"New Year, New Bears" Was a Resolution That Actually Came True and Other Bullets

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“New Year, New Bears” Was a Resolution That Actually Came True and Other Bullets

Chicago Bears

It’s been a long time since I’ve hosted a New Year’s Eve party and generally don’t have much interest in doing so. Between the prep work and the clean up, there’s just so much to do and I’d rather have someone else do it. But I might make an exception this year because 2020 is the 15-year anniversary of what was a peak era of hip-hop and rap music. Between the sounds, music videos, fashion, and mix of established and up-coming artists, I’m not sure there was a better peak run for that genre. I’m ridiculously intrigued by the idea of throwing a mid-2000s rap-themed New Year’s Eve party this year. At minimum, I’m calling the shots on the music selection.

So, yeah, I started the new year thinking about December 31, 2019. As one does …

  • For the record, I ended 2018 thinking about this:

  • New year. New Bears!
  • That’s how quickly things can change in the NFL. You can literally go from bottom-feeders with a top-10 pick to the class of the division in one year. Sometimes, I find myself thinking back to what it took to get here. Remember how much the NFC North improved with Kirk Cousins joining the Vikings and Jimmy Graham signing with the Packers. Even the Lions were expected to be better because they had new leadership. It was going to be rough sledding. And while it wasn’t easy, it sure was enjoyable.
  • QBR is far from perfect, but it’s nice to see Mitch Trubisky’s name at the top of a quarterback ranking chart:

  • Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good:

  • To be fair, the Bears were due for some good luck from the injury report.
  • I’m not sure we’ll ever pinpoint why the Bears were so healthy this year as opposed to previous seasons. Factors such as changing practice schedules, training regimen, and nutritional diets could have been helpful. Maybe the extra work the Bears put in with the early OTAs and training camp, as well as the extra practices and preseason game helped build something. The new training staff will get a ton of credit and they probably should because something clearly went right this year. We’ll see how long it lasts.
  • I appreciate this perspective:

  • Some worthwhile nuggets from the Bears’ win against the Vikings we didn’t get a chance to touch on yesterday:

  • This is art:

  • As is this:

  • I’m not over Javon Wims making big third-down catches. Unless one of the receivers ahead of him on the depth chart gets hurt, that’s probably the last we’ll see of Javon Wims as far as this season is concerned. But I like the Georgia product’s future, especially if he can refine his route tree and prove he’s more than a go-up-and-get-it (GUAGI!) guy.
  • AGAIN:

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🗣 Who do you play for??

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  • Here is a fancy stats way of saying the Bears were good in 2018:

  • Even Packers broadcaster Wayne Larrivee tipped his cap to the Bears for their season:

  • Some head-coaching search updates featuring some names Bears fans are familiar with:

  • And good for him. Besides, there is only room for one coach who utilizes offensive linemen as pass catchers in the NFC North.
  • As someone who is happy with having a net positive year at the window, I can relate to this:

  • You’ve gotta at least try to speak excellence into existence. I mean, it worked for the Bears!
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Author: Luis Medina

Luis Medina is a Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at@lcm1986.