It’s been almost three weeks since the Bears lost Super Bowl XLI.

Hopefully, Bears fans have gotten over it. If not, seek more counseling. This means you Peyton Manning. No, not Super Bowl MVP Manning, but the guy formally known as Scott Wiese, who legally changed his name to Peyton Manning when he bet on the Bears and lost.

Chicago fans need not fret – the Bears will be back next year. And here are five reasons why:

1. They’ve beaten the best NFC teams

Aside from the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bears beat the best teams the NFC had to offer in the 2006 season.

Remember when every ESPN, NBC and CBS analyst flip-flopped each week between teams to determine which team was best? One week it was the Giants. Then the Cowboys were the team to beat. And for some reason, “analysts” thought the Seahawks had a shot at the crown. Finally, the Bears claimed their spot as NFC’s best in the championship game, soundly defeating the Saints – the team experts were picking all week long.

2. The Bears have dominated the NFC for two years.

Lovie Smith’s Bears have a record of 22-3 – including the playoff loss to the Carolina Panthers – against NFC teams the past two seasons.

Only the Panthers, Packers and Redskins have managed a win against the current NFC champions. Enough said.

3. Jerry Angelo knows how to draft.

Arguably the best draft pick Jerry Angelo has cooked up in his five-year tenure as general manager is CB/KR Devin Hester.

However, obscure picks like DE Mark Anderson (5th round), WR Bernard Berrian (3rd), LB Lance Briggs (3rd), CB Nathan Vasher (4th) and CB Charles Tillman (2nd), to name a few, have paid dividends for the Bears.

This trend should continue. So, while other teams upgrade, so will the Bears.

4. Few changes to core starters, system established by Lovie Smith.

The Bears are $16.1 million under the salary cap, according to ESPN’s John Clayton. Plus, the team has only three notable free agents to worry about: Briggs, Tillman and guard Ruben Brown.

So really, the only notable change to the team could be the loss of Ron Rivera, who is interviewing for the San Diego Chargers head coaching job.

5. Rex Grossman will have a full season’s worth of experience.

Grossman can’t get worse, right?