Don’t tell Chicago Bears players about possible regression
While many so-called experts expect regression from the Chicago Bears, the players don’t agree. They see themselves getting even better and winning more.
The Chicago Bears surprised many NFL experts by going 12-4 and winning the NFC North title. The playoff run didn’t end the way they envisioned, but they have high hopes for 2019. After overhauling the running backs unit and tweaking the rest of the roster, hopes are running high at Halas Hall.
The feeling isn’t mutual on the national level, however. Many outlets expect the Bears to regress this season. It seems the Bears became a favorite pick to miss out on the playoffs.
Many don’t expect the defense to play as great as it did last season and don’t feel quarterback Mitchell Trubisky can lead Chicago anywhere.
ESPN writer Mina Kimes called the 2019 Chicago Bears an overrated team while making an appearance on The Lefkoe Show:
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"I think people are overrating Chicago right now. I mean, great defenses regress… I do think the [Adrian] Amos loss, Bryce Callahan is a big loss too, I think people are underrating (it)… And by the way, they lost one of the most brilliant defensive minds in the NFL in Vic Fangio. That was a complicated defense."
Another reason the so-called experts feel a regression coming on is that they don’t feel comfortable with the moves the Bears made this offseason. Bleacher Report said that the trade of Jordan Howard to the Philadelphia Eagles for a late-round pick was one of the riskiest moves made in the NFL this offseason. Sports Illustrated said that Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is a downgrade from Adrian Amos and Buster Skrine a downgrade from Bryce Callahan.
So there are many voices talking down the Chicago Bears. The players, obviously, don’t agree. They feel they will play better than ever. As crazy as it sounds, some feel the defense can play better than the 1985 version of the Bears defense. That is a tall order, but the first step in getting it done is feeling that you could do it, and they have that down pat.
Safety Eddie Jackson feels the Bears expect to win the Super Bowl. Akiem Hicks hears all the talk about regression and he won’t have any of it, per USA Today:
"We can go as high as – and this is going to sound cliché – we can go as high as we want to go. We can be as dominant as we want to be. It’s just a matter of us taking the time out of everything else and sacrificing to make our team and our defense and our offense one of the best to play this game."
I love the swagger this team has. They feel that they are among the elite in the NFL. They take what the experts talk about and use that as motivation. They felt it last season also and they took it all the way to the playoffs.
This season, Trubisky has shown that he’s buying into Nagy’s system. That trickled down the roster. When the face of the franchise does that, his teammates follow. Trubisky is obsessed with getting better and so is the rest of the team. That makes coaching them so much easier.
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This team would run through walls for Nagy and his coaches. That means there won’t be any letdown. They’re full steam ahead and ready to celebrate at Club Dub after every game.
Chicago Bears fans will certainly remember all the naysayers’ words at the end of the season. If the Bears do make it to the promised land, Bears Nation will certainly remind them.