Seemingly as far back as Bears fans can remember, the team has been disrespected in any sort of league-wide rankings or projections. It’s hard to argue against them though, as the Bears haven’t had a winning season since 2012 when they went 10-6. You can’t really blame the writers…
However, the Bears have had an amazing off-season and there’s finally reason for hope and optimism in this city. A new head coach, several new receivers for Mitchell Trubisky, a revamped offensive line, a stud new middle linebacker and many other factors are combining together to cause national writers to pay attention to this team they’ve neglected for so many years.
Chris Roling and Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report recently put out corresponding articles, Power Ranking the offenses and defenses of all 32 teams. Apparently, the buzz surrounding the Bears is catching on.
Defense
The Bears finished last year with a Top-10 defense in the NFL and retained the majority of the players that made that happen. Now add in the fact that the Bears added Roquan Smith, Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Bilal Nichols, Kylie Fitts, Aaron Lynch and others to this unit and this team looks ready to contend for that title again this year.
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Maurice Moton seems to agree; putting the Chicago Bears defense at #9 overall.
“…We’re now among defenses that have slight concerns rather than glaring weaknesses.
The Chicago Bears finished in the top 10 in points and yards allowed during the 2017 season. Head coach Matt Nagy re-signed defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, which bodes well for the on-field personnel.
The front office drafted linebacker Roquan Smith with the No. 8 pick. He’ll join Danny Trevathan to form a solid pair in the middle of a hard-nosed defense…”
The pieces are all there for another top-tier defense this year. Moton touches on the key to the Bears returning to the same standing next year though; Vic Fangio. Without Fangio returning as defensive coordinator, the Bears would most likely be much lower on this list.
Offense
Last year, the Bears offense couldn’t have been much worse. Running an archaic form of football under head coach John Fox, the Bears posted all-time lows for this historic franchise.
After the hire of Matt Nagy as head coach, an offensive mind from the Kansas City Chiefs, the arrow seems to be pointed in the completely opposite direction. (That’s a good thing)
Chris Roling likes what the Bears have put together this off-season and has them ranked at #11 overall.
“Trubisky is franchise-quarterback material and now gets to throw to Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and second-round wideout Anthony Miller, one of the 2018 draft’s steals. Jordan Howard not only returns as the primary runner and is coming off two 1,100-plus-yard seasons, but Tarik Cohen is also one of football’s most explosive weapons and should see a bigger role.
…Mark Helfrich’s arrival tops it all off. The former Chip Kelly understudy and Oregon head coach will know how to squeeze the most out of mismatch nightmares like Cohen.”
For years, the Bears have seen themselves at the bottom of offensive rankings. With the incredible off-season they’ve had, it’s not a stretch to think the offense might finish this high at the end of the year!
No games have been played yet, these players have no chemistry together right now and Trubisky has yet to prove himself in this league…but for the first time in a long time, there’s reason for Bears fans to hope.
