The Bears' First Quarter: Some expectations met, others surpassed

After two straight years of tacking on some version of the "Better than expected" title to the first Bears quarterly update of the year, the 3-1 record is actually about where I expected them to be. Dallas was the only iffy spot in the first four games, but Chicago passed that test with flying colors.

If there is one aspect to the team that really is far, far better than I expected, it is most certainly the defense. After a couple of years of expressing concerns about how the age was going to begin showing, the Bears instead have one of the best defenses in the league at this point.

Now, as for that explosive offense many fans had been hoping for (and, dare I say, expecting), that still seems to be a work-in-progress. Again, there were encouraging signs last night against the Cowboys as Jay Cutler posted a passer rating above 140, Brandon Marshall was demonstrating why he should be considered a legitimate weapon and Matt Forte's injury wasn't as serious as many of us feared it might be.

Going forward, Chicago is in good position to be 7-1 at the midway point. The team plays four pretty beatable opponents in its next four games  (at Jacksonville, vs. Detroit, vs. Carolina, and at Tennessee). However, the Bears will need to take advantage of that stretch, because the second half of the year promises to be much, much more difficult. Still, for the time being, they are tied record-wise with the Vikings (!!!) for first place, although Minnesota holds the edge in divisional record right now.

 

Again, I said the Bears would probably need a little bit of luck when I picked them to win the North this year, and while this wasn't exactly what I had in mind, early returns certainly seem to indicate that Lady Luck is nowhere in the vicinity of Green Bay, Wisconsin, this season.