Hype vs Hope?

It’s kind of funny, Chicago had the offseason everyone applauded. They picked the best quarterback in the draft, picked up a veteran wide receiver, drafted another one in the first round, and picked up a veteran running back. Now everyone is looking at them as a playoff team with the potential of a deep run over the next couple of seasons.

That’s a lot of hype! Or is it hope?

The reality is, this team is in the middle of an identity crisis. The former “Monsters of the Midway” finished last season tops in rush defense and second in rush offense. Adding some help with the pass rush, and this defense could have been special this year. Depth on the offensive line would have made a strong case for an offense that punished opposing defenses. It’s not sexy, but in late December and January, it’s the style of play that gets teams into the playoffs.

Instead, they’ve switched to finesse and speed. Adding all of those offensive weapons requires them to switch their focus from a run oriented “power offense” to a pass dominated one.

Switching from Justin Fields to Caleb Williams was absolutely the right decision. But rookie quarterbacks need time to adjust to the NFL. He’s going to make mistakes, he’s going to turn the ball over, and the more that is asked of him, the more he’s going to press.

Let’s not forget that Matt Eberflus was on the verge of losing his job midway through last season. Without the late push to win a few games, he wouldn’t be the coach today. We’ve already seen how ineffective he was developing Justin Fields, can we really trust that he’s going to do better with Caleb Williams?

The Bears have developed a culture of losing. A brief look around the team and its hard to find any veteran leaders that can stand up and say “this is what it takes to win”. Until they can break that habit, it’s hard to see them as a team that can overcome mistakes and still find a way to win the close games.

Maybe the best thing that can happen this year is that they lose enough to fire Eberflus and bring in an offensive guru who can develop Williams.

2024 Prediction: 7-10 4th NFC North