The continued progress of the Bears organization is undeniable, but I doubt many would argue that this team, as presently constructed, is in place for a legitimate run at the Lombardi Trophy. At least, not yet. And as it turns out, we’re not alone in that estimation (lol … no kidding).
ESPN’s Mike Sando asked executives around the NFL to pick out flaws for each of the league’s 32 teams. It’s an Insider piece, so we won’t dive too deep into each team’s weakest link. But let’s discuss what one outspoken anonymous executive brought up regarding the 2018 Bears.
“Their inexperience worries me – the head coach, some of the offensive staff, the quarterback,” the executive told Sando. “That is the biggest question, whether they can get it done in crunch time, trying to make plays against Detroit, Green Bay and Minnesota. Chicago is just the most inexperienced group in the division at some of those key spots.”
To be fair, this executive isn’t wrong. In fact, that might be one of the fairer criticisms you can levy against this particular team and it doesn’t really stop with the head coach, offensive staff and/or quarterback. But that’s definitely a fine place to start. So let’s settle up on some of those points.
Ryan Pace is, indeed, the division’s youngest general manager. Matt Nagy is the youngest and newest coach in the division. Mitch Trubisky is the youngest and least experienced starting quarterback. Period. Those are all facts, and, frankly, legitimate concerns. The Bears are rolling the dice here by banking on relatively fresh faces at three of the most important positions in an NFL organization.
Of course, these are also the types of wagers a franchise like the Bears must take in order to climb back into the league’s upper echelon. The risk of inexperience often comes with the reward of potential upside. Sure, things could just as easily fall apart for an inexperienced group, but it would certainly not be the first time something clicked. Sometimes, the simple advantage of unfamiliarity can help young/inexperienced players get a leg up on the competition. And if the playbook really gets as aggressive and modern as Nagy has been teasing and Trubisky executes the way we know he can, well, it’s not too difficult to dream on what may be.
But if risk/inexperience really does come with upside/untapped potential the Bears have a lot more than just those three to think about.
At running back, the Bears have a solid lead in Jordan Howard, but he may be asked to catch a lot more passes this year than he’s used to. In addition, the Bears backup, Tarik Cohen, is just one year removed from the draft and should be incorporated plenty, given his particular skillset. At wide receiver, there’s some legit experience in Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, but they will be joined by rookie second-rounder Anthony Miller and 2015 first-rounder Kevin White, who’s seen very little time on an NFL football field at all.
And the list goes on. Beyond tight end Trey Burton, is an inexperienced Adam Shaheen. Along the offensive line, James Daniels will be a fresh face. On the other side of the ball, the Bears 2018 first-rounder Roquan Smith isn’t just a rookie, he’s a rookie who’s been slowed by an early-offseason holdout and an unexpected injury. Behind him on the playing field, is a second-year safety, Eddie Jackson, whom the Bears are placing a lot of trust and hope in. And if we really wanted to stretch it out, we could point out that the Bears’ top edge rusher (Leonard Floyd) is on the unseasoned end of the experience scale compared to other teams in the NFC North.
There’s simply a LOT of young players on this team in prominent roles and they’re all playing under a relatively young an inexperienced trio (GM, HC, QB) at the top. So, yeah, risk … reward. It’s a balance. And not one I expect all fans to get behind right away.
After all, Chicago has been burned by coaches, executives, and signal callers who were in over their heads in the recent past. So some hesitancy and reluctance among Bears fans is perfectly understandable. But, again, just now that with great risk can come great rewards. There’s no denying the upside that Nagy, Trubisky, and company can offer. And if they are going to make a surprise run at the postseason this year, they might just need this exact sort of gamble to get there.
Michael Cerami contributed to this post.