SI.com Article

[adam]

Will Julius Peppers elevate the Bears defense more than Jay Cutler did for the offense last year?

 

For the second offseason in a row, the Bears went out and landed a franchise-type player whose acquisition created headlines and jacked up Chicago's playoff hopes, not to mention its payroll. But Bears fans have reason to be warier this time around about the difference-maker factor because Chicago with Cutler in 2009 actually fared two games worse (7-9) than it did without him in 2008 (9-7). You can look it up.

 

Could Peppers use his fresh start in the Windy City to flash the kind of dominating, disruptive play he showed at times during his uneven eight-year career in Carolina? Absolutely. On paper, the Bears' defense is much improved with Peppers at one end, and his mere presence could have a welcome cumulative effect on the rest of Rod Marinelli's defensive line and pass rush. But didn't we say the same thing last year at this time about Albert Haynesworth making the rest of the Redskins' D-line that much better? And like Haynesworth, isn't Peppers a supremely talented player who has been accused of not always bringing the same level of motivation to his work each and every game? I rest my case.

 

I love how his main point about Cutler was that the team lost 2 more than it did without him. Wow thanks for that deep analysis.

 

Then he compares Peppers to Haynesworth? Seriously? Wow what a comparison.

 

Most posters on here would be better suited to provide some detailed insight about the upcoming season than he does.

 

 

[bradjock]

I love how his main point about Cutler was that the team lost 2 more than it did without him. Wow thanks for that deep analysis.

 

While I don't like negative Bears press, I can't argue with anything he says. His article was titled, "20 things to contemplate." You don't go in depth on 20 different things. Did anybody here think we'd lose more games with Cutler then Orton? I sure as hell didn't. It's worth mentioning.

 

Then he compares Peppers to Haynesworth? Seriously? Wow what a comparison.

 

It's a fair comparison. Haynesworth was the biggest FA prize and the team's d-line got worse. Shouldn't we at least contemplate this could happen with the Bears, especially since we let Alex Brown go? Peppers motivation has regularly been questioned. I'm much more skeptical since Cutler didn't provide immediate results.

 

Most posters on here would be better suited to provide some detailed insight about the upcoming season than he does.

 

True, but it was insight on the entire NFL, not just the Bears.

 

My only complaint is he should have added, "The Bear coaches love their o-line and WR's with the exact same group who were bad last year . . . " That's something to contemplate.

 

 

[nfoligno]

It's a fair comparison. Haynesworth was the biggest FA prize and the team's d-line got worse. Shouldn't we at least contemplate this could happen with the Bears, especially since we let Alex Brown go? Peppers motivation has regularly been questioned. I'm much more skeptical since Cutler didn't provide immediate results.

 

I agree it is a fair comparison, but disagree with you (and Banks) that Wash's DL didn't improve with Fat Albert.

 

Two years ago, the team had 24 sacks. Andre Carter led the team with 4. Their DL was good against the run, but simply put no pressure on opposing QBs. With Albert in the lineup, Carter's sack total rises to 11, and a rookie adds another 11 sacks as the team improves their overall sack total to 40. They dropped some against the run, but were not weak in that area, and were much better attacking the QB.

 

They were a top 10 defense last year, but their offense was just bad.

 

Fat Al may not have put up huge numbers, but he did have a pretty big impact along their DL. The problem was (a) he can't play offense and ( he showed his true colors after only one season.

 

Back to Peppers, I think it very fair to put the question out there. Two years ago our offense was awful, and many felt the addition of a franchise player would be enough, but the offense was so bad that one person simply was not enough of a change. The differense I would say for us is that we are banking on more than simply Peppers, though he is a huge part of the equation. Though on the team, Urlacker missed the entire season, and thus he can be considered an addition. We have also added a good looking rookie and Harris to a dreadful backfield. So while Peppers is still a huge part of the equation, he isn't the ONLY part of it.