Do Chicago Bears have what it takes in NFC North?

Some of you may have just read my NFL season preview blog. If you haven't check it out, I'll wait. Ok, now we can begin. It's time to take a look at my Chicago Bears' NFL season and why I think they have a shot to be where I predicted them to go where I did in that post.

As the photo shows Brian Urlacher at the top of the post, his presence is paramount on success on the defensive side of the ball this season. He missed all of the preseason after having his knee scoped, but has practiced all week leading up to Sunday's season opener against the Colts and should be ready to go. As good as Julius Peppers, Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman are around him on defense, the unit is not nearly as good without him on the field, he is that type of player. And with the expectations surrounding this team from Bourbonnais to Lake Forest and Halas Hall, he will be the difference on a defensive unit that looks to continue its pace of ball hawking like it had last year (11 fumbles recovered, 20 interceptions). Throw in the fact the NFC North includes the likes of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers along with Matt Stafford and the Lions and a defense that can keep you in games against those high-octane attacks is vital.

As good as the defense has been over the years, last year showed the importance of an offense for this team. Matt Forte has gotten paid, but the two biggest playmakers on this offense will be Jay Cutler and his reuniting with Brandon Marshall. When theses two were together in Denver, they were special and could be a great duo again this season. The Bears do have weapons around the offense, starting with Forte. But Devin Hester on the outside on the other side of the field and put rookie Alshon Jeffery in the slot and defenses will have nightmares figuring out what to defend. Marshall has shown throughout the preseason he is the true No. 1 receiver the Bears had been lacking over the years. The thought of what he can bring to the field, with Cutler no less, can be special.

Speaking of Cutler, his absence started the tailspin. The Bears are 18-10 in his three seasons when he is the quarterback. The Bears have gone out and gotten him weapons in Marshall and Jefferey to go with Hester and the resigned Forte. The key is going to be keeping him upright. The offensive line has been a question mark for the last few seasons and is again this year, especially on Cutler's backside. It was a point of emphasis in training camp and the preseason and will be tested in Week 1 against the Colts. If Dwight Freeney is kept in check, it will be a positive sign going forward.

As for Forte, I wouldn't expect him to have as robust rushing numbers as he has had in the past, but his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield will add to the passing game. Plus, the addition of Michael Bush, while it makes the team better, may hurt Forte's numbers. Either way, I'm not worried. As long as he stays healthy and is around in December, this team should be in the hunt for a playoff spot.

All that together has expectations high at Halas Hall. And with the window closing on the stars of this defense, things have to happen now to get back to where this team was in 2005. They have the pieces, now they just need a couple breaks.

Time for my Week 1 picks. Don't forget to join the Wilber's Way Pick 'Em league to go against me!
Cowboys at Giants
Colts at Bears
Eagles at Browns
Rams at Lions
Patriots at Titans
Falcons at Chiefs
Jaguars at Vikings
Redskins at Saints
Bills at Jets
Dolphins at Texans
49ers at Packers
Seahawks at Cardinals
Panthers at Bucs
Steelers at Broncos
Bengals at Ravens
Chargers at Raiders

Time to look into my NFL crystal ball

Every pundit seems to have a soap box for which to make their NFL predictions, which usually fall flat, and I figure, hell, I have the platform to do so, so why not make my motives known on how I think things will unfold this season in the greatest professional sports league in the world, the National Football League. Let's go conference-by-conference, then to the playoffs. I'd say cue up Hank Williams, Jr., but he doesn't do that anymore. Anyway, here goes.....

We'll head first to the AFC, where the talk all preseason has been about the Houston Texans. They have a stellar defense that put the offense on its back and carried it into the divisional round of the playoffs last season, so that makes sense. I have a couple question marks about their offense, mainly injury concerns, but feel the defense, if it can fill the hole left by the departure of Mario Williams (J.J. Watt time!), then they could be in a great position to have the No. 1 seed when all is said and done. Winning the South won't be a question, but getting that top spot could be. Andrew Luck will surprise some with how well he will play this year, but he will still make the "rookie" mistakes to put his team on the outside looking in.

Another sexy pick this offseason and preseason has been the Kansas City Chiefs and, I can see why with the team getting healthy, but now that everyone has sold out on the San Diego Chargers, I get the sense this would be the season they would put something together and shock us all and do something special. That's my longshot pick. Otherwise Romeo Crennel has the horses on defense - they kept the Chiefs in games last year when they had literally no offense to speak of - and a healthy Matt Cassel to win the West. And then there's that Peyton Manning guy joining the Broncos. With a defense that made Tim Tebow look good, seeing Peyton do anything but win is hard for me to imagine.

In the North, the Steelers and Ravens have been the class of the division for years, but the Bengals came out of nowhere last year and gave the division three teams in the playoffs. Things could be close again this year, but the rest of the conference has gotten stronger, so I'm giving the division to Pittsburgh and thinking the Ravens could get a Wild Card spot.

In the East, New England is hands down the best team, but seeing what Buffalo did this offseason to bolster its defense has to make one think about the possibilities of the Bills getting back to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. Could this be the year? Not for a division title, but a Wild Card, yes. The Patriots are still too good, despite not having a running game (that Tom Brady guy is pretty good).


And now the Playoffs...
AFC Wild Card
Steelers over Chiefs
Broncos over Ravens

AFC Divisional
Texans over Steelers
Broncos over Patriots

AFC Championship
Texans over Broncos


Now to the NFC....
The NFC East is up for grabs this year as no one can seem to agree on who will emerge (everyone, but the Redskins gets a steady mention as a favorite). For me, Michael Vick doesn't stay healthy enough to lead the Eagles, and if one game is any indication, the Giants will have a hard time running the ball again this season. That makes me think this could finally be Tony Romo's year to get the Cowboys into the playoffs with a division crown.

In the South, the Saints will get a fight from the Panthers and a bigger one from the Falcons, but they still have the gunslinger in Drew Brees to lead this team, with our without a bounty system, to a division title. The Falcons may be good enough to get one of the Wild Card spots, but it's going to be close with the number of good teams in the NFC North.

Speaking of the North, this could be the best division in football this year with three teams that have a legit shot to not only win the division, but earn the No. 1 seed if things fall right. That said, even with my allegiances, the Packers have the passing game to light up the scoreboard and carry their defense to another playoff berth. Will they win the division? That all may hinge on the ability of the Chicago Bears offensive line to keep Jay Cutler upright and able to throw to his now stellar receiving core led by Brandon Marshall. Detroit can be a party spoiler, but needs to put it together on defense against both the Bears and Packers strong passing attacks.

In the West, San Francisco was the surprise of the season. This year, the 49ers will not surprise anyone and STILL get the job done with their gritty defense and a Randy Moss who has something to prove and will provide a great compliment to an offense with some already solid weapons. The Seahawks may be the surprise of this year's season, but Russell Wilson might not be enough to get them into the playoffs.

Here's the playoff breakdown
NFC Wild Card
Bears over 49ers
Saints over Falcons

NFC Divisional
Bears over Cowboys
Saints over Packers

NFC Championship
Bears over Saints

SUPER BOWL XLVII
Bears over Texans
OK, so maybe a little crazy. Maybe I'm just wishing this, but the Bears have the weapons in place and I'll break them down in the next couple days to get a look at what needs to happen to get them to this point.