Bears 2010 preseason thread

[Soul]

Maybe some of those teams will turn out to be worse than expected.

[Banedon]

Maybe some of those teams will turn out to be worse than expected.

 

I think Minnesota could stumble a bit.

[UMFan83]

Maybe some of those teams will turn out to be worse than expected.

 

Yes its possible. And its also the last 4 games of the season, so it's possible that 1 or more of those teams are going to play with everything locked up, and will be resting key people.

[jersey cubs fan]

Maybe some of those teams will turn out to be worse than expected.

 

I think Minnesota could stumble a bit.

 

I don't understand what everybody sees in the Jets. They were 9-7 last year, and lucky to get that 9th win. They squeeked through in the playoffs thanks to some missed field goals and then got bounced. Their best defensive player is sitting out, they have a starting LB who is going to miss time. And their QB is a mess. They were the #1 defense, but it's tough to win consistently with defense. They could win their overrated division, but they don't look like world beaters to me.

[UMFan83]

Maybe some of those teams will turn out to be worse than expected.

 

I think Minnesota could stumble a bit.

 

I don't understand what everybody sees in the Jets. They were 9-7 last year, and lucky to get that 9th win. They squeeked through in the playoffs thanks to some missed field goals and then got bounced. Their best defensive player is sitting out, they have a starting LB who is going to miss time. And their QB is a mess. They were the #1 defense, but it's tough to win consistently with defense. They could win their overrated division, but they don't look like world beaters to me.

 

 

Top 5 overall defense, top 5 offensive line, good RB corps, rookie QB that is likely to improve over last year, decently deep set of WRs (although no truly elite guys - S. Holmes, Edwards, Cotchery, Coles).

 

NFL is way too unpredictable to say the are for sure going to contend. But the team has a lot of talent and pretty good depth. I can certainly understand why they are a popular SB pick, even though my expectations for them fall a bit short of that.

[Soul]

Maybe some of those teams will turn out to be worse than expected.

 

I think Minnesota could stumble a bit.

 

I don't understand what everybody sees in the Jets. They were 9-7 last year, and lucky to get that 9th win. They squeeked through in the playoffs thanks to some missed field goals and then got bounced. Their best defensive player is sitting out, they have a starting LB who is going to miss time. And their QB is a mess. They were the #1 defense, but it's tough to win consistently with defense. They could win their overrated division, but they don't look like world beaters to me.

 

 

Top 5 overall defense, top 5 offensive line, good RB corps, rookie QB that is likely to improve over last year, decently deep set of WRs (although no truly elite guys - S. Holmes, Edwards, Cotchery, Coles).

 

NFL is way too unpredictable to say the are for sure going to contend. But the team has a lot of talent and pretty good depth. I can certainly understand why they are a popular SB pick, even though my expectations for them fall a bit short of that.

 

I'll probably have egg on my face in a few weeks for saying this, but I feel like it is just as likely that Sanchez falls flat as it is he improves over last year.

 

On one hand, I agree with your overall point that they have some good talent & depth. But on the other hand, so do a lot of other teams in the AFC, and it just feels like the Jets are being promoted above & beyond their accomplishments to this point. I feel like a lot of their expected returns this year are based on year 1 to year 2 improvements that people think will be inherent, but really we don't always see that in the NFL. Many times we'll see year 1 to year 2 decline.

[jersey cubs fan]

Top 5 overall defense, top 5 offensive line, good RB corps, rookie QB that is likely to improve over last year, decently deep set of WRs (although no truly elite guys - S. Holmes, Edwards, Cotchery, Coles).

 

NFL is way too unpredictable to say the are for sure going to contend. But the team has a lot of talent and pretty good depth. I can certainly understand why they are a popular SB pick, even though my expectations for them fall a bit short of that.

 

Sanchez was terrible last year, and he showed nothing in the way of hopes for improvement. He's also been crap this preseason. I understand them being in the picture for contention, what I don't understand is the level of expectations for this team. Their over/under for win total is just 9.5, but people talk about them like a 12-14 win team in the making.

[jersey cubs fan]

The weird thing is it's not really Jets fans talking them up, it's their rivals. Jets fans expect more failure than Cubs fans. I guess a lot of it is Rex Ryan's bluster, but since when did a coach talking about expecting a Super Bowl garner so much attention?

[Soul]

Rex has garnered a heck of a lot of attention for his team. I'll give him that. He's a force of personality; sometimes those guys lift a team all the way to a championship. I believe they'll fall short this year though, but still. It's pretty exciting right now if you are a Jets fan.

 

Interestingly, when you say that it is the national/rivals who are talking up the Jets and not so much their own fans, I had to think of the Packers. Some of that same dynamic is in play with Green Bay. Their own fans think they'll be good, but are generally more cautious. Others are looking at Rodgers and the way they have been blasting people in preseason and predicting great things for the Pack. But internally, I hear much more caution.

[UMFan83]

Top 5 overall defense, top 5 offensive line, good RB corps, rookie QB that is likely to improve over last year, decently deep set of WRs (although no truly elite guys - S. Holmes, Edwards, Cotchery, Coles).

 

NFL is way too unpredictable to say the are for sure going to contend. But the team has a lot of talent and pretty good depth. I can certainly understand why they are a popular SB pick, even though my expectations for them fall a bit short of that.

 

Sanchez was terrible last year, and he showed nothing in the way of hopes for improvement. He's also been crap this preseason. I understand them being in the picture for contention, what I don't understand is the level of expectations for this team. Their over/under for win total is just 9.5, but people talk about them like a 12-14 win team in the making.

 

Yeah I don't think they are a 13 win team or anything like that, but going 11-5 wouldn't shock me. The Bears managed 11-5 with a worse offense than that and elite defense is 2005. The NFL is so impossible to predict anyways. The Jets, like you pointed out, were barely a playoff team last year and had to have multiple things go their way the last 2 weeks of the season just to get in. That said, their pythag record was something like 11.4-4.6. Pythag records in football are of course very dubious based on the sample size, but where there is a 2.5 game discrepency between actual and predicted, it does raise eyebrows.

 

As far as Sanchez, he was very awful at times last year, but he was also pretty decent as well. The mark of a rookie QB. He was solid when the Jets had him "manage the game" and I think when they started letting him open it up, he immediately got into big trouble. But I would expect some improvement there this year, and if at worst he is a respectable game manager that's probably all the Jets really need.

 

I'm talking way too much about a team I generally dislike so I'm gonna stop.

[jersey cubs fan]

Yeah I don't think they are a 13 win team or anything like that, but going 11-5 wouldn't shock me. The Bears managed 11-5 with a worse offense than that and elite defense is 2005.

 

The difference is that team scored on defense and special teams. The Jets don't give up yardage, but they aren't a great giveaway/takeaway team either and don't threaten to score at any point in the game like those Bears teams did.

[UMFan83]

Yeah I don't think they are a 13 win team or anything like that, but going 11-5 wouldn't shock me. The Bears managed 11-5 with a worse offense than that and elite defense is 2005.

 

The difference is that team scored on defense and special teams. The Jets don't give up yardage, but they aren't a great giveaway/takeaway team either and don't threaten to score at any point in the game like those Bears teams did.

 

Fair point, but the Jets are starting off on a higher ground considering they scored 88 more points last year, without that scoring defense and special teams, than the 2005 Bears did. Who knows if the Jets defense is going to be as good as last years though...

[rawaction]

Maybe some of those teams will turn out to be worse than expected.

 

I think Minnesota could stumble a bit.

 

I don't understand what everybody sees in the Jets. They were 9-7 last year, and lucky to get that 9th win. They squeeked through in the playoffs thanks to some missed field goals and then got bounced. Their best defensive player is sitting out, they have a starting LB who is going to miss time. And their QB is a mess. They were the #1 defense, but it's tough to win consistently with defense. They could win their overrated division, but they don't look like world beaters to me.

 

 

Top 5 overall defense, top 5 offensive line, good RB corps, rookie QB that is likely to improve over last year, decently deep set of WRs (although no truly elite guys - S. Holmes, Edwards, Cotchery, Coles).

 

NFL is way too unpredictable to say the are for sure going to contend. But the team has a lot of talent and pretty good depth. I can certainly understand why they are a popular SB pick, even though my expectations for them fall a bit short of that.

 

Holmes is pretty close to elite. 80 catches, 1200+ yards is right there with the best in the league. His numbers last year (minus TDs) were as good as anything Moss has done since 2003 outside of NEs record breaking year a couple season ago. Take out 2007 and those numbers are pretty much what Reggie Wayne has done in his career.

 

Obviously the suspension will hold him back this year, but if he has another 80 catch, 1200 yard season; especially in the Jets offense, he will be considered an elite WR in my book.

[cubweiser03]

I don't get the Jets hype either. There room for error isnt very good, the games they play are so close anything can happen. Their offense isnt a threat and i dont think Sanchez makes a Peyton Manning type of revolution from year one. I see Stafford improving much more than Sanchez. Just because they got to the championship game doesnt make them contenders, they barely made the playoffs last year. They will be a winning team but not by much, there are better AFC teams than them.

[rawaction]

I don't get the Jets hype either. There room for error isnt very good, the games they play are so close anything can happen. Their offense isnt a threat and i dont think Sanchez makes a Peyton Manning type of revolution from year one. I see Stafford improving much more than Sanchez. Just because they got to the championship game doesnt make them contenders, they barely made the playoffs last year. They will be a winning team but not by much, there are better AFC teams than them.

 

I don't know. I could see the same thing happening in the AFC this year. Figure SD, Baltimore, Indy, again in the playoffs. Maybe NE, Pit, Mia, Hou, or Tenn. But if the Jets make it in, there's no reason they couldn't sneak in the playoffs again, where they again would be a bad matchup for most of the above teams and they could squeak out a couple wins to go to the Superbowl.

[Flames24Rulz]

Interestingly, when you say that it is the national/rivals who are talking up the Jets and not so much their own fans, I had to think of the Packers. Some of that same dynamic is in play with Green Bay. Their own fans think they'll be good, but are generally more cautious. Others are looking at Rodgers and the way they have been blasting people in preseason and predicting great things for the Pack. But internally, I hear much more caution.

 

It's the same thing as last year. Our offense looks amazing but our defense looks suspect, although quite a few guys haven't played in the preseason. The team was very laid-back in their approach when the real season started and we weren't real crisp on offense. They've vowed to change that this year and use the same approach that we did in the second half of the season last year, but we'll see. Overconfidence is a major issue with a young team and I really hope we learned from our disappointing first half last season.

 

Nobody is confident about our defense. I think everyone is fearing the types of games that we had against Pittsburgh and Arizona last year, especially if Harris is PUP-bound. I'm pretty optimistic that they'll be better against the pass this season than we were at the end of last season, but that's not saying a whole lot. Opening day will tell us a lot about where we stand defensively against the Eagles attack.

[SpongeWorthy]

The Jets have more good football players than almost any team. That's why they should be good, IMO. Although if Revis doesn't come back then who knows. Wasn't he supposed to sign an extension last week or something?

[Soul]

The Jets have more good football players than almost any team. That's why they should be good, IMO. Although if Revis doesn't come back then who knows. Wasn't he supposed to sign an extension last week or something?

 

You may be referring to the Cowlishaw report that a deal was imminent last week, which was since proven false. The latest I see is that nothing is done yet, but who really knows.

[Soul]

Interestingly, when you say that it is the national/rivals who are talking up the Jets and not so much their own fans, I had to think of the Packers. Some of that same dynamic is in play with Green Bay. Their own fans think they'll be good, but are generally more cautious. Others are looking at Rodgers and the way they have been blasting people in preseason and predicting great things for the Pack. But internally, I hear much more caution.

 

It's the same thing as last year. Our offense looks amazing but our defense looks suspect, although quite a few guys haven't played in the preseason. The team was very laid-back in their approach when the real season started and we weren't real crisp on offense. They've vowed to change that this year and use the same approach that we did in the second half of the season last year, but we'll see. Overconfidence is a major issue with a young team and I really hope we learned from our disappointing first half last season.

 

Nobody is confident about our defense. I think everyone is fearing the types of games that we had against Pittsburgh and Arizona last year, especially if Harris is PUP-bound. I'm pretty optimistic that they'll be better against the pass this season than we were at the end of last season, but that's not saying a whole lot. Opening day will tell us a lot about where we stand defensively against the Eagles attack.

 

Wasn't the Packers defense much improved last year?

[rawaction]

Interestingly, when you say that it is the national/rivals who are talking up the Jets and not so much their own fans, I had to think of the Packers. Some of that same dynamic is in play with Green Bay. Their own fans think they'll be good, but are generally more cautious. Others are looking at Rodgers and the way they have been blasting people in preseason and predicting great things for the Pack. But internally, I hear much more caution.

 

It's the same thing as last year. Our offense looks amazing but our defense looks suspect, although quite a few guys haven't played in the preseason. The team was very laid-back in their approach when the real season started and we weren't real crisp on offense. They've vowed to change that this year and use the same approach that we did in the second half of the season last year, but we'll see. Overconfidence is a major issue with a young team and I really hope we learned from our disappointing first half last season.

 

Nobody is confident about our defense. I think everyone is fearing the types of games that we had against Pittsburgh and Arizona last year, especially if Harris is PUP-bound. I'm pretty optimistic that they'll be better against the pass this season than we were at the end of last season, but that's not saying a whole lot. Opening day will tell us a lot about where we stand defensively against the Eagles attack.

 

Wasn't the Packers defense much improved last year?

 

Until the Cardinals got a hold of them.

[UMFan83]

Interestingly, when you say that it is the national/rivals who are talking up the Jets and not so much their own fans, I had to think of the Packers. Some of that same dynamic is in play with Green Bay. Their own fans think they'll be good, but are generally more cautious. Others are looking at Rodgers and the way they have been blasting people in preseason and predicting great things for the Pack. But internally, I hear much more caution.

 

It's the same thing as last year. Our offense looks amazing but our defense looks suspect, although quite a few guys haven't played in the preseason. The team was very laid-back in their approach when the real season started and we weren't real crisp on offense. They've vowed to change that this year and use the same approach that we did in the second half of the season last year, but we'll see. Overconfidence is a major issue with a young team and I really hope we learned from our disappointing first half last season.

 

Nobody is confident about our defense. I think everyone is fearing the types of games that we had against Pittsburgh and Arizona last year, especially if Harris is PUP-bound. I'm pretty optimistic that they'll be better against the pass this season than we were at the end of last season, but that's not saying a whole lot. Opening day will tell us a lot about where we stand defensively against the Eagles attack.

 

Wasn't the Packers defense much improved last year?

 

Until the Cardinals got a hold of them.

 

Stupid pixie dust.

 

Oh wait wrong Cardinals.

[Mark Priors Calves]

Cutler is dating Kristin Cavaralli from the Hills and other drivel.

http://static.poponthepop.com/images/gallery/kristin-cavallari-image.jpg

[hawkeyecub]

Of course he is.

[Derwood]

douche is as douche does

[Sosa21MVP]

I think my approach to the Bears season is going to be expect a 6-10 record and then anything above that is a pleasant surprise. =D>