We are just about 3 weeks from the start of one of the most anticipated training camps in recent Bears memory and what was the first storyline we heard this week? No Bears’ player made the NFL Network’s Top 100 player list for the 2017-2018 season.
No player from the Chicago Bears made NFL Nework's top 100 NFL players of 2018.
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) June 23, 2018
This should come as no surprise as the 2017 Bears were almost as bad to watch as the 2016 Bears, or maybe the 2015 Bears, or the 2014 Bears? The list, unfortunately, goes on.
However, this ‘snub’ is something the Bears are used to, with Matt Forte being the only Bear to make the list since 2016.
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But as Bears fans sit here in the last week of June, this ranking should not deter Bears fans from their hope and optimism for the 2018-2019 season and beyond. If you are so inclined to buy Bears’ ‘stock,’ do it. Their rise is coming and this dismissal by the NFL Network should only serve as motivation for the Monsters of the Midway.
And don’t worry Bears’ nation, this should serve as motivation for you too.
The 2017 Bears were a tough bunch to watch, with flashes from Mitchell Trubisky, Jordan Howard, Eddie Jackson and more. But as the season went on, the guttural reactions to John Fox’s coaching style by fans and media alike, clouded judgment about developments on the field.
John Fox took the blame for the challenge that was ruled a fumble. The Bears did have coaches advising the decision. Fox said they didn’t consider the possibility of it being a touchback.
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) November 12, 2017
While I will be first in line to tell Mitchell Trubisky to throw away anything he learned from Dowell Loggains as he enters the 2018-2019 season, there is merit to the experience he had on the field last season simply by suiting up, commanding a huddle and throwing in the ‘big leagues.’
Josh Sitton with funny anecdote on Mitch Trubisky: "We started to break the huddle early, and he said, ‘Get the f— back in the huddle, and don’t break it until I break it.’ He kind of cussed at all of us linemen, and I was like, ‘Hell, yeah. I respect the s— out of that.’
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) November 8, 2017
Last year for Trubisky was imperative toward his growth, allowing him and others to create a new culture, new schemes and a new way to win, in order to help himself or a teammate crack the Top 100 in June of 2019.
While it is too early to set goals for the Bears next season, there are two simple achievements Bears fans should expect their team to make to provide a sign of progress, and it starts with the Top 100 list.
The First Goal: Make The List
That should be the simple goal. Have a player make the Top 100. I know this list is in reality just a piece of paper, but it can provide a template for what Bears’ fans should expect in 2018. Next season is about development alongside excitement on the field. This plan may not sync up with a playoff berth, but it should produce league leaders even on a .500 team. The more productive the players are on the field the more the Bears will attract buzz around the league, especially for fans, free agents, and maybe even Rich Eisen who will be compiling this list between 40-yard dashes.
The Second Goal For 2018-2019: Let’s Go Bowling:
While Matt Forte was the last Bear to make the NFL Network’s exclusive list, the Bears also haven’t had a ‘first-ballot’ Pro-Bowler in three consecutive seasons. Jordan Howard did eventually make it to Orlando last year, but that was only as a replacement.
This goal should be easily attainable for the Bears. With all the skill they added this offseason on offense, Allen Robinson, Jordan Howard and even Mitchell Trubisky should all be candidates come January. On a team where wins aren’t guaranteed just yet, fans and individual players should look to these types of recognition as markers for growth and a pathway to sustained success.
Based on the reports I'm reading from minicamp, a very, very early prediction for Mitch Trubisky's first year in Matt Nagy's offense:
CMP: 64%
Yards: 3,850
YPA: 7.6
TD: 25
INT: 13Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/mr3MZqP9A9
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) June 6, 2018
Making the Top 100 or the Pro Bowl prove development but also are seen as signs of respect around the league; two areas in which the Bears regressed under John Fox.
While so many players sit out of the All-Star festivities, it is still a tremendous accomplishment to be named a Pro Bowler, and it also tells fans that the greatness they are watching is, in fact, real and that those individual performances could eventually help lead their team to a title.
These goals for the Bears seam fairly easy on paper, but for a fan base that has been stripped of NFL football for the last 4 years, these are in fact important indicators that the Bears are moving in the right direction.
A Bears fan could sit at home at ease, knowing that the Bears trajectory was going up, with 2 players making the Pro Bowl and 2 making the Top 100 in 2017. But that didn’t happen. Bears fans had nothing to grasp on to as the season spiraled along. The Bears and their fans need these small but important wins next year.
The Bears should look at their ‘snub’ and use it against every other team this upcoming season. These two goals are vital for a team and an entire organization that is searching for relevancy and respect, in a league that holds reputations in the highest of standards.
It’s only June, but the Bears already have their first two homework assignments for 2018
