Early prediction: Bears 31, Steelers 20
The Chicago Bears have won two games by a total of four points.
How confident am I they will knock off the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night and be 3-0? Very!
Good teams turn into very good teams or great teams when they get off to a good start even if that good start is based on some luck, and the Bears have been good enough to close the deal in both games.
Don’t forget, however, that the Bears started out 7-1 last year and faded, going 3-5 in their last eight games. Oh yeah, Lovie Smith and the team won 10 games, but the coach was let go because they failed to make the playoffs.
Lance Briggs said this week that winning early will help contribute to success. He should’ve finished with “except for last year.”
I thought Lovie played not to lose, and Marc Trestman plays to win — and that’s totally different.
Don’t get me wrong, the Bears could easily be 0-2 and the conversation would consist of Jay Cutler’s turnovers, the defensive breakdowns, and Trestman’s inexperience. But at 2-0 we should be happy with Trestman, the clutch play of our signal caller, and that kick returner Devin Hester is back.
It’s AG — all good. So enjoy the game as the Bears beat Pittsburgh by a score of 31-20 to go to 3-0 in the NFL.
Theo on the hot seat:Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum hasn#146;t gotten a vote of confidence from Theo Epstein, the team#146;s president of Baseball Operations. We aren#146;t talking Joe Girardi, Jim Leyland or even Ron Washington. No, he#146;s a guy who got the chance to manage in the big leagues.Is there someone out there who could do a better job than Sveum? I honestly don#146;t know. The Cubs#146; brass is saying the team may have another losing season, so what are they expecting from Sveum?Maybe it#146;s Epstein who should be put under the microscope. His building blocks of first baseman Anthony Rizzo and shortstop Starlin Castro may not be all that special, or at least not what he paid them to be. When he was in Boston, Epstein had Manny Ramirez, David #147;Big Papi#148; Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Josh Beckett. Do you see anyone on the Cubs team that resembles any of those guys? When Epstein took over it was called a rebuilding job and still is in my book, so the jury is still out since it looks like we will have more of the same next year. I think Cubs fans are smart enough to know that Sveum may or may not be the man, but can we really say Epstein or general manager Jed Hoyer or anyone else in Cubs management is doing a good job?Sveum won#146;t get a vote of confidence, but I#146;m not ready, and either should the fans, to give one to Epstein!Program note:Listen to #147;The Mike North Pregame Show#148; from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday on WIND 560-AM The Answer.Ÿ Mike North#146;s column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.