Kmet says Bears have a "long way to go" to compete in division |
CHICAGO - It is hard not to feel bad for tight end Cole Kmet. Kmet is a lifelong Bears fan who has been with the Bears for the end of the Mitch Trubisky era, the entirety of the Justin Fields era and now the start of the Caleb Williams era. None of those seasons have been very successful, although the Bears did sneak into the playoffs in 2020 with Trubisky.
Chicago is unquestionably part of the best division in the NFL while simultaneously being one of the worst teams in the league. The other three teams in the league—the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Green Bay Packers—have already guaranteed themselves a spot in the playoffs. Detroit and Minnesota go into the final week with 14 wins, while Green Bay has 11 victories. The Bears will play the Lions in their regular season finale on Sunday, Jan. 5 (Noon / FOX). When asked what the Bears need to do in the offseason to become competitive in this division, Kmet did not mince words. “We got a long way to go. That’s just kind of being real with the situation. I don’t think that’s being negative. I think that’s just being honest about where things are at and where we’re at and where the division’s at. Obviously, three really good teams right now and they’re all playing their own style but (their) own really good brand of football and we got to be able to get to that point if we want to compete in this division. In terms of specifics as to what we need to get better on, I think it’s a lot. So, I’d be here for a little while talking about all that,” Kmet said. “But, I think one - just really starting with our operation and details into that and I know I’ve been one and plenty of others have talked about that throughout the season and it’s just something that we haven’t gotten going to the level that we needed to and when you continually beat yourself every game, it’s hard to know where you’re even at because you don’t even get to the point where you’re executing the right way and you’re really not even getting to those one-on-one situations or whatever it might be.” The Bears-Packers game used to be a historic rivalry. However, in recent years, it has become quite lopsided. Trubisky was the last Bears quarterback to defeat the Packers back in 2018 when Chicago won the division. Since then, they have lost 11 straight against Green Bay. Chicago's last chance to enter next season without an 11-game losing streak is this Sunday. “You get this last game here to kind of go over some of those things and then obviously the rest of this offseason. But, it’s going to be a (big) offseason. It’s going to take a lot of work from a lot of people,” Kmet said. “Anytime you play Green Bay, it’s always a big deal … I still haven’t beat them and I want to beat them and so, whenever you get to go play in Lambeau, which I think despite us not liking Green Bay is a special place to go play, so excited about that opportunity and I know they’re still playing for seeding. So, they’ll have some stuff to go fight for there. But, there always should be some motivation going into Green Bay. That’s for sure.” If Chicago has any chance of winning this game, they have to start targeting Kmet. In games where Kmet has at least three targets, the Bears are 3-6. In games where Kmet has under three targets, Chicago is 1-6. That one win came in Chicago’s season opener when the offense failed to score a touchdown. His lack of targets is astonishing, given that he has the highest catch percentage of players on the Bears with at least four receptions and the third-most receiving touchdowns despite only being targeted 53 times this season. Both players with more touchdowns than Kmet have over 100 targets. While the opportunities have been limited, Kmet is satisfied with his performance in the receiving game this year. “I’ve had games where I haven’t had the ball come my way or it’s been once. It’s just kind of part of the situation at this point and I know all I can do is control what is asked (of) me each and every play and I don’t think it’s been a lack of necessarily anything I’ve done and sure, I’m always looking at things for how I can get more open or do those things,” Kmet said. “But, in terms of the receiving game and what I’ve been putting on tape, I stand by it and I feel happy about where I’m at in that regard.”
