Looking Towards the Future (part 2) By Jimmors
In this part im going to look at one very important aspect of next season-our schedule. Even though the Bears have played poorly this season, they weren't given any favors by the NFL when it came to scheduling: The Bears have had to play a resurgent NFC North (where an 8-8 record for the Bears MIGHT be good enough for last place in the division), The NFC East and the AFC West, combined with last year's respective division leaders, the Seahawks and the Saints.
As it stands of today, the Bears are currently ranked 4th in Strength of Schedule in the LEAGUE. (Teams #1-3 are the Redskins, Eagles and Lions respectively).
But in 2008, the Bears have a somewhat lighter schedule, with some difficult opponents thrown in to test their mettle:
Home: Packers, Lions, Vikings, Saints, Buccs, Jags, Titans, NFC East Equivalent (right now looking to be either the Redskins or Eagles)
Away: Packers, Lions, Vikings, Panthers, Falcons, Colts, Texans, NFC West Equivalent (right now looking to be either the 49ers or Rams)
So here's a breakdown of oponents based on my opinion of difficulty:
1.Colts Our "real" Superbowl XLI rematch, this will be the Bears biggest test for '08 for obvious reasons. Peyton manning, Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison are a dangerous trio, added to the fact this game will be on their home turf, this will be the Bears' biggest chance next season to prove that they are contenders.
2.Packers (twice) Packers are running away with thedivision, and assuming based on this success, Favre will once again postpone his pain-killer induced retirement yet again, the Packers will be a formidable opponent once again. I highly doubt they will maintain their current level of success, but that doesnt mean they will revert back to their 8-8 and 4-12 ways of a couple years ago. The Packers will give the Bears a tough challenge, but i think the Bears will come through as a matter of pride.
3.Vikings (twice) The Vikes are shaping up to be a VERY dangerous team, especially with AP in their lineup. Bears have always had trouble against the Vikes, and it will be a very good test to see if our Run Defense has improved any, because both of these games will DEPEND on it. (thankfully we will have a years worth of film on them to study and plan around)
4.Titans Tennessee is not a team to take lightly since their QB can be a threat in the air or on the ground. It will take solid gameplanning to prevent Young from having his way with our defense, but thankfully this game will be played at Soldier Field
5.Jaguars Jacksonville is a very confusing team. They cant seem to make up their mind between being a good team, or a bad one, but they always seem to find themselves trying to claw their way into the playoff hunt late in the season. If this is a late season game, it could be trouble for us, if it's early, then it might be somewhat easier on us since the Jaguars are more concerned with just keeping up with the Colts and Titans then trying to get into the playoffs
6.Saints Contenders or Pretenders? Thats the big question here, seeing how the most potent offense in the NFL a year ago has since been cast into a pit of mediocrity. I do expect the Saints to get their act together next year, and have a potent offense once again, but their defense will be just as pitiful as ever. If the Bears beat them this year, and the NFL schedules this game in December NEXT year, you'll be able to hear the moans and grouns from the bayou all the way up in Chicago.
7.Buccaneers They lead their division, but shouldnt be too much of a problem next season. This is a team in search of an identity, and not much else really.
8.Texans Texans are definitely a team on the rise, as they seem to give the Colts fits nowadays. This will probably be a close game, as the Texans are going to be somewhat comparable to the Bears next season. Unfortunately for the Texans tho, they play in a much tougher conference and division
9.Lions (twice) I for one, am not convinced with this Lions team. They started out great, beat us in some close games, but have stumbled once again. They still might be dangerous, but nothing the Bears shouldnt be able to handle.
10.Panthers hmmm...one wonders whether or not there's a limit to how many QBs a team can start in a season. If they don't fix that issue in the offseason, then it doesnt matter how dangerous Peppers or Steve Smith is, if their offense is stuck in neutral. Hopefully this wont be a trap game right before the Colts or Packers
or
11.Redskins or Eagles Both of these teams can be a challenge, but the Eagles aren't much without McNabb, they rely on Westbrook too much, and hopefully our D can shut him down. The Redskins? They might be better in '08, but whoever we play, it will be on OUR turf, so we should get a slight advantage
or
12.49ers or Rams Both of these teams are struggling worse then the bears are, so one would assume we can get our ship righted before either of these 2 will. But who knows, maybe them high draft picks might help one of these teams out
13.Falcons If the Bears cant beat the Dirty Birds...well it will definitely indicate which direction our season is headed...
Definitely a mixed bag for 2008, and should give us a fair indication if the Bears have made the necessary adjustments in the off-season to get back to being a winning franchise. But just think, had we actually WON our division this year, you could throw on the Cowboys and Seahawks (in Seattle) instead of Eagles/Skins and 9ers/Rams. That would be a pretty rough schedule right there.
Looking Towards the Future (part 2) 
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