Chicago Bears Year in Review

2011 was a good year for the Bears and was much better than 2010 was for the Bears. It started with some bad news, though.

In the NFC Championship game against their hated rivals, the Packers, the Bears lost the game and Jay Cutler. Cutler injured his knee in the first half and the Bears couldn't win the game with or without him. It brought up a lot of doubt, but also showed who the real fans were. It was a test to see if anyone would stay faithful.

Then there was the lockout, which seems small now that we have seen how long the NBA lockout went on. The truth is that many fans were worried if there would be a season. The offseason was rushed and most teams didn't get a chance to fully prepare. I think this is a big reason for the failure on the Bears this year. Cutler needed that time to get better. He also lost one of his favorite targets, Greg Olsen.

The Bears didn't make any big moves in the offseason like fans had hoped. Roy Williams, Marion Barber, and Kellen Davis were added to the team, but didn't have a big effect on the season.

The first few games of the season were shaky, but the Bears hit their stride after a loss to the Detroit Lions. Jay Cutler caught fire and played extremely well. His best game was the one when he finished his season by breaking his thumb. He broke his thumb because an interception was thrown because Johnny Knox couldn't run the right route.

The Bears haven't won a game since Cutler's injury and look hopeless without him. Losing him has exposed all of the Bears problems. They will need a good draft and offseason in order to get back in the race for the NFC North. 2011 wasn't bad for the Bears, but two injuries to the most important player on the team hurts. Here's to hoping that 2012 will be better than 2011.

Another loss, Bears officially out of the playoffs

The Bears lost yet another game, but this time it was different. In the last few games that the Bears have lost they were playing teams that aren't very good and losing badly. The Bears didn't lose terribly today. McCown was fantastic, running and throwing the ball wall. He exceeded all expectations I had for him. He did throw two interceptions, but neither was complete error like Caleb Hanie's interceptions have been. He led the team well and ran the offense that he probably barely knows. Both Bell and Allen were good today as the Bears rushed the ball almost ten times more than they did in the last game against the Packers. There was some positive that came out of this game, but the most negative thing was thinking about the future of the Bears and what will happen for them next year.

At first, I was positive about the future because Cutler is still young and has improved every year. The offensive line is getting better and we have seen that the Bears have a deep run game and could have a high powered offense. The only problem is that in order to have a successful season next year, they have to have a good draft and Jerry Angelo has shown that he is not capable of doing that.

What positives are there for the Bears right now? I can only think of one. The only positive that I can think of is that the Bears have a lot of good running backs in the system from the guy who just came off the practice squad to Matt Forte who had a fantastic season. The Bears need to change a lot of things if they want to be good next year and I don't see that happening.

Bears vs. Packers Preview

I'm not sure how much I can say about this game. The Packers are the best team in the NFC and probably in the NFL. The Bears have completely lost everything since Cutler got injured. It's obviously a lopsided game. The Bears can't compete with the Packers without Cutler, Forte, and two offensive linemen. With all those players, this game is probably the game of the year, but that's not how it is. Cutler isn't coming back and won't be back until next year. The man in charge this week against the Packers is Josh McCown. Caleb Hanie will no longer be the starter after not winning a single game and playing terrible football. This is not a surprise to me and probably not to any other Bears fan. I'm glad that the Bears get to see what McCown can do in order to figure out if they will resign Hanie or if they'll keep McCown instead. I'm not sure if McCown will be good, but it's nice to see the Bears give someone else a chance, but why not the new quarterback that they drafted this year? The season is basically over so why not see how he does in a real in-game situatiion? I know that he was drafted to be a quarterback that would be developed over many years by sitting on the bench, by why not give him a chance? I want to see what he can do in a real NFL game. He showed promise in the preseason and I think he should get a chance against the Vikings next week. Why turn to a quarterback that barely knows the system, when there is a guy who is capable of doing something that has been learning the system all year? I know that nothing is going to change this week's quarterback, but I think Enderle should get a chance next week against the Vikings.

So, do the Bears have a chance this week against the Packers? I don't think they do. Yes, the Packers just lost to the Chiefs, but they'll bounce back. The Packers defense is their one weak point and the Bears offense isn't strong enough to take advantage of that. I'm not saying it'll be a blowout, but the Packers will most definitely win this one.

Bears lose again

The Bears lost yet again without Cutler. The game wasn't all bad, though. The first half wasn't bad at all. In fact, the Bears looked pretty good in the first half. They gave up the first touchdown, but looked good after that. They got a touchdown by forcing a fumble in the end zone and then Caleb Hanie threw for a touchdown to Kahlil Bell. Hanie was fired up after the TD, but the momentum didn't carry into the second half. In the second half, the Bears gave up 31 unanswered points. Yes, you read that right. Nothing was good in the second half and it led to the 4th straight loss for the Bears. They have not won a game since Jay Cutler's injury. The Bears are mathematically still in the hunt for the playoffs, but is it worth it?

Even if the Bears win both of their remaining games and the Lions lose, the Bears are only the #6 seed. They will probably one and done and why risk trying to get Cutler ready in time for the playoffs if they don't have a real chance to win the Super Bowl? The Bears have so many injuries that making the playoffs would be useless. Just going to the playoffs means nothing.

The ideal thing for the Bears is losing out and getting a good first round draft pick. Use that pick to draft either an offensive lineman or a receiver and move from there. If the Bears remain healthy next year, they have a chance to do big things. Why waste the energy on this year?

Bears Playoff Picture

Cutler is healing well and should be back for the playoffs, if not earlier, but will the Bears even make the playoffs? When Cutler went out, the expectation was that Hanie would lead the Bears to at least a win or two in the weeks after the injury, but so far the Bears haven't won a single game. The Bears made a bad situation for themselves, but they still have a slight chance to make it into the playoffs.

Thanks to the ESPN NFL Playoff Machine, I have been able to figure how the Bears can make it into the playoffs without having to figure out the ins and outs of the tiebreaker system.

In every possible situation, the Bears have to win 2 out of the 3 games they play to finish out the season. This shouldn't be a problem because the Bears play the Seahawks, Packers, and Vikings in the final three weeks. The only team that shows a serious threat is the Packers and the Bears don't have to win that game. So, let's go through the scenarios.

If the Bears win two of the three games and the Lions lose all three of their games, the Bears would be in the playoffs as the number 6 seed.

If the Bears win out and the Lions and Falcons both lose two games, the Bears are in as the number 5 seed.

If the Bears beat the Seahawks and the Vikings, the Lions lose all three, and the Falcons lose their final two. The Bears are in as the number 5 seed.

If the Bears beat the Seahawks and the Vikings, the Lions lose all three of their games, and the Falcons lose against the Saints, but beat the Bucaneers, the Bears are in as the number 6 seed.

If the Bears win all three of their remaining games, the Lions lose two, and the Falcons lose one, the Bears are the number five seed.

Those are just a few of the possible scenarios, but as you can see, they aren't the most likely things to happen. The most likely situation is that the Bears win two out of three and the Lions lose all three of their remaining games. The most important part of this all working out is the Bears actually winning a football game, so they need to go out there today and win.

Bears vs. Seahawks Preview

This game is a must win game for the Bears if they want to make the playoffs. The good thing is that the Bears don't face too tough of an opponent in this must win game. They will play the Seattle Seahawks who have a 6-7 record. The most dangerous thing about the Seahawks is that they run the ball very well. This shouldn't be a problem for the Bears, though, because they are pretty good at shutting down top running backs. When playing the Vikings and Adrian Peterson they kept him to 39 yards on 12 attempts. Last week when playing the Broncos they kept their powerful run attack to a total of 114 yards, and that includes Tim Tebow. The Bears shouldn't be too worried about the Seahawks run game.

If the Bears run game can get close to what the Seahawks run game does in this game, the Bears have a good chance to win. If the two runs games cancel out, it will be a battle between who has the better defense and who has the better QB. The Bears definitely have a better defense compared to the Seahawks difference, but the battle between the two quarterbacks could get interesting. Neither Tarvaris Jackson or Caleb Hanie are great NFL quarterbacks. Hanie has struggled since he got replaced Cutler as the starter when Cutler got injured and doesn't look like he will improve. Jackson has never been a great quarterback and is average at best. If Hanie can limit the turnovers, this is a very winable game for the Bears. If Hanie throws interceptions, the Bears will probably lose.

The best way for the Bears to win this game is to get at least one touchdown from defense or special teams. The Bears offense is struggling and in order to beat the Seahawks today, the Bears will need a touchdown. If the offense can't provide it, someone has to.

Can the Bears beat the Broncos?

The Bears have been very shaky in the two games without Jay Cutler. The big question is whether or not they can beat the Broncos who seem to be unbeatable thanks to Tim Tebow's late-game comebacks. The Bears do have the defense to stop Tebow, because he isn't that great, he just gets lucky. The problem is whether or not the offense will be able to muster more than a mere field goal.

Earlier in the week, Jay Cutler was on the Waddle & Silvy show on ESPN Radio Chicago and talked about a lot of things including his rehab and sitting on the sideline. The thing that he said that stuck out most to me was that he talked about Hanie. He said that Hanie needs to relax more and not put a ton of pressure on himself. He was forcing things and just needed to let things happen. Cutler also said that Hanie has been putting in a ton of work. He says that Caleb has been watching extra film and practicing hard. Don't get the wrong impression, Hanie wants this to work out. He wants to know that he helped deliver the team into the playoffs and then Jay Cutler took over. It's a contract year for Hanie and he is probably worried about doing something big so he can get resigned and get his money, but he's over-thinking things and that's forcing him to make mistakes. If Hanie just relaxes and plays the game on Sunday, that will definitely help the Bears chances of winning.

If the Bears do everything right, they can win this game. The defense is going to have to play well and stop the run as well as stopping Tebow. They can do that and as long as the offense stays on the field for a little more time than they have in the past two games, the defense should be able to do that. If the defense makes stops and maybe gets a turnover or two, the offense will still need to perform. Hanie has to play well and the run game needs to be good even without Forte being there. It's a tall order to ask, but the Bears can win this game and they can still make the playoffs with a little faith and hard work.

Post-game Thoughts

Without Cutler, the Bears suffered again. Caleb Hanie and the offensive line both struggled in this game. Hanie hasn't been good in his two starts with the Bears. Despite playing pretty well last year in the NFC Championship game, he has not shown that same level of play this year in his two starts. Granted, his chance for a touchdown in the 4th quarter was turned into an interception because Roy Williams couldn't catch a pass that hit his hands. This, however, was not the worst of the news following the game.

Matt Forte left the game early and it is now confirmed that he has a grade 2 MCL sprain. It usually takes about 3 weeks for this sprain to heal, so he'll probably be back for the Minnesota game. In my opinion, it won't matter by then.

Immediately after the Cutler injury, I wasn't worried. I figured that Hanie would be able to beat the Chiefs, Broncos, and Vikings and that some luck would help the Bears get into the playoffs. After losing two in a row and heading up against Tebow who doesn't look like he can lose, I don't think the Bears can make the playoffs. Hanie can't produce like I expected him to and now the Bears have basically lost their running game. Bell and Barber can't perform like Forte can perform. Also, the offensive line is much less confident when Hanie is behind them compared to when Cutler is behind them.

Nothing is going right for the Bears this season. Injuries have killed them. Gabe Carimi, Chris Williams, Jay Cutler, and now Matt Forte. There's no way the Bears can win with those players gone.

I think that next year is the final year the Bears can try to win the Super Bowl. Cutler should be back and hopefully he can be even better than he was this year. Forte should be back too and hopefully has a good season. Chris Williams and Gabe Carimi will be back and a year older and Tice should be able to help them become even better than they already were this season. The defense won't be too old and maybe the Bears can help themselves in the draft. In my opinion, the Bears have a pretty good chance next year.

Finally, the last thing I want to comment on is that this will be Mike Martz's last season with the Bears. According to Adam Schefter, he won't be back next year. First, this kills the Bears because they have spent so much time trying to fit in with his system and now he's leaving. Second, this makes the Olsen trade pretty pointless. Third, Jay Cutler now needs to talk to Lovie and help build an offense that is designed around him so that Cutler can be even better than he already has been.