Will the Bears make the playoffs?

Several of us gave our way too early record prediction for the Chicago Bears after the schedule dropped, so let's revisit that same notion now that the offseason program has concluded.

Will the Bears make the playoffs this season?

Here are our predictions.

Sam Householder - No. I think they'd have to catch a lot of breaks, and ultimately I think they're a year away. The division is going to be feisty enough that I don't know if anyone will run away with it, but the conference as a whole has enough teams to keep the Bears out of the wild card.

Bill Zimmerman - They are going just to miss out. Perhaps they go about 8-9 and finish 8th in the NFC.

Ken Mitchell - Since there's no possible way a 17-0 team can miss the playoffs, of course they will.

Mason West - Yes. I can go game by game in the future, but the overall weakness of the NFC and big question marks of NFC North have the Bears squarely "In the Hunt." Honestly, they could win their division. Vikings are fake and clearly in half-rebuild/half-compete mode, the Packers have a lot of young offensive players and a VERY unproven QB that needs to prove something, and the Lions are... the Lions. The gambling issues will hurt their offense, but their defense scares me a bit. There are a lot of winnable games on the schedule outside of the Chiefs and Chargers. If the Bears can sweep 2 of the teams in their division and split the other series, it's playoff time.

Jeff Berckes - Yes. It's a weak conference, and there are seven playoff spots given out to each side of the league. Why not the Bears? They're a team on the rise. I get that they only won 3 games last year, but we need to get over the idea that last year's win total means much of anything this year. Everyone is zero and zero; pass out the ammunition, and let's go to war.

Taylor Doll - Ugh, this one is hard for me; I am going to say yes as a wildcard mainly just because the NFC has a ton of weaknesses and so does the Bears' schedule. This obviously depends heavily on health and Fields taking that next step, but if those go as planned, there is no reason we shouldn't be.

Erik Duerrwaechter - Yes. I'm not buying any idea there's a front-runner for the NFC North. The Detroit Lions, who have made significant improvements in recent years, have never won the division since the league reformatted decades ago. I also think the suspensions against several players on the Lions' roster will impact them heavily for the first few weeks. And I don't know if their defense will come together as envisioned, nor do I think Jared Goff will be why they win games. The Minnesota Vikings are in the midst of the strangest rebuild I've seen in a while, and aside from having perhaps the best receiver in the league, they leave much to be desired. The Green Bay Packers are finally facing reality and will have a rough year following Aaron Rodgers' departure. I'm also not a believer in many NFC teams besides the Eagles repeating as postseason favorites.

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. - I had them going 10-7 on that initial run through the schedule, and I have no reason to change my tune now. The Bears make the playoffs because Justin Fields takes a significant leap in play.

Now it's your turn; Will the Bears make the playoffs this season?