2006 Chicago Bears - Kool-Aid(ed) Preview

The story of the 2005 Chicago Bears was DEFENSE and 2006 should be no different. The unit led by MLB Brian Urlacher drew comparisons to the '85 Bears D that is widely considered the best in NFL history.

• 2nd overall in yardage allowed
• 1st ovearll in points allowed (by nearly 3 full points)
• 4th in NFC in takeaways
• 2nd in NFL in INTs

The Bears D was greater than any of the offensive weaknesses and question marks. The running game of Thomas Jones was solid and helped to overcome their 31st ranked air attack.

Overall they finished 11-5, earned a bye and home playoff game which they lost to Carolina 29-21.

Where does this leave the Bears for 2006? Well that depends on your perspective...

Reality? - The Defense may not be quite as dominant as last year but they'll still be one of the top units in the NFL. The offense will likely be virtually the same as last year. Muhammed is a solid WR and has the ability to dominate a game. Thomas Jones is also a very underrated RB who runs behind an underrated O-Line. Logic tells me that they will have a very similar record to 2005 and will be a playoff team. This is a good team that is well coached.

Let's put back a few cups of Kool-Aid - Last year's defense was injury free and played out of their butts all year. Their offense was generally mistake free and couldn't put up enough points to beat the Cubs most Sundays (OK they could beat the Cubs with a safety or FG, but for sure not the White Sox).That scoring trend will continue and expect more turnover as the QB carousel will begin spinning early. I would expect their defense to reselemble the 2002 Bears more than the 85 Bears. The last 2 times the Bears has a double digit win season they followed it up with 5-11 (in 1992) and 4-12 (in 2002). Actual Prediction - 11-5 but will be playing at home Wild Card Weekend
Kool-Aid(ed) Prediction - 6-10, 2nd in division but only because the Pack and Lions are so terrible.