Chicago Bears: Most Overrated/Underrated Players

The nature of sports is that perception can almost never equal reality. For the Chicago Bears, certain players are better or worse than many think they are.

It is for this reason words like overrated and underrated exist. One player might be getting paid a lot of money but isn’t providing the production, hence the overrated label. Another might be making peanuts on the dollar and is performing much better than expected, hence underrated. The Bears are like any other team in that they feature some names who fit both profiles. Pete Prisco of CBS Sports labeled Alshon Jeffery is most overrated and Eddie Goldman his most underrated.

While interesting choices for each category, they also came across as a bit general since both are good players with easily recognizable names. This article will focus on two who might be a tad more unexpected at their respective slots. Just try not to freak out.

Overrated:  Pernell McPhee

Nobody is questioning the fact that Pernell McPhee is a bad man with bad intentions. He’s a spark plug who plays with attitude and looks to bully his opponents at every opportunity. Teams need that sort of player on their defense. Still, within the context of him being that definitive pass rusher who can get them double digit sacks every year, it’s sad to say that McPhee just doesn’t seem like that type of player.

For starters he’s never had more than 7.5 sacks in his career spanning five seasons. Then there is the injury concerns. He missed two games last season with a chronic knee problem. Remember he’s a 274 lbs man being asked to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. That is an awkward fit given the athletic demands of that position. Lastly, McPhee seems to have a bad tendency to not show up in big games. For his career he has notched just 1.5 sacks in primetime games and just 1.5 sacks in eight playoff games.

He is a decent player and positive locker room presence. Will he ever be close to a Von Miller or Justin Houston? No.

Underrated:  Ka’Deem Carey

Talk about the Bears running back position and who will replace Matt Forte, it comes around to two names. Either Jeremy Langford, who replaced him during injury stretches last year, or promising rookie Jordan Howard are the most mentioned. Everybody seems to forget about Ka’Deem Carey. Here’s a kid to who basically put the Arizona program on his back in college and was a 4th round pick yet his name is seldom mentioned.

That’s a shame too because in his sporadic appearances Carey has performed well. In 24 games, he has run the ball 79 times for 317 yards and two touchdowns. That works out to an average of 4.0 yards per carry. Not too shabby. Yet his value goes even deeper than that. Stats also show that he is a maestro in short yardage, averaging 5.0 yards per carry from within at least six yards of the 1st down or goal line markers. Every time he has been handed the ball in a 3rd or 4th and short situation, he has picked up a 1st down (4-for-4).

It’s important not to forget his name as training camp and the preseason progress because chances are he might see a lot more action than Chicago Bears fans are expecting. No question though the hopes are that the overrated is wrong and the underrated is true. Time will be the shining light to that.