Chicago Bears: Eerie Similarities Abound in Rebuild

By Wanda Wiedman | Sep 28, 2016

Sep 25, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Chicago Bears head coach John Fox signals from the sidelines in the third quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

The Chicago Bears sit at 0-3 in after Week 3, but there are eerie similarities between this team and the last successful rebuilding effort in the Windy City

What is it going to take before the Chicago Bears head Coach John Fox acknowledges there is a problem? Or maybe his has and feels as if he has no options. The Bears have lost three straight consecutive games and with few options as to how to fix it. It’s not as if they can just forfeit a game because of all the injuries. Last season, the injuries mounted but they had viable backups to sustain some type of momentum. Now, even the backups are injured. After Sunday night’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Bears must continue to look forward, make adjustments and finish an entire game.

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The injury report leading into Sunday night’s game included Kyle Fuller, Bryce Callahan, Danny Trevathan, Lamarr Houston, Jay Cutler, Ka’Deem Carey, Eddie Goldman, eight players on injured reserve, two on the PUP list, one on non-illness reserve and the new addition of Jeremy Langford. That’s 20 players out with injuries. How can the Bears survive the season with injuries mounting? So many questions with very little answers.

However, there always has to be some type of takeaway from a team that is in the process of building. After Mike Ditka left as head coach for the Bears, it was Dave Wannstedt’s turn to bring them back to victory. That didn’t work, kind of like the Marc Trestman era. But in 1999, Dick Jauron stepped in to rebuild the team, just as coach John Fox has.

His first season the Bears went 6-10, the second season they went 5-11. But they were almost able to finish with the key pieces to complete a winning team. That was in 2000 when the Bears drafted linebacker Brian Urlacher in the first round. Fifteen years later, the Bears picked a linebacker again this time in the first-round.

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In the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft, the Bears picked running back Anthony “A-Train” Thomas. He was 6-2, 224 pounds, and just 24 years old. In his rookie year, Thomas rushed for 1,183 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Bears have a similar back they took in the fifth-round of the 2016 NFL Draft in running back Jordan “The Bulldozer” Howard. He measures in at 6-1, 222 pounds. So far as a rookie he has 67 rushing yards. However, with lead running back Jeremy Langford out for 4-6 weeks with a knee injury, Howard will get most of the snaps. The way he sliced through seems in the Dallas defense, was sheer beauty. So more opportunity could be promising for the Bears offense.

But why stop there? In that rebuilding season, the Bears needed a left and right tackle and drafted him in the third round. They drafted Notre Dame offensive tackle Mike Gandy to fill that spot. He was 6-4, 310 pounds and 23 years old. Gandy started 11 games that season.

This year the Bears picked an offensive tackle in the second-round, Cody Whitehair out of Kansas State. He is 6-4, 301 pounds. Though he hasn’t had much time at left tackle, he has stepped in nicely covering the center position for an injured Hronis Grassu.

The previous year, along with Urlacher, the Bears draft three defensive backs, Mike Brown, Reggie Austin and Mike Green. Both Brown and Austin played with incredible heart, strengthening the defense in the safety and cornerback positions. Green had 69 tackles and three sacks, while Brown had 67 tackles, three sacks, five interceptions, two touchdowns, and earned a First Team All-Pro selection.

In the 2016 Draft, the Bears took safeties Deiondre’ Hall, out of Northern Iowa and Deon Bush out of Miami. From the sixth round, they took cornerback DeAndre Houston-Carson for extra measure. They have yet to truly start a full game, but as they grow into their roles, they should be an integral part of the defense.

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Here is the real eerie part; in 2001, John Shoop was the offensive coordinator then, who happened to be the quarterback coach prior to his promotion. The same goes for Dowell Loggains currently.

All of this is to say that all hope is not lost. In the third year of Jauron’s team building, the Bears went 13-3. The pieces are there, but the growing pains have to play out until they can establish a rhythm as one unit. They have to feed off of each other, which includes coaches and players and play smart football. It’s only Week 3, so maybe together, they can feed the Bears pride. They may not go 13-3, but maybe they can still pull off a decent season.

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