So the Chicago Bears are closing in on getting shut out of the playoffs and that is a disappointment. As fans of the team we always want to see our teams succeed and win despite the obvious flaws in the system. We want to go deep in the playoffs and win the Super Bowl, but was that a realistic goal? We knew going in that we had erratic QB play, we knew we have a rookie running back, we knew our offensive line was not solid, we knew that there was not a #2 receiver in the bunch that we were going to field. Did us as fans and some in the 'know', just build our hopes up with early play and then we were left trying to pick up what was left when the Bears played like most thought they would?
Not trying to be negative, but this article says that the Bears had a successful season even if they don't make the playoffs. Go back and look at the records that people were projecting. It was not uncommon to see 5-6 win totals. Yet, here they are with 8 wins and still fighting for a playoff spot.
The Bears did nearly nothing to improve their offense last off-season other than draft the right running back. They gambled that aging players on defense could get at least one more year out of their bodies. They largely stuck with the status quo on a coaching staff as responsible for the 7-9 slide of 2007 as any aspect of the operation.
Training camp was a disaster, fromDevin Hester's holdout to rookie first-rounder Chris Williams' back surgery to a coin flip affecting the joke of a quarterback competition.
As late as late August, the Bears didn't remotely resemble a team capable of winning 10 games, the carrot still dangling in front of this unpredictable bunch.
So if the Bears accomplish that by beating the Packers on Monday night and the Texans on the road to end the season, they can consider this 10-6 season successful whether they make the playoffs or not.