Blame For Chicago Bears Injury Plague Should Be Placed Here

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Feb 4, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith during the NFLPA press conference at Moscone Center in advance of Super Bowl 50 between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

One of the stipulations of the 2011 collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association had to do with practice scheduling. It was felt the current format of practicing was lending itself to too many player injuries. Adjustments were in order to help curb this problem. However, the agreed upon changes were met with instant scrutiny.

"That statement isn’t designed to set off alarms, but new rules have modified practice schedules and forced coaches to adjust their preparation, specifically in these two ways: » Gone are the grueling two-a-day practices that have long been a staple of training camps. In their place, teams are able to conduct one full-contact padded practice per day accompanied by a walkthrough period. » The league has also placed limits on the number of full-contact padded practices during the regular season. Teams are permitted a total of 14 for the year with 11 of those practices conducted during the first 11 weeks of the season (a maximum of one per week)."

It was felt by many that the loss of so many full contact practices would leave players unprepared for the physicality of actual games. Therefore in an ironic twist it would leave them even more open to injuries than before. It also would have an adverse effect on tackling. Defenders would miss tackles far more frequently, leading to an overall sloppier product. Thus far the results have backed up both claims

Here is a rundown of the average number of players the Bears have lost for at least one game. The first list is following the CBA changes and the second is prior to them. The numbers are provided by Pro-Football-Reference.

Post-CBA

2016: 24 players missed at least one game with injury (so far)
2015: 34 players missed at least one game with injury
2014: 37 players missed at least one game with injury
2013: 17 players missed at least one game with injury
2012: 30 players missed at least one game with injury
2011: 24 players missed at least one game with injury

Average: 27.66

Pre-CBA

2010: 14 players missed at least one game with injury
2009: 23 players missed at least one game with injury

Average: 18.5

So on average the Bears are losing nine more players per season to injury for at least one game than they used to. Some of that can be explained away by bad luck or player histories but NINE? That’s way too much of an increase to be coincidence. It’s little wonder that parity throughout the NFL has suffered. Teams that don’t have the depth some others do can’t be expected to compete like before. This is partly why not many new teams have reached the Super Bowl in recent years.

From 2005 to 2010 the league has seen five teams reach the game that hadn’t been there in at least two decades.

From 2011 to 2015 the league has seen zero teams reach the game that hadn’t been there in at least two decades.

This lack of diversity in the playoffs has really begun to hurt the overall product. Fans are tired of seeing the same teams vying for the championship year after year. Injuries are playing a major part in why that is happening. So if Chicago Bears fans are looking for somebody to blame, don’t point the finger at head coach John Fox or GM Ryan Pace.

Blame the appalling lack of foresight and research by the NFL when they forged the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

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