Are the Bears Legitimate?
Zeke Warren-Weigmann
|
It is an understatement to say that this year has been a disappointing one for the Minnesota Vikings. However, despite the down year, we as Vikings fans can be confident that our club will turn it around. Over the past five years, this team has been consistently good, putting up an overall record of 50-29-1, notching three playoff appearances in the process. Whether it be through a quarterback change, a coaching change, or simply a mindset change, this team will be back and be a significant threat in the NFC North.
That being said, if we assume the Vikings will be competitive in the coming years, it is important to analyze their NFC North rivals. Two of the three division opponents are essentially cut and dry. Despite a surprising 28-22 loss to Minnesota this past sunday, as long as Aaron Rodgers remains under center for the Green Bay Packers (which according to past interviews he plans on doing for at least the next five years), the Packers will continue to be a tough outing.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, it is unlikely that the Detroit Lions will manage to change their mediocre ways. At 3-4, the perpetually milquetoast Lions will assuredly do just well enough to justify not firing head coach Matt Patricia, despite his obvious ineptitude. All things considered, the consistently terrible Lions will likely remain terrible.
The real enigma of the division has been and continues to be the Chicago Bears. Since losing the superbowl in 2006, the club has posted a respectable if not slightly disappointing 99-109 record (in comparison, the New York Giants, a team that won two superbowls in that same time period, has put up a record of 100-108). However, despite some semblance of success, in that time Chicago has been through four head coaches, 16 starting quarterbacks, and have only made the playoffs twice.
If you are unconvinced by those arguments for the bears being a confusing mess, then all you need to do is take a glimpse at the 2020 iteration of the team and you will see just how astoundingly perplexing this team is.
Despite starting 2-0 with former #2 overall pick Mitchell Trubisky under center, the Bears made the switch to offseason acquisition and former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, and have since improved to a 5-3 record under his leadership.
With a record like that, the Bears have to be good right? Well, not exactly. Despite the win total, the offense has been utterly abysmal, ranking 29th overall and sporting the league’s worst ground attack. The defense has more often than not had to carry games, but even then cannot be considered a historically great unit, as they currently only rank as the tenth best defense in the league. Frankly, this team’s level of success is shocking.
The question remains however, are the Bears a team to be feared by purple and gold once the Vikings regain their form? Well, the jury is still out on that decision. The Bears have an elite defense, one that can be top of the league despite being dragged down by the offense. Even despite their woes, Chicago has some decent weapons on offense, weapons that if given the right signal caller could evolve into borderline elite talent.
At the end of the day, the fate of the Chicago Bears boils down to whether or not they can solve their quarterback issues. At this point, it is obvious that neither Nick Foles nor Mitch Trubisky are the answer, and with their relative success this season, they will likely not have the capitol to snag one of the top rated signal callers in the upcoming 2021 draft. Their options then are either to: Stick with what they have and try to make it work, take a chance on young QBs like Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones who are about to be ousted by an incoming rookie, pay a king’s ransom to try and trade up for one of the top draft prospects, or try and find a diamond in the rough in a late round QB.
It will not be impossible for Chicago to fix their quarterback woes, they have a real shot at doing so. Then again, considering that the Bears have not had a real QB since Jim McMahon, perhaps I am being a bit too optimistic.