If people were looking for a reminder of how inadequate teh Chicago Bears have been in the 2010s decade, they merely have to look at the win-loss record. Two playoff appearances in 10 tries. Just three winning seasons. It doesn’t get much worse than that, especially for an organization that has such a glorious history. However, there are other ways to help illustrate the problem. One that people often overlook is the NFL All-Decade team.
These lists showcase the best player at every position for a given decade. It’s been going on since the 1920s. Anybody who has followed it over the years will know that having even one representative on it showed the Bears probably had some degree of success. Such was the case in the 2000s when they employed Brian Urlacher. The 1990s though? Not so much. The 1980s though. That was a fun time. So did they manage to crack the 2010s list?
Technically, yes. According to Chris Wesseling of NFL.com, out of 26 possible spots the Bears managed to fill one. Except that one was Cordarrelle Patterson, a man they signed just this year.
“Patterson ranks first in kick-return yards (6,101), kick-return touchdowns (7) and kick-return average (29.9) this decade. While legendary return ace Devin Hester remained explosive enough in his decline phase to top the punt-return charts, Patterson is the definitive returner of the decade — bigger, stronger and faster than the competition. In fact, he might just be the greatest era-adjusted kickoff returner in NFL history.”
Chicago Bears got in on a technicality more than anything
It’s rather fitting that the Bears managed to crack the All-Decade team right under the wire by signing the best kick returner at the very last moment. Granted, it was a smart move on their part. Patterson had an outstanding season just returning kicks but also being a factor on coverage units and a part-time threat on offense. He took home Pro Bowl honors in 2019 for his work. Another of Ryan Pace’s quality moves on the free agent market.
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However, getting great performance out of a guy in the last year of a decade doesn’t reflect how truly inadequate the Bears were in the 2010s. Most of that time was spent watching the franchise fall apart after one last surge in 2010 before beginning the long process of rebuild from the ground up. The best player they acquired was probably Kyle Long back in 2013 and his once-promising career was cut down mercilessly by constant injury issues. Kyle Fuller and Akiem Hicks also deserve note but neither is anywhere close to the best at their positions in the league.
Until the Bears once again manage to find these top tier type of players, they will continue to watch other teams celebrate at their expense.
