It's been like 200 years since a Super Bowl loser has returned to the big game the next season and won it. I could look it up and give you the exact number, but you know what, I don't give a shit. It doesn't mean anything. Track records like that are nothing more then a dumb or lazy man's excuse to concoct a formula of why something won't happen. What does the 2004 Raiders have to do with the 2007 Bears? Absolutely nothing. I could care less about abstract statistics like this; it is not an indicator at all on how the Bears will end up this season.
As you probably saw a few days ago, I think the Bears are going to be really good. So good, in fact, that they're going to win the Super Bowl. I am fairly positive about this. Obviously they could still get bumped in the first round or not make the playoffs at all. It's the NFL; crazy shit happens all the time. But if someone came up to me and said "correctly pick the winner of Super Bowl 42 or Optimus Prime will crush your face in," I would choose the Bears.
There are a cornucopia of reason I think the Bears are going to do this, but the main reason is because the Bears themselves believe they will. When the Lovie Smith led Bears put there mind to something, it usually happens. They broke down every practice in training camp last year with cries of "MIAMI" and look what happened there. Might I remind you of Lovie's three year plan when he took this job, and how each part happened one at a time. Well not exactly, of course, because that little queer Peyton Manning is holding on the Lombardi trophy right now, but that's only a minor detail. Lovie beat the Packers like he said he would in year one, won the division like he predicted in year two, and at least got to the Super Bowl last year. This Bears team believes they are going to win the Super Bowl this season, and that's good enough for me.
Maybe I didn't realize it until I started writing the position previews, but the Bears are absolutely loaded this year. My old man even said this is the most stacked they've been since 85'. Look at this team on paper. It's downright scary. Their cornerback tandem is among the league's three best. They have two of the ten best linebackers in the league, and the best pass rushing five man defensive line in the NFL. The best return man in NFL history. Tommie Harris is the best defensive tackle, or at least top 3, in the league, and Urlacher is the league's top middle linebacker, and possibly it's best defender. The safety tandem of Mike Brown and Adam Archuleta has a chance to be one of the best in the NFL as well. And that's just the defense, the offense isn't nearly as poor as people think either. Seriously, who can even compare with that? It's not like all the Bears are lacking depth either. Dvoracek is going to be great, Ricky Manning is the league's best nickel back, Daniel Manning could be a star. Mark Bradley, Rashied Davs, and Mike Haas will all make big contributions in the receiving game this year, and none of them will start a game. Another backup who'll make a huge impact? Garrett Wolfe. I'll even call him a poor man's MJD (not the blogger). Certainly he won't score 16 times, but he'll score a bunch and make a ton of big plays. These things are true.
I'm not one of those people who always predicts their favorite team is going to win a championship either. I love the Bulls equally to the Bears, and there is zero chance I'll pick them to win a championship this year, let alone come out of the East. I just have a feeling about this Bears team. A feeling that they might absolutely pulverize everyone they play. A feeling that Rex might give a huge middle finger to everyone who has ripped him all offseason, and feeling that this team buys into what Lovie tells them.
I'm not expecting near perfection during the regular season. Far from it. I'd be shocked if the Bears won as many games as they did last year, but they'll still capture the division with 10 or 11 victories. In the playoffs is where I see this team taking off. Basically the entire team is the same as 2005 and 2006; this being their third straight playoff trip is nothing to laugh at. That means something in the NFL. I expect total and utter domination in the postseason, every NFC win should be by more then three touchdowns. This Bears team is that good. Sure things may be a little closer in the Super Bowl, probably against the Chargers or Pats, but if the Bears make it to Arizona, there is no way they're coming home without rings. It just won't happen.
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Comments
after reading this, i am no longer even willing to pick the bears to win the nfl central.
the halas hall hype machine has been working overtime, and you got suckered.
david haugh's preseason columns mean nothing.
the chargers are going to DESTROY us on sunday.
why?
#8 is still our qb.
and then the downhill spiral begins.
pray i'm wrong.
later,
big bears fan guy
Dear miniditka,
You're such a "big bears fan guy", thanks for opening my eyes to the fact that the bears play in the nfl central. There is no division in football with the words "nfl" or "central" in them.
I'm ready to play for the Bears...they might need me. I have two credentials...I led the Ravens to the big game...and I was Rickhouse's password for his fantasy football team in highschool...
dear fox mulder,
it's good to know the typo police are out in full force. well done.
call your mom.
let her know what a nice zing you scored by pointing out my typo.
i'm sure she'll be proud.
by the way, cedric benson is a piece of shit.
-mini d.
That's not a typo, that's being retarded. By the way, why talk shit about a team to other fans of that said team? As Thumper said, "if you dont have anything nice to say don't say anything at all."
The truth is out there.
of course, and you are clearly some sort of Rhodes scholar, as you invoke a quote my great-grandmother might have scolded me with as a pre-pubescent.
Yawn. It is an ageless quote though.
I believe.
Blog fights are awesome.
Check this out. I'll give you a shiny gold star if you can find the contradiction in these two statements:
"That's not a typo, that's being retarded."
"if you dont have anything nice to say don't say anything at all."
Moving on.
Yeah, I'm a Bears fan that is pretty pissed off right now. I'm pissed off that Cedric Benson can't pick up a blitz, gain 2 yards for a crucial first down when given three chances, or hold on to the football.
I've never liked him. I thought he was a punk when he was at Texas. I thought he was a punk when he cried, literally, about getting no respect as he was taken fifth overall in the draft.
And I'm pretty ticked off that the Halas Hall hype machine spent the whole summer telling us how great the offense is, then they lay the big stink bomb in a game they definitely should have won against a team i despise.
and yes, i'm a little ticked off that we kept dustin "is there a single thing i do well?" mcgowan over chris harris, and now kerry wood, er, i mean mike brown is out again.
so yeah, sorry i don't have anything nice to say.
oh wait, yes i do.
the defense played great.
i liked bob babich's game plan.
and no, i don't like being right about the game. but, hey, i told you so.
-mini d.
Hey as I said up there, don't expect great things in the regular season. They have a super tough schedule (even though it's ranked easy because of the division), and it's going to take a while for all the new weapons on offense to get in sync. An opening day loss to a team that led the NFL in wins last year does not mean the Bears suck.
WE WILL WIN SLICKRICKBIGDICK!