Doubters Beware of this Bears Team

Bears GM Ryan Poles is about to see the sum total of his off-season efforts, plus whoever he can bring in to rush the passer off the edge.

On Tuesday the Bears report for training camp and all debate, rhetoric and guess work building since mid-January can finally end as solid results start to show.

Did they do enough with all the salary cap cash they had, the most in the league?

Did they finally draft players who can help Justin Fields?

Can Fields help himself? He needs to with the fifth-year option decision for the club due after this year.

Debates rage by the minute over social media over where they stand in a year when the NFC North guard figures to change drastically after Aaron Rodgers' departure.

Could the Bears be the startling, rising team to take the North? Doing it would require ending a 10-game losing streak first.

Confidence of Bears fans is easily shaken after 12 years without a playoff win, even when one and all seem to consider Fields the team's savior and centerpiece to future success.

All it seems to take is a few big-mouth podcasters or analysts to get people worried.

There really is every reason to believe this could be a team ready to make a big leap forward, even if the negative nabobs seem to be armed with the sharp daggers of logic and history.

Here are four good reasons to believe in the 2023 Bears.

1. Opposition Flaws

From a generally easy schedule to a division without a dominant team, the invitation has been extended for the Bears. Teams with difficult schedules when rebuilding can look worse than they really are. The Bears found this out last year, as they played the toughest schedule in the NFL. And it wasn't even close.

Now they're set to play the eighth-easiest slate but it's not just the 17 games they have ahead that can build confidence.

Without Rodgers to ruin their Sundays, with the Detroit Lions ascending but possessing plenty of question marks and with the Minnesota Vikings trying to hold together a team void of several key veterans--especially running back Dalvin Cook--the Bears couldn't have a better setup to make in-roads.

They have a schedule with three easier games at the end against Atlanta, Arizona and the Packers. They get to start against the Packers in their first game without Rodgers and in Chicago, then at Tampa Bay in the Buccaneers' second game without Tom Brady.

Sure, it gets tougher in the middle, but by then they could have some of their potential problems figured out in time to make a December/January run against four teams that had losing records last year. They're only playing six times against teams that had winning records last year and four of those are against the Lions and Vikings, who they know well.

If a young team needed to prove itself, there couldn't be a better opportunity.

2. Talent Upgrade

The defense couldn't stop the run or pass after losing Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn in trades. Then they lost Eddie Jackson and the pass defense collapsed.

Beyond that, last year their three linebackers were veteran journeyman Joe Thomas as well as Jack Sanborn and Nick Morrow. Neither Morrow nor Thomas had started half the NFL games they'd played and Sanborn was a rookie. All three were undrafted free agents. It was a non-descript group to say the least.

Their nose tackle was a player off the waiver wire scrap heap, Justin Jones was a second option at three technique after their first option couldn't pass a physical. Their defensive ends managed 6 1/2 sacks between all of them and a rookie safety had to lead them in sacks. They started two rookies in the secondary and eventually lost every single starter and even their first backup in the secondary to injuries.

The makeup of this defense is entirely different, even if they have one obvious problem that every Bears fan knows over at edge rusher.

A two-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker in Tremaine Edmunds, another starting linebacker in T.J. Edwards from the NFC champions, new nose tackles and three techniques, even new edge rushers who would have a hard time being worse than last year's 6 1/2-sack group.

The offensive line has draft pedigree working for it now with a first-rounder (Darnell Wright), two second-rounders (Teven Jenkins, Cody Whitehair), a third-rounder (Nate Davis) and fifth-rounder (Braxton Jones). They started an undrafted free agent center, rookie tackle, fifth-round tackle and a second-year tackle with four games experience who got moved to guard last year (Jenkins).

More than any other position, wide receiver is upgraded with DJ Moore and Chase Claypool after the majority of the year was spent with underperformers like Byron Pringle or N'Keal Harry. Role players Equanimeous St. Brown and Dante Pettis had to play major roles. Now they're hoping for roster spots.

3. Justin Fields

Fields already made a big climb statistically as a passer and runner in his final 11 starts last year, and it was with a much less talented surrounding cast.

Where he can go in Year 2 with Moore, Chase Claypool, with Darnell Mooney back from injury, and with Robert Tonyan added as a second tight end, doesn't require an optimist to envision.

Fields' passer rating rose 22 points in his last 11 starts over his first 16 games. His completion percentage rose by over 5%.

They already have a blocking group that proved itself capable of leading the NFL in rushing.

The next step in his evolution can't possibly be backwards with what they've provided for their QB.

His 5-20 record as a starter includes 25 starts with a poor supporting cast.

That's history.

4. Year 2

Coach Matt Eberflus and all the Bears have talked at length about how much better it has been to start out knowing the players, the players knowing the offense and defense, and in Fields' case, having a better idea how to read defenses and attack with the offense he knows better.

A year ago at this time the HITS principle was a matter of guesswork for players. They soon found out what kind of hustle was required to remain in the good graces of coaches.

Linebackers know better how to maintain gap integrity in a one-gap scheme. Defensive linemen know better how to get in gaps without leaving running back lanes to attack. Secondary players know how to work the leverage and play the ball.

The coaches know the players, know how to handle the game plans and in-game adjustments better. Players can actually help coach the players now.

"I think it has been beneficial this second year because we can have our players help with that," Eberflus said. "Justin, Mooney, Cole all those guys–Justin Jones–they can all help with that culture and teaching the guys.

"You bring guys in that love football and guys that care about their teammates–like Tremaine, TJ, all the guys that love the game, DJ. It's pretty easy to bring that culture along and it's really about building the relationships with the guy next to you."

It's all easier, and that can only be a reason for optimism.

Before getting to carried away with optimism and thinking grand thoughts, they need one win. It's been since October that they've done it.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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