The Chicago Bears were one kick away from advancing deep into the playoffs in 2018. After fielding one of the best defenses in the league and an emerging quarterback in Mitchell Trubisky, there were high hopes in Chicago. Last season, saw the Bears fall on their faces with an uninspiring defense, and a quarterback that barely resembled his 2018 form. After a very disappointing year, the Bears have brought in a new quarterback and have made some changes to the defense.
The QB situation
After a very disappointing season, where many people saw Trubisky regress from a 2018 form that he should have built on. The Bears rode Trubisky through 2019 and all they saw was a third place finish in the NFC north. After realizing that their plan at QB would not work, the Bears front office decided to trade for Nick Foles. The Bears may have brought in a QB who can challenge the job from Trubisky, but there are better options such as Cam Newton who is a free agent. At the end of the day though, the Bears brought in a QB and are hopeful to get a consistent starter for next season. This should be looked at as a positive, but if neither QB’s can compete then the Bears will be stuck where they started.
Defense
The Bears defense was dominant in 2018, and was the main reason for this team’s success. The Bears defense took a step back last season, ranking 8th in DVOA. The defense was not bad, but their 2019 form would not be able to carry a team like they did in 2018. The Bears will need Khalil Mack to get back to his dominant form, and start controlling games like he did in 2018. By adding pass rusher Robert Quinn, the Bears are adding help to their defensive line to help Mack. The Bears are hoping that their additions will help make this defense one of the best.
The Chicago Bears are in one of the weirdest positions in football, but if they can somehow figure out their situation at quarterback they could become contenders again. The Bears are also hoping that their defense just had a down year, and that they can become a force once again.
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- Chicago Sun-Times/Steve Greenberg