Regular Season Quiets Bears Noise

What's good in May and June in the NFL often gets shuffled to the background by the start of the regular season.

Whether it's basing a great deal on the meaningless preseason or the last-minute free agent signings and waiver wire pickups, all of those off-season projections of the Bears climbing up within sight of the top half of the league have almost completely disappeared.

Most NFL power rankings list the Bears in the mid-20s or lower 20s starting the season. Early in the off-season, they saw something much better for the Monsters of the Midway.

In all honesty, the polls probably are more accurate than those off-season power rankings. Those are total guesses. At least the rankings now have time and a little bit of practice football behind them. They're not simply operating off the buzz of the draft and free agency.

Here's where the Bears ranked as Week 1 begins.

NFL.com: 26th

Obviously this wasn't made by Adam Rank or Kyle Brandt or anyone else with NFL media who tends to favor the Bears. This was from Eric Edholm. He wrote about how they want Fields to be the next Jalen Hurts.

"Their second-year numbers actually compare quite favorably, although Fields' sack rate (14.7% last season to Hurts' 5.7% in 2021) and interception rate (3.5% last season to Hurts' 2.1% in 2021) truly are concerning outliers until proven otherwise," Edholm wrote.

SI.com: 23rd

Conor Orr fixed the pressure firmly on Matt Eberflus rather than Justin Fields. This might not be the right place for it considering Eberflus was hand-picked by Ryan Poles and they were the product of George McCaskey's (and Bill Polian's) search while Fields was a holdover QB from a different regime. "Going back a few years now, Eberflus was the defensive equivalent to Sean McVay, and this is a chance for him to have more input on roster-making decisions and create a defense in his image," Orr wrote.

The33rdTeam.Com: 23rd

They're giving the Bears great credit which may or may not be deserved but the ranking still keeps them in the league's bottom third. "Fields has shown flashes in the past, but the big question is: Can he be a consistent passer? If he can, the Bears have some wild card potential," Ryan Reynolds wrote.

CBSSports.com: 27th

Pete Prisco gives everyone hope but only for the future by writing: "They will be better this season, but I think their real push will come in 2024. The offense with Justin Fields will make strides in the passing game."

ESPN.com: 24th

ESPN has moved the Bears up three spots since the draft. Their weekly theme to their picks is the hot seat and beat writer Courtney Cronin gives one with more perspective than many others have on this topic. Usually it's Justin Fields or Matt Eberflus put into the hot seat, which could be the case in the future. But right now there is no one in a hotter seat on the roster than Velus Jones Jr., as Cronin points out. "The Bears' wide receiver room is more crowded now than it was during Jones' rookie season, which leaves little room for error when it comes to issues of ball security," Cronin wrote.

NBC Sports/Pro FootballTalk.com: 21st

In a departure from the norm, the Bears nearly get out of the top 20. "They'll rise as far as Justin Fields can take them," Matt Florio wrote.

FoxSports.com: 25th

David Helman goes Carl Sandburg on us: "They call Chicago the City of Broad Shoulders, and Justin Fields is going to need them to carry the weight of these expectations."

TheSportingNews.com: 24th

Probably the most accurate commentary comes down from Vinnie Iyer at The Sporting News , as he points out Justin Fields has more help and adds, "That can make them a lot more competitive in the NFC North, but the question comes down to whether a piecemeal defense can have the needed pass rush and coverage impact between an elite linebacker corps."

Pro Football Focus: 19th

They made this projection long ago and it probably needs to be updated as the season gets going as it had the afterglow of the draft and free agency still on it.

YahooSports.com: 27th

Frank Schwab makes a statement many others have said: "Packers-Bears might be the most fascinating Week 1 game," he wrote. The reason for this is you've got a new quarterback for the Packers and the hot quarterback for off-season discussion. Who knows what is going to happen?

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven