Bears Lean on Winners to Stop Losing Ways

There has been one winning Bears season since the firing of Lovie Smith in 2012 and Eddie Jackson is among the Bears veterans saying they've had it with defeat.

Eddie Jackson has had it.

The Bears safety at training camp sounded a lot like another Bears safety from almost two decades ago, who wore his heart on his shirtsleeve the same way. That was Mike Brown.

As media crowded around Brown after one win for the first four weeks of the 2005 season, the veteran safety went off. He complained about losing and being fed up with it. The Bears abruptly turned it around, and much of the remainder of the Lovie Smith coaching era was spent in the running for a playoff spot, until he was fired with a 10-6 record in 2012.

They have had a winning record one season since Smith's firing.

Fast forward to Tuesday's opening of training camp.

"It motivates you a lot because it's very frustrating," Jackson said. "Nothing about me is a loser. I hate losing. I don't like it. I feel like it shouldn't be acceptable."

What they've been through most recently is 10 straight losses. In Jackson's case, it's one winning season in six, and last year he at least had a Pro Bowl season cooking before a season-ending foot injury.

"I'm ready," Jackson said. "It's just trying to get back with the team and turn this thing around. That's what it's about, mostly.

"So this is just a new identity, man. Just try to turn this things around man and I feel like we’ve got the guys and the pieces to do that this year."

At the very least, Jackson maintains his optimism.

"I'm tired of the same old standard that the Bears have. Having the same everything, the same results in and out every year. We want to make it to the playoffs and eventually make it to the Super Bowl." 

"For me personally, man, it's Year 7," Jackson said. "Just going to continue to get better. Coming off the injury last year, it (deleted). But like I said, we have a lot of new pieces, a lot of new faces. So I just want to turn this thing around. That's the main goal. Year-in, year-out. New faces, new everything.

"I'm tired of the same old standard that the Bears have. Having the same everything, the same results in and out every year. We want to make it to the playoffs and eventually make it to the Super Bowl."

Nothing better explains what GM Ryan Poles did with off-season free agent acquisitions than Jackson's frustration.

The Bears have been losers and had players who knew virtually nothing but losing in the NFL. 

Many still do. Poles brought in winners to help show the way.

Between starters Eddie Jackson, Jaquan Brisker, Kyler Gordon, Kindle Vildor, Jack Sanborn, Justin Fields, Khalil Herbert, Chase Claypool, Cole Kmet, Braxton Jones, Cody Whitehair and Teven Jenkins there were 45 seasons and only seven winning seasons. One winning season was for Whitehair and Jackson in 2018. Justin Jones had three winning seasons in five, but his only Bears season last year was a losing one. The other two winning seasons by those players weren't in Chicago, either, and were by Claypool with Pittsburgh.

So the Bears added free agents this past off-season who won. Not all of them did. Nose tackle Andrew Billings has been through five seasons without a winning record in any of them. Same with DeMarcus Walker for six seasons. DJ Moore's brilliance as a receiver in Carolina came with five losing seasons and no wins.

However, Tremaine Edmunds has been through four winning seasons in five with Buffalo. T.J. Edwards has been through three winning seasons in four, including a Super Bowl with Philadelphia. Defensive end Rasheem Green went through three winning seasons in four with Seattle before a losing season with Houston and now coming to Chicago. Guard Nate Davis has been through three winning seasons in four with Tennessee.

As much as anything, the Bears are going to need to lean on these winning veteran imports to show the way because one losing season after another wears on players after a while. You can forget what the little things are that are required to pull out wins in a league where talent levels are so similar.

"You know I'm a natural born leader and I know that I'm going to make guys around me better just because of what I'm going to put out there on the field each and every day," Edmunds said. "So obviously, being a leader, you know when you say one thing you get a lot of fingers being pointed back at you but we have a lot of good leaders in the room man and I'm excited to get to work with them now officially at training camp."

There may be a lot of leaders, but they're not all past winners. Those who are need to show the way to players who haven't experienced it in a while.

As Jackson said, the Bears have been stumbling around in the dark for too long.

Winningest Bears Starters

Player, Winning Seasons-Total Seasons

LB Tremaine Edmunds 4-5

LB T.J. Edward 3-4

G Nate Davis 3-4

Rasheem Green 3-5

Justin Jones 3-5

Chase Claypool 2-3

Eddie Jackson 1-6

Cody Whitehair 1-7

DeMarcus Walker (6), Andrew Billings (5), DJ Moore (5), Darnell Mooney (3), Cole Kmet (3), Kindle Vildor (3), Justin Fields (2), Khalil Herbert (2), Teven Jenkins (2), Jack Sanborn (1), Jaquan Brisker (1), Braxton Jones (1), Kyler Gordon (1) all have yet to experience a winning season.. 

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven