The Bears schedule is out, and though the NFL season still might not happen, that won't keep your friends at Grizzly Detail from scouring the schedule to tell you what's what.
Here's what you need to know so you can start planning your life around Bears season.
It's not easy: The NFL didn't give the defending NFC North champs an easy road back to the playoffs. The Bears have six games against 2010 playoff teams (which includes seeing the Packers twice).
They're frequent fliers: The Bears will travel 20,756 miles over the course of the season, with big trips to London and Oakland. The bye week comes after the trip to London, but then the Bears are on the road again, heading to Philadelphia for a Monday night game against the Eagles.
Ready for primetime: With two Sunday night games and two Monday night games, one fourth of the Bears schedule is in primetime. They also have four 3 p.m. games. At the beginning of last year's season, they didn't have any 3 p.m. games. (After the Bears started winning, they had games pushed back to the late start time.)
September is a cruel month: The Bears open at home against the Falcons, who finished with the best record in the NFC last season, then they face the last two Super Bowl champions: the Saints in New Orleans and the Packers at home. By Oct. 1, we should have a clear idea on what kind of team this is.
Familiar faces: The Bears will see plenty of old friends. Former Bears Leslie Frazier and Mike Singletary coach the Vikings, who will play the Bears twice. Ron Rivera, who both played and coached for the Bears, will face Chicago as the head coach of the Panthers on Oct. 2. On Dec. 11, Jay Cutler will make his first trip back to Denver since getting traded to Chicago.
Vacationing Bears: This schedule gives plenty of excuses to leave town. New Orleans in September, the Bay Area at the end of November, Denver at the start of skiing season, and London in October are all on the itinerary. Even the pre-season offers a trip to Canton, Ohio, for Richard Dent's Hall-of-Fame induction and the Bears' first pre-season game against the Rams.
