Chicago Bears: Are the special teams issues finally fixed?

The Chicago Bears hope they have done enough this offseason to improve one of the worst ranked special teams units in the NFL.

The Chicago Bears had their fair share of issues on both offense and even on defense in 2017, but their poor special teams play was often overlooked. Last year, the Bears used Connor Barth, Cairo Santos, and Mike Nugent at kicker. Punter Pat O’Donnell had a solid, but not extraordinary season, and the team was forced to use Andrew DePaola at long snapper after Patrick Scales tore his ACL.

Tarik Cohen was a bright spot on punt returns, but he also had a number of rookie mistakes, such as fielding the ball inside the 10-yard line or trying too hard to make something out of nothing. The coverage units were average at best, as core special teamers Josh Bellamy and Sherrick McManis were pressed into larger roles offensively and defensively, respectively.

However, the Bears, at least on paper, should be better in 2018. Chris Tabor was hired as coordinator and he is a well-regarded coach who led a respectable Cleveland Browns’ special teams unit last season. The Bears gave big-money to kicker Cody Parkey (21-of-23 field goals in 2017 with Miami), and Scales should be 100 percent healthy by the time the regular season begins.

In addition, rookies like Joel Iyiegbuniwe and Javon WIms should be contributors in coverage, and Cohen should cut-down on some of his risky decisions. O’Donnell was re-signed to just a one-year deal and should be motivated to have a good 2018 season. Undrafted free agent Ryan Winslow, who was 11th in the N=nation in yards per punt in 2017 (44.5 yards), should provide solid competition and might even win the job if he has an exceptional training camp and preseason.

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In Rick Gosselin’s famous special teams rankings, the Bears ranked 27th overall in 2017. Back in the Devin Hester and Robbie Gould heyday, the Bears were frequent top-10 finishers. Making a jump into the top 10 in 2018 might be a difficult task, but at the very least, the Bears hope that they have improved enough this offseason that they could finish in at least the top-half of the league.