State of the Franchise - Chicago Bears

Jun 2, 2018
16 min read

2017 Record: 5-11

Last Playoff Appearance: 23rd January 2011 vs. Green Bay Packers (L) NFC Championship game

Head Coach: Matt Nagy

General Manager: Ryan Pace

2017 Performance

Five regular season wins, and a seventh successive year without a playoff appearance, may not sound like the kind of season that will write itself into the history books but there’s cause for (cautious) optimism in the Windy City.

Chicago’s 2017 season was a story with two interleaving arcs. The first, a disappointing inability to win games, is a crushingly familiar one and could easily have been lifted straight from any other season review over the last few years. It contained all of those recognisable tropes that have hallmarked recent and distinctly unimpressive campaigns; finishing rock-bottom of the NFC North, starting the season with an uninspiring quarterback and a total lack of success against divisional rivals.

It’s fortunate, then, that the season’s other theme was a less familiar and, altogether, more promising one. The Chicago Bears are an organisation amid a revolution. Slowly, but surely, the pieces on Ryan Pace’s gridiron chessboard are starting to come together. For all of the offense’s lack of firepower, on the other side of the ball things have been more impressive. Under Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio, the Bears defense squeezed into a top-10 ranking allowing just 319.1 yards per game and its play, against the pass, was the seventh-best in the league. There was work to do, and there still is, but a good performance from an outfit that most would have expected to be far worse last season is a great foundation for a team on the up. Defensive End, Akiem Hicks, recorded a successful year with 39 solo tackles and 8.5 sacks. Safety Eddie Jackson, a fourth round pick in the 2017 Draft, put in some solid displays, not least a week 7 performance that saw him score 12 of the Bears’ 17 winning points with two superb 75-plus-yard touchdowns.

Elsewhere on rookie street, two new names became important figures on offense. 119th pick, RB Tarik Cohen, first broke onto the scene with a viral video which showed the then-Aggies player catching two footballs mid-backflip. Cohen continued his rookie season in much the same vein, producing a number of show-stealing plays that quickly marked him out as an exciting, and unpredictable, player. How best to utilise the 5’6” back’s talents continues to be the definitive question but he was able to combine with Jordan Howard to forge 11 of the team’s 31 touchdowns last year including his 21-yard passing TD to Zach Miller, against the Ravens, in week 6.

Only the week before, Zach Miller had tossed the ball in a trick play of his own. The receiver of that pass was one Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky had become Chicago’s first pick in the 2017 Draft in controversial circumstances. The Bears traded three picks to the San Francisco 49ers to move up and take the North Carolina Tar Heels product at #2, a decision met with great incredulity and no small amount of criticism. He had chalked up just 13 starts in his college career and, though he had demonstrated some potential, Trubisky was far from a safe choice. For many, the winners of this particular draft pick had been the 49ers. Mark Sanchez had also been signed along with Trubisky as part of a post-Jay Cutler QB group but it would be ex-Buccaneer Mike Glennon who would occupy the starting QB spot for Chicago going into the regular season.

Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons

The Bears’ first test would come in the form of Super Bowl LI runners-up, the Atlanta Falcons. The season’s first touchdown was scored by Jordan Howard who took the handoff from Tarik Cohen lining up in the QB’s position. Cohen had wasted no time in establishing himself as an exciting player and proved to be Glennon’s only scoring route, through the air, with a paltry receiving corps decimated by the pre-season loss of Cameron Meredith. Ultimately, Austin Hooper carving out an 88-yard TD in acres of space would prove to be the main difference between the two sides. Falcons win 23 – 17.

Week 2: @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 2 would see Glennon return to Tampa Bay in what turned out to be an extremely unproductive afternoon for the Bears. Cohen, seemingly unable to do anything that could vaguely pass as ‘standard’, gave up a fumble, at the end of the first quarter on a misjudged punt return, and Jameis Winston has no trouble in finding Mike Evans in the end zone to capitalise on the mistake. Four quarters later, the Bears are able to notch up their first and only score of the game with a neat 14-yard pass from Glennon to Deonte Thompson. A sobering afternoon of football. Buccaneers win 7 – 29.

Week 3: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

A tough match-up against the 2-0 Steelers would provide Chicago’s week 3 challenge. Jordan Howard opens the scoring on the ground before Glennon’s TD pass to tight end, Adam Shaheen, takes the Bears to a 14 – 7 lead following Antonio Brown’s earlier score. For fans of calamity football, the closing seconds of the second quarter would throw up one of the season’s more absurd moments. The Bears, already at double the previous week’s total, are handed a remarkable opportunity to go 21 – 7 up when a 35-yard field goal attempt is blocked and gratefully snatched by cornerback Marcus Cooper. Racing all of 65-yards, Cooper stops short of the goal line with the clock at 0:00 to showboat before he is stripped of the ball by the Steelers #89, the ball then travels harmlessly out of bounds. Typically, the Bears allow Pittsburgh RB, Le’Veon Bell, to muscle his way to 14 – 17 and things are looking decidedly precarious when a pass aimed at Zach Miller is picked off by J. J. Wilcox but the Steelers are limited to a field goal to tie-up proceedings with 8-minutes remaining. The game goes to overtime before Tarik

(‘Da Freak’) Cohen seemingly takes the game with an amazing 73-yard walk-off touchdown but is marked out-of-bounds at the Steelers 37-yard line. Moments later, Howard wraps up the day with a 19-yard rush to claim the first win of the 2017 season. He and Cohen share a stellar ground performance bolstered by a defensive show that is able to go toe-to-toe with the Bells, Browns, and Roethlisbergers of the NFL. Things are good. Bears win 17 – 23.

Week 4: @ Green Bay Packers

Things are immediately bad again. The venue is Lambeau Field, which is not the best place for a capitulation. 5-minutes into the first quarter, Aaron Rodgers finds Davante Adams in the end zone to cap a successful first drive and the Bears’ response is immediately scuppered when Clay Matthews finds his way around the edge to knock the ball from Glennon’s hands and the Packers recover. Never ones to waste an opportunity, Rodgers and Randall Cobb haul in a second touchdown to pile on the misery in Wisconsin. Later in the first quarter, the snap catches Glennon off-guard and, predictably, the fumbled ball bounces right into the path of the Packers defense. With this second turnover, it quickly became clear that a storm was coming. What wasn’t so clear to me, watching at 2 o’clock in the morning, was how literal that storm would turn out to be as the first half was punctuated with severe weather that forced the entire stadium to evacuate to the concourse where fans sheltered from some suitably prophetic, biblical thunder and lightning. God, visibly dismayed by a poor Bears performance but satisfied that his 30-minute timeout has provided John Fox ample time to rally his troops, allowed the second quarter to begin. 10-minutes of play later, Glennon is picked off by Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Rodgers, apparently undeterred by divine intervention, lands a 58-yard pass on Jordy Nelson who reaches the Bears’ 2-yard line before Aaron Jones is able to finish the drive with a further 6 points. 21 points down, and with seconds left of the first half, Glennon is able to cap a 72-yard drive by finding Kendall Wright in the end zone to create Chicago’s first score of the night. In the second half, Connor Barth misses a 47-yard field goal and a ‘routine’ play from Rodgers and Nelson takes the score to 7 – 28. Danny Trevathan collides, helmet-to-helmet, with Davante Adams in a controversial incident that sees the Packers receiver leave the field on a stretcher. Turnover, by now the word of the day, strikes again as Glennon’s wayward throw finds Kentrell Brice. Nelson gets another TD and, bar a Jordan Howard consolation, the game is well and truly wrapped up. For the first time since 1933, the Bears trail the all-time series in this historic rivalry. To round-off a grim week, Chicago’s Linebacker shortage is aggravated by Trevathan’s suspension. I question whether staying up to till the early hours of Friday morning to watch the Bears play the Packers is the decision of a smart person. Packers win 14 – 35.

Week 5: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Mike Glennon hasn’t been abject through 4 weeks. He’s not been helped by some questionable blocking on offense and, even the politest of critics, would deem his receiving options as ‘limited’. Still, it’s getting increasingly difficult to defend him. John Fox agrees and Mitchell Trubisky is set to make his first ever NFL start facing divisional rivals in front of the Soldier Field crowd. In a post-Cutler world (for all his many faults) the quarterback situation is unstable, for the first time in a few years, and the rookie is handed the opportunity to stake his claim. Trubisky was, doubtless, eager to prove that he had been a valuable draft pick. His first throw is a neat pass to a diving Kendall Wright on the sideline and it’s encouraging to see a Bears QB who has an air of confidence about him. Trubisky, and the Bears, find their way into Vikings territory but, ultimately, succumb to a holding penalty and are forced to punt. Near the end of the first quarter, 2016 draft pick, Leonard Floyd, finds his way to Sam Bradford who is wrapped up, in the endzone, to produce the first 2 points of the game. In the second quarter, Floyd is able to reach Bradford again and reminds us all how hot a prospect he is, fitness permitting. Everson Griffen is able to do likewise, stripping the ball from Trubisky, and the Vikings are able to manufacture a field goal to go into the interval leading 3 – 2. Case Keenum replaces Bradford in the third quarter and he is able to dispatch the ball to Kyle Rudolph and Jerick McKinnon for scoring plays. The Bears find a touchdown of their own, through a wily fake punt, which sees Pat O’Donnell pass to Benny Cunningham for 6. Trubisky’s first NFL touchdown careers off Andrew Sendejo and finds Zach Miller. On the 2 point conversion attempt, an inventive play sees the rookie QB hand-off to Howard, who hands it to Miller, before it is thrown laterally to Trubisky for the extra 2 points, tying the game. With 12-seconds on the clock, Minnesota are able to snatch the game with a field goal. Trubisky’s debut is encouraging. He’s raw but he plays with confidence and is doubtless a talented athlete. Vikings win 20 – 17.

Week 6: @ Baltimore Ravens

Two Ravens turnovers indicate a good first half for the Bears defense. Bryce Callahan, and the returning Trevathan, are able to snatch possession and talismanic RB, Tarik Cohen, throws a 21-yard pass to Miller to take the Bears into the half leading 10 - 3. In the third quarter, Trubisky hits TE, Dion Sims, for a 27yard TD. The Ravens response comes immediately after as kick returner, Bobby Rainey, gets back to his feet, after tripping over his own teammate, before taking it 96-yards to the house. Adrian Amos picks off Joe Flacco, at 17 – 13, to establish a 24 – 13 lead. Justin Tucker lands a 50-yard field goal before Michael Campanaro scores a 77-yard punt return TD. The ensuing 2-point conversion takes the game into overtime in which a 53-yard run from Jordan Howard sets up Connor Barth to win the game with a 40-yard field goal. The end of an embarrassing losing streak sees Chicago tally their first road win since 2015 and Jordan Howard puts up, a career-high, 167 rushing yards. Bears win 27 – 24.

Week 7: vs. Carolina Panthers

A strong defensive performance, against Carolina, starts early in the first quarter as Danny Trevathan drags down Cam Newton and Eddie Jackson scoops up the fumble for what would be the first of two 75-plus-yard touchdowns for the week 7 NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Leonard Floyd piles on the misery for Cam Newton who finds himself dragged down by the 6’6” Outside Linebacker. Akiem Hicks also records a sack before the first quarter is through. Early in the second quarter, Jackson meets a pass that flies away from Kelvin Benjamin, via a tip from Prince Amukamara, and returns for the second and final TD. The second half is scoreless which is an outcome that suits me when the Bears are leading by 14. Bears win 3 – 17.

Week 8: @ New Orleans Saints

At 3 – 4, for the season so far, the Bears travel to Louisiana to face Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. Some breakaway plays belie an inability to produce anything like a decent passing game for the Bears and Trubisky’s targets, down the field, are far too limited to match a strangely modest outing for the Saints. A gruesome leg injury fells Zach Miller (arguably the only consistent performer in terms of passing TDs) and a cruel officiating decision robs the 33-year old of a 25-yard TD catch. Referee Carl Cheffers judges Miller to lose control of the ball as he hits the ground. Miller dislocates his knee and it’s unclear whether the Bears’ key man will ever play football again. The Tight End does remarkably well to keep the ball off the ground despite his terrible injury but it represents a huge loss for Chicago. In the fourth quarter, Akiem Hicks bounces Mark Ingram into the path of Jonathan Bullard who strips the Saints RB of the ball which is then claimed by the defense. On the ensuing drive, Trubisky is able to manufacture a 46-yard gain on a canny scramble before Cohen vaults the melee on the Saints’ 1-yard line to notch up the first Bears TD of the day. 5 points behind, Chicago are unable to make the 2-point conversion and, despite Adrian Amos stealing the ball from Mark Ingram with just over 2-minutes of play left, the Bears are unable to catch the Saints. Some unfortunate near-misses and a horrific injury to key man Miller cap-off a sorry day. Saints win 12 – 20.

Week 9: vs. Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers, ruled out with a collarbone injury, was absent for his team’s trip to Soldier Field in what presents itself to be an opportunity, as good as any, to exact revenge for the humbling road defeat 4 weeks previous. Backup QB, Brett Hundley, was tasked with facing the Bears and his inadequacy, against Detroit, the week before fostered a sense of optimism that would turn out to be false. In response to Ty Montgomery’s 37-yard rushing TD, Trubisky hits Benny Cunningham who looks to reach the pylon with a dive but is ruled out at the 2-yard line. The Bears challenge and Cunningham is deemed to have lost the ball before reaching the pylon which results in a touchback and Packers’ ball. Hundley puts in a capable performance, responding to Trubisky’s touchdown pass to Bellamy with one of his own to Davante Adams. Costly penalties, and another paltry scoring performance, cost the Bears against a Rodgers-less Green Bay. Packers win 23 – 16.

Week 11: vs. Detroit Lions

Following a bye week, the Bears host Detroit. A good start for Chicago comes in the form of a Howard 50-yard run capped-off with a short TD pass to Adam Shaheen. The Lions find themselves leading 21 – 17, at the half, after Stafford manufactures two TD throws to Marvin Jones and Ameer Abdullah in response to Jordan Howard’s nifty 12-yard break into the endzone. The score is evened in the fourth quarter with an impressive leaping TD from Tarik Cohen before the definitive field goal from Matt Prater puts up an all-important 3 points for the Lions. With seconds left of the game, Mitch Trubisky produces a daring run to take his team to the halfway line which he follows up by hitting Dontrelle Inman at the 29-yard line. This sets up a 46-yard field goal attempt which Connor Barth is unable to land. Frustratingly close divisional matchup. Lions win 27 – 24.

Week 12: @ Philadelphia Eagles

The eventual Super Bowl champions, Philadelphia Eagles, presented a very tough ask for the Chicago Bears in week 12. Carson Wentz, LeGarrette Blount, and Jay Ajayi were just three of the weapons on the Eagles’ offense (as well as former Bears WR, Alshon Jeffery). Wentz was able to connect quickly with Zach Ertz, in the first quarter, for a TD before 2 more in the second quarter. An audacious dive across the goal line by Nelson Agholor was followed by one for Jeffery. Philadelphia were scoreless, in the third quarter, allowing the Bears to close the gap with a single field goal but Agholor’s recovery of Jay Ajayi’s fumble, in the endzone, would finalise a big defeat for Chicago. Eagles win 3 – 31.

Week 13: vs. San Francisco 49ers

The visit of the 49ers, to Soldier Field, presented a golden chance for the Bears’ running game. Third worst in the league in rushing defense, and in the midst of a 1 - 9 season, the first start of ex-Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo seemed to be one of very few reasons for excitement amongst 49ers fans. Long-time Bears kicker, Robbie Gould, opened the scoring for San Francisco with a 33-yard field goal before Kyle Fuller’s interception, at the expense of Louis Murphy, sets up Trubisky for an 8-yard touchdown pass to Dontrelle Inman. Another FG from Gould narrows the gap only for it to be reopened by Tarik Cohen with a highlight reel punt return taken to the house after initially retreating 15 yards to his 24. No stranger to the goalposts at Soldier Field, Robbie Gould takes his points tally for the day to 12 before his game-winning effort, from 24-yards out, takes the spoils with 4 seconds remaining. A 15-point performance from Robbie Gould at Soldier Field has an unfamiliar sadness to it and is enough to beat the Chicago Bears by a single point. Gould has scored more points for Chicago than any other player (1207) over the course of a decade in the Windy City. Robbie Gould wins 15 – 14.

Week 14: @ Cincinnati Bengals

A successful opening drive from the Bears (their first of 2017) was rounded off with a 21-yard rush by Jordan Howard to take a 6 – 0 lead. Mike Nugent, replacing the injured Cairo Santos, added 6 more points, in the second quarter, to take a 12 – 7 lead into halftime. In the second half, Mitch Trubisky manages a short touchdown run and Eddie Jackson is able to nullify an Andy Dalton pass to A. J. Green. Trubisky then finds Adam Shaheen in the endzone. Jackson, again, proves to be the bane of Bengals receiver Green when he pulls the ball from his possession to set up Jordan Howard for an 8-yard TD to make the score 33 – 7. This is the highest Bears tally since 2015 and is their most comprehensive victory in 5 years. A successful afternoon in Ohio is concluded with Howard becoming the first Bears RB to record back-to-back 1000-yard rushing seasons in their first two years of professional football. Bears win 33 – 7.

Week 15: @ Detroit Lions

A second successive road game takes the Bears to Detroit and a fourth quarter pass, to Cunningham in the endzone, is the sole Bears TD in a faltering performance that can’t find an end product. The Lions are more incisive. Lions win 10 – 20.

Week 16: vs. Cleveland Browns

If there’s anything that cheers up a team down on its luck, it’s a visit from the league’s whipping boys. The Browns visit marked a sure opportunity to exorcise some of the demons that had led the Bears to 4 – 10 for the season thus far. A snowy Soldier Field hosted the 0 – 15 Browns and a decisive Bears drive, at the end of the first quarter, ended with a Jordan Howard TD to take the lead. DeShone Kizer, coming into the game leading the league in interceptions, increased his tally to 21 after picks from Kyle Fuller and Callahan. Trubisky, 2nd overall pick in the 2017 draft, threw a pick of his own to 1st drafted Myles Garrett. Cleveland were able to notch up a field goal, in the second quarter, but the Bears’ third quarter reply came in the form of touchdowns from Jordan Howard and Trubisky who had been able to keep the drive alive on 3rd and 14 with a neat pass threaded through to Tarik Cohen. The final quarter was scoreless to produce a merry Christmas Eve. Bears win 3 – 20.

Week 17: @ Minnesota Vikings

With another 4th place finish in the division now unavoidable, the visit to NFC North rivals the Vikings only presented an opportunity to play spoiler and drag them out of the second seed spot in the playoffs. Minnesota had already tied up the division, followed by the Lions and then the Packers. The Vikings’ first TD came in less than 5 minutes through Latavius Murray who then scored again in the second quarter. With 6 minutes remaining in the half, the Bears were able to answer with a deceptive punt return from Bryce Callahan who had been relatively ignored by the Vikes special teams unit more focussed on Cohen. Trubisky, penalised for intentional grounding in his own endzone before the half, gave away a safety to start the second half 7 – 16 down. The Vikings, in the closing moments of the third quarter, found another touchdown via a 16-yard pass to Stefon Diggs which was met only with an impressive 55-yard field goal from Matt Nugent to close the Bears’ scoring for the 2017 season. They had finished with a 5 – 11 record, bottom of the division, having lost to all of their NFC North rivals. Vikings win 10 – 23.

2018 Roster Moves & Outlook

Aside from some exciting moments, 2017 was a pretty unsuccessful season. So, why then, is there cause for some optimism amongst the Bears faithful? John Fox, head coach since 2015, was fired the day after the final game against the Vikings. Fox, since leaving the Broncos, had found little success in Chicago managing a 14 – 34 record in his three seasons as Head Coach. A week passed before his replacement was unveiled; Matt Nagy, former Offensive Coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs was to lead the team from 2018. Nagy joined Chicago fresh from a good season running the Chiefs’ offense. The high-scoring team, from the AFC West, had started 5 – 0 with Alex Smith and co. picking up 167 points in that time. The impressive start was followed with a rough streak of losses but, after Nagy took over offensive play-calling, the franchise turned a 6 – 6 record into a 10 – 6 finish. Mitchell Trubisky, under the tutelage of Nagy, can expect a personable coach who he can, hopefully, thrive under. The sophomore QB certainly thinks so: “I really feel I was built for this offense,” Trubisky told NFL Network in April.

Elsewhere on the coaching staff, the return of Defensive Coordinator, Vic Fangio, represents a huge win for Ryan Pace. Fangio got a solid tune from his defense in 2017 and will hope that the highly rated Roquan Smith, Inside Linebacker out of the University of Georgia, can be a star performer this year. Smith, 8th pick in the 2018 draft, was the most recent winner of the Butkus Award which is suitable recognition indeed for a player looking to create a legacy as a Chicago Bears’ Linebacker. Hopefulness must be tempered and it is important to remember that the Bears have won just 14 games since 2015 but the future, we think (hope), is brighter.

The Bears’ offseason moves have been lauded going into the OTAs. As well as 2nd round pick, Anthony Miller, and former Atlanta Falcon, Taylor Gabriel, Mitch Trubisky can look forward to throwing to Allen Robinson this season in what seems to be a major free agent coup. The former Jacksonville Jaguar, despite having a 2017 season that ended as quickly as it began, surely represents the strongest receiving talent Trubisky has been able to target in his short career thus far. If a number of key injuries can be handled correctly, and if Nagy, Fangio and co. can get the best from their young roster, 2018 could be a much more enjoyable season. The cynic, and the cautious optimist within me, has expectations well and truly tempered but, should Chicago make any kind of substantial improvement this year, it will certainly be a sight to behold.

Possible Starting Lineup:

QB Mitchell Trubisky

RB Jordan Howard

WR Allen Robinson

WR Taylor Gabriel

WR Anthony Miller

TE Trey Burton

LT Charles Leno Jr.

LG James Daniels

C Cody Whitehair

RG Kyle Long

RT obby Massie