#21 - I'm not buying the Mike Martz-Jay Cutler marriage so far. Are you?

#26 - So many things have to come together for the Bears to legitimately push the Packers and Vikings in the NFC North, and a fast start is almost mandatory given the pressures that rest on almost everyone in Chicago's organization this year. But at Dallas, home against Green Bay and at the Giants in Weeks 2-4 adds a degree of difficulty to the season's first month.

#22 - Jay Cutler will be under a ton of scrutiny. Can he handle it? Can he co-exist with Mike Martz? Or will this be a disaster and the end of Lovie Smith?

#21 - With Peppers hopefully sufficiently motivated, Brian Urlacher healthy and Jay Cutler trying to do his Kurt Warner impression under Mike Martz, the Bears are hoping for a big playoff push in 2010. The biggest key may be RB Matt Forte getting help with Chester Taylor signed to give him a hand in carrying the ball.

The Great Santo wrote:If it makes you feel any better SI had the Saints at #24 last year. LOL

The Stache wrote:

The Great Santo wrote:If it makes you feel any better SI had the Saints at #24 last year. LOL

Ha

Yea, SI had the Bears to win it all last year, at least Peter King did, so I take everything they say with a grain salt.

The Great Santo wrote:Yeah they are pretty meaningless, especially before the season starts. Although I kind of find it funny that teams read them. Peter King wrote a story about Sean Payton calling him out for the 24 ranking, while he had the Lombardi trophy in his hands. Makes you wonder how much of this stuff they do read.

Indianplaya17 wrote:I dont buy into this shit. Power rankings dont mean shit. Record does and whoever wins the superbowl does. Other than that, i dont care want these people think.

The Stache wrote:

Indianplaya17 wrote:I dont buy into this shit. Power rankings dont mean shit. Record does and whoever wins the superbowl does. Other than that, i dont care want these people think.

I disagree, Power rankings are a way to gauge where the team stands vs the other 30. Pre-season power rankings mean jack, though. So I see where you are coming from.

Indianplaya17 wrote:Who dictates the power rankings? The columnists? That BS. They can say whatever they want. Its just their opinion. If they're is more than one power ranking, that means the others mean that much less.

Now, i would agree if there was only one universal power ranking shared...but everyone has their own.

The Stache wrote:
Yep, thats why you dont look at just one.

#22 (21) - Catch or no catch, the Bears got a much-needed division win over Detroit.

#25 (26) - The good news is that Matt Forte has his mojo back and Jay Cutler threw for 372 yards and a couple touchdowns in his first real game in Mike Martz's offense. But the bad news is Chicago needed that horrible Calvin Johnson call in the final half-minute to avoid getting beat by the Lions with their backup quarterback (Shaun Hill) playing the second half.

#20 (22) - They didn't hold onto to the ball that well against the Lions, which has to be a concern. But Jay Cutler looked sharp in that opener, throwing for 372 yards and two touchdowns. That has to carry on.

#19 (21) - As good as Jay Cutler's stats were last week against the Lions, a lot of his passing yardage came on screen passes. I'm not sold on the Cutler-Mike Martz combination just yet. They'll get a much better challenge this week in Dallas.

#19 (22) - Controversy aside, the Bears had some good things happen. They moved the ball well, protected Jay Cutler pretty well, and Matt Forte had a huge game. Perhaps last year was simply a sophomore slump for Forte.

Indianplaya17 wrote:I dont understand why everything still thinks the Bears are shit. What is going to take? If we beat Dallas this week, we got lucky.

If Cutler throws one pick and 2 TD's, he's a shitty QB. If Chris Williams gets burned on a few plays, our o-line is garbage.

The Stache wrote:

Indianplaya17 wrote:I dont understand why everything still thinks the Bears are shit. What is going to take? If we beat Dallas this week, we got lucky.

If Cutler throws one pick and 2 TD's, he's a shitty QB. If Chris Williams gets burned on a few plays, our o-line is garbage.

We need to win this week to shut everyone up.

Indianplaya17 wrote:Or at least stay competitive and look BETTER as a team.

#12 (22) - The Bears are one of several surprise 2-0 teams.

#13 (25) - Hail, hail the 2-0 Bears! It took a horrendous NFL rule and an imploding Cowboys team to help get Chicago to 2-0, but the Bears deserve credit for playing tough and smart in Dallas. And let's all salute Jay Cutler for persevering through all kinds of heat from the Cowboys pass rush to post a second consecutive impressive showing. But Monday night's home game against Green Bay should tell us if the Bears intend to stick around all season in the NFC North race.

#8 (20) - The Bears get their chance to really make a statement if they can beat the Packers. It's a prime-time chance for Cutler to shut up even more critics.

#9 (19) - The Martz-Cutler marriage is off to a good start. Martz is managing Cutler well with three-step drops. The strong-armed passer will face another 3-4 defense on Monday night against the Packers. If the Bears win this game, we might have to seriously start to consider them as a playoff contender.

#9 (21) - Jay Cutler carved up the Dallas defense Sunday and looks more than comfortable in the Mike Martz offense. The offensive line deserves credit, too, because it was able to keep Cutler upright more effectively as the game wore on. No question the Bears can be very dangerous if they continue to play like this.

#6 (12) - Back-to-back wins over Dallas and Green Bay show the Bears are a force in the NFC.

#7 (13) - Let me pre-empt the howls of protest by Bears fans that are sure to come from the sight of Chicago being ranked two notches below the just-vanquished Packers: As well as Chicago's defense played in the key moments Monday night, that was mostly a case of the Packers self-destructing. All those penalties and dropped interceptions decided the outcome. Now, I did bump the undefeated Bears up six spots and knocked 2-1 Green Bay down from second to fifth. So there's that.

#5 (8) - Who would have imagined they'd be the last undefeated team in the NFC? Once that line settles down in protection for Jay Cutler, they will be even better.

#6 (9) - Color me surprised. In fact, I thought Chicago would struggle to an 8-8 record this season, so the Bears are off to a great start at 3-0. While Jay Cutler didn't have a great game against Green Bay, he still made plays when he had to. The Martz-Cutler marriage isn't headed for a divorce any time soon.

#2 (9) - It's hard to argue the Bears were dominant or even impressive in beating a mistake-prone Green Bay team Monday. But they got the job done, and they lead a division no one gave them a chance in. That has to count for something.

#11 (6) - The offensive linemen should donate their checks to charity this week.

#11 (7) - I was in the press box of Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday night, writing my take on Donovan McNabb's return to Philadelphia, but I could almost hear the pounding that Jay Cutler was taking up the road in New Jersey against the Giants. And I thought Cutler's first quarter at Dallas in Week 2 would be the worst pass rush pressure he would face all season ...

#11 (5) - With that offensive line, it's hard to believe they are 3-1. If that's not fixed, the fast start will go to waste.

#12 (6) - Talk about opening up Pandora's box. Somehow offensive line coach Mike Tice held things together until last week's brutal loss to the Giants. Chicago has a real issue on offense that's not going away. And there's not much Tice can do about it. Getting LT Chris Williams back certainly would help, though.

#7 (2) - The Bears found a way to keep Jay Cutler off his back for large chunks of their first three games, but the offensive line fell apart against the Giants. Assuming Cutler is good to go this weekend, the Bears better get to work on finding ways to protect him better.