Bears Blitz

Published by Timothy Hockemeyer on September 13, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

In spite of the Bears finishing the 2010 as the NFC North Division Champions and competing in the NFC championship game, analysts overlooked the Bears in preseason power rankings with surprising regularity.

The Bears were frequently placed in the middle of the pack in power rankings, and ESPN did not break from the pack in their evaluation, ranking the Bears 13th in both their preseason and Week 1 rankings.

NFC North staff writer James Walker noted that the loss of long-time Bears center Olin Kreutz would hurt the running game, and a brutal opening three weeks on the schedule could lead to a slow start in his explanation of the low placement of one of the final four teams in last year’s playoffs in the first two power rankings.

But ESPN has changed their tune, ranking the Bears seventh in their Week 2 list, making them the third-highest ranked NFC team behind the Packers and Saints.  

Why the big jump? Walker noted that “Jay Cutler quickly got over playoff controversy with 300-plus yards, two TDs and a big win over Atlanta.”  

The Bears were certainly impressive in their Week 1 drubbing of the Falcons. From dominating the Falcons offense through front four penetration and limiting big plays on defense to solid play-calling and execution on the offensive side of the ball to dominating field position on special teams, the Bears soundly defeated Atlanta and forced rankers everywhere to take notice.

Dominating an average team is generally enough to move a team up in the rankings. Dominating the previous season’s top-seeded NFC playoff team, who many are predicting as a possible Super Bowl contender, was enough to boost the Bears into the top 10.

It is, of course, arguable that a team that won its division the previous season played in the conference championship game and was starting 20 players who already know their system in a year when teams didn’t have time to acclimate rookies or bring new acquisitions up to speed in their system should have started out in the top 10 of the power rankings to begin with.

But to be fair, the Bears’ season last year left as many questions as it did answers. The offense had yet to prove that it could consistently produce. The offensive line looked like they thought they were bullfighting rather than playing football, and the defense is the oldest in the league.

Sunday’s contest was just one game. But the offensive line held up fairly well against an underrated Falcons front four and looked significantly improved over last season, allowing the offense to execute Martz’s playbook much more efficiently. And while some would choose to look at the Bears’ defense as the oldest in the league, others see it as a veteran defense that has been playing at a high level for a long time and didn’t have to bring any new members of the team up to speed in the scheme.

The first few weeks of power rankings tend to see a lot of movement, as teams give us a better picture of what they can do. The Bears gave ESPN evidence that showed them they deserved higher ranking and that they may have underrated the reigning NFC North champions, and the Leader in Sports responded.

With the Bears facing the Saints in New Orleans and then the Packers at home in the next two weeks, the Bears will be showing ESPN a lot more in the coming weeks.  

Let’s hope it’s all positive.

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