Capella
Footballguy
I think 25 is about right. I doubt they win more than 7, which means they have almost no upside other than 20 or so.
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USA Today Power Rankings (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Joe Bryant
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N'wahlins Hope
Footballguy
Loaded? With Grossman at QB, Tank Johnson gone and Lance Briggs probably missing 10 games?
NoFBinLA
Moderator
How's that O-line coming?I can see a bad ranking as Schaub is unproven, they have no legit #2 opposite Johnson, Green is ancient -- now the one thing they might be able to do is hang in games if the D progresses the way it should.We'll see how Schaub does this year - hopefully he's not on his back as much as Carr did.
Rex Grossman played one full season at QB, and contributed in helping the Bears to get to the Super Bowl. Did he have bad games ? Yes, but he also had some very big games. All this shows is that he was inconsistent in having very good games, and bad games.With a year under his belt of playing experience, and being in the same offense, isn't it reasonable to expect him to improve especially since they have upgraded the talent at both WR, TE, and possibly RB while maintaining a veteran offensive line.When did Tank Johnson become a big loss ? He was a talented player, but teams were running the ball right at him, and he wasn't doing much to stop him. The Bears have replaced him with Anthony Adams, a solid rotation player from the 49ers, and their 3rd round pick, Dusty Dvoracek, who didn't play last season. Tommie Harris is also healthy. On top of that, on passing downs, the Bears can slide both Alex Brown and Idnonje for their pass rushing ability. I'd say that they have covered their bases with the loss of Tank Johnson.Lance Briggs can threaten all he wants, but we'll see how many games, and significant $$$$ he chooses to pass on. Just last week, Drew Rosenhaus was quoted in the Chicago Tribune that the Bears and him are working on some sort of deal. It's possible he will end up signing a 1 year deal for more than the 7.2 million so that the Bears get him into camp, and Briggs can save face by beating the franchise tag. Either way, whether a new 1 year deal is signed or not, I don't think Briggs sits out. If he does, the Bears drafted Jamar Williams in the 4th round last season, and the Bears are extremely high on him, and he would compte with 3rd rounder Michael Okwo so the Bears are have replacements in a position that is traditionally easier to replace in their defense. Obviously, that is a downgrade, but the Bears are still well stocked on defense.
Trading Thomas Jones was necessary. You don't draft Cedric Benson at 4th overall, and then have him be the backup for 3 straight seasons. With the $17 million signing bonus that he signed, it's time for him to get the opportunity to be a star or crash & burn. With the Bears offensive line, and his talent, I think it's likely that Benson will have a good season.How long Briggs will be out for is a matter of question. Obviously, it will hurt the defense some, but it is a stacked defense still. His return will come at some point during the season, and I think it's Week 1 becuase of the money he will be passing.Rex Grossman got a 0 passer rating in a pre-season for the Bears in their last game of the season when they had, for weeks, locked up homefield advantage. After that game, Grossman admitted his focus wasn't there, and that was extremely disapointing to hear. Saying that, the game had no meaining, and I wouldn't use it as evidence either had he had a great game. With Hester, Bradley and Berrian down the field, Clark and Olson across the middle, and Muhammed just doing whatever is needed, Rex has enough weapons to continue his improvement, and let's not forget that last season was his first full year as a starter.
I'm not expecting a top 5 ranking here, but it's obvious the writer hasn't paid much attention at all to the teams at the bottom (although why should we expect him to I guess?) As for the O'line, it's doing much better, last year it gave up fewer sacks than:Oakland
Detroit
Cleveland
St. Louis
Seattle
Pittsburgh
Buffalo
Atlanta
and tied with Minnesota.
All but 1 of those teams is ranked above Houston (and in some cases, way above) and don't have their O'line mentioned as the major issue holding them back.
djcolts
Footballguy
No team is a lock (barring injuries) to make the Super Bowl. Not the Bears. Not the Pats. Too many variables and strange bounces of the ball can happen in a game, more or less a season.
I agree. That's why I stated, barring injuries.
djcolts
Footballguy
No, I meant to say injuries would not be the only possible reason the Bears (or any team) would not make the Super Bowl. This isn't the NBA, NHL or baseball where one bad game at the wrong time can be overcome. This is the NFL, and one bad game in the playoffs and you're gone. No team is a lock for that reason alone.Spiderman said:
Power Monster
The Midnight Stalker
As a Bear fan I just seem to see that the Eagle fans have a real disdain for the Bears. maybe I am wrong but I seem to see this all the time?PhillyFunk said:Mark my words: The Bears had a FLUKE season! Any team led by Benson and/or Peterson will NOT make the playoffs. And that doesn't even take Rex Grossman into consideration.BUMS!!!
sholditch
Footballguy
If Dvoracek can develop into a legit starter at DT, I actually think our defense improved. We'll have Vasher at full health, Harris is back, Mark Anderson will continue to get even better and will likely start, Archuleta in the secondary is a huge boost, giving us the luxury of having four starting safeties, and I honestly think they might be able to work something out with Briggs. The clock's ticking though. It will likely be for a long-term deal after this season when Alex Brown and Desmond Clark become even more expendable.As to Bears-haters, hey, at least we have haters. That means we are doing something right.
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Chunky Soup
Footballguy
Eh, I just think the Bears are the 3rd to 4th best team in the conference. A few other teams, including the Eagles could have been in the SB and performed better. Slight bitterness.As a Bear fan I just seem to see that the Eagle fans have a real disdain for the Bears. maybe I am wrong but I seem to see this all the time?PhillyFunk said:Mark my words: The Bears had a FLUKE season! Any team led by Benson and/or Peterson will NOT make the playoffs. And that doesn't even take Rex Grossman into consideration.BUMS!!!
johnnycakes
Footballguy
Yeah, the Asante Samuel situation could turn into a debacle. BUT... the Pats are totally STACKED on offense this year. I think they could put up points like the Rams were in 2001 with Kurt Warner, Isaac Bruce, Tory Holt, Marshall Faulk, et. al. If that turns out to be the case, I think they'll still be OK without Samuel in the secondary.
Jayrod
Footballguy
A lot more than Maroney's arm will be hinging on his shoulder. No Maroney will hurt New England's offense a ton.
Jayrod
Footballguy
If you honestly think that Philly, Dallas or Seattle are better than Denver than you haven't been paying attention.Dever's D will be very, very good and their offense will improve with Cutler in his second year and the addition of T-Henry. I honestly think they are going to give San Diego a run for their money for the division. I think the Bolts will still pull it out, but it would not surprise me to see the Broncos with a chance at the division and a wild card spot locked up in week 17.
Despyzer
Lousy Attention Whore
They also came pretty darn close to not qualifying for the postseason.
Despyzer
Lousy Attention Whore
I don't know. It seems like you are putting an awful lot of emphasis on a team getting hot at the right time. Pittsburgh was only the 6th best team in the AFC in 2005 and got it going at the end. How did they do last year? Indy was only the 3rd best team in the conference last year and were only a smidgen away from being the 4th best.
PsychoMan
Footballguy
i see it too and am a little confused. is there some rivalry that i'm unaware of? of anything, bears fans should be pissed because the eagles spanked the bears the last time they faced off in the playoffs.As a Bear fan I just seem to see that the Eagle fans have a real disdain for the Bears. maybe I am wrong but I seem to see this all the time?PhillyFunk said:Mark my words: The Bears had a FLUKE season! Any team led by Benson and/or Peterson will NOT make the playoffs. And that doesn't even take Rex Grossman into consideration.BUMS!!!
Peyton Marino
Footballguy
honestly I don't think that's it. the steelers just aren't that good. I said this at the beginning of last year and it turned out to be pretty true.yea, the bengals had a pretty bad slide the last 3 games of last season but they were much better than their 8-8 record would have indicated.
sholditch
Footballguy
Eh, I just think the Bears are the 3rd to 4th best team in the conference. A few other teams, including the Eagles could have been in the SB and performed better. Slight bitterness.As a Bear fan I just seem to see that the Eagle fans have a real disdain for the Bears. maybe I am wrong but I seem to see this all the time?PhillyFunk said:Mark my words: The Bears had a FLUKE season! Any team led by Benson and/or Peterson will NOT make the playoffs. And that doesn't even take Rex Grossman into consideration.BUMS!!!
I'm sure your opinion carries a lot more weight than the actual season, in which the Bears proved that they were in fact the best team in the conference, and honestly I don't think any team in the NFC could have done much better. The 2nd best team in the NFC at the time last year was the Saints, who we annihilated, and the 3rd best was Seattle, who we beat twice. Man, I just love posts like this that offer some totally off-base and unsupported opinion like people should pay attention to it. You have a regular season to determine who makes the playoffs. You have playoffs to determine the best team in each conference, and you have the Superbowl to determine the best team. According to that long-established method, the Bears were the best team in the NFC and the second best team in the NFL. Maybe you'd be more comfy with American Idol where you get a vote.
Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
I'd say they were exactly as good as their 8-8 record indicated, as was Pittsburgh. You can play that game all day. Pittsburgh started out very slowly, but finished the season 6-2 once Roethlisberger started to play more like himself. they were much better than Cincinnati over the second half of the season. If you're going to say a team was better than it's record - Pittsburgh finished #7 in the NFL in total offense and #9 in total defense and finished 8-8. Cincinnati was #8 in offense and #30 in total defense. In the last game played prior to the release of this poll, the Steelers beat the Bengals, in Cincinnati, in a game the Bengals needed in order to have a chance at the playoffs, while Pittsburgh was already eliminated.So, if the Steelers were statistically better, finished stronger, and were the better team once we last saw them, what impetus is there for rating them behind Cincinnati, save for prognostication?
dparker713
Footballguy
The Texans run blocking was greatly improved last year after a rough start - they made Ron Dayne look good.Buckna said:
nygiants56
Footballguy
I hear what you're saying, but that Rams O-line is its own Achilles' heel. If they suffer an injury there, or allow 1 too many sacks of Bulger that causes him to miss a few games, they're doomed.By all accounts, the Niners had one of the best drafts and also had one of the best off-seasons, in terms of signing free agents.
defensively, they should be much improved. they have a star RB ( if he stays healthy and the knees/shoulders don't give out), a good QB, solid O-line, very good TE prospect, etc.
The Rams have, lets see now, two aging vets at the WR1+2 spots, a swiss-cheese O-line, PATHETIC defense, a QB who's as immobile as the Statue of Liberty, and an overrated WR flash-in-the-pan potato chip named Drew Bennett. The Rams also signed Randy McMichael, who's apparently SO good, Miami let him walk in favor of signing a nobody named David Martin to fill his shoes.
St Louis sucks. they're on the tail end of their great run , its been a good ride..but all good things come to an end..it truly is, all downhill from here, whereas SF is on their way back up.
Silence of the (St Louis)Lambs
