The Bears Are Still A Super Bowl Contender

[Str1fe5]

I know last night's game sucked. But, assuming that Cutler's concussion issues don't linger past the next one or two games (not a guarantee, I know, but a fair assumption I think), they still are one of the few teams in the league that are best suited to contend for a Super Bowl.

Consider:

1) They have inarguably one of the best two or three defenses in the league, with an elite run defense, pass rush, and coverage ability. The Texans were the second highest scoring offense in the league going into last night's game and they scored a whopping 13 points.

2) They have a QB that can make plays on third down.

3) They have a receiving threat that can consistently win one on one match ups in critical moments on third down.

4) They have a deep running game that can protect a lead and win in short yardage situations.

All of these factors are critical to winning close tight games both at home and on the road, and the Bears are one of only two or three teams that have all of these abilities. The Giants are one, so are the Texans. Depending on how much you trust Vernon Davis and Alex Smith, the 49ers do as well.

The Falcons have a pedestrian running game, and their defense is strong but not elite. The Patriots offense is amazing but their defense is a joke. The Ravens are banged up as hell. The Packers have the best QB in football and great defense, but without Greg Jennings fully healthy their skill players don't really scare me.

Of course nothing is guaranteed, but nothing about last night's changed the optics of what the rest of hte season should look like, unless Cutler misses more than two or three games. One silver lining is that the offensive line had its best night in pass protection all year against a great pass rush.

Everyone calm down. Jason Campbell will be better with a full week of practice and those extra reps now might come in handy should Cutty go down again in the middle of a game in the post season.

[HesterJordan23]

i agree our defense played great and the offense just needs to click, i think it is better that we havnt found our stride just yet because i would much rather have us find it when the playoffs are around the corner. I think with alshon back and a cutty comeback pt2 this bears squad will look pretty going into the playoffs. I wasn't the saddest guy last night because i got some sexy time with my gf very quickly after the game ended

[ChitownSports16]

i agree our defense played great and the offense just needs to click, i think it is better that we havnt found our stride just yet because i would much rather have us find it when the playoffs are around the corner. I think with alshon back and a cutty comeback pt2 this bears squad will look pretty going into the playoffs. I wasn't the saddest guy last night because i got some sexy time with my gf very quickly after the game ended

This!!! Lately the team that has won the SB has been the team getting hottttt from game 11-12 and on. Once this OFF can start clicking, we will be one of the best out there. Not worried about this team at all. They still have there best football to play! One thing is for sure though, Tice needs to step up his play calling.

[Doogolas]

Can we give the line some love. BTW?

[debo]

Can we give the line some love. BTW?

Ehh...maybe.

Houston wasn't particularly aggressive last night, and we had plenty of drives where the QB was heavily pressured with 3, 4, and 5 man rushes.

I'll give Webb some props as he seemed to be in more control of his body and didn't find himself overreaching/overextending. Otherwise, the game seemed kind of par for the course for us - not good, but we weren't awful as a unit.

[Doogolas]

Ehh...maybe.

Houston wasn't particularly aggressive last night, and we had plenty of drives where the QB was heavily pressured with 3, 4, and 5 man rushes.

I'll give Webb some props as he seemed to be in more control of his body and didn't find himself overreaching/overextending. Otherwise, the game seemed kind of par for the course for us - not good, but we weren't awful as a unit.

Teams not being aggressive hasn't stopped mass murder before. I'm not saying they dominated, but against a very good D-line they were not the problem. If they can do that for us, we may not lose against anyone.

[debo]

Teams not being aggressive hasn't stopped mass murder before. I'm not saying they dominated, but against a very good D-line they were not the problem. If they can do that for us, we may not lose against anyone.

Don't disagree with you there. This OL from the start of the season just had to be good enough. They're almost at that point, and we're seeing better results because of it.

[jpro611]

Great thread.

And yes the offensive line was great last night... Carimi played very well minus a couple plays... But he bounced back in a very good way

[Ezio]

Oline played great, WR and RB play ruined the game and that 6'7" wuss as well.

[DamnGoat]

A lot of good points Strife and I agree with you. I've thought this team was a Super Bowl contender since the Preseason and last night's loss doesn't change that one bit.

Eliminate the turnovers and we probably win the game. The offense simply has to execute better...the gameplan wasn't even that bad, they just missed on so many big play chances and left about 10-13 points out there.

[RRD]

[QUOTE=DamnGoat;24295157]A lot of good points Strife and I agree with you. "

Ditto

"Eliminate the turnovers and we probably win the game."

Eliminate 1 or 2 dropped passes by good recievers (not just a tight end whose name I will not utter) and we win the game.

Eliminate some horrible officiating and we win the game.

Improve the play calling and we win the game (if Tice had called the same general plan for Cutler as he did for Campbell, we win the game and Cutler is not punch drunk).]

This was an incredibly frustrating game but you have to see that the potential remains there to be developed. I am not ever glad to see Jay getting his bell rung but I actually see a silver lining to having Campbell getting some real game reps. If Cutty comes back with no more than a couple of games lost, Alshon comes back sharp, Rodriguez gets some serious time at TE, Tice gets his head on straight, and the line plays as well as it did Sunday night, this team is way more than a contender.

[ChicagoJ]

It's possible the bears will be in every game due to their defense, so they can win just about any game they play. That alone makes them a contender.

But, I don't think you can win it all on defense alone. The offense will have to find out how to put drives together and have some sort of flow. That simply has to happen for the bears to win it all this year.

[debo]

It's possible the bears will be in every game due to their defense, so they can win just about any game they play. That alone makes them a contender.

But, I don't think you can win it all on defense alone. The offense will have to find out how to put drives together and have some sort of flow. That simply has to happen for the bears to win it all this year.

2000 Ravens.

[ChicagoJ]

2000 Ravens.

But, this is 2012. Things are a bit different now. Teams will score points and the bears offense will have to score on offense to win at some point in the post season.

[TyrionLannister]

But, this is 2012. Things are a bit different now. Teams will score points and the bears offense will have to score on offense to win at some point in the post season.

Indeed, Sherlock.

But seriously, with the change in the passing rules and the results its had on the most recent Super Bowl champs, we'll definitely need to perform better than the 2000 Ravens offense.

But our offense is (at the very least) more talented and I believe and expect they will perform better.