Is this year completely shot?

[Spirit of Walter]

I don't know about you guys but I am depressed as hell about Da Bears. I was so pumped after that Green Bay game and now I barely care whether the Bears play at all. Grossman's development was so key that it's almost like "Wait till next year!"

Well ya know what? I've been waiting for next year since 1992.

Someone tell me I'm wrong and there's something to look forward to. I need a lift here...

[Sxy Mofo]

I don't know about you guys but I am depressed as hell about Da Bears. I was so pumped after that Green Bay game and now I barely care whether the Bears play at all. Grossman's development was so key that it's almost like "Wait till next year!"

Well ya know what? I've been waiting for next year since 1992.

Someone tell me I'm wrong and there's something to look forward to. I need a lift here...

I'm just as depressed as you about the whole mess, but talk to guys like RDG, he thinks since quinn knows the offense better than grossman did, and we'll get some of the D guys back this year we have a chance. I don't know, but it's refereshing to hear his optimism, since I've been so depressed about the whole thing lately.

[Spirit of Walter]

Damn, I hope so. It sucks to be thinking about being out of the running before October.

[BEARSFAN1 DaPIMP]

I think by the end of the season quinn will be a good back up for rex next year this year is over unless quinn comes out like bulger,delhomme,warner,maddox just to name a few who came out of nowhere to lead the team to the promise land

[sapiant7]

I agree completely with RDG on this one. Now, don't get me wrong, it's still not going to be easy. However, I do see some positives:


1. Quinn will actually be a better QB this year for the Bears, than Rex. Clearly Rex is more talented and will be much better down the road. However, Shea trusts Quinn, he knows how to read defenses, and can stretch the field. I don't think he'll have a monster year or anything like that, but he should be able to direct the offense and improve our passing game a little.

2. TJ has been unreal. We're 12th in the NFL in offense, and 4th in rushing. Never did we see anything close to that with Shoop and Co. We're still rounding into shape, but as long as you can run the ball, you'll be in games.

3. Most of our hurt guys will be back after the bye. Tucker and Zoom will be huge to get back, along with Urlacher and Reese starting again.

4. The schedule after the bye gets alot easier. We play the Skins, Bucs, 49ers, and Giants, in 4 straight games. All are very winnable!

5. And this is the key to me. NFL games are won and lost in the trenches. People glamorize the skill guys, but a good OL and good DL will win games for you. That is exactly what we have right now. We can still play very well and win games, as long as those guys stay healthy.

[Spirit of Walter]

So what's the schedule on these guys coming back? I know Brown and Grossman are out for the year, but what about the rest?

[sapiant7]

At this point, some are still up in the air. However, this is my closest understanding/guess on the hurt guys:

This week - M.Reese, C.Worrell, M.Gandy, B.Gray
After the bye - B.Urlacher, A.Boone, J.Azumah, R.Tucker

M.Colombo - Never
D.Campbell - Cut
C.Tillman - Titans game


Some guys like Zoom and Tucker may be a game later, depending on how they progress.

[The Kaiser]

The biggest loss of this year is the development of Rex. Not Rex per say, but the development of Rex. We all saw him in the firs three games and he was improving each game. In the Pre-season: Terrible. Against Detroit, not great but better. Against Green Bay, not too bad. Against Minnesota: hey, look at this...not bad at all....

And I honestly belive that trend would have continued. Now we have to reset. This idea that he is going to be better next year because he'll spend 10 months studing the play book...well, that's a nice thought but nothing compares to what you learn in the trenches.

Now, all of that said..this season is NOT shot. If the Bears are going to win the Super Bowl in the next 2-3 years, I belive we'll do it on the back of four elements, our ability to: 1 run the ball 2 stop the run and 3 rush the Quarter Back. (This is Doug Buffone's theory by the way to which I also subscribe) The last element is depth at all positions because everyone knows that injuries in the NFL are inevitable.

Well, clearly, we are getting the chance this year to develop depth so there is not much to say there.

But the development of our D line is key as well. We alredy know what we have at the LB spot. The question marks that will be answered this year are Tank and Haynes. If these two pan out throught the course of this year we're going to be able to stop the run and pressure the QB.

The last element, run the ball is 60% O line, 40% running back. Our O line right now looks really good. If Rex comes back and gets back to his pro bowl form, we'll have 4 pro bowl quality starters. And, if maybe just maybe Colombo makes it back and lives up to his first round potential. Wow. What a line.

So, we have a lot of good things to watch this year. It is a development year-- we all knew that coming in. If this year goes well we'll watch this young, young team develop and in my mind, the season will not be lost at atll.

[Sxy Mofo]

It is a development year-- we all knew that coming in. If this year goes well we'll watch this young, young team develop and in my mind, the season will not be lost at atll.

The worst thing about this year, is we went in with the "it's a development year" mentality. Then we beat green bay, and everyone said, "wait a sec, perhaps it's not." Now we know it's back to a development year.

[RDGiant]

Mofo I really believe that after the bye (not the Philly game) that you and Spirit will be more at ease with where our team is at this point. Me and Sap are on the same page as far as losing Grossman, cause whatever we may have lost with Grossman (upside,buying time with his feet) we have gained with Quinn (quicker reads and definitely better at reading defenses) by just knowing the offense so well. Hang tight guys cause your in for a suprise. Not this week but after the bye. GO BEARS!!!

[iamkoza]

this year isn't a total waste, its my hope that our WR can actually learn how to become NFL caliber WR. If by the end of the year our leading reciever has 35 catches... we'll know that position wil need to be addressed in FA.

[Slider34]

I feel that Quinn just needs to get his feet wet. He doesn't need to throw for 300 yards a game, all he has to do is make the defense respect the pass so Jones isnt facing 8-9 in the box. Jones is the focal point of this offense.