Trouble afoot for 7-1 Bears

If the offense were as anemic as the Cowboys then there would be an elephant in the room.

All I can say to this is, try and remember the "offense" the Bears were dragging out onto the field for the 2006 season when they went to the Super Bowl. This offense is light years past that version.

They've beaten only 1 team with a winning record, and that was week 1 over the Colts in Andrew Luck's first NFL game. Let's see how good they look against the Texans and Niners the next 2 weeks.

Still, they should easily make the playoffs, maybe even win the division.

Thank you, John Mullin for citing the obvious. (CSN is the weakest of "weak sister" sports networks at least in Chicago.) The real problem with the Bear offense boils down to the left tackle. Webb caused the safety, got beat, can't block. He's like a lit up runaway with lights pointing through him to the QB. QB, WRs, backs are fine. It's the line, especially Webb which is the Achilles heel. Cutler still gets put on his back - 3x this last game - and he doesn't like it. But the Bears have no one to replace Webb.

QUOTE(#3):

Originally posted 08:45 AM ET  11.06 by Debbie Does

They've beaten only 1 team with a winning record, and that was week 1 over the Colts in Andrew Luck's first NFL game. Let's see how good they look against the Texans and Niners the next 2 weeks.Still, they should easily make the playoffs, maybe even win the division.

That sounds like what folks usually have to say about your Pats this time of year.

I know where you're coming from though, DD. It's been nice to see Chicago drop 30 and 50 points on their opponents, but the overall quality of their opposition keeps me from getting too worked-up over their 7-1 record.

The O-line (which Lovie Smith and GM Phil Emery failed to do anything about in this past off-season) will likely be what keeps them from meeting their full potential. It's a shame, because aside from a couple of pieces on the O-line, they have a great team this season.

QUOTE(#5):

Originally posted 09:00 AM ET  11.06 by Melman

That sounds like what folks usually have to say about your Pats this time of year.

Yeah. Nothing against da Bears, but the media is doing the same thing with Atlanta, who haven't beaten a team with a winning record yet.

There are a lot of really bad teams this season. It makes it hard to evaluate the good ones.

Remember the 2010 KC Chiefs. They won their division easily, but did not beat a single team with better than a .500 record. Playoffs? One and done to a wildcard team.

QUOTE(#5):

Originally posted 09:00 AM ET  11.06 by Melman

That sounds like what folks usually have to say about your Pats this time of year. I know where you're coming from though, DD. It's been nice to see Chicago drop 30 and 50 points on their opponents, but the overall quality of their opposition keeps me from getting too worked-up over their 7-1 record.The O-line (which Lovie Smith and GM Phil Emery failed to do anything about in this past off-season) will likely be what keeps them from meeting their full potential. It's a shame, because aside from a couple of pieces on the O-line, they have a great team this season.

Now, now, Mel. GB beat TX handily and Bears will comport themselves well. Money's on Bears. (Yeah: it's one underperforming piece on the O-line. Mr. Hands-to-the-Mask.)

QUOTE(#6):

Originally posted 09:05 AM ET  11.06 by Flea Biscuit

Their toughest opponents remain Houston, San Fran, Packers, and Seattle if you choose to include them. A 5-3 record in their final eight games would still serve them quite well.

Defenses of TX, SEA, SF are the problems: defense should equalize first two, not the last; only threatening offense is GB, but the defense keys on Webb, etc. TX and SEA are beatable -I think will be beaten; toughest are GB and SF. SF can be a very bad-**** defense.

QUOTE(#3):

Originally posted 08:45 AM ET  11.06 by Debbie Does

...Let's see how good they look against the Texans and Niners the next 2 weeks...

Good tests leading into the meat of their schedule.

Da Bears!!!!

QUOTE(#2):

Originally posted 08:33 AM ET  11.06 by El_HappyHippo

All I can say to this is, try and remember the "offense" the Bears were dragging out onto the field for the 2006 season when they went to the Super Bowl. This offense is light years past that version.

They'd better be. That version lost the Super Bowl 29-17 and only put up 265 total yards.

The Bears had the ball for 37 minutes this weekend. Maybe this wasn't the best week to criticize them for not being on the field long enough.

The Bears biggest vulnerability may be Cutler's head!
He is mecurial, takes offense easily, and one never knows when his emotioinal balance may make a difference in his performance in a game.
Great physical talent, emotional control of an adolescent.

QUOTE(#12):

Originally posted 09:34 AM ET  11.06 by DJ Johnson

They'd better be. That version lost the Super Bowl 29-17 and only put up 265 total yards.

and Grossman was a mess that game. Just having a serviceable QB could have brought the title home to the Windy City.

When your D puts up a couple of touchdowns a game, offensive problems shrink quite a bit. If I'm a Bear fan the only thing I'm really worried about right now is keeping Cutler healthy and has my team peaked too soon. The D is great but key players are pretty old so we'll see what happens in December. When I watch them play I can't believe the Packers beat them as they look great on D and ST and really good on O. That's a SB combination.

QUOTE(#3):

Originally posted 08:45 AM ET  11.06 by Debbie Does

They've beaten only 1 team with a winning record, and that was week 1 over the Colts in Andrew Luck's first NFL game. Let's see how good they look against the Texans and Niners the next 2 weeks.Still, they should easily make the playoffs, maybe even win the division.

Absolutely. They have teams in their own division that are starting to sort themselves out too.

QUOTE(#15):

Originally posted 10:39 AM ET  11.06 by SportsFun

The Bears biggest vulnerability may be Cutler's head!He is mecurial, takes offense easily, and one never knows when his emotioinal balance may make a difference in his performance in a game. Great physical talent, emotional control of an adolescent.

Cutler is the least of the Bears problems. See the above description of J'Marcus "Landing Strip" Webb.

QUOTE(#16):

Originally posted 10:40 AM ET  11.06 by El_HappyHippo

and Grossman was a mess that game. Just having a serviceable QB could have brought the title home to the Windy City.

Kyle Orton would have gotten the job done.