Teams that are better than the Bears as of this moment;
Vikings
Packers (the Rodgers factor)
Saints
Panthers
Falcons
Rams
Teams that will likely be around the Bears level;
Lions
Niners
Seahawks (They had a putrid roster on paper last year and still managed to win 9 games)
They're certainly better, but they still have a pretty uphill battle if they want to contend. On the flipside, the schedule they have is certainly capable of getting them to 10, or maybe even 11 wins if the chips fall right.
Games against: Miami, Buffalo, New York Jets, Arizona, Giants, Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit x2 (always seem to be close), and Tampa. All of those are very winnable games in my opinion.
It ultimately comes down to their offense. They had a great D last year and it still only amounted to 5 wins.
Vikings
Packers (the Rodgers factor)
Saints
Panthers
Falcons
Rams
Teams that will likely be around the Bears level;
Lions
Niners
Seahawks (They had a putrid roster on paper last year and still managed to win 9 games)
They're certainly better, but they still have a pretty uphill battle if they want to contend. On the flipside, the schedule they have is certainly capable of getting them to 10, or maybe even 11 wins if the chips fall right.
Games against: Miami, Buffalo, New York Jets, Arizona, Giants, Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit x2 (always seem to be close), and Tampa. All of those are very winnable games in my opinion.
It ultimately comes down to their offense. They had a great D last year and it still only amounted to 5 wins.