Bears Look-In

By Ryan Ebert, Ryan@nflen.com

     Chicago had a solid successful season lat year.  The record was not bad, but they were 3-3 in the division.  For them to get back to being division champs they have to improve within the division; half of their losses were in the division.  They have plenty of tools to help this team achieve that, and all they need to do now is come together as a team, unite, and work as one in order to get to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for the ultimate prize.

      Lets start with what they have been known throughout history, the defense.  The Bears were 5th last season in total defense and I don't see why they should still be at the same level or higher.  Sure they lost the face of the defense Brian Urlacher, but with the new acquisitions of D.J. Williams, James Anderson, Sedrick Ellis, and Jamaal Anderson, they should dominate on this side of the ball!

     First the secondary, the only noticeable thing is the addition of SS Tom Zbikowski and the loss of CB D.J. Moore.  Zbikowski is a  player who can fill in well when a player goes down or needs some rest.  This should help their depth at the back end.  Moore may be gone but there still is Tim Jennings, Charles Tillman, Kelvin Hayden, Zack Bowman, and an improving Isaiah Frey.  That's a solid secondary that only has room to improve which already had a combined twenty interceptions last season!

     Brian Urlacher's retirement was the biggest news in the offseason for Chicago, but they picked up productive LB D.J. Williams from Denver to fill in.  And in the draft they acquired Jon Bostic from Florida and Khaseem Greene from Rutgers who can be the future for the Bears at the middle linebacker position.  They did lose Nick Roach and Geno Hayes, but in their place they found James Anderson, a former Carolina Panther, a LB that I trust will be a surprise to fans with his talent providing he stays healthy.  With Lance Briggs leading this group they should do quite a bit of damage.

     On the defensive line, a few players are still free agents such as Amobi Okoye, Brian Price, Turk McBride and Matt Toeaina, but I believe they will do well with newcomers Sedrick Ellis, Jamaal Anderson and Corvey Irvin.  This is a solid group with Henry Melton in the middle and Julius Peppers on the outside.  There's nice depth and quality players here to keep the QB always on his toes.

   

 Offensively ,there are some great tools to get this team to the Super Bowl.  Brandon Marshall was tied for second (Wes Welker the other) for second in the NFL with 118 receptions and had 11 TDs.  Matt Forte is one of the best dual threats at RB in the league, and the team added a TE who should help add more options for Jay Cutler with Martellus Bennett.  The offense has no other place to go but up.

     Marshall led the WR corps with 118 catches for 1,508 yards and 11 TDs, but the next leading receiver was Matt Forte with 44; then Earl Bennett, an actual WR, had 29 catches.  The team needs help from their second-round pick Alshon Jeffrey to quickly get up to speed and be the player Bears hoped he would be.  Devin Aromashodu came in from the Vikings and should bring some depth.   These players have to step up to take some of the load off Cutler and Marshall.

     Kellen Davis was lost to Cleveland, but Bennett (going by his season last year with the Giants) should be an improvement.  Leonard Pope was also picked up just a few days ago to help Cutler have another big bodied target to help in the end zone.  Behind these two there's not much good talent so these two need to avoid injuries and contribute as much as they can to this team.

     The Bears mostly addressed their offensive line problems this offseason through the draft and free agency.  Kyle Long drafted in the first round from Oregon is battling for the starting RG spot with James Brown, and Jermon Bushrod came in from New Orleans with Eben Britton from Jacksonville and Matt Slauson from the Jets.  These players are good pickups that add good depth and give competition in training camp which is always good.  Though it's not the skill of these individual players that will ultimately protect Cutler.  The line requires chemistry and communication to understand their responsibilities and keep Cutler's jersey clean after he was sacked thirty-eight times in 2012.

     Cutler didn't do a bad job last season, had 3,033 yards with a 58.8 completion percentage, 19 TDs, 14 interceptions and a 81.3 QB rating.   The TD to INT ratio has to go down.  It's not entirely on himself as the receivers weren't the did have a part, but he needs to make better decisions, be smarter, and take the team to the next level to get them the Lombardi trophy again.


     The Windy City should see plenty of good things from this season this upcoming season.  Barring injuries, there's no reason why this team should not a team to be scared of.  If new head coach Marc Trestman does well in his first season coaching the Bears he should lead this team down a good path.
   

     UPDATE:  CB Kelvin Hayden will be out for the season after a torn hamstring.