Goldilocks and the three things about the Bears


When it comes to the Bears, there are few teams that hold a more incorrect stigma around them. People still like to imagine this team is the bulldog defense and smash mouth offense of the Mike Ditka days. Truth is, this team is a nice primer for the Denver Broncos game next Sunday, because they're like a triple A version of that team. Defense that tries to be aggressive, a quarterback who can sling it, offensive weapons across the field, and that same entitled mentality. Let's break down three things to watch about these Bears:

1. Their Offense is Too Hot

They have incredible talent on the offensive end, but the talent is not the end all and be all, and the heated exchanges between Brandon Marshall and whoever he yelled at in the locker room. Apparently Brandon isn't too beat up about the heated exchange. At the end of the day that sort of tension either galvanizes a team or completely unravels it. If I were a betting man, I'd peg on the latter.

2. Their Defense is Too Cold

They can't turn up the heat like they used to, and it shows as the mighty bears have fallen to 22nd best scoring defense. Not only does the bite of that defense sting less, some of the bark has gone with it. The top defenses in this league have a swagger to them, and we'll see that next week with Denver, but this week we're getting a luke warm intensity from the Bears.

3. Their Wideouts are Juuuuust Right

Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall could be the most talented combination the Patriots face all year at the pass catching positions. No disrespect to Julius & Demaryius Thomas or Calvin Johnson & Golden Tate, but the skills of these two match up and exceed any of these pairs. Imagine if these two had Matt Stafford or Peyton Manning instead of Jay Cutler... agree with me yet? Even if you see them as the second or third best, this will be one of the biggest tests of the Patriots' secondary all year. There is no doubt the secondary should be up to the challenge, as long as they don't let the media fixation on alarm-gate take their eyes off the prize.

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