There are few instances in the NFL where the opening week is a must win. For the Chicago Bears, this is one of those instances.

Head Coach Lovie Smith and General Manager Jerry Angelo are both sitting on seats so hot, the devil himself would feel uncomfortable. Today begins the fourth season since the Bears ascended into contention before losing to the indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XL.

Since then, every adjustment Smith has attempted just simply has not worked. Every personnel move simply has not worked. Thus the Bears have been stuck in the neighborhood of a .500 team.

However the fuse is burning and the time to produce is now. As in right now. Today.

If the Bears go out today and wind up losing to the supposedly improved Detroit Lions it will be a clear sign that yet another season of upheaval has not produced any improvement. Some of you may point to Mr. Favre's less than spectacular debut Monday night as proof that even Hall of Fame talent can start off rocky. I will tell you that aside from Brian Urlacher, there is nothing on this team Hall of Fame worthy. (And at this point, even Urlacher's a stretch)

So the mission is simple: run the ball, sack the quarterback, and don't throw any interceptions. Oh yeah, and win too. OK?

The problem is that even though I am more than ecstatic for football and the Bears to be back, there's not a realistically optimistic bone in my body as this team takes one more step back to the Wannstedt era.

Yup, it's that bad folks.

However, as multiple people love to point out, I am not always correct in my predictions and could be wrong.

For my sanity's sake, I hope I am.