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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Will Chicago Bears keep winning to Championships (Super Bowl)? Writer David Haugh says "No"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-0114-bears-haugh-chicago--20110113,0,3415672.column
. . .Lovie Smith and a more experienced coaching staff are better equipped for the playoffs as the Bears return for the first time since that memorable '06 season.  But that's the only edge I would give the 2010 Bears.  When the '06 Bears earned a first-round playoff bye, Chicagoans didn't spend the next three weeks asking their neighbors if they could believe it. Nobody had to cancel vacations or coaching searches in January because nobody planned on them. The '06 season didn't turn into a three-month civic debate over whether it was better to be lucky or good. We knew from Day One, and a 7-0 start only confirmed it.
We knew because of a defense that had more of a swagger and the ability to intimidate than the 2010 version, even with Julius Peppers. Granted, picking between the '06 defense and the '10 unit with six of the same starters is like choosing between a Mercedes and BMW. But the '06 model not only gets the edge statistically, it receives higher marks in the eye test.
That defense looked meaner, quicker and more feared and disruptive. It consistently created the feeling something big was about to happen because it generally did — and we'll always have the Dennis Green beer commercials to prove it.
Linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs were four years younger and quicker. Same goes for cornerback Charles Tillman, who was less vulnerable back then. As much impact as D.J. Moore has made this season emerging as the nickel back, don't forget Ricky Manning Jr. picked off a team-high five passes playing the same role in '06.
Eventually the '06 defense wore down in December and couldn't withstand the Colts running game in the Super Bowl. But any comparison requires the hypothetical question asking how different things might have been if Tommie Harris and Mike Brown hadn't been lost to injuries long before the playoffs.
The 2010 Bears defense was healthier than the '06 version. .  .

1 comment:

Timothy Shaw said...

Sportswriters can get it wrong (case in point) -- Final score 35-24


Football's oldest rivalry has a grand new prize: a spot in the Super Bowl.

(SPORTS ILLUSTRATED online posting) Maybe even with an anniversary reprise of the "Super Bowl Shuffle" if the Chicago Bears can get past the Green Bay Packers .

"It's a big deal. We have a lot of history with them," Bears star linebacker Brian Urlacher said after a 35-24 victory over Seattle set up an NFC championship game matchup with Green Bay. "We don't like them, they don't like us."



Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/gameflash/2011/01/16/4333_recap.html#?xid=si_topstories#ixzz1BFW8rXGx