I love Urlacher but keep in mind he thought last years team was a real Super Bowl Contender. I'm glad he thinks the Bears will finish low in the division. I'm so used to most players, analysts & media picking the Bears to finish middle of the road that it doesn't bother anymore. No, it's not media hate because they often pick the Bears to accomplish what they usually do which has mostly been a team just above .500 or worse. I see why the media & even Urlacher project as they do. However I also notice that when the media & especially former players predict the Bears to bomb, that's when the Bears seem to have one of their better seasons. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Bears went anywhere from 5-11 to 11-5 this year. I really don't see anything out of bounds by what Urlacher thinks here. Why should he think other wise? The team may look better on paper but that's useless until close to mid season when good/bad teams separate themselves in the standings.
As a fan who loves the team, I don't believe the Bears should get the benefit of the doubt here until they do make the postseason & do so on a more consistent basis. Myself & many other Bears fans tend to get excited for the season & buy in without any real question. Not that this matters to anyone, but I'm not going to buy in until or unless I see something significantly better from the Bears this season. I do think the Bears can be a very serious contender this season, but I've thought that in many off/pre seasons just to see the opposite. In my entire life since 1975 the Bears regular season record is W-314 & L-282 with a .530 winning percentage. That's not bad by any means & could be a lot worse, but still shows that in recent history the Bears have mostly been an average or just above average team. Since I was born in 1975 there really has been one stretch of consistency for the Bears as a real annual contender when Ditka was the HC. That was a long time ago & feels like an eternity.
I fully believe that the Bears can be a serious contender this season, & they are IF they put the work in to do so & stay healthy. But history shows that there's a better chance than not the Bears will finish around .500 or slightly better/worse. This years squad sort of reminds me of the 2010 squad. I know they offensive schemes were different under Martz's Coryell, but just as complex, if not more complex to learn than what Trestman wants to run with a WC. They've acquired good players at key areas, just like they did with Peppers in 2010. They have a new DC & OC, the only difference is that we have a new HC that I m starting to think the players really do want to respond to enough to not be overly soured by Lovies departure. I do think this 2013 team is a lot more talented on paper than the 2010 team was, but again paper means nothing. This year, rather proclaim that the Bears are for real without looking at the team thoroughly, I'm going to render the possibilities of a good/great season, but wait & see how things go, at least after the first 4-5 games.
