Can the Bears Build on NFC Championship Loss?

Look for Jay Cutler to become inspired this off-season from the hopeless feeling he got while sitting on the sidelines during the second half of the NFC Championship along with his "tweeting questioners." 

Its always tough to be happy in a loss, but nobody thought the Bears would even be in a position to lose the NFC Championship.  Most experts predicted Chicago to finish third in the NFC North and some even said fourth!  Instead the Bears finished first in the NFC North with a 5-1 division record that included a meaningless game against the Packers in Week 17.  Despite all the recent talk about Jay Cutler, he toned down his number of interceptions from 26 to 16 from his first year in Chicago; he nearly had a ten point better passer rating this season than in his first as a Bear by going from a 76.8 to a 86.3 one.  Quite the turn-around.

Was this one opportunity their only small window to making it to the Super Bowl?  Brian Urlacher will be 33 before next season and Lance Briggs will be turning 32 in November.  If the hourglass has not run out completely for the defense yet, it only has a couple specs of sand left on top.  In the 2010 regular season, the Bears were pretty lucky to say the least when it came to the health department.  Their starters missed only a combined eleven games which tied for the league best with the Kansas City Chiefs who also made the playoffs.  That's mind-boggling compared to the 2009 season when Brian Urlacher missed 16 games alone after suffering a wrist injury in the season opener against the Packers.  Not that Chicago cannot get lucky again, and go mostly injury free, but they're going to need to have their fingers crossed all next season.

Matt Forte had a 5.27 YPC average in December and January this season (including playoffs)

Now for the upside going into the 2011 season.  Hands down the most underrated player from the Chicago Bears in 2010 was Tulane alum Matt Forte. Even after the NFC Championship game nobody is even mentioning how Matt "put the team on his back" by plowing over the 'Pack D for 160 total offensive yards.  Coming off his second 1,000 yard rushing season of his three year career, Forte is in line for a re-structuring of his rookie contract.  The "All-Joe" rushed for an impressive, career best 4.5 yards per carry in 2010 despite the lack of an established offensive line.  Excluding Jay Cutler's disappointing first half against the Packers, the Bears' offense really has some momentum to build on.  Matt Forte and Jay Cutler's success this season could not have happened without each other.

They will have to fight against the Super Bowl-bound Packers and fend off an on the rise Detroit Lions team to keep their NFC North champion crown.  Barring injuries - there is no reason the Bears cannot hold onto that title.  This was only Jay Cutler's second season in Chicago, and now that he got his feet in the playoff water, hopefully it will help him and his teammates mature.  Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs know the hourglass is about to run-out on them and that is why I expect them to leave everything they've got on the field next season.

What's Next?: Super Bowl Prediction on Saturday