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Most NFL analysts believe that the Chicago Bears are “winning” the offseason.
New, young, energetic offensive minded head coach, CHECK.
Offensive coaching think-tank, CHECK.
Defensive coaching staff intact, CHECK.
Re-signing key free agents, CHECK.
Revamped wide receiving corps, CHECK.
New pass catching tight end, CHECK.
A competent kicker, CHECK.
A mentor QB for the Franchise QB, CHECK.
A plug and play draft class to help right now, CHECK.
There are still a few naysayers among NFL analysts, but that’s to be expected. Negativity sells, so poo-pooing Ryan Pace and a large market team like the Bears is generally good for business. There are even some local outlets that seem to have the negative-directive when discussing the Bears.
Then again, nothing is better for business than a winning team, but until Chicago’s record falls on the positive side of .500, we’ll have to deal with the disrespect.
The latest set of NFL Power Rankings from ESPN has the Bears still near the bottom.
28. Chicago Bears
2017 record: 5-11
Post-free-agency ranking: 28
The Bears drafted linebacker Roquan Smith eighth overall, the earliest they’ve drafted a defensive player since 1990, when they took safety Mark Carrier sixth overall. They’re hoping Smith can transform the defense the way another top-10 linebacker did for them; the Bears had the best scoring defense the season after selecting Brian Urlacher ninth overall in 2000.
A few of the teams they have ranked ahead of the Bears make no sense to me, but that could just be the Navy and Orange Kool-Aid talking.
Most Bears’ fans are excited to get the 2018 season started, because on paper this team looks like night and day compared to what we’ve seen the last few years.
But when it comes to all these preseason power rankings, I wouldn’t expect any love to come Chicago’s way until we see how Matt Nagy, Mitchell Trubisky, and company perform on September 9th against the Packers.