Why teams fear the Chicago Bears

Late in the 2010 season, there was one team that every playoff contender was hoping wouldn't make it to the postseason -- the Green Bay Packers.

The reason those clubs didn't want the Green and Gold to get into the tournament was that the Packers had the tools to be extremely dangerous, with a seemingly unstoppable weapon on offense (QB Aaron Rodgers, when healthy) and a swarming defense that could cover and ball hawk equally well.

The Packers teetered on the edge of not making the playoffs -- entering Week 16, they were at 8-6 and on the outside looking in -- but once they got there, every team they faced had to deal with those strengths. None was able to do so with enough success to stop the Pack from winning their fourth Super Bowl.

The 2011 version of last year's Packers also makes its home in the NFC North. The Chicago Bears (6-3) are not a carbon copy of the 2010 Packers, but a tape and metric review illustrates how Chicago has the capability of being similarly dangerous down the stretch.

To read KC Joyner's full piece on why no one wants to face the Chicago Bears in the postseason, sign up for ESPN Insider.

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Email
• Subscribe

KC Joyner

NFL Insider

• Follow
• Archive

• NFL and CFB analyst for ESPN Insider
• Known as "The Football Scientist"
• Uses proprietary metrics from game tape study