adam

Of all the coaches, I believe Marinelli is going to make the biggest impact. He was the TB DL coach when they were flat out dominate and was also the Asst HC when they won the SB. So if there is not improvement on the D side of the ball this year, Babich and Lovie could both be in hot water. I would just promote Marinelli to DC and leave Babich as the LB's coach.

Has he played since his injury/surgery?

http://espn.go.com/chicago/columns/blog?po...;name=dickerson

Erik Kramer in 1995 was really the last time we had a legitimate Passing threat when he threw for a franchise record 3,838 yards. He did it passing to the likes of Jeff Graham (who led the team in receiving) and Curtis Conway. The 3rd best receiver that year was the FB Tony Carter. Wow. Rashaan Salaam was the lead RB with 1074 rushing yards. Here are some other stats to chew on: The Bears have had only 5 seasons where a QB threw for more than 3,000 yards (Kramer x2, Grossman, Wade, and Harbaugh). Grossman is #2, thats how bad we've been. Many are predicting Cutler to average over that mark every year. He would break the franchise career passing yards in less than 5 years (Luckman 14,686). The Bears have had only 7 seasons where a QB threw for more than 20 TD's (Kramer, Luckman x2, Lujack, Grossman, Wade, and Bukich). Only 2 in the Super Bowl era. The Bears have had only 4 seasons where a QB had a QB rating over 88.0 (Luckman, Bukich, Wade, and Kramer). Only Kramer in the Super Bowl era. Jim McMahon is the only Bears QB to make the Pro Bowl in the Super Bowl era. So Grossman gave us some hope a few years ago, but even that year he only had a 73.9 QB Rating. Like BearFan2000 said, we are in completely uncharted territory as Bear's fans, and I am happy to be here.

More http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4256679

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_12581741 I thought this was interesting and sort of related to Cutler.

The Bears are 16-16 since losing the Super Bowl, and Lovie's stock has fallen ever since that point. So if he was a top 5 coach that year, I could easily see him falling to 20 in 2 years+. This is a pretty important year for him. That Super Bowl visit seems like a faint memory now, and if we don't make the playoffs this year (3 straight years), the Bears will have to really consider a coaching change after the season. Ditka never had back to back non-playoff seasons as the Bears HC (full seasons). Also, Lovie is the highest paid coach in the NFL (tied with Fisher).

I'm in.

Last time I checked, it has been over 100 years since the Cubs won the World Series, so I don't think a half game better this year matters much.

Yeah, the Marshall/Royal argument is a little over done IMO. Marshall didn't do squat until Cutler started as QB and Royal was the 5th Receiver taken in the draft that had 0 go in the 1st Round. You can't give Cutler all the credit, but you can't discount his piece of Marshall's and Royal's success. Lets see how they do with Orton at the helm. Wesson, what is Cutler's record when the defense allows more than 21 pts?

I believe the Bears will have one of the more balanced attacks in the game this year. Last year we were actually pretty good in that department, but the completion % of the QB's masked it somewhat. Last year: 434 Rush (45%) 528 Pass (55%)

http://games.espn.go.com/ffl/tools/project...amp;proTeamId=3 Cutler - 3795 yards, 24 TD, 16 INT Forte - 1210 yards, 9 TD, 458 Rec yards, 2 TD Olsen - 66 - 802, 6 TD Hester - 61 - 784, 5 TD Bennett - 53 - 567, 5 TD Iglesias - 53 - 572, 2 TD I found it somewhat funny that if you add all the Bears WR, TE, and RBs receiving stats, they are around 4400 yards, yet Cutler only has 3795 (so much for accuracy). I would actually be pleased if Bennett and Iglesias put up those type of numbers. Forte is the #4 rated player for FFB, Cutler is 76, Olsen is 98, and Hester is 108. That is actually a pretty good mix having your QB, RB, TE, and WR all within that range.

I was talking about the rookies. All the receivers are going to benefit from Cutler's arm.

It is funny when people talk about Marshall as a go-to type receiver when he really didn't even do anything until Cutler was the starting QB. It will be interesting to see how he does this year without Cutler and with an entire new offense. Of the rookies, I could see Iglesias and Kinder both having pretty good seasons. I think Bennett is going to benefit the most from Cutler (even though he is technically not a rookie).

Hester 70-900 (You have to assume that Hester will progress with a better QB and another year learning the position) Olsen 60-700 (I feel like this could be the year that Olsen breaks out and has a monster year, but I will stay conservative for now) Forte 50-350 (Forte should have less touches this year, which will help his durability) Clark 35-400 (Clark has been pretty consistent over the last 3 years) Bennett 45-650 (Bennett is probably the biggest wild card - he can easily turn into Colston or be another bust) Davis 30-400 (Hard to gauge where he will fall. It all depends on who wins the #3 spot) All Others 35-400

http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/13/highest-p...sports-nba.html Lovie is the highest paid NFL coach (tied with Fisher), and the 5th highest in all major sports. I didn't realize he was that high on the list. The article notes that he is 16-16 since the new deal.

I would be shocked if they finished above .500.

10 losses by more 10 points with 5 of those by 20 or more. Pretty funny stuff. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/rumors/post/Li...?urn=nfl,162347

For ARZ, PHI, and ATL, I think the questions will be more on the defensive side of the ball. Atlanta was gutted losing several starters and ARZ wasn't that good to begin with.

Here is a question, if we had made the playoffs in 2008, do we have Jay Cutler as our starting QB right now? I'd say no.

King is just saying if we win 12 games, then we will be 4th best in the league, which is about right. We won 9 last year with 3 losses by 3 or less; we upgraded the most important position on the field by a lot, and we have a easy schedule. Sounds about right to me. King also doesn't say the Titans WILL win the South, he just says that they can, so not really contradictory.

That is what he was when BC lost.

Peter King hit on the point that the Bears had some pretty good underlying stats, and if I remember correctly we lost 3 early games by 3 points or less. So that 9-7 could've easily been 12-4. I think that 11 wins is probably around the target for this year.

Now there are reports that he is actually meeting with the Vikes: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=At1D...p&type=lgns

Actually that is about right for such an early line. GB is basically just getting the home field advantage points.