I included this image with an article on my prior blog about the NFL’s March hype madness. Seems fitting to revisit the Bears after their Week 1 disaster against the Green Bay Packers. It may have been hard to imagine, back in March, when the Bears were on cloud 9 hype, that their opening performance would make them look like a worse team than the 2022 Bears.
The Bears had “their quarterback.” They controlled their destiny with the overall number one pick in the Draft which, by all accounts then, the Bears transitioned favorably in their deal with the Panthers. Loads of draft capital, the most cap space in the NFL, and all the new offensive weapons around the mighty Justin Fields, surely would translate to at least a competitor with a deep playoff run.
Yet here on Monday, September 11th, 2023, Justin Fields’s first outing made him look like a slightly-rested version of his ’22 season self, albeit with less confidence in his passing game.
NFL Week 1 / Game 1 events can be chalked up to new season jitters. As woeful as the Bears looked Sunday, I still say pounding on them after one week, no matter how apparently deserved, is foolish, and could look particularly foolish in the course of time. This is why I say, let’s revisit the Bears after two more games. Will they look just as bad as they were against the Packers? Or will they exude tangible improvement, proving to the football world that the Bears Week1 were merely a fluke?
Assuming for a moment the most pessimistic outcome for the Bears, another 3-14 or -like season, blaming the management, coaches, and quarterback will be irrelevant. The only pertinent inquisition from fans and the legacy sports press should be how the Green Bay Packers have seemingly plucked their quarterbacks from the trees of Mount Olympus for 30 years, while they Bears have been caught in a perpetual four-year trash cycle. Or how so many other teams get near-immediate dividends from their drafted prospects while the Bears are always waiting,, waiting for more empty promises to translate the hype to winning results.
If I had to guess further, I doubt the real questions will be asked, particularly by the legacy sports press, for where they may lead. Instead, here’s to the 2024 draft hype for how the Bears will leverage their two high first round draft picks.
Thank you for taking the time to read my article.
