At a time when fans are deciding which who will be the popular, up and coming teams in each conference, i feel somewhat obligated to curb their enthusiasm. Many are declaring that teams such as the Niners, Cardinals and Lions will stir up the NFC, but just as the hot choices last year, the 'Phins and Panthers dissapointed, so will they. While i don't expect the Bears to obliterate every team that stands in their way of a Super Bowl Championship, i think that the Bears will again be head and shoulders above all teams in the NFC, and in the following position-by-position analysis of the Chicago Bears, i will explain why. Quarterbacks: Rex Grossman, Brian Greise, Kyle Orton. - Perhaps the most berated player in the NFL last season, Rex Grossman, will set out to rebound from a very mediocre "rookie season." You all are aware of the roller coaster ride that was Rex Grossman last year. Seven games with a rating over 100, five games with a rating under 50. It was a year of peaks and valleys for Rex, literally. He had no middle ground when it comes to his performance and will look to build on his solid performances and limit his poor ones. But after all of the dust settled, only six quarterbacks had more TD passes than REx. He has put in tons of work over the offseason and with an improved group of recievers and what i think is a better starting running back, Rex will really surprise a lot of football fans. I see him improving on his 23 TD passes and shedding five or six interceptions off his total as well. 26 TD's and 14 interceptions are very reasonable expectations for Sexy Rexy. Offensive Line: Olin Kreutz, Fred Miller, Matt Garza, John Tate, Ruben Brown. - Lost in the overall success of the Chicago Bears was the superb play of the offensive line. Rex was sacked only 21 times, only seven more than the seemingly untouchable Peyton Manning. While some will look at the age of the lineman as a negative, i look at it is a positive. None of the players have a history of injuries and all are very experienced. Kreutz is routinely mentioned as the top center in all of football and Brown and Tate are Pro-Bowl calibur players as well. Rookie Josh Beekman is very versatile, capable of playing the gaurd or center position and has a mean streak that the Coaches and his fellow line-mates love. Running/Full Backs: Cedric Benson, Adrian Peterson, Garrett Wolfe, Jason McKie, Obafemi Ayanbadejo. - Even with the loss of last year's starter Thomas Jones, the Bears shouldn't miss a beat in their running game. Benson, a faster and more physical back, fits the system better than Jones. Benson has the breakaway speed that Jones lacked and punishes oncoming tacklers in a ver Bear-like style. He is a hard-nosed player that will grow on his teammates. There are some durability questions but his injury history isnt all that worriesome. Adrian Peterson is a very accomplished backup. He doesnt have the necessary tools to be a full-time starter but can spell Benson for sets and maybe even a few games if injuries creep up on Cedric. He played very well over the last few seasons and was rewarded with a new contract. Wolfe is a nice change-of-pace back with great speed and quickness but wont get many carries. McKie is a very good blocker that understands his role as a blocking fullback that can catch the ball very well out of the backfield. Ayanbadejo is a solid blocker with good hands as well. Recievers: Muhsin Muammad, Bernard Berrian, Mark Bradley, Rashied Davis, Devin Hester. - Bernard Berrian emerged as the stud reciever that Jerry Angelo envisioned him to be in his third year in the league. He is percieved as mainly a deep threat but has worked very hard on route running and has a strong medium range game to complement his deep game. Moose is not what he used to be but he is still one of the best posession recievers in the game and will not hesitate to go over the middle despite the punishment he will recieve upon contact. Finally healthy, Mark Bradley will get a chance to show off the skills he showed in glimpses in limited duty over the last two years. He is lightning quick and can stretch the field almost as well as Berrian can. He has averaged over 20 ypc in his career and should be a very strong #3. After attending Bears' camp and watching Devin Hester, ESPN's Michael Clayton said that Devin's speed, size and surprisingly good hands remind him of none-other than Carolina reciever Steve Smith. While the comparison is premature, Devin has looked great in camp and made a tough catch in his limited duty thus far in pre-season play. Rashied Davis rounds out the rotation as a strong slot reciever who always made catches at big times last season(Against Minnesota in the reg. season and Seattle in round 2 of the playoffs). Special Teams - Hands down the best in the league. Hester will most likely not match his production from last season, but he is the best return man in football and a TD waiting to happen. As good as their return game is, their coverage unit is just as good. Coach Taub has put together a strong unit and players know that if they dont produce well at their primary position, solid performace as a special teamer will solidify their spot on their roster. Both Adrian Peterson and Brendan Ayanbadejo are backups but stud special teamers as well. Brendan went to the Pro Bowl last year as a gunner. The Bears also have one of the best kickers in the game on their team, Robbie Gould. His range is a bit limited but his ability to knock down clutch field goals make him a top five kicker. He has won numerous games for the Bears in just his first season, including the playoff game against Seattle, and was also the highest scoring kicker in the league last season. Defensive Line: Tommie Harris, Darwin Walker, Dusty Dvoracek, Mark Anderson, Alex Brown, Adewale Oguleye. - Solid all around, this strong group of lineman is a handful for any offensive lineman in the league. To complement established vets Harris, Brown, Walker and Oguleye, the Bears have two strong second year lineman in Anderson and Dvoracek. Anderson was arguably the top defensive rookie last year and even picked up a few sacks against All-Pro Walter Jones of the Seattle Seahawks. Tommie Harris is the popular pre-season pick to be the NFC defensive POY and demands double and even triple teams any time he is in the game. 'Wale and Brown took a steo back but the coaching staff is hoping that the open competition at the DE position between Brown and 'Wale will bring out the best in both. Lost in all of the Tank Johnson hype is the fact that after cutting Tank in the offseason, they brought in a better, more accomplished tackle, Darwin Walker to play along side Tommie Harris. With the double teams that Anderson and Harris will demand, look for Walker, Brown and Ogunleye to have big seasons. Linebackers: Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Hunter Hillenmeyer. - Not much to say here. Urlacher is the best middle linebacker in the game. Some will point to that Merriman fellow sacking the hell out of QB's in San Diego, but people dont realize that the scheme that Lovie runs in Chicago severely limits Brian's ability to attack. Brian has spoken out against the over two but admits that although it doesnt offer him the chance to make the big time sacks that Merriman gets in the 3-4, it is still a successful scheme. Brian is asked to routinely cover RB's, tight ends and even recievers and does all three better than anybody in the game. Briggs is all about football. After his tumultuous offseason all he wants to do is play and do what he does best, hit. Hillenmeyer is a solid weakside linebacker that does a lot of the dirty, gritty work that isnt asked of the middle and strong side backers. Secondary: Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher, Mike Brown, Adam Archuletta, Daniel Manning, Ricky Manning. - Both Tillman and Vasher have been very strong CB's over the last few seasons and consequently rewarded with new contracts in the offseason. Tillman emerged last season as a shut-down type back and made Plaxico Burress eat his words after he declared the Bears seconday as not all that good. Mike Brown has had injury issued in all of the last three seasons but when healthy he has been one of the best safeties in football. He is a huge playmaker that ranks up there with Troy Polamalu when he is healthy but sadly injuries have held him back. If he stays healthy he catapults the secondary into top five discussion. Archuletta is the prototypical cover-two safety and when Lovie arrived in the Chi he actually had his safeties look at film of how Adam played in St. Louis as a template to how they should play safety in the cover two. RIcky Manning is a very strong player that thrives in the nickel package and fits very well into the defense. Daniel Manning is a very capable backup safety/CB that actually was supposed to start untill Archuletta was acquired from Washington. He doesnt take great angles on tackles and is best suited for CB duty and will spell Tillman and Vasher when needed. Looking at the Bears overall, there really are no weak spots on offense, defense or special teams. Looking at all of the other teams in the NFC, none are as complete as the Bears and that is why the Bears will be the team representing the NFC in Glendale, Arizona come Super Bowl Sunay in February.