Listen… do you hear that? Yes, it’s the sound of the Chicago Bears 2015 season kicking off. Oh how I’ve missed you, football. Welcome Back! As a Bears fan, last season left a bad taste in my mouth. It was a mixture of the worst tasting defense, inconsistent offensive play, disgusting special teams, and a side of old condescending press conferences that made me want to switch my diet to fruits and veggies.
Thankfully the Bears didn’t force me to change my diet and made the necessary changes to move forward in 2015. This offseason we saw the exit of Phil Emery and Marc Trestman and the arrival of Ryan Pace and John Fox. Those two moves will forever change the history of this storied franchise. The change is going to come with hard times, Bears fans. Hiring John Fox doesn’t mean that this team’s problems will be fixed overnight. But it does mean the future of the Bears should be in good hands. When you look at Fox’s resume, it’s pretty impressive. I understand that he hasn’t won a Super Bowl. But two of his teams have had the chance to win it all. His ability to connect with his players is something that I’ve talked about to guys I know that have played for him in the past. Turning things around for this Bears organization won’t be easy. But I do feel he is the right man for the job.
“Can Jay Cutler turn things around this season?”There are some questions that are hard not to overlook as we head into this season. The first one is one that I hear anytime someone stops me in the street and wants to talk Bears shop with me: Can Jay Cutler turn things around this season? Look, we all know who Cutler is as a player. He is the guy that is known for having a canon of an arm that makes you feel like when you were in 7th grade and had that crush, stars in your eyes and just hoping that his performance would stay top notch. Then he goes and breaks your heart like most crushes that we all have had and then you do not want anything to do with him. Should he take all of the blame? I won’t put it all on Cutler’s shoulders because he hasn’t had any consistency with the numerous changes in offensive systems since joining the Bears. I do feel that new coordinator Adam Gase will be a good fit for Cutler. We know that Fox likes to run the football and I think that will be Cutler’s saving grace this season. The Bears will have to run the football well and often if they want to be successful. By running the ball effectively, it will force teams to stack 8 or 9 men in the box on defense. That will take the ball out of Cutler’s hands and set up man on man matchups on the outs with his receivers. If the Bears want Cutler to be more efficient and cut down on the turnovers, they will have to commit to running the ball.
“Can Alshon Jeffery be a number one receiver for the Bears?”The next question that keeps coming up is: Can Alshon Jeffery be a number one receiver for the Bears? For people that say he can’t, please just stop it. Jeffery started all 16 games last season snagging 85 passes for 1,133 yards and 10 touchdowns. In three years with the Bears, Jeffery has 198 receptions for 2,921 yards and 20 touchdowns over 42 games. Most people will point to the fact that he did that as a number two wideout alongside Brandon Marshall who commanded most of the double teams. Having Marshall around was the best thing for Alshon as a player. Not just for giving him one-on-one coverage, but also to learn how to be a pro. Marshall taught Jeffrey how to work in the offseason and get his body prepared for a long, grueling NFL season. Let’s not forget about Matt Forte and Martullus Bennett being on the field as well and those guys commanded a lot of attention from opposing defenses. Oh, and by the way, those guys will be back on the field this season as well. Do I think that Jeffery can be a number one for this team? Yes I do and I think he has put in the work to get himself ready for this opportunity and he will take full advantage of it.
The final question for this team is: “How do they fix a defense that was the worst we have ever seen in Chicago Bears history?” Well, what we saw last year was a mix of bad defense and poor management decisions on personnel. I understand that Mel Tucker should get a lot of the blame, but I would also give Emery some blame too. Why, you may ask? Emery drafted many of the guys playing on that defense and what he handed to Mel Tucker was an old beater with half a tank of petrol. Tucker was doomed from the start. After last season the Bears took a big step in the right direction when John Fox brought in Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator. What is left to be seen is how Fangio’s 3-4 defense will look with the players on the current roster. A guy like Jeremiah Ratliff has played in the 3-4 system before and was successful. Back when he was with the Cowboys he went to a Pro Bowl playing the defensive tackle position. Another guy that sticks out is Jared Allen. He has been a 4-3 guy his entire career. He’s a guy that just pins his ears back and rushes to the QB. Now having to play outside linebacker he will have to also play in space. Watching film on him last season against teams that had mobile QB’s I saw that this new role might not be such a great fit. With all that being said, I just can’t see this Bears defense being as bad as last season. I think we will see a mixture of the 3-4 and 4-3 defense this season because of the personnel that’s on this team.
My conclusion is “The Bears are in good hands with John Fox at the helm.” As a person that covers the teams and as a fan, I think we all need to dial down on expectations for this year. I feel we all got caught up the last few years by how much firepower was on the offense that we just mailed it in for a playoff appearance and some thought Super Bowl. The realization is that this will be year one of a 3-to-4-year process. Should our exceptions be low? Yes I think so, but I also feel that we should expect improvement across the board with this team. The Bears showed me they were serious about winning when they got rid of the old regime. Now as fans we have to be serious when we look at how good this team will be this season. Seriously I will take anything better than 5-11. #BearDown
Jarrett Payton also co-hosts The Beat, weekends on 720 WGN. Follow him on Twitter at @Paytonsun
