Sheryl Crow asked us in the mid 1990s “are you strong enough to be my man?”
Well, I don’t have the answer to that question, but the message of that song resonates with the Chicago Bears organization this fall. As the Bears begin their season on Sunday hosting the Buffalo Bills, they will do so with perhaps the best wide receiving corps in the entire NFL.
Yes, there are a couple of other teams that can make the same claim, but it’s an undeniable fact that the Bears WRs and TEs are as solid as anybody else’s group.
It’s been awhile since you’ve been able to say that about any Chicago Bears position group; especially on offense.
Quarterback Jay Cutler gets mixed reviews, and deservedly so.
The Offensive Line went from a glaring weakness in 2009-10 to one of the better units in the league. The running game is solid, but this is a pass first offense in a pass first league. The wide receivers are the strength of the team, and if one position group can carry Chicago to a NFC North title, it’s them.
Will they get it done?
Quoting Sheryl Crow: “Lie to me. I promise, I’ll believe.”
Brandon Marshall has become the face of the Bears franchise. Only a select handful of NFL players are chosen for the Sunday Night Football opening sequence on NBC . Likewise for the ESPN Monday Night Football promo. Marshall is one of the elite players who made the cut for both. B Marsh is the only member of the Chicago Bears featured in these promos. He’s also making history as the first ever active NFL player to serve as a studio analyst for a network during the season. Marshall will be appearing on Showtime’s Inside the NFL with Greg Gumbel, Ed Reed, Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms.
All this promotion is a validation of his talent and ability.
Then you have Alshon Jeffrey; teaming with Marshall to form the best one-two punch in the NFL. Obviously, the talent drops way off at WR3 and WR4 and so on. However, you have Martellus Bennett at Tight End, and that’s pretty much as good as it gets.
ESPN Monday Night Football Commentator Jon Gruden was on media conference call yesterday, and I asked him if the Bears have the best group at the position.
“Yes, I think they do. Arguably, you could make that case in a couple of other places. But Jeffery and Marshall from a size standpoint, from an acrobatic standpoint, and from a route free standpoint, they are top flight receivers, said Gruden.”
“They can run any route from any alignment on the field, and they love the ball when it’s in flight. They can go get it. I think the addition of Bennett at tight end makes these two receivers great because you can’t key on either one of them in the middle of the field. It’s an area where the Bears have struggled to throw it to the tight end for years.”
Fox Sports did a media conference call to preview the new NFL season which kicks off tonight, and Jimmy Johnson, Troy Aikman and Randy Moss weighed in.
Aikman is familiar with the new personnel in Minnesota and likes what he sees:
“I’m really excited about the NFC North. I see Chicago as the team that challenges the Packers but Minnesota is going to be better. (New defensive coordinator) Mike Zimmer was with me late in my career. That defense will play a different brand of football than they have been playing. Norv Turner is now their offensive coordinator, and they have played well in the preseason. Teddy Bridgewater looked good. Matt Cassel looked good. Unfortunately for them, they have an extremely difficult start to the season but it’s going to be a great division to follow.”
Moss on what team he’s watching in the NFC North:
“It’s very possible two playoff teams come out of the NFC North. All four of those teams are on the rise. I’m a big fan of what Minnesota is doing, but I’m still on the Packers band wagon for the division lead.”
Johnson added:
“I see every team in that division getting better. Chicago a little, Detroit a lot and even the Packers with a healthy Aaron Rodgers, they’ll be better. It’s going to be a strong division.
Of course, we can’t end this discussion without discussing the defense which was at it’s all time worst last season. This unit set broke lots of Chicago Bears team records in 2013; and none of them are the types of records that you want to break. Chicago will have to outscore people every game to win. I think NFL Hall of Famer, Super Bowl XX MVP, and Guest Analyst for Showtime Richard Dent said it best in the video below:
It will certainly make for an interesting season, as the Chicago Bears will play in a whole lot of high scoring shoot outs.
Paul M. Banks owns and operates The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports, Yahoo! and the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)