When it comes to the 2011 version of the Chicago Bears, I'll say this much for them, they've remained an irascible bunch in terms of determining where they are going with this thing called a season!
In a league where a majority of defenses are 3-4, zone-blitz, multiple fronts and coverages designed to confuse and pressure quarterbacks, the Bears remain entrenched in a Tampa 2, 4-3 base look that's so predictable you can set your watch to it. In a league where bastardizations of the West Coast offenses permeate, specifically designed to withstand blitz packages while concurrently keeping the quarterback upright, the Bears remain loyal to the Mike Martz version of Air Coryell, which even when it's successful, still gets your team's quarterback killed.
Those philosophical differences the Bears held over the rest of the league, were reason enough for me to predict doom and gloom for them last season. The Bears promptly went out and won their division while coming within 1 win of playing in another Super Bowl. Who would have thought it? Obviously I didn't.
You would think that the Bears would be competent enough as an organization to build off of last seasons success and be in a position to challenge for the Super Bowl. They've been in this position before however, and unfortunately based off of Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith's track record, I can't think like that. Nope. Sorry. Can. Not. Do. It. These are still the Chicago Bears, who never give you what you expect, good or bad.
If we go by what Brian Billick has described as three indicators of a teams best chance for success going into the new season ("Coaching Continuity, Quarterback Play, and Veteran Presence"), the Bears are better than most teams in that department.
When you look at the offseason moves - and plenty of them were made - the Bears took an admiral approach of signing other teams garbage/reclamation projects, such as Roy Williams, Marion Barber, Vernon Gholston (for a month), Sam Hurd, and now Brandon Meriweather. Couple those moves with a latest count of three contract disputes/bellyaches and a fare-thee-well to Olin Kreutz, and the season outlook gets even murkier.
Offensively, as I previously mentioned, this ship is still being run by Mike Martz. Even though the Bears are insisting the offense will be closer to what it resembled the last 9 games of the season, I just don't trust them to do that. I still believe they are going to try to be the reincarnation of The Greatest Show On Turf, especially when Earl Bennett is making claims that this offense is capable of dropping 40-50 points a game this season. I'll believe it as soon as I see that offensive line block for 7 seconds consistently.
Defensively, as much as I can't stand how antiquated it is in terms of philosophy, when you have smart veterans and Hall-Of-Famers running it, it can still work. Especially when Lovie Smith's Tampa 2 has a proven track record of success against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. The only thing that can stop the Bears defense this season is health. That's been known to happen.
Special Teams are still among the best in the business. Even with the significant rule changes, I still believe the Bears will find a way to get good field position, as they always have since Lovie and Dave Toub took over. Devin Hester is still the best returner of all time at the end of the day, and it was nice to see him re-establish that fact last season. I believe he'll return at least one more this season.
What does that all mean to me? I'd say around 7-9, with a chance for 9-7 if Cutler stays healthy. This offensive line is FAR from where it needs to be. This defense is still one or two key injuries away from being VERY ordinary, and before I forget, there are a ton of key players on this team on the wrong side of 30. On a team where depth is not nearly as abundant as it should be, you don't like hearing that fact.
Then again, I've been incredibly wrong about the Bears before. Either way, I'll be watching.
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