With the release of Madden 08 next week, I got to thinking of an article written by Bill Simmons, where he previewed the 2006 season.

Sepcifically, he mentioned certain offensive formations that are "unstoppable"

As any "Madden" junkie knows, there are only three unstoppable offenses: The five-WR shotgun if your line can protect you, the two-TE offense with two quality tight ends who can block and go deep, and the four-WR offense with a great back and four good receivers.

To pull off one of these offenses in "Madden," you need to rig at least one trade and sign a couple marquee free agents. In real life, it's almost impossible; in fact, the last time it happened, the '99 Rams were involved (the most unstoppable "Madden" offense of this generation).

When we drafted Greg Olsen and announced Devin Hester was going to see reps on offense, Bill's article kept pinging in my mind.  I'll go through each formation individually:

Five WR Shotgun Formation

• Offensive line - With 5 WRs, it's obvious that your line plays a huge role and needs to proved the necessary protection.  Our line is arguably one of the most veteran and consistent in the league, so they should be up to the challenge
  
• Grossman in the 'gun - There has been constant chatter about putting more shotgun into the offense, both to give Rex more time to make reads and for his general comfort, given he ran a substantial amount of shotgun at Florida.  Personally, I love the idea of Rex in the shotgun.
  
• Pick a threat - With our current crop of receivers, it's not a matter of "How do you field 5 capable receivers?" but rather "Which 5 receivers do we trot to the line?"  Moose, Berrain & Hester's footrace to the goalline, Bradley, Davis, Olsen, maybe Wolfe in slot, etc.  This might be the deepest receiving the Bears have seen in many years.

Two TE, Single Back Formation

• Dual TE Threat - I don't remember the last time the Bears could line up in a two tight end set where both were legitimate receiving threats down the field.  From what I've heard, Olsen will require some work as a run blocker, but otherwise we have two dual threat tight ends.
  
• Pounding Ground Attack - Although there are people concerned about his durability, Benson has shown he can perform as a top tier running back.  Now imagine that performance when the linebackers and safeties have to second guess both tight ends running routes in their intermediate zones!

Four WR, Single Back Formation

• This is really the weakest, in Simmons's structure, of the unstoppables for da Bears.  While you can easily slate Moose and Berrian in the "good" category - Bradley, Hester, Olsen, and Davis are still relatively unproven.  I think they can certainly rise to that level, but it is a step they have yet to make.  
  
• The other "if" is Benson.  He will be a good running back; can he be a great running back?  The potential is there, he just has to deliver game to game for an entire season.

All in all, I'm ridiculously excited for the offense's prospects going into this season.  Will it be one of the all-time NFL offenses?  Probably not.  However, I think it will be one of the best offensive attacks Chicago has fielded in quite some time. I look forward to seeing our offense march down the field with the same energy and consistency with which our defense denies our opposition's.