Chicago Bears: Potential Pro Bowlers for Bears in 2012

The Chicago Bears currently sit at 8-4 on the season, right around where most people expected them to be at the beginning of the season. The team got off to a hot start and has since cooled off, but that doesn't mean the season is over yet.

The Bears have four games left and three of them are against NFC North opponents, meaning that if the Bears win out, they will win the division and clinch a spot in the playoffs.

The Bears will need their players to be on the absolute top of their game these next few games, and they have a lot of players who are injured and not able to perform at their top level.

That being said, the team has several players who have been performing at the very highest level possible, breaking records and getting national attention along the way.

The success of this team is no fluke, and it can be attributed to a number of players, both on offense and defense from the 2012 season. Players that, even when the season ends, should have one more game left to play in Hawaii with the other top players from around the league at the Pro Bowl.

Tim Jennings

Tim Jennings is having a season that no one saw coming, and the Bears would not be where they are today if he wasn't having the season that he is.

Jennings currently leads the league in interceptions with eight, the next highest number being five by multiple players.

Jennings has remained a threat all season, forcing quarterbacks to take a second to think about trying to throw the ball deep on the Bears.

Jennings has also had multiple interceptions in three games this season, against the Colts, Panthers and Texans.

Besides just interceptions, Jennings also has a touchdown on the season, that score coming against Carolina and was the touchdown that turned the game around for the Bears.

Jennings is currently hurt and nobody is sure how long he will be out, but one thing is for sure: If he weren't in the secondary for the Bears, there's no way they would have the seventh-best pass defense in the NFL right now.

STAT LINE THROUGH DECEMBER 2: 54 tackles, 8 interceptions (league leading), 1 touchdown

Brian Urlacher

Coming into the 2012 season, there were more questions than answers that surrounded the eight-time Pro Bowler. After his season was cut short injuring his knee against the Vikings last season, Urlacher had multiple surgeries on his knee this past offseason.

As a result of his surgeries, Urlacher was not able to play in any preseason games this year. That might affect a normal player, but not Brian Urlacher.

Urlacher is having one of his best seasons to date, and with great importance. He is in a contract year, and hoping the Bears will pay him so he can remain a Bear for the remainder of his career.

Even if Urlacher misses time due to a pulled hamstring suffered against the Seahawks, his numbers are good enough right now to make his ninth Pro Bowl.

STATS THROUGH DECEMBER 2: 68 Tackles, 2 Forced Fumbles, 2 Recovered Fumbles, 1 Interception, and 1 Touchdown

Jay Cutler

This is a controversial one that many people may not agree with. 

Jay Cutler is having one of the best seasons of his career, and he is the absolute leader of the Chicago Bears right now as they begin the battle for the NFC North title.

The next few weeks won't be easy for the Bears, with three out of their next four games being ones within the division.

Cutler has meant so much to this team that there is almost no way anyone can see it doing anything without him. The Bears were 7-3 before losing Cutler last season, and thus fell to 8-8 without him there and missed the playoffs.

This season, the Bears lost both games Cutler did not play in, and he showed once again just how valuable he is to his team and their success.

While Cutler may take a while to get going, he definitely finds ways to win games. Cutler has the best QB Rating out of any quarterback in the NFL this season, and that means he deserves at least consideration for the Pro Bowl this season.

STATS THROUGH DECEMBER 2: 191/312, 61% Completion Percentage, 2,335 yards, 15 Touchdowns, and 11 Interceptions.

Brandon Marshall

This goes without saying, but Phil Emery deserves all the credit in the world for going out and getting Brandon Marshall in a trade this offseason.

Marshall has broken records in his first season in Chicago, and has gone on record as saying he wants to "end his career as a Bear."

Marshall has been a leader since he first got to Chicago, both on and off the field. He has maintained a good attitude and has been staying out of trouble, all while putting up record numbers with the Bears.

Last week against Seattle, Marshall caught a 56-yard pass with 22 seconds left to bring the Bears back into the game, setting up a Robbie Gould field goal to force overtime with the Seahawks.

Marshall has kept the Bears in every game he plays in, and he has six games this season in which he has caught over 100 yards.

If Marshall keeps playing the way he has, it's only a matter of time before the Cutler/Marshall combo becomes the most dangerous one in all of football, and that is when the Bears will be virtually unstoppable.

STATS THROUGH DECEMBER 2: 91 Receptions, 1,182 yards, 56 Yard Long, and 8 Touchdowns.

Charles Tillman

There is no question or controversy about this player and whether he should be taking a plane out to Hawaii at the end of the season.

Tillman has been turning heads and making news all around the country this season, finally perfecting what has been named the "Peanut Punch," a move in which he punches the ball out of the hands of his opponent.

The turning point for Tillman when his move really became famous was against the Tennessee Titans, a game in which he had four forced fumbles and helped the Bears absolutely demolish the Titans by a score of 51-20.

This defense is one of the best scoring defenses in the history of the NFL, and a lot of that is thanks to Tillman. In addition to his touchdowns, he also has helped others along the way by punching out the ball left and right, forcing opposing teams to think twice before throwing to his side of the field.

Tillman should and will be playing an extra game in Hawaii at the end of the season.

STATS THROUGH DECEMBER 2: 67 Tackles, 2 Interceptions, 2 Touchdowns, 8 Forced Fumbles, and 2 Fumble Recoveries

Lance Briggs

Briggs may not have been the most flashy or most sought after player on Chicago's defense this season, but he has quietly been having one of the best seasons of his life.

Briggs is leading the team in tackles with 70, and he is a big reason that opponents are averaging just 103.5 yards on the ground vs the Bears this season.

Alongside Urlacher, Briggs is a threat to any opposing team because of his lightning-fast speed, and his ability to be at the ball-carrier within milliseconds after realizing who has the play.

Briggs was expected to have a big year this season, especially when people thought that Urlacher was going to be older and slower this year. Instead, both have outperformed expectations, and as a result the Bears have one of the most intimidating defenses in the league.

Briggs was also hurt recently, seen leaving the game vs the Vikings in a walking boot, but he was able to play against the Seahawks and there's no reason to think he can't play vs the Vikings again this weekend in Minnesota.

STATS THROUGH DECEMBER 2: 70 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions, and 2 touchdowns.

Robbie Gould

Robbie Gould has always been a player that the Bears could count on, and this season he has really come through when the Bears need him most.

Against the Seahawks, Gould nailed a field goal to send the Bears into overtime and kept the Bears alive in the game.

Every time the Bears have needed Gould to come up big this season, he has, including kicks of 50-plus yards, a category in which Gould is 2-of-2 this season.

If every other player on the team gets the recognition he deserves and gets sent to the Pro Bowl after the season the Bears have been having, then there's no reason that Gould shouldn't get sent to Hawaii to play for the NFC with the rest of his teammates in one final game after the regular season has ended.

STATS THROUGH DECEMBER 2: 21/25 (84%), 7 Kicks from 20-29 yards out, 5 kicks from 30-39 yards out, 7 kicks from 40-49 yards, and 2 kicks from 50+ yards. 31/31 on Extra Point Opportunities, and a long of 54 yards.