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they also don't have Case Keenum at QB anymore. They upgraded the position
We almost beat MN last year and now have a much much better team on both sides of the ball. MN id a very good team but not unbeatable.
they also don't have Case Keenum at QB anymore. They upgraded the position
The reality is we have won the off season and nothing else. Until proven otherwise, we are the cellar dwellers.
Now go prove it Nagy!!
No team is unbeatable, but it is a logical fallacy to point to one close game while ignoring the other match-up that was far less close of a game and trying to create a false extrapolation to this year's match-up with them.
We have no reason to believe the Bears will beat the Vikings until they show a reason to believe beyond the fact the roster is different. That's kind of the definition of faith vs. evidence. You can believe they will all you want but you have no credible evidence that they will yet.
Totally agree. Sadly, many here think Cousins and his 4,392 yards per year as starter and 27 TDs per year with 12 INTs per year and overall rating as a starter as 93.7 is somehow weak. (ignoring that if Trubisky puts up those same numbers in the next 3 year span, they will idolize him).
IMO being down on Cousins is because he just got paid elite money while never owning a signature moment where he put the team on his back and led them to a W like Rodgers or Brady, ok but to say "therefore, he is not an upgrade .... over Keenum". Wow. Couldn't disagree more with that comparative reasoning.
I think the difference here is the optimism heading into these games vs last season. Our chances against any of our opponents are greatly improved. While I wouldn't look at either game vs MIN and chalk it up as a win I would say we have just as good a chance as they do to come away with a W. I couldn't say that last season. The only reason to watch any game last year was to see how Mitch was developing rather than expect a W. It's a much different vibe this year and while I don't expect an undefeated season I will be looking forward to each game for a ton of reasons, almost too many to list.
Keenum played out of his mind last year. Cousins is a marginal upgrade if even that...
I get that. And I would never want to take away from your belief and hope you enjoy it. I suspect your different vibe comes from an improved roster and a new coach that promises to succeed. Strictly rationally speaking, it is reason to expect different results from last year but not better yet. I still can envision a 5 - 11 season, but I can also know the nature of that losing season will be radically different from the nature of last year's losses.
PS I can also envision 11 - 5 without too much difficulty which points to the truth of no team being unbeatable and the lack of hard evidence of this team's identity yet one way or the other and the futility of using last year's match-ups as a barometer.
The Bears had quite the quality defense last year, and that was without Floyd for a while and a carousel of decent-at-best pass rushers. Floyd could certainly get hurt again or we could lose someone like Goldman which would hurt, but the addition of Mack changes the game entirely. Roquon's cover ability at ILB is a huge improvement. Barring some severe regression from guys who shouldn't regress like Hicks and such, this defense has easily been vaulted into the top 5 with the best pass rusher in the world. That alone is enough to make the Bears a tough game for anyone, when the defense can hold leads and even expand leads with takeaways.
Then you've got a revamped offense, adding a ton of talent in the passing game, getting your best o-lineman back healthy, another year of Trubisky development and a functional offensive coaching staff. While we may not be a top NFL offense, there's certainly a lot of reason to believe we can be middle tier (10-20) with some upside to be closer to 10 than 20.
One of the best defenses in the league + a decent offense is already in the playoff picture, and a team that can certainly compete game in and game out. If some chips fall nicely beyond that, like Trubisky killing it or progression from defensive players like Floyd or RRH, etc... we could be the Rams 2.0. Lots of reason for optimism. No team has come even close to making the improvements that we have this offseason on paper. Gotta see how it translates to the turf now.
I'm optimistic that between Nagy and Trubisky there will be a special quarterback/coach combo there and they have more than enough playmakers across that offense to make what they're going to try and do work. If you look at the Chiefs offense last several years, they did an amazing job. I expect the offense to be rolling by mid-season and the defense will be better than the Chiefs had. No reason why they can't and won't be a 12 win team.
I'm optimistic that between Nagy and Trubisky there will be a special quarterback/coach combo there and they have more than enough playmakers across that offense to make what they're going to try and do work. If you look at the Chiefs offense last several years, they did an amazing job. I expect the offense to be rolling by mid-season and the defense will be better than the Chiefs had. No reason why they can't and won't be a 12 win team.
We almost beat MN last year and now have a much much better team on both sides of the ball. MN id a very good team but not unbeatable.
I still have nightmares of Cutler's opening Sunday Night game up there....4 or 5 picks right?
I hope it's more like Grossman's opening day up there to be honest.
It can't be any worse than last year, when that jackass fumbled the opening snap.