The Bears picked up Jay Cutler from the Broncos last season in hopes that he would lead them to the top of the NFC North. Instead, Cutler underperformed throughout the season, throwing 26 interceptions. A team just cannot win when the quarterback throws that many picks during the course of the year.
Another player who didn’t live up to expectations after a surprising rookie year was running back Matt Forte. After rushing for over 1,200 yards his rookie season, he couldn’t reach 1,000 this past year. Star linebacker Brian Urlacher has had problems staying healthy as well.
All in all, the Bears are in for yet another mediocre season. I say they go 7-9 again in a top heavy division that features the Vikings and Packers.
By Josh Delp of the Sports Fan Blog Network
Hey Josh,
As crazy as it may sound, I think the Bears can win 10 games this year, which could very well mean there will be three 10 win teams in this division. I don’t even think the addition of Peppers is going to help as much as Jay Cutler feeling more comfortable in his second year as the Bears QB. The Bears played a lot of close games last year that could have gone either way. While he’s old school and conservative, Lovie Smith knows how to win in this league. He’s without a doubt a defensive minded coach, so as always I see their defense being their strength.
I just have a feeling this year that they’re going to be much more efficient on offense. Forte should bounce back, and the relationship between Cutler and Hester will only get better as they head into year number two together. I actually see the Bears making some noise this year.