The NFL is back, and Sportsnet is breaking down everything you need to know about each of the 32 teams—including why you should or shouldn’t be rooting for them this season—in the month leading up to kickoff on Thursday, Sept. 10. Today, the Chicago Bears.
Last year’s record: 5-11
Head coach: John Fox
Core players: Alshon Jeffery, Matt Forte, Jay Cutler
2015 is about… A clean slate. CFL fans will remember Marc Trestman from his five-year run with the Alouettes, in which the team won four East Division titles and two Grey Cups (they also appeared in a third). But his tenure in Chi-town was a disaster. In his two years there, the team went from playoff bubble to bottom of the league—elite defence to godawful, giving up an NFL-high 28.8 points per game over the span. Enter John Fox, who’s coming off four straight playoff appearances in Denver. If he and his staff can simply stop the bleeding (the Bears have gone 8-8 and 5-11 the last two years) and put a credible defence on the field, then this season will be a success.
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They lost… Brandon Marshall (WR). Coming off two straight 100-plus-catch seasons in 2012 and 2013, Marshall’s 2014 season matched just about everyone else’s in Chicago, as he was hampered by injuries and caught just 61 balls in 13 games (extrapolated out for a full year that’s still just 75 receptions). Marshall is still an elite receiver who had established good chemistry with Cutler, but at least the Bears have Alshon Jeffery waiting in the wings.
Losing Lance Briggs (LB) doesn’t hurt all that much considering how far he’d fallen the last two years, but it does signal a changing of the guard. The absence of an A+ middle linebacker (the Bears have had a nice string of those over the years…) won’t sting that much considering the team is moving to a base 3-4 defence this coming year.
Yeah, but they got… Pernell McPhee (LB). A six-foot-three, 275-pound defender, McPhee had 7.5 sacks in a relatively limited role in Baltimore last year. In Chicago, he projects to be the man after signing a five-year, $40-million deal. He should make an easy transition to OLB in the Bears’ new system, and could be a matchup nightmare when he lines up versus tight ends. The Bears also added Eddie Royal from the Chargers and Kevin White through the draft (both WRs) to help ease the burden of losing Marshall. Unfortunately, White is likely to miss most of his rookie season after shin surgery.
Growing from within: Kyle Fuller (CB). Drafted one spot after NFL defensive ROY Aaron Donald in 2014, Fuller started the season super-hot before cooling off. Still, he finished first among rookie corners in interceptions with four.
Why this team? Well, there’s… Um, but hey… Hmm. Maybe… because Alshon Jeffery is a really good receiver?
Seriously, though, Fox is a good coach, and he’s assembled a great staff. If you’re going to put your faith in a rebuilding project, it should be one with minds akin to these ones.
Why not? It’s going to take time. Also, it can be pretty hard to cheer for Jay Cutler. He has the physical tools to be a great quarterback, but he’s also incredibly mistake-prone. Google “quarterback turnovers”, and the third result is Cutler’s NFL.com player page—he gave the ball up a total of 24 times last season, most in the league. Also, if you value your quarterback’s body language (hey, some people do… not judging), this is definitely not your team.
Perfect for fans of… Throwbacks. As a franchise, they haven’t won it all as much as you’d think given their place in the national consciousness (they owe most of their fame to the 1985 team that featured big personalities like Jim McMahon and William “Refrigerator” Perry, and, you know, “The Super Bowl Shuffle“), but they’ve got the look and feel of a strong team steeped in tradition. Great uniform, great stadium, great city.
How much hope? 5/10. The defence is going to struggle, but the coaching change should add some life and they’ve got legitimate pieces on offence. Plus, the division hardly features a murder’s row of challengers.
Will you be mocked for front-running? Not right now, no. Just don’t walk around saying “Da Bears” all the time (you have to earn that…), and you should be good.
A Meme To Remember: All Bears memes come back to something like this.
