On 13 March 2007, I was flipping through Helium -- this website for which I write for pennies and sometimes dollars -- looking for new article topics. The first I saw captured my eye and got my fan's heart racing. The topic? "NFL: will 2007 be the year of the Chicago Bears?" Currently ranked 11 of 22 selections, right dead middle, the damn thing has made exactly a dime in the past eight months... and the nut of it is the thing is incredibly prophetic about how the NFC North has shaken out this season.

Tell your friends, tell your enemies, Bigalke is getting better at this whole prediction thing... line up early to get your wagers in for any sporting or political event... we could have a whole lot of fun if I keep hitting these out of the park...


READ THE ARTICLE HERE:
http://www.helium.com/tm/210492/going-crumble-around-chicago



Looking back on it all, it has proven true that:

- Cedric Benson cannot carry the Bears backfield alone
- Rex Grossman did not pan out as a starting quarterback
- Tank Johnson landed in legal trouble and is no longer a Bear
- Urlacher is becoming arthritic and cannot carry the defense
- Both the Packers and the Lions have improved in the division
- They are on pace to win far fewer than ten games

Currently the Bears sit at 3-5 at the midway point of the season. They are on pace to LOSE ten games this year. Worse, they are already 1-3 in the division, and can't hope to be as lucky as they were in winning at the last moment in Lambeau... they could easily end up 1-5 in their division, and no other contest will be EASY...

Sure, they play their next two games at Oakland and Seattle, two cellar-dwellers on the season. But Seattle, mind, is only two years removed from the Super Bowl itself, and Oakland is only two games out of its division right now... the Bears, meanwhile, are FOUR back of the North-leading Packers and THREE behind second-placed Detroit... and they lose the tiebreaker against Minnesota for third place, having given up 224 yards and three rushing touchdowns to rookie sensation Adrian Peterson and allowed 34 Viking points at Soldier Field...

Don Banks, in his NFL Midseason Report for si.com, just listed Chicago as his most disappointing NFC team. About the Bears, he writes: "Did the Bears really own a second-quarter lead over the Colts in the Super Bowl just nine months ago? They can't even match up with the Lions this season. Their defense is injury-riddled and intimidates no longer, and their offense can't run the ball or find a long-term answer at quarterback."




READ FULL REPORT BY BANKS AT:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/don_banks/11/06/awards/index.html




By the way, back in March Banks was arguing that Thomas Jones was a steal when the Jets swapped second-round draft picks with Chicago and received him in return. And, while the Jets are having even less success, Jones remains a steal. The Bears ended up trading the higher draft pick to San Diego in exchange for three lesser picks -- turned into defensive end Dan Bazuin (Rd2/62 - Central Michigan), tailback Garrett Wolfe (Rd3/93 - Northern Illinois), and safety Kevin Payne (Rd5/167 - Louisiana-Monroe). They also have a third-round pick awaiting next year. So far, their picks have a combined two tackles and six rushing yards... and that thirty-seventh draft pick, safety Eric Weddle from Utah, has twenty-seven tackles, a sack and an interception for the San Diego Chargers...

And Thomas Jones, if we are keeping score, is on pace for a thousand-yard season... no Adrian Peterson, but a good balance for Cedric Benson... Tank Johnson is now a Cowboy, and Griese lines up behind center...

So, will these predictions carry out through the rest of the season? Sound your voice into the vortex...