Age Is Only a Number for These Bears
It's not the most useless bit of information, but not something to panic about for Bears fans, either.
The Bears have the oldest team in the NFL.
This isn't exactly George Allen's "Over the Hill Gang," of the 1970s. They're not fossils.
Still, the Bears average 27.0 years old and in NFL standards they are graybeards. Houston is next oldest at 26.8.
Coach Matt Nagy shrugged if off with some humor, some of it valid, although some was wishful thinking.
"It doesn't change the way I coach but what it does is you have to be a little cognizant of those guys that are higher in age of how you handle them," Nagy said. "You have to treat them differently.
"And you look at a guy like Jason Peters who's 39. That probably drove up the average a bit. Maybe. I don't know."
A 39-year-old tackle, and 34-year-old tight end Jimmy Graham, along with 33-year-old quarterback Andy Dalton do contribute to this, no doubt.
However, the Bears didn't have Peters or Dalton last year and they were the second-oldest team in the NFL.
This year their starting defense has five players 30 or older, but it would be a stretch to call the defense old because the oldest of those is Akiem Hicks at 32. The rest are just over 30 or 31. Age doesn't necessarily dictate performance of the current defense, but projecting anything beyond this season becomes murky.
Last year Tampa Bay was the third-oldest team in the league and no doubt a 43-year-old starting quarter dragged the average up but they also started three defensive players 30 or older, including 33-year-old defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh. Two years before that the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl with the oldest team.
Youth doesn't necessarily mean winning. Jacksonville has been in the top 10 youngest teams for five straight years. The Jaguars are the youngest team this year and no one is predicting Super Bowl. The Jets, Lions, Browns, Jaguars and Panthers are the five youngest teams this year and of them only Cleveland would be called a Super Bowl challenger, and maybe the only real playoff candidate among them.
It depends on what teams do with the aging players.
The Bears are going to need to handle Peters with extreme care, as Nagy pointed out. Being 39 is not like being 30 in the NFL.
"But we got to take care of him," Nagy said. "And we got to listen to Jason, too. We can't be the ones that come in here all stubborn-headed and say you got to do this, this and this. No. You've been playing a long time. You're a Hall of Fame tackle. What works for you? Right?
"And we got to listen to him. A guy like Jimmy Graham. He's been doing this a long time. He's one of the greatest professionals I've ever been around, the way he treats his body and mind. We listen to those guys. So that's probably what drives some of those numbers up. But we listen to what they're doing."
Snap counts will be watched on the Bears defense with so many 30-somethings, but not necessarily because one is 30 and another is 29.
"I think you manage that for everybody on an individual basis regardless of age," defensive coordinator Sean Desai said. "You know it's based on performance and how they're playing in a game. Age is one factor only but it's not the only or the deciding factor."
A 30-year-old player who hasn't kept himself in the greatest shape might be less effective at times than a 34-year-old who is in top shape.
"I think when you talk about the age thing my experience has been very, very diverse in this league with that and it's really up to the individual player and how they prepare their bodies and their minds for the game and each player is very different in what they need to do to get ready for a game in a longer season," defensive coordinator Sean Desai said. "And our guys are more veteran guys that have responded very well and they all understand that.
"So our strategy, I mean the expectation is still the expectation for whatever role and whatever. I mean we're not changing the expectation because somebody's younger or old."
Bears 30-Somethings
T Jason Peters 39*
TE Jimmy Graham 34
LS Patrick Scales 33
QB Andy Dalton 33*
QB Nick Foles 32
DE Akiem Hicks 31*
LB Danny Trevathan 31*
S Tashaun Gipson 31*
OLB Robert Quinn 31*
WR Marquise Goodwin 30
OLB Khalil Mack 30*
ILB Christian Jones 30
ILB Alec Ogletree 30
P Pat O'Donnell 30
*Starters
Average NFL Ages
Jets 25.1
Lions 25.2
Browns 25.3
Panthers 25.3
Jaguars 25.5
Rams 25.5
Giants 25.6
Colts 25.6
Cowboys 25.6
Bengals 25.6
Steelers 25.6
Vikings 25.6
Broncos 25.6
Dolphins 25.7
Packers 25.7
Raiders 25.7
Chargers 25.8
Ravens 25.8
Eagles 25.9
Falcons 25.9
Football Team 26.0
Saints 26.0
Chiefs 26.1
Bills 26.3
Titans 26.4
Seahawks 26.4
49ers 26.5
Patriots 26.5
Cardinals 26.7
Buccaneers 26.7
Texans 26.8
BEARS 27.0
SEE THE AVERAGE AGES OF NFL TEAMS THE PAST 5 YEARS
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
