Chicago Bears: Winning mentality must change as the hunted

In 2018, the Chicago Bears hunted down their rivals and other teams who were supposedly better. For 2019, however, they need to be aware that those same teams are trying to hunt them down.

The Chicago Bears open training camp in about three weeks, marking the unofficial start of the 2019 season. The work to defend the NFC North title and make a long Super Bowl run begins in the heat at Bourbonnais.

The Bears are hoping to have another magical season like they had in 2018. With some tweaking of the roster and — at some point, hopefully — a more dependable kicker, they hope they carry out that goal.

Of course, the road to a Super Bowl is littered with landmines. Players need to stay relatively healthy, the key players need to continue their stellar play and surprise efforts from unknown sources must happen. In addition to that, the team needs to overcome a more difficult schedule. The tougher schedule shows people how much better the Bears really are.

Another big roadblock for the team (perhaps the biggest one) is their mental state. Last season they snuck up on teams. Even though they lost to the Green Bay Packers in Week 1, they surprised many by playing them tough. The same happened throughout the season. Week after week, people underestimated Chicago when they faced the “better” teams in the league.

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As the season went on and the wins piled on, experts around the league said the Bears needed a signature win. Well, they got that when they shut down the Los Angeles Rams. They just kept hunting down teams and extricating victories.

This season, the players must realize that the tables are turned. They are the division champs so the other teams in the division are revved up to face them. Yes, the Bears can have the same attack attitude, but they must know that their division rivals want to make a name for themselves by knocking down the champs. Other teams, like the Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints, and the Rams want to show that they’re the elite in the NFL.

Are the Bears ready for this? Well, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is obsessed with getting better. According to coaches and teammates, he has a great grasp of the offensive system. It’s now just a matter of him diagnosing defenses and calling the right plays. He feels ready to start the season and get rid of the bad taste of last season’s playoff loss left.

Linebacker Danny Trevathan knows how things will change. How does he feel about it? He said this, via Bears Wire:

"“We started when we first came in (for the offseason program). You rarely see all your guys here for OTAs. That just goes to show that guys want to be better and we know our place. We know we’re being hunted and we want it that way. Bring it on. We really don’t mind that.”"

Things are pretty set for the Chicago Bears in 2019. Just about all the starting spots are filled. They also have good depth so if someone goes down, they have a pretty good replacement for him. Yes, there is that little kicking situation that needs to be solved, but otherwise, things are good.

Trevathan and the rest of the Bears feel ready to take on all challengers. While the competition is a little tougher, they have a swagger about them. They have a dominating defense that could be better than last season, and they feel the offense can dominate as well. If that’s true, then this just might be a super season.