Tuesday,  Aug. 27, 2013 • Vol. 15--No. 43 • 25 of 35

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he's human and falls short of 2,000. Winfield might be harder to replace than Harvin, with cornerbacks Chris Cook, Josh Robinson and Rhodes tasked with defending NFC North's talented passers.
• CHICAGO BEARS (10-6)
• NEW FACES: LT Jermon Bushrod, TE Martellus Bennett, G Matt Slauson, G Kyle Long, LB James Anderson, LB D.J. Williams.
• KEY LOSSES: LB Brian Urlacher, DE Israel Idonije, LB Nick Roach.
• STRENGTHS: RB, WR, DE, CB, special teams
• WEAKNESSES: OL. Aging defense.
• EXPECTATIONS: Five playoff misses past six seasons led to coach Lovie Smith's firing. Offense appears better -- or at least has potential to be better -- but defense could take step back, with aging core players such as DE Julius Peppers, LB Lance Briggs, CB Charles Tillman in their 30s. Bushrod, Slauson should be major upgrades on left side of OL, but Bears could be going with rookies on right side in Long, RT Jordan Mills. Even with new additions, unit that ranked among league's worst remains question mark. Still, Bears gave QB Jay Cutler upgraded line. He also has versatile TE and offense-oriented coach in Marc Trestman. But to many, Cutler's out of excuses and possibly running out of time. Expiring contract and relationship with new coaching staff are two major story lines.
• DETROIT LIONS (4-12)
• NEW FACES: RB Reggie Bush, S Glover Quin, DE Jason Jones, DE Ziggy Ansah, CB Darius Slay, DE Israel Idonije, K David Akers, RB Montell Owens, DT C.J. Mosley, OG Leroy Harris, OG Jake Scott.
• KEY LOSSES: OT Jeff Backus, OT Gosder Cherilus, OG Stephen Peterman, LB Justin Durant, DE Cliff Avril, DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, DE Lawrence Jackson, K Jason Hanson, WR Titus Young.
• STRENGTHS: DT, WR.
• WEAKNESSES: OL, CB.
• EXPECTATIONS: Detroit's retooled defensive line with new ends (Ansah, Jones, Idonije) along with perhaps one of NFL's best tandem of tackles (Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley) makes franchise's bid to get back to playoffs a possibility. Quest becomes closer to reality if Matthew Stafford has time to connect with Calvin Johnson behind rebuilt offensive line with three new starters, and Reggie Bush has room to run. Jim Schwartz, entering fifth year as coach, stands to lose a lot if Detroit makes its 2011 postseason appearance look like fluke.


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