Chicago Bears: 5 Reasons They Go Worst To First
By Erik Lambert
Leadership
Teams that win championships tend to be ones that have several leaders who set the tone for the rest of the roster. Men who put up the work, effort and mindset on what it will take to go the distance. That was part of the reason the Bears fell into such disrepair the past few years. They were losing so many of their locker room voices.
- Tommie Harris
- Greg Olsen
- Olin Kreutz
- Brian Urlacher
Kyle Long understands this better than anybody, and knows why many fans weren’t happy to see vested veterans like Matt Forte and Matt Slauson leave. Both had established themselves as leaders based on their play and actions off the field. Long feels their loss, but also believes this team can absorb the loss.
"“Obviously missing Slauson, missing guys like Slauson and Forte, there are large voids to be filled,” Long said. “But this team has been built on horizontal leadership and we’ve done a great job bringing in the right people, defensively, offensively and the special teams unit. I love the coaches, I love the guys on this team, I don’t think that will be an issue, so I don’t really have to take on that much bigger of a role because of the guys that we have in our room. Everybody is kind of accountable themselves.”"
Some of those names include Trevathan and Freeman, two veteran linebackers with a wealth of playoff experience under their belts. Same goes for McPhee who arrived a year earlier. Then there is Jay Cutler himself, whom continues to get ignored despite ongoing indications from teammates that he is one of the loudest voices on the team and one they’ve come to respect.
This team has guys who aren’t just capable of winning but ones that want to win. That is so important.