2014 never happened. It never took place. It was a kind of perfect shit storm that rarely strikes an organization in professional sports. Last year’s Chicago Bears were not just a horrendous football team. They were a public disgrace; an alarming amalgam of overmatched and out-witted coaches, underperforming and over-chatty divas and straight up rats.
It never happened. Any of it. And understanding that concept allows one to draw an optimistic conclusion: the Bears 2015 offense has the talent and vision to carry the club through a successful campaign.
Does this mean they will be a playoff team? Perhaps not. A winning record? Possible if not likely. What this means is they will be competitive week to week. They will line up and play sixteen professional games whilst delivering sixteen professional performances. They will be an enjoyable experience for their loyal fans.
The Bears have a good quarterback. Not a great one. A good one. They have a great running back, a top tight end and a receiving corps that brilliantly fits the offense their coordinator wants to run. The middle of the offensive line has the potential to be downright nasty. The tackles? They are the offensive roster’s only noticeable hole but if Jermon Bushrod and Jordan Mills stay healthy they will be serviceable on the edges. (And if only one of them provides serviceability, the Bears coaches will find a way to cover the weak link.)
This is a very nice collection of offensive talent. If Kevin White delivers the type of rookie season receivers seem to deliver with regularity nowadays, this is potentially a great collection of offensive talent.
There are two dozen offensive coordinators across the league that would sign for these players right now. Adam Gase doesn’t have to. They are his. If Gase is as good an offensive mind as many around the league seem to believe, there is no excuse for this offense not being ranked in the top half of the league in every meaningful offensive statistic.
If the Bears offense plays to their ability and the combination of Fox & Fangio can simply make the defense better than abysmal, this suddenly becomes a football team.
2015 is not about erasing the shameful memory of 2014 because 2014 never happened. It is about improving on the offensive performance of 2013 – a season that ended with many of us believing the Bears were on the precipice of delivering their best offense in organizational history. If that happens, the Bears should be playing meaningful football games in December.
Who wouldn’t sign for that right now?
