NFL Preview: Bears

Chicago Bears:
Cheers: One of the league’s most dangerous defenses remained largely untouched, and Lance Briggs remains in the fold. When the front four was healthy, they were able to put immense pressure on the QB and allow their defensive backs to make plays. They were strong against the run when Tommie Harris was healthy and having a great year at DT. Brian Urlacher is a great Linebacker, and as long as Briggs stays motivated in another contract year, he’ll form one of the best LB duos in the league. No one even knows who the third guy is though.

Jeers: They really didn’t do much to upgrade the offense, and it might’ve even gotten worse. They drafted Greg Olsen in the first round, but you have to wonder how much he’ll impact the passing game early in his career. Mushin Muhammad is on the decline, and although Bernard Berrian provided a spark last year, they don’t have much beyond them. After trading Thomas Jones in the offseason, they’re relying heavily on the unproven Cedric Benson, who should be playing with a chip on his shoulder for two bad years. Rex Grossman.

On second thought… they’ll probably be able to roll over the weak division again because as much crap as they take for their poor Super Bowl showing, they’re still a good team. You kind of get the feeling that they sat on their hands a bit too much in the offseason though. Rex Grossman is going to have to play more consistently for these guys to get back to where they were, because he really hurt them in some games last year.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Greg Olsen. He became overrated because he looked good without a shirt on in Indianapolis. This guy didn’t play well in big games, dropped passes and can’t block. He’s an average prospect who won’t be anything more than an average player.

New guy who will meet expectations: No one. They had the worst offseason to date in doing these, and I don’t see a single guy that I can say “you know, this guy will be pretty good.”