2011 Chicago Bears Predictions
Written by Steve Janus
With the way the Green Bay Packers finished last season by winning the Super Bowl, few remember that the Chicago Bears won the NFC North with a 11-5 regular season mark. The Bears made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game, before losing to the Packers 14-21. That playoff lost stirred up all kinds of drama regarding quarterback Jay Cutler, who left the game with a questionable knee injury. Whether or not the Bears can get back to the playoffs in 2011, will depend largely on the health of their veteran defense. If they avoid a major injury to the likes of Julius Peppers, Brian Urlacher, and Lance Briggs, Chicago will be in the hunt for the division title again in 2011. For this team to really take that next step, they need the offense to be more of a factor this season. Here is a closer look at what the Bears will be sending to the field on both sides of the ball, plus my thoughts on where they finish the year in the NFC North.
Offense:
The Bears had the 30th ranked offense in the NFL last season, which is a bit surprising considering Mike Martz is the offensive coordinator. The problem for this unit has been the production up front on the offensive line. The Bears addressed that problem by drafting Wisconsin tackle Gabe Carimi with their first pick, but then were unable to bring back veteran center Olin Kreutz. It looks as though second-year tackle J’Marcus Webb will take over at left, Roberto Garza will make the move from guard to center,and Carimi will step in and start at right tackle. If Chicago can figure out a way to make this work, the offense could see huge improvements in 2011.
Cutler has the arm and talent to be one of the best in the business, but his attitude limits his potential. He had a much better season in his second year with Chicago, especially when you consider how bad the offensive line was. If Cutler comes into the season looking to prove his doubters wrong and the offensive line gives him time, he could be one of the big surprises in all of football.
The Bears went out and added veteran wide out Roy Williams to try and give Cutler a bigger target to throw to on the outside. They return the trio of Earl Bennett, Johnny Knox, and Devin Hester, but not one of those three are listed over 6’0. Martz isn’t a big fan of the tight end in his offensive game plan, and the team decided that it was best to trade away starting tight end Greg Olsen this offseason. Progress should be made in the second year under Martz, but it’s hard telling just how much better this unit will be.
Chicago got a big season from running back Matt Forte, after he struggled in his sophomore season. Forte rushed for 1,069 yards and caught 51 passes for 547 yards. The only knock on Forte is the fact that he scored just nine touchdowns, a number they would definitely like to see closer to 15-20. They added in Marion Barber for depth, but Forte is clearly the primary back in this offense.
Defense:
If it wasn’t for the defense, the Bears would have been in a whole lot of trouble. Chicago finished they year with the ninth ranked total defense and were the second best team against the run, allowing just 90.1 yards per game on the ground.
The addition of free agent defensive end Julius Peppers last offseason seems to be just what the defense needed to regain its swagger. Peppers finished with eight sacks and 23 pressures, but most importantly he made everyone around him better. At the other defensive end spot, Israel Idonije had a breakout season with eight sacks. The only player who didn’t seem to benefit was veteran defensive tackle Tommie Harris, but he is out the door. The Bears drafted Oregon State defensive tackle Stephen Paea to team up with Anthony Adams inside.
At linebacker, the Bears have two of the best the NFL has to offer in Urlacher and Briggs. Urlacher led the team with 146 stops, while Briggs wasn’t far behind with 121 tackles. Both are coming off a Pro Bowl season, and appear to still be playing in their prime despite being on the wrong side of 30. Chicago brought back Nick Roach to start at the other outside spot. Urlacher and Briggs are a huge part of the offense, and must be on the field for the defense to be effective.
The Bears were unable to bring back starting free safety Danieal Manning, but they aren’t all that worried as second-year safety Major Wright has the potential to be big time playmaker if he can stay on the field. Wright might have won the starting job as a rookie last year, if he hadn’t suffered a hamstring injury. Wright will team up with veteran safety Chris Harris, while Charles Tillman, Tim Jennings, and Zackary Bowman return at corner.
Prediction: 3rd NFC North, 8-8 Overall – I think the Bears are going to struggle to live up to their performance from a year ago. I don’t expect a huge decline on defense, but age is a big concern. I am also not sold on the offensive line or Cutler, which leaves the offense as a huge question mark. We will find out a lot about this team right off the bat, as they open the season at home against Atlanta, go on the road to face the Saints, before hosting the Packers.
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