2011 AFC WEST: Who Knew It Would Be This Good

Day 7 of breaking down the divisions leads us to the lowly AFC West. Yeah I know everyone has a preference but the AFC West has pretty much been a one pony show for the past few years. One of the reasons why I haven’t given the San Diego Chargers a lot of credit for their regular season record is because they play in this division. Things are starting to look up again as new head coaches have brought new life to the West Coast and now maybe San Diego will have to earn the crown they have worn for the past few seasons.

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2011 NFC NORTH: The Champs Are Here

Day 4 of breaking down the divisions leads us to the NFC North, the home of the Black and Blue division. The NFC North used to carry the label as the most physical division in the NFL, but I think you can safely give that title to the AFC North now. The NFC North has taken a turn from physical to wide open. This is now the league of the quarterback.

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears have been the poster for physical play throughout the history of the league. They have always based their play on physical defense and smash mouth running. Well times have changed. Today the Bears have a gun slinger for a quarterback and their defense has come back from the dead and is playing like champions again.

The Bears offense is headed by Jay Cutler. Cutler leads an attack that showcases very young wide receivers Devin Hester, Devin Aromishadu and Johnny Knox. They add to that group a savvy veteran in Roy Williams. Their run game evolves around all purpose third year running back Matt Forte but his holdout has opened the door for Marion Barber to do work. The tight end Greg Olsen was traded to Carolina so expect more 4 and 5 wide sets for Cutler since his favorite target is no longer in town.

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