Around the NFC North: Chicago Bears
There may not have been a team more active this offseason than the Chicago Bears. Coming off a 3-14 season under first year Head Coach/General Manager combination of Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles.
Poles knew he was in for a rebuild when he took the job, so he took the offseason and went to work.
The Bears spent a fortune in free agency, mostly on the defensive side of the ball. They used the top overall pick to move down with Carolina, picking up extra draft capital and wide receiver DJ Moore in the process.
The Bears enter a season with hope. They had an opportunity to replace quarterback Justin Fields if they wanted to. They did not. They believe he is their next franchise quarterback.
In addition, Aaron Rodgers is not in the division anymore. Rodgers famously said he owned the Bears after a game at Soldier Field in 2021. He was right.
The Bears have not beaten the Packers since 2018. They haven’t won a playoff game since the 2010 season. They’ll be looking to end both of those streaks in 2023.
Team: Chicago Bears
2022 Record/Finish: 3-14 Last in NFC North
Key Newcomers: WR DJ Moore, LB Tremaine Edmunds, LB TJ Edwards, OT Darnell Wright; G Wyatt Davis, TE Robert Tonyan.
Key losses: RB David Montgomery, LB Nicholas Morrow
The Bears didn’t lose a ton this offseason, but made plenty of changes anyway. DJ Moore headlines a group of newcomers as he’ll give Justin Fields a top-flight receiver as they try and maximize his potential. The Bears spent a lot of money on two inside linebackers, hoping to pair them with last season’s surprise Jack Sanborn.
On the offensive line, they used their top pick to grab massive Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright. The hope in Chicago is that they’ve solidified that group after years of having a lackluster unit in front of their quarterback.
Free agent acquisition Wyatt Davis should join Wright on the right side of the offensive line with last year’s fifth-round pick Braxton Jones playing left tackle next to Teven Jenkins.
The season rests on: Justin Fields’ development
The NFL is all about quarterback play. The Bears have been famously searching for one since Sid Luckman was lining up under center.
They traded up two years ago to get Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields after Mitchell Trubisky flamed out in Chicago.
Fields is exciting but inconsistent.
From a rushing standpoint, there may not be a better runner at the position including Lamar Jackson. Fields flashed his playmaking ability several times a season ago.
The issues for Fields have been in the passing game. Yardage isn’t everything, but Fields has never thrown for 300 yards in a game in his young career.
Last year Fields and the Bears led the league in sacks, sack percentage, and fumbles. They finished second in interception percentage.
Their passing offense was the worst in the NFL.
The supporting cast caught a lot of blame for those issues. Those excuses don’t exist anymore after a big offseason in Chicago.
The Bears have an opportunity to make some noise in the division. They won’t do that if Fields doesn’t develop.
Biggest strength: Receiving corps
There’s an argument to be made that the Bears have the best receiving corps in the division. DJ Moore is the most accomplished receiver in the division that isn’t Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson.
Darnell Mooney should not be a team’s best receiver, but should comfortably slide into that second receiver role.
Chase Claypool is entering a contract year, and the Bears gave up a high second-round pick to acquire him. Maybe he’ll be more comfortable after a full offseason in the offense.
This is a group that will have a lot of eyes on it as the Bears try to build a dynamic offense for the first time since Jay Cutler was throwing passes to Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery.
Biggest question: Do they have a quarterback?
The Bears are in a similar situation to Green Bay from this standpoint. The season is considered a success if they feel like they have a long-term answer at quarterback.
Asking the Bears to make the playoffs is asking for a lot. While they made some improvements this offseason, this was a team that went 3-14 last season, including winning one of their last 14 games.
If Fields is the real deal, they won’t finish 3-14 again, but that doesn’t mean they’ll make the playoffs either.
The biggest question that needs to be answered is whether Fields can be more consistent in the passing game. He has had a knack for making the difficult things look easy, and the easy things look difficult.
Consistency is the name of the game at quarterback. The Bears will need to protect Fields better, and he needs to protect the football better.
If they find out that Fields is the answer, they have a war chest of picks and salary cap space they can use to build around him.
If he’s not, they’ll be back to square one.
Season outlook:
Even after GM Ryan Poles spent more money than any team on free agency and had a full complement of draft picks for the first time, Justin Fields will still shoulder the level of improvement the Bears make this season.
There simply wasn't enough money or talent available to bring in everything the Bears needed to reduce all the pressure on Fields.
They were that bad last year. It's a huge amount of responsibility for a quarterback who is still developing. The 10-game losing streak to finish the last Bears season was no fluke. Now Fields has more weapons -- particularly DJ Moore and the two have developed quite a connection already in training camp. Fields is getting the ball out a shade quicker in his second year within Luke Getsy's offense. Their blocking should benefit because they've kept the line intact at the same positions through the off-season and in early training camp.
However, the defense only addressed one of the real problems it had last year by bringing in linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards. The lack of any defensive ends with the ability to pressure the quarterback could get some attention during training camp with a signing or trade but it's still insufficient.
They need more and better defensive linemen up front across the board. The idea floated by coaches of pressure from interior linemen this year to make it easier for the edge rushers they do have is silly, for one, because they don't even yet have developed, quality, interior defensive linemen to do this. And also, simply because a team always needs competent edge rushers.
The Bears gave up 33 points a game over the final 10 losses last year and the offense should be able to keep up with opposing offenses in shootouts this year but ultimately the lack of a pass rush and counting on too many young defensive backs like rookie Tyrique Stevenson or second-year players Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker to hold up without help up front in the pass rush should make the Bears a team fighting to reach a maximum of seven or eight wins. - Gene Chamberlain - Bear Digest
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