Chicago Bears May Be Delaying The Inevitable
By Erik Lambert
Among the takeaways from Week 12 of NFL action is the state of the Chicago Bears and how their recent wins bring little comfort and even some anger from their fans. This is not to say they have suddenly stopped loving their team, but more than a few feel the Bears are only hurting themselves by continuing the pursuit of a pointless dream.
NFL Schedule not letting up
Head coach Marc Trestman would argue that the team is 5-6. That mean they are five wins away from completing their mission of making the playoffs. First of all, going 10-6 guarantees nothing in the NFL. Chicago should know that better than anybody. They had that same record two years ago and didn’t reach January. Besides, the schedule was very kind to them the past few weeks serving up cupcakes like Minnesota and Tampa Bay who have a combined six wins between them. Their next two opponents (Detroit and Dallas) have more than double that.
Jay Cutler and offense still not clicking
Perhaps the thing that keeps the city in perpetual, pessimistic gloom is the ongoing funk the Bears offense is in. Despite being littered with Pro Bowlers like Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery they continue to play so out of sync and undisciplined on the field. At times they look great and then suddenly disappears without a trace. This has led to criticism being leveled on head coach Marc Trestman for not having them better prepared. Never mind the ongoing problems with quarterback Jay Cutler and his turnovers.
Not even a sudden resurgence by the defense (26 points total allowed in two games) is enough to boost their confidence.
With the Lions coming up on Thanksgiving, in their building with their #3 ranked defense who in the world believes the Chicago Bears have the willpower to pull off a run down the stretch? In a word, nobody. Instead all they have done is win a couple of meaningless games and screwed themselves in the 2015 draft.
Whether that is actually true will become clear at Ford Field on November 27th.