Chicago Bears: Five Things To Be Worried About in 2010
The 2010 season is an important one for the Chicago Bears. Almost four years removed from the Super Bowl, and they still have not had a single playoff appearance since. In fact, the Bears have only had one winning season since that 2006 season.
Jobs are on the line in Chicago, and with an unimpressive preseason under their belt, many fans are worried. Here are five things Chicago Bear fans should be worried about in 2010.
5. Schedule
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The Bears have one of the hardest schedules in the NFL this season. They will play six playoff teams from 2009, including the Packers and Vikings twice.
The Bears go through a brutal three-game stretch in the beginning of the year, and end the season with a scary four-game stretch where they will play four playoff teams from 2009.
After the Bears host the Lions in Week 1, they will travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys. Week 3, the Bears will host long-time rival Green Bay on Monday Night Football. To wrap up the first quarter of the season, the Bears will travel to the Meadowlands for a Sunday Night Football showdown with the New York Giants.
If the Bears want to be a playoff team this season, they need to win the games they are supposed to win. Between these two brutal set of games the Bears play, they also play some games they should win, and some games that are winnable.
This stretch includes Seattle, Carolina, Washington, Detroit, Buffalo, Miami,and Philadelphia.
The final four weeks of the season could determine the Bears playoff fate. They host New England, New York Jets, and travel to Minnesota and Green Bay.
4. Tackling
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This is one thing on defense that has hurt the Bears over the last few years, and needs to be addressed. Ask yourself, how many times have you seen the Bears miss tackles and watch the opponents march into the end zone?
The answer is too many times for me.
Losing Brian Urlacher hurt the Bears last season, but that's no excuse for the bad tackling. That falls on the players and coaches.
The Bears are the type of team that like to strip the ball and force a fumble.
That's fine if you can do it. Not every one can.
There have been times where the first person to the ball has tried to force a fumble, and not wrap the guy up. That can't happen this season. The first defender to the ball needs to wrap the player up, leave it to the additional players to force a fumble.
During this past preseason, it looks like this issue hasn't been addressed. Poor tackling has led to a dismal preseason for the defense. This could be due to Lovie's "No Tackling" rule at training camp.
3. Receiving Core
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The question that has been buzzing around the Bears for the past few years is whether the Bears have a true No. 1 receiver?
Well, the answer is no.
As much as you want to argue that this corp is good enough to do something for Cutler, the truth is the Bears really need a true No. 1 receiver. If Cutler had a big physical No. 1, this team could be a little more dangerous.
In reality, they don't look that dangerous on the offensive side of the ball.
After the roster cuts, the Bears current receiving core looks like this: Devin Hester, Devin Aromashodu, Johnny Knox, Rashied Davis, and Earl Bennett
None of those guys make me feel very comfortable when the game is on the line, and the Bears need a big play.
Utilizing these receivers in the right way could change things for the Bears, making it tough on defenses.
Sure this core could drastically improve and prove me wrong, but as of right now, this could be a big problem for the Bears.
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2. The Defense
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After a 2009 season where the Bears defense looked horrible to semi-average at times, there needs to be worries on the defensive side of the ball.
The Bears lost their captain and starting linebacker Brian Urlacher last season, but that excuse can only be used enough times. Urlacher is a good player who will make a difference. In reality, the defense should have been better than what they were.
To give the organization credit, they did go out and get a Pro-Bowl defensive player in Julius Peppers. Peppers will make an instant impact on the defense, but will it be enough?
The Bears are going to need their defense to play like they did in 2005-2006 if they want to reach the playoffs. This means they need to be dominant.
Throughout the preseason, the defense hasn't looked very special. The secondary, much like last season, has been getting beat. There has hardly been any pressure upfront from the line, something that is a must in this cover-two defense they run.
Sadly enough, I see this as a big worry for them.
1. Offensive Line
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Without a doubt, the Bears offensive line has been their weakest link in the preseason. It's something that needs to be fixed, and fixed immediately.
Last season, the Bears offensive line was horrible to say the least. At times it looked as if they couldn't block a pee wee football team. There was no consistency on the line, and it looks like we are going to get the same result as last season.
There is no one on this line that I or any Bears fan should trust to protect Cutler. Even longtime center Olin Kreutz had problems from last season to this preseason.
Every member on the line hasn't played one bit of good football. They looked confused and discouraged. Chris Williams, who everyone expected to be solid on the line, has looked below average, getting beat and leading to sacks on Jay Cutler.
The No. 1 thing for the Bears is to protect Cutler. Give him time and let him find receivers and make plays. With this offensive line, we are going to be seeing Cutler laying on his back for a lot of the season.
If the Bears don't fix this problem, it's going to be a long year for Bears fans.
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