Commentary: Bears likely won't win more than four games |
As soon as Ryan Poles became general manager of the Chicago Bears, he immediately decided to do a total Theo Epstein-Cubs style tear down of the team.
Traded, not re-signed, or released were franchise stalwarts Khalil Mack, Allen Robinson II, Akeem Hicks, Danny Trevathan, Eddie Goldman, Jimmy Graham, and Tarik Cohen. Anyone who thinks this Bears team can contend for the Super Bowl or even the division championship will be disappointed. The team has so many holes to fill I don't even know where to start. There is a reason ESPN has the Bears with the best odds to have the number pick in the 2023 NFL draft. With that being said, this season should be about and one thing only-Justin Fields. The Bears must decide if he is the franchise quarterback they traded up for in the 2021 NFL draft, or with a strong group of quarterbacks coming out this year, do the Bears draft another one? One thing I didn't agree with Ryan Poles doing this offseason is not getting Justin Fields much help. Poles is betting Daryl Mooney, Cole Kmet, and David Montgomery are enough of a supporting cast. Yes, he did draft Velus Jones, Jr., but he is not considered a number one go-to receiver and will need some development, and no other big-time receiver has been signed in free agency. One thing for Justin Fields to be successful has to be the play of the offensive line. If Fields is running for his life and not getting much time like he did last year, it will ruin his confidence and stunt his career. The Bears must use Fields strengths and use him for what he is, unlike the previous coaching staff did with Mitchell Trubisky, who they tried to make a pocket passer out of. We will also see what we have in Matt Eberflus, who seems like the more Mike Ditka yelling in your face type of coach instead of the laid-back Matt Nagy. Hopefully, this version of Ryan and Matt is better than the old one of Pace and Nagy. Poles traded down a lot in the draft to acquire more picks, and hopefully, he hits on them better than his predecessor. The defense with Roquan Smith, Robert Quinn, Jaylon Johnson, and hopefully returning to form Eddie Jackson seems like it can keep the Bears in most games. Even still, I don't see this team winning more than four games. This is going to be a long rebuild that is going to take more than a year or two to get the Bears back to Super Bowl contention, and patience with this young team is going to be needed, but if Justin Fields improves and shows that he is a franchise quarterback. The Bears can use their high pick to address another area of need, and the patience will be worth it. Let's just hope those four wins come against the Packers and Vikings.
