Hoge: Just Accept It, The Bears Are Good
By Adam Hoge--
It's been said numerous times by talk show hosts this week: "Even if the Bears win the Super Bowl, people are still going to wonder how good this team really was."
Why on Earth would they be wondering that? Why are they wondering that right now?
The Chicago Bears are in the NFC Championship Game and they already beat two of the three other remaining playoff teams.
The defense boasts three future Hall-of-Famers. The kickoff/punt returner is a possible Hall-of-Famer as well. The quarterback is one of the most talented in football, even if his head gets in the way sometimes. The running back is good. The kicker is one of the most accurate in NFL history. The punter has been one of the best for quite some time.
Oh, and the Bears have been and continue to be the healthiest team in the league.
So why isn't this team good?
The whole reason why people wanted Lovie Smith fired last year is because they thought the team was way too talented to finish 7-9. Instead of firing him, they brought back that same "way too talented" team, added the No. 1 free agent in the game (Julius Peppers) and upgraded the coaching staff around Lovie.
So why were so many people predicting the Bears would win less games in 2010 than they did in 2009?
Those low expectations didn't make sense then and they obviously don't make sense now. The same "experts" who were claiming the Bears' 0-4 preseason record didn't matter were also looking at the Bears' horrible preseason and predicting doom.
Personally, I predicted an 8-8 record. I thought the team would be slightly better, but I still questioned the coaching staff and I thought a tough final four weeks would kill the Bears' playoff chances. So yes, I fall under the category of people who were wrong about this team. But I have also accepted that the Bears are indeed good at tackle football.
In my opinion, the Bears have the best defense of the four teams left in the playoffs. They also have the best special teams. And the offense is much better than the Rex Grossman-led "Bad News Bears" offense that made the Super Bowl in 2007.
Sure, the offensive line is still questionable. It ranked dead last in the NFL during the regular season, according to NFL.com's offensive line ratings. But guess what? The Steelers' offensive line ranked No. 25 and the Packers' offensive line was No. 19.
Wondering what the top five rated offensive lines were in the regular season? The Colts, Giants, Falcons, Patriots and the Saints, in that order. The Giants didn't even make the playoffs and the rest of those teams lost their first playoff game. The Jets were No. 9, by the way.
Meanwhile, the line continues to get better each and every week. So can we please stop using that as a crutch and stop doubting the 2010 Chicago Bears?
Seriously, just accept it. This is a good football team.
You can follow Adam Hoge on Twitter @AdamHoge670.
