North: Believe it, Chicago Bears are better than 3-13

Wow, even I didn't see this one coming.

USA Today made news in our hometown by predicting that the Chicago Bears would go 3-13 this year and be the worst team in the league.

I'm not overly optimistic about the Bears' chances, but I don't have them with only 3 wins.

Injuries, subpar performances and a general overall lack of talent, especially on the defensive side, have the Bears as a third- or possibly last-place team in the NFC North.

But only 3 wins?

Well, the fan in me says no, they are better than that, for sure. But maybe they are only a 3-win team, and I'm just not seeing them clearly.

I've been reading predictions from various publications since I was a kid, so I would like to think that in the NFL, where five new teams seem to make the playoffs every year, there's no way of knowing for certain.

Regardless of predictions, the games are played on the field, and I'm willing to say the Bears are better than just 3 wins.

If they aren't, keeping Jay Cutler was a huge mistake. Unless they couldn't give him away, which probably was the case, in part because of his huge contract.

I have to believe if Cutler has any kind of pulse, he will get motivation from this 3-victory prediction, and if he doesn't, well, he doesn't care.

I'd even like to see him guarantee at least 4 wins, but that sounds shallow and ridiculous. Or maybe Cutler should blast the publication for the mediocre prediction and say there's no way our team should be labeled the worst.

I'd be in his corner on this one.

Will the $18 million-a year quarterback step up this season and make the Bears relevant?

Seriously, I've never been a Cutler guy, but I believe he's good enough to shatter that prediction. Teams such as the Jacksonville Jaguars, the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Jets are worse than the beloved.

Hey, what the Chicago media says about the team is one thing, but what the national public can say is another.

The outlook for the season might not be completely hopeful, but it certainly shouldn't be desperate.

that's not to say the Bears won't be awful. I remember the 1969 Bears had some very good players and still only went 1-13, but the organization at the time was weak.

That is no longer the case, so let's go for it and prove them wrong.

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