one picks to win.

Moving on; I think it's quite obvious to us all that, in general, the media, fans & players have a serious lack of respect for the Chicago Bears. Some examples over the past two seasons:

On Brian Urlacher, from Wikipedia: "However, many skeptics and critics have considered Urlacher to be overrated. Urlacher’s injury woes in 2004 earned him the infamous honor as the NFL’s most overrated player in 2004. Even after recovering from his injury, and winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award for the 2005 season, a 2006 Sports Illustrated poll of 361 NFL players named Urlacher to be the second most overrated player in the league right behind Terrell Owens."

2005 Playoffs - The Bears win 10 of their final 12 regular season games (and the Minnesota loss didn't matter). They have homefield advantage locked up. They beat Carolina handedly, by a score of 13-3, earlier in the regular season. But, according to many, they are the underdog in their playoff matchup vs Carolina. Most everyone that I personally talked to before the game & on this message board truely believed that Carolina would win that game. I know that Carolina DID end up winning, but I didn't see why people drew that conclusion going into the game; especially when the Bears beat them earlier that year.

Rex Grossman - Rex wins september NFC player of the month honors. Many of my friends, and people on this board did not give him credit & didn't think he deserved it. Since then, he has looked great some games, and horrible in others. In all honesty, aren't we hearing a LOT more negative crap about Rex than Eli Manning & the lovable, huggable Big Ben Roethescheeseburger, who are more experienced, but are playing just as bad? In a sense, this is Rex's rookie season; many notable quarterbacks have had equally bad rookie seasons, but never received quite this much flak. See Peyton Manning.

The Bears only beat up on bad teams. Think about all the love San Diego (11-2) is getting; 8 of their 11 wins this season have been over teams with losing records. The other three wins come against Cincy (8-5) & Denver (7-6) twice. They were also losing two of these games badly before amassing huge comebacks for the win. I had no idea that this was true before finding it just now, but I've heard this argument against the Bears ten thousand times.

2006:

Before week 4, everything thought Seattle would beat up on the Bears.

After week 6 (Arizona), the cries "They've been exposed" are heard.

Before week 10, the Giants were supposed to beat the Bears.

"The Bears will F*** up their 3 game east coast road trip." They come out of it with 2 wins (nearly 3).

Before this past weekend, when Dallas got pummelled by New Orleans and Carolina fell to a LOSING record, MANY people believed either of these teams would beat Chicago in the playoffs.

I see people jumping on the Saints bandwagon now.

I know we can call agree that anything can happen on any given Sunday. There are no easy wins in the NFL.The Bears started the 2005 season poorly with 1 Win, and 3 Losses.

Since then, they have 20 Wins and 5 Losses.

2005 Week 14: Lost 9-21 @ Pittsburg --- Tough game. Pittsburg was better, outplayed them & went on to win the Super Bowl.

2005 Week 17: Lost 10-34 @ Minnesota --- Bears got beat up, but had homefield advantage wrapped up. Game didn't mean anything to them.

2005 Playoff: Lost 21-29 vs Carolina --- Tough playoff matchup, but Bears stayed in it to the end. Bears DBs fell flat on their face twice giving Steve Smith two uncontested touchdowns. Sort of a Rex Grossman "debut" - overall, he plays well.

2006 Week 8 : Lost 13-31 vs Miami --- Pretty much a complete Bears meltdown. Rex didn't have a good day, but neither did anyone else.

2006 Week 10: Lost 13-17 @ New England --- Tough game again. Brady converts some MAJOR 3rd downs and goes on to win a close one. Some say Rex alone handed this game to the Patriots giving the ball up 4 times.

Has any other team won 20 of their last 25 games? Indy maybe???

I am not saying the Bears are hands down the best team in the NFL.

I am not even sure they will win the NFC given their current QB problems; but if I had to put money on ONE NFC team, it would go on the Bears.

What I'm saying is, I think they are one of the least respected teams in the NFL (relative to their record --- obviously people have much less respect for Oakland). Why is that?

I like the Bears (my teams are the Dolphins and Giants) and honestly I agree that the Bears were not respected on any pre season over and under on wins. I bet a lot of money that the Bears would 1) make the playoffs (the odds were 3-1 against me) and 2) that they would win more than 9.5 games (which was like a normal bet with double vig). This was nuts to me as the Bears were banged up last year and played without Grossman all year. I didn't think Grossman would be as great as he played at the beginning or as putrid as he was of late, but I expected a decent mediocre QB which was going to be much better than they had last year. I also expected the running duo to be very solid. Of course, the defense was going to be even better with Mike Brown back (although that didn't pan out). Bottom line is that the Bears have been disrespected and I made a ton of money thanks to them. Thank you everyoneOn to Urlacher, he is similar to Zach Thomas if you ask me. He is really good at shooting gaps and making plays, but he can be blocked pretty easily. At this stage Urlacher is better than Zach and while Urlacher can get run over, he pursues and pushes RB's back better than Zach. I though there were more deserving guys than Urlacher last year, but he had the stats. In this case there was no overrating. In general DT's don't get the recognition they deserve; guys like Jamal Williams and Richard Seymour to name a few.

The Bears are still the best team in the NFC, but they can be run on and I would not be shocked if they got handled in the playoffs. It is possible that Grossman has a bad enough game to cost them one. Just a thought that two first full year starters are at the helm of the two best teams in football. The odds are probably pretty good that at least one stumbles in the playoffs.

 

[ericttspikes]

I really don't care if the Bears are getting respect or not. I'd take homefield throughout and still be considered underdogs. The truth is they haven't done anything yet. Winning the North is nice, but not what they play for.

The NFC is up for grabs. The Rex/Griese thing is a great headline, but I'm more worried about the obscene amount of yards the Bears are giving up lately. To their credit, the Bears are finding ways to win BUT they aren't dominating like 85.

 

[saintsfan]

The respect crap is for Saturday. Only when you play football on Saturday does respect figure in who wins the championship.

On Sunday, it's about winning games. You don't get anything for getting "respect." If you want respect, go out and win. The Bears have been doing that, so I respect them.

At the same time, the reporters are going to talk about Grossman because it's the Bears obvious Achilles heel. Quite frankly, if you don't get, at least, passable QB play in the playoffs, you aren't going to the Super Bowl. Even Dilfer did a good job of not getting in the way in 2000. He just handed to Lewis and punted on 4th down. Since this Bears defense is not as dominant as that Ravens 2000 defense, I think the Bears are going to need a little bit more from Grossman. Can he deliver? That's a legitimate question and I think people asking that question does not mean they are disrespecting the Bears.

My Saints haven't gotten "respect" until this week. Personally, I don't care. They'll have no choice but to respect us if we make some noise in the playoffs. That's all that matters.

 

[fred_1_15301]

Another stat. Chicago is 2nd in the NFL in points scored this season, second to only San Diego. Ahead of New Orleans.

Wow, that's interesting. Never would have thought they had more pts than NO.

Yes but how many of those points are actually from their offense moving the ball the length of the field? How many special teams and defensive tds do the Bears have? Pts scored is a misleading stat in this case. It just substantiates how good the Bears D and special teams has been this year.

 

[5Rings]

I haven't read the entire thread, but the reason I think the Bears don't get respect is:

1) They play in the weakest division in the NFL

2) Rex Grossman

3) They got punked by CAR in the playoffs last year

 

[stevegamer]

The CAR loss last year exposed them as a team that was content to play their defense and not adjust. This year, they should know better.

I didn't think Grossman was the player of the month for September, either, but he was close. Now he's a detriment, and needs to start playing better.

The Bears are likely the #1 seed in the NFC, unless the Saints catch them.

The schedule point is valid, because just pickign teams with winning records going into last week seriously misrepresents things. If one had looked at non-losing records, you'd add ATL/CAR/NYG/PHL to the list, and that seriously favors the Saints & Cowboy's schedules.

I do think winning the NFC East or South is more impressive, since I think MIN/GB/DET is worse than NYG/PHL/WAS & ATL/CAR/TB.

 

[flapgreen]

Another stat. Chicago is 2nd in the NFL in points scored this season, second to only San Diego. Ahead of New Orleans.

Wow, that's interesting. Never would have thought they had more pts than NO.

Yes but how many of those points are actually from their offense moving the ball the length of the field? How many special teams and defensive tds do the Bears have? Pts scored is a misleading stat in this case. It just substantiates how good the Bears D and special teams has been this year.

Yep. Points scored is very misleading. It doesn't mean that much because points scored by defense and special teams don't count as much as those scored by the offense alone. Gimme a break.

 

[flapgreen]

The CAR loss last year exposed them as a team that was content to play their defense and not adjust. This year, they should know better.I didn't think Grossman was the player of the month for September, either, but he was close. Now he's a detriment, and needs to start playing better.The Bears are likely the #1 seed in the NFC, unless the Saints catch them. The schedule point is valid, because just pickign teams with winning records going into last week seriously misrepresents things. If one had looked at non-losing records, you'd add ATL/CAR/NYG/PHL to the list, and that seriously favors the Saints & Cowboy's schedules.I do think winning the NFC East or South is more impressive, since I think MIN/GB/DET is worse than NYG/PHL/WAS & ATL/CAR/TB.

Spin it how you like. That can always be done. The opponents records are the same between the teams. It doesn't get any clearer than that.

 

[fred_1_15301]

Another stat. Chicago is 2nd in the NFL in points scored this season, second to only San Diego. Ahead of New Orleans.

Wow, that's interesting. Never would have thought they had more pts than NO.

Yes but how many of those points are actually from their offense moving the ball the length of the field? How many special teams and defensive tds do the Bears have? Pts scored is a misleading stat in this case. It just substantiates how good the Bears D and special teams has been this year.

Yep. Points scored is very misleading. It doesn't mean that much because points scored by defense and special teams don't count as much as those scored by the offense alone. Gimme a break.

You can roll your eyes all you want but the main reason the Bears don't receive the respect that their fans feel they warrant is because their offense is inconsistent. Last time I checked, that was the point of this thread. I personally think the Bears are the best team in the NFC (not that thats saying much) but I understand why they are not considered a dominant all around team. I just think it's silly to bring up their 2nd most pts scored if you're using that as an indicator of how good their offense is.

 

[Bizkiteer]

Kind of scary when a top defensive unit allows themselves to get into a shootout. Considering Hester having his incredible game, it's even more scary because they very well could have lost w/o Hester having that game. Still looks to be the top NFC team, but you can see why there could be some doubt.

 

[PsychoMan]

Kind of scary when a top defensive unit allows themselves to get into a shootout. Considering Hester having his incredible game, it's even more scary because they very well could have lost w/o Hester having that game. Still looks to be the top NFC team, but you can see why there could be some doubt.

So, if you take away their most electrifying player and two entire possessions, the Bears still win 28-27. And that's with giving up the last two scoring drives in basically what was a prevent.And, yes there certainly is doubt about every team in the NFL.

 

[PsychoMan]

Sorry. Don't see that at all. Bears have tons of love and respect. They're one of the leagues showcase franchises. Grossman has sucked lately. The media has ripped them for that. Just as Bears fans have booed. But overall, tons of respect.

J

Seriously? Interesting, I haven't really seen it ...Even the draft ... many knocked them big time on the Hester pick. 5 return tds to date. Rookie Record.

How do you explain Dallas being higher on most (including your own - last week) power rankings? They've now lost 5 games. My point is people jumped on that bandwagon & had them ranked higher after Romo played 4 good games, even though the Bears won 20 of their last 25.

I am curious to see what people think of this. Again, OBVIOUSLY the Bears, and every other team in the NFL has weaknesses, but I'm pointing out that people have basically jumped on every other bandwagon in the NFC before the Bears, yet the Bears have now won 21 of their last 26 games.

 

[Bizkiteer]

Kind of scary when a top defensive unit allows themselves to get into a shootout. Considering Hester having his incredible game, it's even more scary because they very well could have lost w/o Hester having that game. Still looks to be the top NFC team, but you can see why there could be some doubt.

So, if you take away their most electrifying player and two entire possessions, the Bears still win 28-27. And that's with giving up the last two scoring drives in basically what was a prevent.And, yes there certainly is doubt about every team in the NFL.

I agree the doubt is there for almost everyone in one way or another, which makes for some real exciting Sunday's...or other nights.I'd love to have the problem where my team could compete in a shootout going back-n-forth, but they can't. I just thought it was worht pointing out because the question was something to the affect of "why the lack of respect." Another point would be the Jeckyl & Hyde play of Grossman.When they are on their game, they very impressive and hard to beat.

 

[PsychoMan]

Kind of scary when a top defensive unit allows themselves to get into a shootout. Considering Hester having his incredible game, it's even more scary because they very well could have lost w/o Hester having that game. Still looks to be the top NFC team, but you can see why there could be some doubt.

So, if you take away their most electrifying player and two entire possessions, the Bears still win 28-27. And that's with giving up the last two scoring drives in basically what was a prevent.And, yes there certainly is doubt about every team in the NFL.

I agree the doubt is there for almost everyone in one way or another, which makes for some real exciting Sunday's...or other nights.I'd love to have the problem where my team could compete in a shootout going back-n-forth, but they can't. I just thought it was worht pointing out because the question was something to the affect of "why the lack of respect." Another point would be the Jeckyl & Hyde play of Grossman.When they are on their game, they very impressive and hard to beat.

That's true - I see what you meant though. It wasn't reassuring watching St Louis move the ball as much as they did on the Bears, but I guess that's sometimes what you come to expect out of Bulger,Holt,Bruce & SJAX -- a very talented group.

 

[bullitt]

What other Teams have lost 3 Pro Bowl players on Defense, and are still winning?

 

[flapgreen]

Another stat. Chicago is 2nd in the NFL in points scored this season, second to only San Diego. Ahead of New Orleans.

Wow, that's interesting. Never would have thought they had more pts than NO.

Yes but how many of those points are actually from their offense moving the ball the length of the field? How many special teams and defensive tds do the Bears have? Pts scored is a misleading stat in this case. It just substantiates how good the Bears D and special teams has been this year.

Yep. Points scored is very misleading. It doesn't mean that much because points scored by defense and special teams don't count as much as those scored by the offense alone. Gimme a break.

You can roll your eyes all you want but the main reason the Bears don't receive the respect that their fans feel they warrant is because their offense is inconsistent. Last time I checked, that was the point of this thread. I personally think the Bears are the best team in the NFC (not that thats saying much) but I understand why they are not considered a dominant all around team. I just think it's silly to bring up their 2nd most pts scored if you're using that as an indicator of how good their offense is.

Why don't you go back and reread what I wrote. I never said a single word about how their total points scored was a good indicator of their offense. It's a good indicator of how good a team they are. 2nd in most points scored and 2nd in points allowed. You can twist that any way you like. It speaks for itself. The media is in love, along with most others, with high powered offenses. That's a fact. Since the Bears don't always win pretty or with a high powered offense, everyone automatically assumes they're inferior to the top teams. Let me ask you this. How many of the top teams have inconsistent defenses? THAT doesn't seem to matter to most. It's no different.

Also, I've never said a word about them being dominant either. They've certainly had quite a few dominant performances but I wouldn't consider them dominant. However, I wouldn't consider any team in the league as dominant. Dominance is a subjective term though.

Everyone can think what they like and we'll just keep winning like we have been all year.

 

[flapgreen]

Kind of scary when a top defensive unit allows themselves to get into a shootout. Considering Hester having his incredible game, it's even more scary because they very well could have lost w/o Hester having that game. Still looks to be the top NFC team, but you can see why there could be some doubt.

So, if you take away their most electrifying player and two entire possessions, the Bears still win 28-27. And that's with giving up the last two scoring drives in basically what was a prevent.And, yes there certainly is doubt about every team in the NFL.

I agree the doubt is there for almost everyone in one way or another, which makes for some real exciting Sunday's...or other nights.I'd love to have the problem where my team could compete in a shootout going back-n-forth, but they can't. I just thought it was worht pointing out because the question was something to the affect of "why the lack of respect." Another point would be the Jeckyl & Hyde play of Grossman.When they are on their game, they very impressive and hard to beat.

That's true - I see what you meant though. It wasn't reassuring watching St Louis move the ball as much as they did on the Bears, but I guess that's sometimes what you come to expect out of Bulger,Holt,Bruce & SJAX -- a very talented group.

Again, we showed we could win in a variety of circumstances. Defensive battle, shootout etc.

 

[fred_1_15301]

Another stat. Chicago is 2nd in the NFL in points scored this season, second to only San Diego. Ahead of New Orleans.

Wow, that's interesting. Never would have thought they had more pts than NO.

Yes but how many of those points are actually from their offense moving the ball the length of the field? How many special teams and defensive tds do the Bears have? Pts scored is a misleading stat in this case. It just substantiates how good the Bears D and special teams has been this year.

Yep. Points scored is very misleading. It doesn't mean that much because points scored by defense and special teams don't count as much as those scored by the offense alone. Gimme a break.

You can roll your eyes all you want but the main reason the Bears don't receive the respect that their fans feel they warrant is because their offense is inconsistent. Last time I checked, that was the point of this thread. I personally think the Bears are the best team in the NFC (not that thats saying much) but I understand why they are not considered a dominant all around team. I just think it's silly to bring up their 2nd most pts scored if you're using that as an indicator of how good their offense is.

Why don't you go back and reread what I wrote. I never said a single word about how their total points scored was a good indicator of their offense. It's a good indicator of how good a team they are. 2nd in most points scored and 2nd in points allowed. You can twist that any way you like. It speaks for itself. The media is in love, along with most others, with high powered offenses. That's a fact. Since the Bears don't always win pretty or with a high powered offense, everyone automatically assumes they're inferior to the top teams. Let me ask you this. How many of the top teams have inconsistent defenses? THAT doesn't seem to matter to most. It's no different.

Also, I've never said a word about them being dominant either. They've certainly had quite a few dominant performances but I wouldn't consider them dominant. However, I wouldn't consider any team in the league as dominant. Dominance is a subjective term though.

Everyone can think what they like and we'll just keep winning like we have been all year.

I've read your posts and I wasn't really directing my comments towards your specific posts. I'm trying to justify why some people may disrespect the Bears right now (which is the point of this thread) and the main reason is that their offense is inconsistent. The Colts have a weak run defense and have also lost a lot of respect lately. I agree that every team has their weaknesses and therefore every team is "disrespected" to a degree. We just happen to be in a year where there are no truly dominant teams. I just don't get why some Bear's fans feel that their team is being more disrespected than any of the other top teams. It's a what have you done for me lately league and after this past week, the Bears will (and should) be the favorite to win the NFC again.

 

[flapgreen]

Another stat. Chicago is 2nd in the NFL in points scored this season, second to only San Diego. Ahead of New Orleans.

Wow, that's interesting. Never would have thought they had more pts than NO.

Yes but how many of those points are actually from their offense moving the ball the length of the field? How many special teams and defensive tds do the Bears have? Pts scored is a misleading stat in this case. It just substantiates how good the Bears D and special teams has been this year.

Yep. Points scored is very misleading. It doesn't mean that much because points scored by defense and special teams don't count as much as those scored by the offense alone. Gimme a break.

You can roll your eyes all you want but the main reason the Bears don't receive the respect that their fans feel they warrant is because their offense is inconsistent. Last time I checked, that was the point of this thread. I personally think the Bears are the best team in the NFC (not that thats saying much) but I understand why they are not considered a dominant all around team. I just think it's silly to bring up their 2nd most pts scored if you're using that as an indicator of how good their offense is.

Why don't you go back and reread what I wrote. I never said a single word about how their total points scored was a good indicator of their offense. It's a good indicator of how good a team they are. 2nd in most points scored and 2nd in points allowed. You can twist that any way you like. It speaks for itself. The media is in love, along with most others, with high powered offenses. That's a fact. Since the Bears don't always win pretty or with a high powered offense, everyone automatically assumes they're inferior to the top teams. Let me ask you this. How many of the top teams have inconsistent defenses? THAT doesn't seem to matter to most. It's no different.

Also, I've never said a word about them being dominant either. They've certainly had quite a few dominant performances but I wouldn't consider them dominant. However, I wouldn't consider any team in the league as dominant. Dominance is a subjective term though.

Everyone can think what they like and we'll just keep winning like we have been all year.

I've read your posts and I wasn't really directing my comments towards your specific posts. I'm trying to justify why some people may disrespect the Bears right now (which is the point of this thread) and the main reason is that their offense is inconsistent. The Colts have a weak run defense and have also lost a lot of respect lately. I agree that every team has their weaknesses and therefore every team is "disrespected" to a degree. We just happen to be in a year where there are no truly dominant teams. I just don't get why some Bear's fans feel that their team is being more disrespected than any of the other top teams. It's a what have you done for me lately league and after this past week, the Bears will (and should) be the favorite to win the NFC again.

I can agree with that. As a Bears fan, I think it just appears to many of us that the media only picks apart the Bears on offense and defense and usually has very few positive things to say about them, while many of the other teams seem to get a free pass with their inconsistentcies. Not considering the Colts defense because there's no hiding that fact. It's always about how the flavor of the week is better than the Bears. It gets old. But who knows. Maybe I'm reading into things too much.

 

[Gr00vus]

It's always about how the flavor of the week is better than the Bears. It gets old. But who knows. Maybe I'm reading into things too much.

I think you (and some other Bears fans) are definitely reading into things too much. It's not about how the flavor of the week is better than the Bears, it's about how the flavor of the week is the flavor of the week. Then Bears fans take it upon themselves to extrapolate that into a comparison to the Bears or a lack of respect for the Bears.

 

[fred_1_15301]

Another stat. Chicago is 2nd in the NFL in points scored this season, second to only San Diego. Ahead of New Orleans.

Wow, that's interesting. Never would have thought they had more pts than NO.

Yes but how many of those points are actually from their offense moving the ball the length of the field? How many special teams and defensive tds do the Bears have? Pts scored is a misleading stat in this case. It just substantiates how good the Bears D and special teams has been this year.

Yep. Points scored is very misleading. It doesn't mean that much because points scored by defense and special teams don't count as much as those scored by the offense alone. Gimme a break.

You can roll your eyes all you want but the main reason the Bears don't receive the respect that their fans feel they warrant is because their offense is inconsistent. Last time I checked, that was the point of this thread. I personally think the Bears are the best team in the NFC (not that thats saying much) but I understand why they are not considered a dominant all around team. I just think it's silly to bring up their 2nd most pts scored if you're using that as an indicator of how good their offense is.

Why don't you go back and reread what I wrote. I never said a single word about how their total points scored was a good indicator of their offense. It's a good indicator of how good a team they are. 2nd in most points scored and 2nd in points allowed. You can twist that any way you like. It speaks for itself. The media is in love, along with most others, with high powered offenses. That's a fact. Since the Bears don't always win pretty or with a high powered offense, everyone automatically assumes they're inferior to the top teams. Let me ask you this. How many of the top teams have inconsistent defenses? THAT doesn't seem to matter to most. It's no different.

Also, I've never said a word about them being dominant either. They've certainly had quite a few dominant performances but I wouldn't consider them dominant. However, I wouldn't consider any team in the league as dominant. Dominance is a subjective term though.

Everyone can think what they like and we'll just keep winning like we have been all year.

I've read your posts and I wasn't really directing my comments towards your specific posts. I'm trying to justify why some people may disrespect the Bears right now (which is the point of this thread) and the main reason is that their offense is inconsistent. The Colts have a weak run defense and have also lost a lot of respect lately. I agree that every team has their weaknesses and therefore every team is "disrespected" to a degree. We just happen to be in a year where there are no truly dominant teams. I just don't get why some Bear's fans feel that their team is being more disrespected than any of the other top teams. It's a what have you done for me lately league and after this past week, the Bears will (and should) be the favorite to win the NFC again.

I can agree with that. As a Bears fan, I think it just appears to many of us that the media only picks apart the Bears on offense and defense and usually has very few positive things to say about them, while many of the other teams seem to get a free pass with their inconsistentcies. Not considering the Colts defense because there's no hiding that fact. It's always about how the flavor of the week is better than the Bears. It gets old. But who knows. Maybe I'm reading into things too much.

You may be right that the Bears are being slightly more disrespected than some of the other teams but that happens every year to the top team in the conference. The media will always glorify the "hot" team and find reasons why the top team will lose. Thats the way it works every year. This week, your "flavor" will be the Saints. I personally don't think the Saints (or any other NFC team) will beat the Bears in the playoffs assuming the Bears maintain homefield advantage. It's not so much that I think the Bears are great--it's just that I think they're the best team in that conference. Right now, the Chargers are more than just a "flavor" and have clearly established them as the best all-around team in the league. With that said, they don't have playoff experience and are certainly not unbeatable. I just think we are witnessing a year of complete parity in the NFL. Should make for an exciting couple months.....

 

[Bizkiteer]

Kind of scary when a top defensive unit allows themselves to get into a shootout. Considering Hester having his incredible game, it's even more scary because they very well could have lost w/o Hester having that game. Still looks to be the top NFC team, but you can see why there could be some doubt.

So, if you take away their most electrifying player and two entire possessions, the Bears still win 28-27. And that's with giving up the last two scoring drives in basically what was a prevent.And, yes there certainly is doubt about every team in the NFL.

I agree the doubt is there for almost everyone in one way or another, which makes for some real exciting Sunday's...or other nights.I'd love to have the problem where my team could compete in a shootout going back-n-forth, but they can't. I just thought it was worht pointing out because the question was something to the affect of "why the lack of respect." Another point would be the Jeckyl & Hyde play of Grossman.When they are on their game, they very impressive and hard to beat.

That's true - I see what you meant though. It wasn't reassuring watching St Louis move the ball as much as they did on the Bears, but I guess that's sometimes what you come to expect out of Bulger,Holt,Bruce & SJAX -- a very talented group.

When it comes down to it in the end...a win is a WIN! Doesn't matter how you do it, but it's good when a team has the ability to do it several ways. When all are clicking at the same time....WATCH OUT! It will be interesting...