Are Da Bears For Real?

As I sit on the couch watching the Chicago Bears steamroll their way into the NFC Championship they certainly look like a Super Bowl team. I am writing this midway through the second quarter and Chicago appears poised to make a Super Bowl run ala the Super Bowl Shuffle Bears team in 1985. However, in the illustrious words of Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friend.” Here are some important factors to keep in mind before you hop on the Bears bandwagon:

· The Bears are not playoff tested

The Seahawks utilized the best home field advantage in football to beat a banged up Saints squad in the first round of the playoffs. However, that win was an abberation. The Seahawks should not be a playoff team. The Bears, while running away from the Seahawks, have not played a meaningful game in weeks. The Packers have momentum after wins over the Eagles and Falcons (both teams that are much better than Seattle).

· The Bears lack consistency

During the regular season a three-point loss to Seattle, a loss to the Giants, Redskins, Patriots, and Packers (three playoff teams) show that the Bears are have holes. However, the Bears also had good wins over the Packers, Eagles, and Jets. Quarterback Jay Cutler is extremely inconsistent and even this blowout win against the Seahawks exemplifies that he is mistake prone (two missed interceptions in the first quarter).

· The being said, the Bears are really good

Robby Gould is a playoff-tested kicker. The Bears defense is great (three two words: Peppers and Urlacher). They have a great running game (Matt Forte is the first Bear since Walter Peyton to rush for over a thousand yards and receive for over 500 yards in a season). Lovie Smith is a great coach. It is impossible to argue that the Bears are not unequivocally a very solid playoff team.

The bottom line is I will be picking against the Bears when they play the Packers and then again if they make the Super Bowl. However, stranger things have happened. The Bears certainly have holes (as do all the teams in the league this year). So, are Da Bears for real? We have to wait and see. In the words of famous Brown University alum, Chris Berman, “That’s why you play the game.”