The National Football League (NFL) has finally reached the midway point of the regular season. When sport writers are focused on your team having the best special teams units in football, it’s time to start worrying about the rest of the season. At a record of 3-5, this is exactly what sports writers are writing about the Chicago Bears. Honestly, there really isn’t much else to say about a team that seems destined to miss the playoffs after reaching the promise land in 2018 after eight years of being a no-show.
Working with the assumption there’s too many broken parts in order to make a playoff run this year, it’s fast becoming time for the Bears’ management to assess what’s working and not working in order for the team to position itself for a strong offseason. Gamblers who are contemplating betting on the Bears over the rest of the season should do so cautiously.
What’s Working
With three wins, there has to be more in the offering than special teams. The real strength on this team is found on the defensive side of the ball. The team currently ranks 9th in the league for total yards allowed per game at just fewer than 324. The defense also ranks 6th in the league for points allowed per game at 18. All on all, a very good performance on the defensive side of the ball.
It’s hard to imagine a defense playing to well with the team in the middle of a four game losing streak. With five of the team’s last eight games against teams with better than average offenses, it will be interesting to see if the Bears’ defense can continue to hold sway while the offense consistently keeps the defensive team on the field.
What’s Not Working?
In a word, offense. Indeed, the Bears’ offense currently ranks next to last in the league for total offense at a piddly 285.9 yards per game. Realistically, it’s near impossible to find a bright spot on this side of the ball with the passing game ranked last (205.4 YPG) and the running game ranked 28th (80.5 YPG).
The offense is well beyond pointing fingers. There’s plenty of blame to go around. With that said, starting QB Mitchell Trubisky has been a major disappointment this season. After a strong 2nd season in the league when he threw for 3,223 yards and 24 TDs against only 12 interceptions, it was expected the former 2nd overall pick in the 2017 draft was ready to take another step forward. That’s not the case as he currently sits with only 1,217 yards passing and 5 TDs against 3 INTs. That’s not going to get it in the big leagues.
Granted, Trubisky isn’t getting much help from a porous offensive line or a running game that lacks a true feature back. The problem is the really good ones rise about adversity. It’s only his 3rd season in the league, so he deserves a pass for now.
Heading into the offseason, the Bears should have a solitary focus… offense, offense, offense. If Trubisky is going to get the opportunity to justify his draft status, Bears management has to give him some tool with which to work. It’s strange to already be discussing the offseason, but the Bears don’t seem to be in a position to improve over the rest of the year,
