The debate and speculation has begun.

Can the Bears finish the season undefeated? It is virtually impossible for a team to go undefeated in the NFL these days. Sixteen regular season games in the era of free-agent parity and three playoff games against the best of the best.

Looking at the Bears' remaining schedule there are two things I see that will derail the Bears' quest.

First, a difficult stretch on the road in the month of November. Games at the Giants and Jets back to back followed by a trip to Gillette Stadium versus the Patriots. Any three-game road stretch is difficult to come through without a blemish on the schedule. I think the Patriots could knock off the Bears in the finale of the road trip. The Bears struggled against the Steelers late in the season last year stopping the run and the Pats have a strong running game. The difference this season is the defense is not on the field as long because of Rex Grossman and the Bears offense. Are they fresher at the end of the season this year with lees time on the field and not as much pressure from week to week to be perfect?

If they make it through this difficult road stretch and come to the end of the season undefeated expect Lovie Smith to rest starters once the Bears can no longer improve their playoff position. The NFL is about winning championships, not finishing undefeated. If and when the Bears earn home-field, the Bears will protect their starters from injury.

It is more likely that the Raiders will go winless than the Bears will go undefeated. There are issues inside the locker room and I do not see a real winnable game on the remainder of their schedule.

The best shot for the Raiders could be next week against the Cardinals. Matt Leinart is still getting used to life in the NFL and Arizona has struggled to run the ball and should be without Larry Fitzgerald.

Their next best shot comes in December against the Texans. At that time the Texans should be a much improved team under Gary Kubiak and the Raiders locker room issue s could have destroyed any possibility of the team coming together to prevent a winless season.

What do we know at the end of the first quarter of the season?

The Bears are the most complete team at this point of the season. Rex Grossman has justified the faith the Bears coaches have shown in him through his injuries. They now have  an offense to go with the great defense and special teams. But who else is there? There are question marks for the other contenders. In the NFC the Seahawks are without Shaun Alexander and have gotten off to a mediocre start. They also got whipped by the Bears.

The Cowboys played one bad half of football but it cost them against the Jags. The Eagles played one bad quarter and it cost them against the Giants. Does one of these teams make a statement today? Carolina is getting better with Steve Smith back in the lineup.Is that all that was wrong with the Panthers.

Can the Falcons throw the ball? At some point this sesaon they will have to win a game through the air.

The one big question in the NFC is the Redskins. The first two weeks of the season they offense was pathetic. The last two weeks they have been explosive. A win at the Meadowlands would go along way to show the rest of the league that they have joined the hunt.
 
In the AFC the Colts have a number of injuries and are hanging on for their bye week after todays game. Health could be an issue down the stretch. The other top teams in the AFC have been inconsistent. The Bengal's follow up a big win over the Steelers to a big loss to the Patriots. The Patriots started slow but played there best game last weekend against the Bengals. Are they back on track?

The Jaguars have big wins versus the Cowboys and Steelers and playe d the Colts tough. The loss to the Redskins wasn't a surprise but the amount of points they gave up was. The other top dogs play against each other this weekend. The Broncos face the Ravens after their bye week. There are still doubters about the Ravens but as Steve McNair will only get better as the season goes on. The Broncos have been up and down to st art; opening day loss to the Rams; beat the Patriots in Gillette Stadium.

The Steelers travel to San Diego to play the Chargers. A critical game for the Steelers  as a loss would drop them to 1-3. Are Big Ben and Troy Polamalu healthy after the bye week? Hopefully! The Chargers let one get away last week at Baltimore and lost to the Steelers last year ab out this time. It resulted in a 2-3 start and the Chargers had to fight all year to get back in the hunt. I think San Diego has been waiting for this rematch.
 
Is anybody going to join the Bears as complete teams after this weekend. We shall see.

Over-reaction Monday is followed by Desperation Sunday which leads us to hope and pray Saturday for some teams around the league.

What has happened to some of the preseason favorites? The Dolphins and Redskins have a chance to finally get that elusive first victory. The Redskins take on the Texans and hope to show that their offense is not as offensive as members of the Redskin Nation think it is. Clinton Portis says he will play and that should relieve some pressure from Mark Brunell who is under fire this season. Only one TD for the 'Skins so far this season on offense. Where is the passing game that was suppose to be upgraded this season with the addition of offensive coordinator Al Saunders and  WR's Antwaan Randle El and Brandon Lloyd?

The Dolphins were the darling of NFL prognosticators coming into the season but have stumbled out of the blocks to start the year. Daunte CuIpepper has struggled at QB and the offensive line has not been helpful to his comeback from a major knee injury. The Titans are in the midst of a rebuilding phase and Miami should get back on track this weekend. The Panthers and the Bucs are 0-3? Is Steve Smith that important to the Panthers or are there more problems for Carolina?

I do not blame John Fox for the fake punt call against the Vikings last week. His team needed something to generate a spark and the responsibility should fall on the players involved to know when the play will not work and keep possession of the ball. Of all the favorites to get back on track as the season progresses I like the Panthers because they are a different team without Steve Smith. He carried them through the playoffs last season and without him they are not the same team. The Bucs have an array of issues. The QB gets most of the blame but the defense is starting to feel the impact of age and the departure of coaches from their staff. Never under estimate the impact of losing good coaches.

There are some other great divisional match-ups this weekend. The Bears and the Vikings will battle for first place in the NFC North. We will find out if Rex Grossman is for real this weekend against a very good Minnesota defense. Are the Vikings contenders or pretenders in a division in which the Bears were suppose to win handily? They already have beaten two play-off teams from '05.

The Jaguars look to gain respect in a key game in the AFC South. The Colts are ####ed up and the Jags looked impressive knocking off the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers. The Bengals and Steelers face off in a key AFC North game. Injuries could play a factor in this game as the Bengals limp into Heinz Field. The Steelers are coming off of a short week and need to re-establish the run against an improved Bengals defense.
 
Perhaps the most intriguing game this weekend has the Eagles traveling to San Francisco to face the Niners. How do the Eagles respond after the meltdown versus the Giants? Are the 49ers a competitive team to watch this year? You have to love the beginning of an NFL season. Championships are not won in September but they sure can be lost!