Ouch!

[CrackerDog]

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/08/10/...rankings-no-25/

 

He makes some good points but I don't think this reflects reality. We have a shot at the playoffs in my opinion. I guess we'll see...

[Pixote]

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/08/10/...rankings-no-25/

 

He makes some good points but I don't think this reflects reality. We have a shot at the playoffs in my opinion. I guess we'll see...

 

I posted a thread some time ago with links to about a dozen different preseason rankings and they all had us in the neighborhood of 20-25.

 

I think they are garbage. I think we certainly should be getting more respect, but as many said in response to my first thread and thoughts, we will have to earn it, as it should be. I just hope our opponents take us as lightly as the "experts" who did this rankings do.

[Mongo3451]

They are going on last years offense and the feeling that our and special teams can not get any better. Quite frankly, I feel our OL and WR situation is worse than last year. I also feel our RB and TE situation is better. Will it be enough to off-set the worst OL in the league? Turner better have his best season as a coach this year or it will bring our D and ST down with it. I don't have any problem with 25th until I see improvement in the OL. The 3rd pre-season game should tell a lot.

[jason]

Disagree in part with Mongo. I think the WR position is just as good if not better.

First, Booker is better than MuhMuh. Hell, I'd take Lloyd over him too. Add that to the fact that Bradley is healthy-ish, Hester is more involved, Davis has one more year under his belt, and the Bears drafted Bennett (not to mention the promise of Monk and Haas).

 

OL...yeah, not that impressed right now.

 

And that's all there is to it. OL will either surprise and help, or absolutely destroy this team. If bad, it'll make the skill positions on offense impossible to grade, and it will eventually wear down the defense and special teams. If good, the offense will do more than expected, and the D/ST will carry the team like they did two years ago...possibly just as far.

[DrunkBomber]

I wonder what the Giants were at last year to start the season. These things are so ridiculous. However, they are good to talk about before the season starts.

[GrizzlyBear]

I wonder what the Giants were at last year to start the season. These things are so ridiculous. However, they are good to talk about before the season starts.

Agreed, last year before the run they had Ely as the punching bag of NY. Barber's retirement and comments following were horrible. And they won despite him saying they will go nowhere.

[bowlingtwig]

I have also seen this and I agree with it when looking at it from there perspective. The Oline is bad, no proven WR, bad QB play and also our Defense was really banged up last year. Now I also agree that if we can just get decent QB play and our D stays healthy we have a legit chance at the playoffs if not at winning the D. I do not expect Green Bay to have a good year as there is friction inside camp stemming from the Favre saga. Everyone wants to say how good Minny will be but that is all assuming that the secondary can play good because the past couple of years they have sucked. I know they are always top notch at stopping the run though which could hurt us. They also have a question mark at QB with Tavaris Jackson who has done nothing at all in his career and is really young.

[akshaz]

I have also seen this and I agree with it when looking at it from there perspective. The Oline is bad, no proven WR, bad QB play and also our Defense was really banged up last year. .

 

Man, you're giving no credit to Booker, who caught almost 200 balls in two years just a few years ago. Now, we will soon find out if he's lost a step. But, you can't really say that he's never proven himself. The dude is probably still one of the better blocking WRs in the league and will catch almost every ball thrown his way.

 

As far as the QB play........

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

Again, he is kind of right. We have a rookie RB out of a small school, we have no WRs, our OC blows, and we have the same OL as last year.

 

IMO- we could end up with the 3rd or 4th overall pick next year.

[madlithuanian]

I'm going to clammoring for Laurinaitis then!

 

Again, he is kind of right. We have a rookie RB out of a small school, we have no WRs, our OC blows, and we have the same OL as last year.

 

IMO- we could end up with the 3rd or 4th overall pick next year.

[nfoligno]

special teams can not get any better.

 

Agreed. While I think teams will be good/great, there isn't much room to improve. Most likely, teams will more than ever avoid Hester.

 

Quite frankly, I feel our OL and WR situation is worse than last year.

 

I am not saying either are good, but worse?

 

OL - Same at C and RG. I would argue we improved at RT. LT? Frankly, I am not sure St. Clair is a drop from what we saw out of Tait last year at LT. He was pretty bad. While it isn't looking good at LG, it was a massive hole last year too, so I am not sure we actually downgraded. So overall, while I am not sure we improved much, I am not sure how much worse we are either.

 

WR - I don't consider Moose's departure a downgrade at all. Booker may not be much, but I would argue he is no worse than equal, if not an upgrade. Berrian's departure is the only issue, and while I do not believe any one player will match his numbers, at the same time, I wonder if Hester and Lloyd won't provide adequate replacements. I would argue, by all reports, Davis is improved over last year. And Hester, if he has developed as much as it appears in camp, is a weapon we lacked last year. I think there is potential that our WR corp is better than it was last year, but at minimum, I am just not sure I would argee we downgraded. We simply were not good last year, and even w/ Berrian's departure, I am just not sure we are worse off.

 

I also feel our RB and TE situation is better.

 

Agreed.

 

RB - Forte, while unproven, sure seems like an upgrade to Benson, and Wolfe looks pretty good thus far too.

 

TE - Clark doesn't appear to have lost anything. Olsen is a year developed, and I it appears we upgraded w/ our #3 TE, who some wonder if he shouldn't be getting more looks than he has been. I would add that it appears we will run more 2 TE sets, which in itself is an upgrade, as we are getting better weapons on the field, where as last year we rarely saw 2 TE packages, and thus had one of our better weapons sitting on the bench.

 

Will it be enough to off-set the worst OL in the league?

 

Probably not. Unfortunately, even if we were upgraded at every other position, it is hard for those positions to shine w/o an OL paving the way.

 

Turner better have his best season as a coach this year or it will bring our D and ST down with it.

 

Not super optimistic. I have seen little from Turner since he joined the team that gives me much reason for optimism. Running more 2 TEs sets though is a nice sign.

 

I don't have any problem with 25th until I see improvement in the OL. The 3rd pre-season game should tell a lot.

 

Agreed. As good as the defense is, if the offense is bad enough, it can easily negate a good defense. And frankly, I need to see MUCH more from Babich before I accept the greatness of our D. They may be great on paper, but do we have a DC that will allow that paper to become reality? Maybe it all works out, but w/ so many questions at so many positions, particularly key positions, I just do not see reason for high pre-season rankings.

[nfoligno]

I see GM and Minny both being pretty good this year.

 

While they have a question at QB, they do have a potential replacement for Favre. Further, I would point out they have most every other piece in place. GB has a solid OL, solid RB and good WRs. They may have a question at QB, but also have all the pieces in place to make the transition more smooth. They also had a solid defense last year. They lost Favre, but IMHO, were simply in a better position to deal w/ that as they have so many other areas already solidified.

 

Minny could be very good this year.

 

Here is another team that is VERY questionable at the QB position, but similar to GB, they are pretty set around the QB. They have potentially the best OL in the league, and potentially, the best ground game. An OL and ground game like Minny has makes the job of the QB far easier. Jackson won't have to often put the offense on his shoulders to win games. Further, while they may not have a great WR corp, they did upgrade w/ the addition of Berrian.

 

Their defense was pretty darn good last year. They were beasts against the run. They struggled against the pass, but also added one of the league's premier pass rushers, which could help the secondary tremenously.

 

Maybe they won't have a great passing offense or pass defense, but IMHO, being able to run the ball and stop the run will go a LONG way in this league.

 

Detroit? Who knows. Their Detroit.

['TD']

I think the team is just that bad. It was impossible to run behind this line last year and it definitely didn't improve and it got thinner in depth.

 

Last year the Bears were 3rd last in rushing yards per game at 83.1. In comparison, the Vikings, who were first, they had 164 rushing yards per game.

 

The passing game did nothing to upgrade at it's main position, QB. With no one to get the ball to them, it really doesn't matter what is at receiver. I personally think the loss of Berrian vs. his possible replacements majorly outweighs Booker over Moose, but it doesn't really matter with no one to get them the ball.

 

I don't see how any writer could rank the Bears higher.

[nfoligno]

I think you might misunderstand my post.

 

My point is that we WERE just that bad. I am not sure, when looking at individual player and/or units, we downgraded that much, if at all. But at the same time, I said we didn't really upgrade either. Se we were an AWFUL offense, and we still are. I just am not sure we actually downgraded much, but as we were already at a very low position, remaining the same is still very bad.

 

I also agreed w/ the ranking. Frankly, I have said this before, but I am not sold our defense is going to be so great, and I see our offense being awful.

['TD']

I think you might misunderstand my post.

 

My point is that we WERE just that bad. I am not sure, when looking at individual player and/or units, we downgraded that much, if at all. But at the same time, I said we didn't really upgrade either. Se we were an AWFUL offense, and we still are. I just am not sure we actually downgraded much, but as we were already at a very low position, remaining the same is still very bad.

 

I also agreed w/ the ranking. Frankly, I have said this before, but I am not sold our defense is going to be so great, and I see our offense being awful.

 

I understood and agree. I started a long post, then deleted it and started over.

 

I agree with you about the D. I remember back when Rivera was here that it was leaked that Lovie had decided to take more control of the D. After that the D started slacking off alot. Rivera was fired and Bablich was brought in. Other then the first game of the season last year, I wasn't impressed with the coaching on defense.

 

My original post brought that up that I think the D will be better then last year because of no injuries, yet not as good as the Super bowl run due to the addition of Lovie's yesman. I think the supposed power struggle and differing defensive backgrounds of Lovie and Rivera helped utilize the talent on the D better, while straight Lovie bottlenecks it.

[madlithuanian]

I'm with both you guys on this...

 

It really just makes me ill though. I'm so done with Lovie... He needs to show me something and prove me wrong.

 

I fear a very long season...

 

I understood and agree. I started a long post, then deleted it and started over.

 

I agree with you about the D. I remember back when Rivera was here that it was leaked that Lovie had decided to take more control of the D. After that the D started slacking off alot. Rivera was fired and Bablich was brought in. Other then the first game of the season last year, I wasn't impressed with the coaching on defense.

 

My original post brought that up that I think the D will be better then last year because of no injuries, yet not as good as the Super bowl run due to the addition of Lovie's yesman. I think the supposed power struggle and differing defensive backgrounds of Lovie and Rivera helped utilize the talent on the D better, while straight Lovie bottlenecks it.

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

I'm going to clammoring for Laurinaitis then!

I'd puke just because we're fine with our corps through 2012 at the least.

I'd go after Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech, WR), Michael Oher (OT, Ole Miss), Cullen Harper (Clemson, QB), or Matthew Stafford (Georgia, QB).

 

Of course, Crabtree, Harper, and Stafford all have the option after the year to go pro- neither of the 3 are seniors.

[madlithuanian]

It's just part of my grander scheme to trade Briggs, and put someone in place to eventually replace Urlacher...

 

I'm too unfamiliar with those players...I need to get a year of watching under my belt!

 

I'd puke just because we're fine with our corps through 2012 at the least.

I'd go after Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech, WR), Michael Oher (OT, Ole Miss), Cullen Harper (Clemson, QB), or Matthew Stafford (Georgia, QB).

 

Of course, Crabtree, Harper, and Stafford all have the option after the year to go pro- neither of the 3 are seniors.

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

It's just part of my grander scheme to trade Briggs, and put someone in place to eventually replace Urlacher...

 

I'm too unfamiliar with those players...I need to get a year of watching under my belt!

Oher would have been a top 10 pick if he had come out this past year.

Crabtree won the Biletnikoff and the Warfield as a freshman last year. He caught 22 TDs with almost 2000 yards.

Harper threw 27 TDs and only 6 INTs as a junior last year.

Stafford threw for 19 TDs and 10 INTs last year along with 2500 yards. Also had 3 rushing TDs.

[Bears4Ever_34]

I can't say I disagree with them. Our only hope is for Mike Brown to stay healthy and one of our quarterbacks to have a breakout year.. We lost Chris Williams so you can bet our sucky ass offensive line will be worse this year with virtually the same players which really bugs me. I don't think were going to be very good at all maybe 5-11 or 7-9 at best.

[madlithuanian]

Thanks for the head's up!

 

I do now recall hearing about Oher!

 

I eagerly await seeing the NCAA play itself out! (I fear we will indeed be picking early...)

 

Oher would have been a top 10 pick if he had come out this past year.

Crabtree won the Biletnikoff and the Warfield as a freshman last year. He caught 22 TDs with almost 2000 yards.

Harper threw 27 TDs and only 6 INTs as a junior last year.

Stafford threw for 19 TDs and 10 INTs last year along with 2500 yards. Also had 3 rushing TDs.

[bowlingtwig]

I can't say I disagree with them. Our only hope is for Mike Brown to stay healthy and one of our quarterbacks to have a breakout year.. We lost Chris Williams so you can bet our sucky ass offensive line will be worse this year with virtually the same players which really bugs me. I don't think were going to be very good at all maybe 5-11 or 7-9 at best.

 

 

Your obviously not drinking the same kool aid as Pix I can tell lol.