Should we listen to the National Narrative on the Chicago Bears?

Several times each week, we see an article from some website or a post on Twitter from a National analyst stating how bad the Chicago Bears are and that they will more than likely be picking in the Top 10 in the 2024 NFL Draft. Yes, the Bears will be picking in the Top 10 next April, but it will be with Carolina's pick that they acquired in the trade down from number one this year, not their own pick.

Like any Bears fan, I get a little perturbed when I see these articles/posts, but then when I sit back and think about it for a minute, I throw it out because, as we all know, it's just a garbage narrative.

Here's why.

Most NFL clubs have three to four scouts in their Pro Scouting Department, and each of those scouts is assigned a certain amount of teams to scout/study. Usually, it's eight to ten teams per scout, and they spend hours every day studying every player on those teams. In essence, they are experts on the team's personnel and schemes. Each one of those scouts knows their assigned teams very well, but in actuality, they know very little about the other clubs in the League.

The writers/analysts who come up with these stories about the Bears know about five percent (if that) of what the typical Pro Scout knows about the clubs he is assigned to, yet they come up with these "expert" opinions about how good or bad the team will be this season. It's utter nonsense!

Most of these writers look at what the team did last year record-wise, then look at some of the top free agents they signed and their premium round draft picks. If the new names on the club don't jump out at them, they automatically conclude that the team will suck again.

For example, the New York Giants were a poor football team the previous three to four years before Brain Daboll became Head Coach and Joe Schoen became General Manager last year. The Giants had a few good free agent signings, drafted well, and Daboll, who is known for developing quarterbacks, did a wonderful job with Daniel Jones as he looked much better than he did his previous four seasons. In the end, the Giants got into the Playoffs and look to challenge for a Playoff spot again this year. If you had listened to the opinions of the "experts" at this time a year ago, you would have thought the Giants would be lucky to win four or five games.

The same can be said about Jacksonville. The team had been horrible for years, so they brought in a new Head Coach for the second year. Because they had been a losing team for so long, it was automatically assumed by these "experts" that the team would be horrible again, even though they spent more money in free agency than any other club and drafted well. No, Jacksonville was not horrible, as they won nine games, earned a spot in the Playoffs, and even won a Playoff game.

What happened with the Giants and Jags happens every year in the NFL, and it's because of several things. Coaching, no injuries to key people, and sound management is always at the top as to why. We can add luck into the equation also.

If we look at the Chicago Bears last year, we know they were a poor football team, but there were several reasons for it. When General Manager Ryan Poles got the GM job last year, he got it because the Bears Ownership bought into his plan for the future. That plan was to strip down the team from what it was and then rebuild it. Poles got rid of bad contracts and players he felt were either too old or wouldn't buy into the rebuild plan. It left the team with the youngest roster in the NFL and very few "star" players. Add to that the fact that injuries decimated an already poor offensive line, and that set the offense back from being able to grow.

Losing does not sit well with players, coaches, or the front office, but that was what would happen under Poles' plan in 2022.

This spring, the Bears did a good job in free agency. The only signed one "big ticket" free agent in linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, but the others, though not "big" names, are solid players that a team can win with. Their Draft was outstanding as it filled most of the remaining important needs the club had.

Regardless of who the new acquisitions are, the narratives from the National media are the Chicago Bears will be a poor football team again. The facts are that very few, if any, of the people coming up with this narrative know little, if anything, about any of the new players on this roster. Nor do they feel that quarterback Justin Fields can improve even though his supporting cast is way better. These people are strictly guessing based on last year.

It's comical because we see the same thing year after year, and quite often, it is wrong. The moral of this is to ignore the noise. Don't read it, and if you do, don't comment on it or let it upset you. The people coming up with these narratives aren't qualified to make these assumptions. The truth is we will find out just how good this team is come September and not before. I can guarantee that the 2023 version of the Chicago Bears will be much better than what the National media predicts.