The Bears Offense Is a Group on the Rise and Other Bullets

I have run into some car trouble in recent days, which has thrown a wet blanket on my week. My pops and I are holding out hope that whatever the problem is happens to be among the least expensive types (or better yet, covered by a warranty). But still … 14 years and 100,187 miles is a good run. Here’s hoping it has a few more left in the tank.

  • We enjoyed seeing seven Bears on Pro Football Focus’ list of 101 best players, now let’s enjoy the highlights of the ones who cracked the top-20:
  • The Bears offense is a unit on the rise:
  • Using Pro Football Focus’ lineup and depth chart, it’s worth sharing that the Bears had eight offensive players in the green or better on the site’s grading scale. And while PFF grades aren’t the be-all, end-all, the grades do provide a measuring stick for us to discuss and interpret. Now, if only the Bears can get their quarterback back in the green they’ll be all set.
  • We were rooting for the Bears offense to be better in 2018 than it was in 2017, but it didn’t turn into a top-10 group overnight. At least there was progress made by the team’s wide receivers. There were no 1,000-yard receiving seasons or players with 10+ touchdowns, but we saw patterns that challenged defensive backs downfield and players running a variety of routes from different spots on the field. It’s a step up from what we had grown accustomed to as Bears fans, but being better than sub-par isn’t going to help the team get any closer to a Super Bowl. More improvements need to be coming.
  • One of the most encouraging, but under the radar developments from last season is how Mitch Trubisky had several guys who could reasonably be considered his go-to target (Allen Robinson, Trey Burton, Taylor Gabriel, and Anthony Miller). Moving forward, each of those players has the potential to be that rock. That should make the Bears’ offense tougher to defend over the next few years.
  • Oh yeah, we shouldn’t leave Tarik Cohen out of this conversation:
  • It’s always good to see Tarik Cohen on the same list as Alvin Kamara. Because even though Kamara can handle a larger rushing load than Cohen, being in that upper echelon of receiving running backs shows how much of an impact Cohen can bring to this particular offense. If you want to lean on some optimism, you can dream on how much better this group should be next year after having a full season of learning under their belt. The Bears won’t have as much practice time with it as it did last year with the early start to mini-camps, OTAs, training camp, and the preseason, but it shouldn’t need it because all the grunt work of install is already done.
  • I suppose there is a case to be made that the defense could use the extra work with a new defensive coordinator coming in, but I don’t expect Chuck Pagano to make waves of changes to a defense that allowed the fewest points in the NFL last season.
  • The depth of high-end talented safeties in the 2017 NFL Draft will never not amuse me:
  • The Bears were liked to a handful of these prospects at one point or another during the pre-draft process. And yet, they might have drafted the best one of the bunch in Round 4. Ahhh, you can’t predict the draft.
  • Khalil Mack is a game-changer:
  • At some point, I’d love for the Bears to be a well-oiled machine like the Patriots … and I don’t want it to be limited to on-field excellence. For example, check out their mastery in collecting draft picks:
  • And that, my friends, is how dynasties are built.
  • Akiem Hicks is the only answer here:
  • I missed this during a busy Wednesday, but I can always count on Deadspin to give me a different perspective on league transaction news:
  • Speakers, blankets, and wireless headphones are among the deals of the day at Amazon.
  • written by

    Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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