No, you didn't answer the question. And I'm not one of those guys who judges a statement's validity by its author. Rather, I look at facts and form my opinon from them. And the fact is that you responded to Scorehead's question by insulting him rather than engaging with him.

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I think you must've gone to the Sophist School of Circular Reasoning. Answer a question by posing a question.

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I know. You're basing it off the preseason games and you're also not basing it off of the preseason games. Heads you win tails I lose.

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I didn't insult him. I answered his question. Also if you would like to go game by game and tell me why the Bears will lose I'll also be willing to counter your arguments. Fact is many of you that are making your annual doom and gloom predictions can't do it.

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First off, I hate Lovie and think he sucks at coaching football. However, whether you want to call it strategy or what, ever since he became the HC he has played offense and defense very vanilla in the preseason. Small playbook on offense (basic run play and basic pass play), no blocking schemes, no blitz packages, no coverage changes, all straight up D for the most part.

Because of that, the Bears always look like shit during the preseason because they are running the same shit in games that other teams were doing in mini-camp. The last few years, our D has been decimated with injuries and pussies. With all this being said, it is possible that the Bears D and O could be much better (or at least not look like a Zook coached team) when the regular season starts.

Game 1 against the Lions should tell it all. If we get crushed, its over because Lovie will refuse to change anything.

I didn't make it that far in school. Where I ended my response looks like an answer to me. You're always welcome to go through the schedule and show me by telling me why the Bears will lose the games you believe they will. Other than that it looks like you're out for the count.

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Yeah, silly me for looking at the totality of evidence instead of no evidence whatsoever like you.

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Really? Wow.

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Really? This is a new year and the Bears have better talent and coaches on both sides of the ball but based on 2 1/2 quarters of mediocre football you know they are going to be worst than last year without considering the talent and coaches of the other teams on their schedule. That's a really special gift you have.

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Whenever you're willing to go through the schedule I'll be ready. Please enlighten me Professor Midget.

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i don't think you can blame a bears fan for coming into this season extremely pessimistic. last year was disappointing, and fans are tired of the same old shit every year.

i don't think they're a serious contender even if everyone stays healthy. but then, the NFL has produced some crazy "cinderellas". but i think the lions could be one of those surprise teams over the bears.

They're worst than you though. They feel the same way about pretty much every Chicago team every year. As far back as 2005 that has been the case.

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Hova,

Conventional wisdom has the Bears at 6 or 7 wins his season. When you all of a sudden make an outlandish prediction like 12-4, you gotta expect to be questioned about it. I have made numerous posts about why I think the Bears will finish 6-10 this year.
Forget about the schedule & game outcomes. You analyze a team by evaluating the players, coaches, & schemes. It has nothing to do with the schedule.
So without going through every single position, lets grade each position category.
You can respond & show your grade next to mine.
This is a simple exercise that can be done in 1 minute.

OFFENSE
QB C-
RB B
FB D
WR C-
TE D
OL F

DEFENSE
LB B
DB C
S D
DL C

SPECIAL TEAMS
K A-
P B

COACHING
D-

Average is about a D.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

When making a educated prediction you can't ignore things like schedules and outcomes. It has everything to do with schedules and the other things you listed. Just putting a letter grade on Bears players and coaches will not tell you if they will beats the Bills. Here is why I think the Bears will be better this year:

Major upgrades on defense
Major upgrades on offense
Better scheme on offense
Players that fit defensive scheme
Better overall coaching
Player growth
Not a really tough schedule
Urgency

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Forget about the game outcomes & schedule. I'm asking you to evaluate the team just like they evaluate themselves after every game. You know what grading out is right?
Did you say the Bears have an easy schedule??? Huh???

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Your're proving my point. You're making predictions about the Bears based on how you graded their coaches and players. You aren't interested in looking at their schedule and considering the outcome. Sure you can make a prediction without looking at a schedule but it won't be an educated one.

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OFFENSE
QB B+
RB B
FB INC
WR C
TE B+
OT C-
OG C
C C+

DEFENSE
LB B+
CB C
S D+
DE B
DT C+

SPECIAL TEAMS
K A
P B

COACHING
Off. B
Def. C+
HC. C+

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

the bears had one of the more favorable schedules last year and were 7-9.

Every team they lost to had a better record. None of the teams finished under .500 and all but 1 (49ers were 8-8) finished above .500.

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The Peppers signing (that I was against) obviously speaks for itself. Last season the Bears didn't have Urlacher or Pisa T healthy for all or most of the season. Having them healthy will be a major upgrade over what the Bears put on the field last season. They also traded for Chris Harris who is easily better than anything the Bears had at S last season. Major Wright may also be better than anything they had.

The Bears brought in Chester Taylor who could be a starting RB on some teams in the league. He is a major upgrade over the crippled Forte we saw in 2009 and the other AP. Manumaleuna is a guy that you can plug in to help you on either side of the line. The biggest upgrade of all is at OC. Martz is by far a better coordinator and play caller than the predictable and boring Ron Turner.

The new scheme on offense should really help a guy as talented as Cutler and receivers as quick as the ones the Bears have.

Having Marinelli who I believe is more aggressive than any guy that has wore the DC hat since Rivera will make their scheme work better. When the Bears were at their best defensively they were getting after the QB. With the addition of Peppers and having Tommie Harris about 85% of his 2006 level of play will help them get after the QB. Having Urlacher back in the middle will really help too. There were many times the Bears got killed over the middle because Hillenmeyer wasn't athletic enough or was out of position. Naturally when you have a weak link anywhere you try to help him and many times that causes other players to be out of position. They won't have the problem this year.

The Bears have 4 guys that were recently HC in the NFL on their team. Besides Martz none of the have the personalities that would make them clash. Mike Tice is one of the better (if not the best) offensive line coaches in the NFL. His body of work in this area speaks for itself. Martz is one of the best offensive minds in the game. These moves also force guys like Babich to only focus on the things they are good at.

There is no question that guys like Knox and Forte have gotten much better and many of the young guys like Louis are taking a step forward. Even Cutler should be a smarter and better QB.

Here are the list of teams the Bears play that I believe will or could make the playoffs:

Packers
Jets
Patriots
Cowboys
Vikings

The rest IMO will be bad or very mediocre. Of the teams I listed I think there is a chance the Patriots and Vikings may miss the playoffs. The Patriots play in a tough conference and will have a hard time getting a wild card spot (noway they win their division). I doubt Favre and his ankle will hold up for an entire season this year and the Vikings without him are a worse team than the Bears IMO.

Having a sense of urgency will IMO keep the coaches at the top of their game every week and will even make them more willing to try things that they wouldn't usually consider.

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It is just hard to get excited or confident with the same head coach in place that has led the team into the toilet. As much as I would hope Marinelli does something different on D, Lovie is pulling the strings. On the offensive side, Martz offenses take time to gel and this team doesnt have that luxury.

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Ok. I'll respond later when I have some time.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

I think Lovie may be under a mandate to not get involved in either side of the ball this year. Somewhat like what Ron Zook is going through at Illinois. A mandate of "if you want any chance to keep your job, let your coaches do the coaching." The Lions and 49ers were able to pick up Martz's offense. So far not so good for the Bears.

i'm not talking about what ultimately happened; i mean, the schedule itself was favorable.

on paper, the only real challenges were @ baltimore, @ atlanta and @ minnesota.

they had arizona, pittsburgh, cleveland, and philadelphia at home. typically a home team is favored. and they won the pittsburgh game (thanks to a bad kick).

and i'm pretty sure i remember you thinking the bears could handle the bengals, so i didn't include them. i don't think anyone expected them to be a playoff team last year.

Got you. How many games did Cutler lose by himself last year? At least 4 IIRC.

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Sorry he lost 5.

Both Packers games
49ers
Falcons
Eagles

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I call bullshit. Nasova says the Bears have urgency. Have you seen urgency in their play, coaching or ownership?

i lost count.

i'm thinking they will be sloppy at first because of the new system.

however, i have johnny knox on my fantasy team--so obviously i'm a fan.

You don't believe spending more money in one offseason than they have the entire time Angelo has been in Chicago (10 years) combined is urgency? You don't believe making a trade that pretty much admits you made a mistake is urgency? You don't believe hiring 2 additional head coaches is urgency?

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