Over the past two seasons the Bears have been hit with injuries.

Key players like Charles “Peanut” Tillman, Tommie Harris, Dusty Dvoracek, Nathan Vasher, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Brian Urlacher and Chris Williams have all suffered from the injury bug.

This year is huge for the Bears.

People have very high expectations for them.

Jay Cutler is the main reason for that.

The town is going crazy over the offseason the Bears have had. They added many pieces to the offensive line and made a couple solid draft picks on defense.

The Bears offense could be the reason the defense gets back to being very good.

If Cutler helps the offense sustain drives, the defense won’t have to be on the field as much, hence being fresh when they’re actually on the field.

The Bears offense should be alright. Cutler has Matt Forte, Greg Olsen, Devin Hester, Dez Clark and Earl Bennett as his key weapons.

The defense should be strong with Head Coach Lovie Smith taking over as defensive coordinator and Rod Marinelli coming in as the defensive line coach.

I expect big things out of this team and if they can stay healthy, I think they can win the NFC.

Three Players to Watch (besides Jay Cutler):

1) Greg Olsen—He had a big season last year with 54 catches, 574 yards and five touchdowns, but he should gain the most from the addition of Jay Cutler.

2) Tommie Harris—He was once a dominant force. If he listens to Marinelli and gets his knee prepared for this season, he should be a big-time playmaker. Remember, he’s only 25 years old.

3) Earl Bennett—This kid came out this offseason by saying he didn’t know the full playbook until week 10 of last season, hence having no catches. He played college ball with Jay Cutler and should be the No. 2 receiver behind Hester. Watch out for Bennett.