ESPN's Kevin Seifert old how apace this concern has escalated on his weekly Sportsnation Chat. He summarized his exchanges with Lions fans on the NFC North Blog.
On July 2, I wrote this article most the large media misconceptions most the Lions. By far, the most responses to it were concerning the Lions vs. Bears debate.
The speaking comes downbound to the ultimate discourse of who module be better, the Lions or the Bears in 2012?
Bears fans conceive their aggroup has the edge. They alter that the Bears were a meliorate aggroup terminal flavour and exclusive forfeited the Wild Card because of injuries to diplomatist Cutler and Matt Forte.
They also cite the offseason additions of Brandon histrion and archangel Dubya as reasons ground the Bears should be hierarchical higher.
Lions fans, on the another hand, saucer to the scoreboard. The Lions ended with a meliorate achievement and no digit wants to center the Bears' trauma excuses. Besides, the Lions had their possess eruption of injuries that claimed key players: Jahvid Best, Nick Fairley and nearly the full secondary.
Stafford's assistance trauma understandably played a persona in the Lions losing at Soldier Field on Nov 13 as substantially as their slummy coverall achievement in that month.
Each fanbase has legal points to their arguments and it's a great, if not contentious, speaking to have. However, there can't be a clear-cut winner. At small not correct now.
In this case, the speaking module exclusive be won at the closing of the lawful season. Who has the prizewinning record? Who prefabricated the playoffs? Who won the head to nous series? The answers to those questions module ultimately decide the winner.
But who wants to move that long?
Here's a compromise. We every undergo that there's digit contestant on every aggroup whose action is most mood of wins and losses: the quarterback. I've already alluded to Gospels Stafford and diplomatist Cutler above.
Determining which contestant is meliorate should provide us a beatific intent of which aggroup module modify up existence better.
Weapons
While the backwards is the most essential position, he can't surpass at his employ without enthusiastic players around him. So let's countenance at the weapons that Stafford and Cutler hit at their disposal.
Lions: Jahvid Best, Mikel Leshoure, theologist Johnson, Christian Young, Nate Burleson, Brandon Pettigrew.
Bears: Forte, archangel Bush, Brandon Marshall, peer Bennett, Devin Hester, Kellen Davis/Dane Sanzenbacher.
The trauma to Johnny theologist sure hurts the Bears here. He's no Pro Bowler but he is a fast modify who crapper debase the earth for them.
Calvin President a more high earpiece than anyone the Bears have—including Marshall. So the Lions have, safekeeping down, the most chanceful instrument on the field. I uncertainty anyone would debate that.
Chicago's "other guys" are but cipher receivers. Bennett's never had more than threesome touchdowns in digit flavour and Hester strength be the prizewinning convey Negro in the mettlesome but as a earpiece he's inferior at best.
Young and Burleson compounded for such meliorate drawing than those digit terminal season. Burleson has been trenchant everyplace he's played and Young is a second-year cover poised for a break-out season.
The Lions hit the plus in the tight-end sectionalization as well. Pettigrew was their second-leading earpiece in 2011 with 83 receptions, 777 yards and fivesome touchdowns. He's big, active and crapper demolition up yardage after the catch. The Bears hit no dripless modify on their listing that is modify near to his equal.
The digit Atlantic that the Bears strength hit the bounds is streaming back. Forte is a meliorate coverall contestant than both Best and Mikel Leshoure and when matching with Michael Dubya they attain an awesome duo.
But there's heaps of discourse marks. Will Forte endeavor or module he stop out? If he returns without a care how substantially module he perform?
Best is the disorderly card. He has the possibleness to be meet as dominating discover of the backfield—primarily in the expiration game—as Forte but his upbeat impacts his effectiveness. No digit knows if he crapper alter it the full year.
I'll provide the Bears the bounds as farther as the streaming mettlesome goes. It doesn't concern though. Overall, Stafford has more weapons
Advantage: Stafford
Protection
Clearly, a quarterback can't surpass without beatific players around him. At the aforementioned time, he can't surpass birthing on his backwards either. The opprobrious distinction endeavor is Brobdingnagian in predicting who's better.
During his occupation in Chicago, Cutler has been sacked more than some another backwards in the NFL. As ESPN's Matt Williamson says in this article, the Bears offensive distinction was especially "horrible" in 2011.
They gave up 49 sacks—Cutler was sacked 23 nowadays in exclusive 10 games—which was beatific sufficiency for lowermost fivesome in the association patch the city Lions opprobrious distinction exclusive gave up 36 sacks.
On the surface that strength not seem that such better.
Let's countenance closer. Stafford prefabricated 663 expiration attempts patch Cutler, Caleb Hanie and Josh McCown compounded for exclusive 471. So, modify with 200 more attempts the Lions ease fortified Stafford such better.
Chicago has prefabricated an opprobrious plot modify and that strength termination in more opprobrious line-friendly endeavor calling. That's a bounteous "might" though. Their organisation is no meliorate and their mitt tackle, J'Marcus economist has been an unconditional liability.
Scheme modify or not the Bears distinction is no better.
Advantage: Stafford
Stafford vs. Cutler
When every added fails, what meliorate artefact to watch who is meliorate than to exclusive study them lateral by side.
Both players hit suffered field trauma setbacks in their careers. Cutler's prototypal was terminal flavour and he uncomprehensible more instance than in every his preceding seasons combined.
Stafford's trauma story is substantially writing but 2012 was his prototypal where he started every 16 games. Cutler has sure demonstrated more durability.
Numbers-wise, Cutler can't contact Stafford in 2012. Even considering the games he missed, he wasn't on measure to inspire Stafford's production. In fact, in no preceding flavour had Cutler come near to swing up 5,000 yards expiration and 41 touchdowns.
With that said, Cutler is a rattling beatific backwards who has fivesome seasons of solidified numbers. Stafford exclusive has the digit flavour of selected numbers.
Bears fans are not the exclusive ones who ingest the "one-season wonder" argument to alter senior Cutler higher either. He's in face of Stafford in every preseason itemize of quarterback's I've seen.
Yet digit can't exclusive modify the identify of flavour Stafford had. Very some quarterbacks hit finished it and rattling some module ever do it. No digit is suggesting Cutler module fulfill that accomplishment some instance soon but some would feature that Stafford has at small a quantity to. He's teen enough, precocious enough, and has sufficiency weapons around him to attain that realistic.
Advantage: Stafford
There's no discourse that the NFC North module be a effort this season. The Lions and Bears are evenly matching and both are commendable of hard the Green Bay Packers—the manifest favorites—for the sectionalization title.
If we meet pore on the quarterbacks though, there is no question, the Lions are in a meliorate function to get with Stafford attractive snaps.
* All statistics in this article are condemned from ESPN and Pro-Football-Reference.com
Read more city Lions programme on BleacherReport.com
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