NEWSLETTER
Flirting with perfection is the dream.
Especially when it comes to the NFL, where the 1972 Miami Dolphins are immortalized for their efforts in the league’s only perfect season. So much so, that fans of any team that *ISN’T* the Dolphins are sick of hearing about it.
Unfortunately, the Bears don’t seem to be close on that front. Moreover, one pundit believes the Bears are closer to flirting with the other end of the spectrum.
In other words, instead of talking about running down the Dolphins, Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton predicts the will get awfully close to joining the 2008 Lions and 2017 Browns as winless teams. One of Moton’s nine bold predictions for the 2022 NFL season is that the Bears will muster up a grand total of one (1) win in 2022. Yikes!
Moton cites roster issues and question-marks surrounding Justin Fields. He underscores how the Bears’ rebuilt offensive line could feature a handful a starting lineup with multiple Day 3 picks chosen in the last two NFL Drafts. And on the other side of the ball, the departures of Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, and Bilal Nichols — as well as Robert Quinn’s uncertain situation — represent challenges the defense will have to overcome.
But no one put it as boldly as ESPN’s Keyshawn Johnson on Wednesday’s edition of ESPN’s NFL Live:
Just get a load of this:
“Quite frankly, this roster sucks. That’s just the reality of it. It’s not a good roster. There’s no players there. Think about it. They’ve only got two or three players who could probably start for another team. Two, maybe three. That’s it.”
Oof. That is a punch to the gut. But more than that, Keyshawn’s honest (and a bit over-the-top) take has some merit. And that troubles me to my core.
This new-look Bears roster that Ryan Poles has his hands full with rebuilding is a mess. You won’t get much argument from me. And I don’t think other Bears fans would put up much of an argument either. We’re mostly in agreement that Ryan Pace left a mess that needs time to dig out from — right? This roster features a dozen or so newcomers who were either not in starting roles with their previous team.
And those who were have since been replaced by players their former teams saw as upgrades. That feels telling, doesn’t it? And with as many on one-year deals that were signed in Chicago this offseason, the Bears have essentially put together a roster of placeholders to be a bridge to players who are on a college campus or on someone else’s squad. No wonder Moton and Johnson feel how they do right now.
To be fair, I don’t think the Bears are 1-16 bad. In fact, I’d argue that Justin Fields, Darnell Mooney, Robert Quinn, Roquan Smith, Jaylon Johnson, and Eddie Jackson would be starters on other teams. Rookies Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon would likely be starters, too. So it’s not as if the Bears are a barren wasteland of football talent. However, there is no mistaking that this team is closer to the start of its rebuild than its end. And with that in mind, we need to brace ourselves for more takes like these. It could be a long season for these Bears.
