Two things stood out from the playoff games this weekend. First was the amazing impact of the tight ends in the passing game (for more detail, see previous post). The second thing that I took away from the games was that the Bears are built to win now. Not only are they built for success, they’re moving in a direction that should bring this success.
Let’s review the games. The Giants beat the Packers. The 49ers beat the Saints. The Ravens beat the Texans. The Patriots beat the Broncos. The common thread among these games is that the better defensive team won (except for the Pats thrashing of the Teblow Experiment, but a Denver loss is relevant to nothing). It’s also worth noting that the team who won the turnover battle also won each game. This is the type of team we have in Chicago. We have a team who plays good defense and prides itself on taking the ball away. We’re actually very similar to this Giants team that just knocked off the Packers. We play a lot of Cover 2, get pressure from the front 4, run the ball well and have a very good if not elite QB. They don’t have a Devin Hester to return kicks and we don’t have a Hakeem Nicks to catch passes, but the similarities far outweigh the differences.
The point of all this is that, in a year where passing records are being shattered, defense still wins championships. Even Mike Martz’ Super Bowl ring was acquired because of defense (when Wikipedia is back up and functioning, see “The Tackle”). The Bears have a defense that is still among the best in the league and our turnover differential should only improve under the playcalling of Mike Tice. It’s true that points come out of the passing game, but we have a quarterback who can get us those points as well. So for those who have called for Lovie’s dismissal and want us to start over, I’m telling you to not hit the panic button. As bad as this year ended, we’re a lot closer to the promised land than you think and we’re headed in the right direction toward it.
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