For real?

Are the Bears for real?

That’s the question football fans are asking each other here in the Windy City. Some of the arguments for yes include that they have won their toughest games this year (on paper), and if a couple plays go their way weeks two and three, the Bears could be 3-0 and at the top of the NFC North. The contrary to that is the reality, that the Bears haven’t made the plays they needed to in the fourth quarters against Carolina and Tampa Bay. So which one is correct?

Well, right now, it’s impossible to say. I’d like to say the team has been unlucky, and that with a couple of different bounces, they would be an elite team. But as Denny Green famously once said, they are who we thought they were. I said before the year they were going to go 6-10, and it looks like that’s about right. The defense that’s supposed to be domonant just hasn’t been, and without a downfield passing game, it’s tough to make plays on offense. Maybe their luck will turn around, and maybe this entire debate will be gone in a month. With the Eagles two most important players, quarterback Donovan McNaab and running back Brian Westbrook, banged up, this Sunday might be good time to turn it around. I just wouldn’t expect it.

On to the week four picks, which can’t be as bad as the week three selections were. My pick in bold.

San Francisco at New Orleans

Arizona at New York Giants

Cleveland at Cincinnati

Green Bay at Tampa Bay

Atlanta at Carolina

Minnesota at Tennessee

Houston at Jacksonville

Denver at Kansas City

San Diego at Oakland

Buffalo at St. Louis

Washington at Dallas

Philadelphia at Chicago

Baltimore at Pittsburgh