The 2008 NFL schedule was released yesterday and the Bears PR department better be quick to act on this new slogan for the upcoming season: "It's Prime Time!" With 5 night games (Nov. 30 at Minnesota is subject to NBC's flex scheduling) and Mr. Prime-Time himself, Devin Hester, still returning kicks (and maybe catching passes, and who knows, maybe even lining up at safety), the Bears are primed to get some attention. Some of it, maybe all of it, will be negative, but they are in a position to be noticed regardless.
The Chicago Tribune's David Haugh is anything but optimistic about the Bears schedule. Haugh believes it is fitting that the Bears will play 8 games against the NFC and AFC South divisions since that is "the direction the arrow at Halas Hall seems to be pointing for 2008." With no significant moves to bolster a dilapidated O-line, no significant replacements for the Bears top two WRs from last season (a loud-mouth, Brandon Lloyd, and a creaky, yet dependable ex-Bear, Marty Booker), and no significant improvements in the trajectory of contract talks with the all-city, all-pro linebacker Brian Urlacher, the Bears are nowhere close to being significantly primed for victory. The clogged toilet is still jammed, and no calls to a plumber have been made. Apparently a team that went 7-9 last season and struggled with just about every facet of the game doesn't need renovations. Right...
I think Steve Rosenbloom is on point when he pegs the Bears in at a sadly realistic 4 wins. He sums it up perfectly when he writes, "That'll teach the networks to give five prime-time slots to a team that tells us Cedric Benson is special." Flush goes the toilet; down go the Bears.
The Tribune "experts" made predictions on the season: 6-10 was the grimmest; 9-7 was in a three-way tie for being the loftiest expectation. At that rate, we may eventually become a top ten team--in the 2009 NFL Draft. There's no doubt a growing sense of mediocrity is festering in Chicago as the media predict the Monsters of the Midway to settle in at the midway point of the power rankings.
However, Haugh sees a silver (okay, maybe bronze) lining in all of the scheduling woes. The Bears begin the season with two consecutive road games which will give them a chance to avoid the boo-birds and single-digit salutes that were all too common last year as the QB circle game continued to spin. Without the added distraction of a hostile home crowd and a pressuring media blitz, Haugh believes Orton and Grossman will have a chance to battle for the starting position without much friction against two formidable foes on the road - Sept 7 @ Indy and Sept 14 @ Carolina. But will it really matter who captains the (sinking?) ship after an 0-2 start? I'm pulling for Chris Leak.
The Chicago Tribune's David Haugh is anything but optimistic about the Bears schedule. Haugh believes it is fitting that the Bears will play 8 games against the NFC and AFC South divisions since that is "the direction the arrow at Halas Hall seems to be pointing for 2008." With no significant moves to bolster a dilapidated O-line, no significant replacements for the Bears top two WRs from last season (a loud-mouth, Brandon Lloyd, and a creaky, yet dependable ex-Bear, Marty Booker), and no significant improvements in the trajectory of contract talks with the all-city, all-pro linebacker Brian Urlacher, the Bears are nowhere close to being significantly primed for victory. The clogged toilet is still jammed, and no calls to a plumber have been made. Apparently a team that went 7-9 last season and struggled with just about every facet of the game doesn't need renovations. Right...
I think Steve Rosenbloom is on point when he pegs the Bears in at a sadly realistic 4 wins. He sums it up perfectly when he writes, "That'll teach the networks to give five prime-time slots to a team that tells us Cedric Benson is special." Flush goes the toilet; down go the Bears.
The Tribune "experts" made predictions on the season: 6-10 was the grimmest; 9-7 was in a three-way tie for being the loftiest expectation. At that rate, we may eventually become a top ten team--in the 2009 NFL Draft. There's no doubt a growing sense of mediocrity is festering in Chicago as the media predict the Monsters of the Midway to settle in at the midway point of the power rankings.
However, Haugh sees a silver (okay, maybe bronze) lining in all of the scheduling woes. The Bears begin the season with two consecutive road games which will give them a chance to avoid the boo-birds and single-digit salutes that were all too common last year as the QB circle game continued to spin. Without the added distraction of a hostile home crowd and a pressuring media blitz, Haugh believes Orton and Grossman will have a chance to battle for the starting position without much friction against two formidable foes on the road - Sept 7 @ Indy and Sept 14 @ Carolina. But will it really matter who captains the (sinking?) ship after an 0-2 start? I'm pulling for Chris Leak.
Sun-Times' writer Brad Biggs gives the reader a more surface-level, insightful preview to the Bears schedule. He notes that the Bears were one of only eight teams to receive the maximum five prime-time games, and are the only non-playoff team to do so. Whereas Haugh claims this is true solely because of Devin Hester and the Chicago skyline, Biggs claims that "the NFL and network executives seem to be counting on a turnaround." Although Haugh is cautiously optimistic about the 2-game road trip to begin the season (the first since 2003 and only the third time since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970), he fails to mention what Biggs does: Only TWO of the Bears road opponents (the Colts and the Packers) had winning records in 2007. It might not be so bad after all. The Bears can only play who's on their schedule. But at what level is the biggest question mark.
"Most of the teams on [the] schedule got better," Haugh writes, whereas the Bears "really haven't." In Chicago, since the Jordan Era, the bar has been set pretty low for preseason expectations for most of our teams. That is why I like the fact Haugh is rather critical of the Bears chances to be victorious this year; anything better than the 6-10 prediction he makes will be welcomed in a town known best for its Lovable Losers.
Get'cha popcorn ready, folks!
1 comment:
So what is their draft strategy? A Rashard Mendenhall could surely go a long way, especially in a league that has evolved into requiring 2 running backs. Additionally, that kind of move would help public image nationally: in affirming that Benson isn't panning out and locally: picking the hometown favorite.
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