Chicago Bears 2011 Schedule: Potential Problems
Published by Jake Perper on April 20, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears have the 18th hardest schedule in the NFL next season according to their opponents’ records in 2011, 128-128.
So, what does that mean for the Bears? Well it means that they play four division winners between the NFC and AFC. Kansas City, Atlanta, and Philadelphia are all division winners that each won over 10 games. Seattle is the other division winner, but they only won seven games.
Don’t forget the Bears play Green Bay twice, a team that earned one of the Wild Card spots with 10 wins. The Bears play them Week 3 in Chicago and again in Week 16 in Green Bay on Christmas night.
The first three opponents the Bears play, Falcons, Saints and Packers, had a combined winning percentage last season of (.708). Those first three games are certainly going to be tough, luckily two of them are at home at Soldier Field.
Week 5 to Week 9 don’t provide the Bears with much rest. Two Monday Night Football games (Detroit and Philadelphia), one Sunday Night football game (Minnesota) and one trip to London against (Tampa Bay) won’t give the Bears much of an advantage against their opponents. Luckily, the Bears get a bye in Week 8 before their big Week 9 matchup in Philadelphia. Three night games and a trip to London will likely take a toll on this Bears team.
The next hardest stretch in this Bears schedule is the final two games. The first is Week 16 against Green Bay on Christmas night. Lambeau Field will be cold and loud with the NFC playoff spots likely still being figured out. There is nothing better than the Bears against the Packers, but will the Bears be distracted because of all the pressure on Christmas night.
The last game of the season in Week 17, the Bears travel to Minnesota to take on the Vikings on New Year’s Day. Could this to be a distraction game for the Bears? We’ll have to wait and see, but Lovie Smith usually has the Bears minds on the big games, minus the season finale in 2006, when Rex Grossman posted a QB rating of 0.0.
The Bears will certainly have to battle if they want a shot at the NFC North title because the start of the season and the end of the season for the Bears could turn out to be ugly.
Bears mock draft coming soon….
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