The argument could be simply made.
“Hey, the Bears were 3-3 last season and look how that turned out!”
It’d be hard to argue against because it is factually correct. But all 3-3s are not created equal and the story of the first six games of this Chicago Bears season is not their record. It is the futility of the quarterback and the questions now surrounding the most important position in sports moving forward.
But even now that we know Mitch Trubisky is not the guy, that does not mean these final ten games of the 2019 campaign get discarded into the “playing out the string” bin. While the Bears are very, very unlikely to reach the lofty heights many of us expected, this season can still be a successful one.
How?
Win More Than You Lose
One of the most important elements to being a winning franchise is being a winning franchise. (Jeez, Jeff, thanks for the insight.) And if you think having back-to-back winning seasons is meaningless, here’s a piece of information for you: the Chicago Bears have only had back-to-back winning seasons TWICE since 1994. That’s two times, in 25 years. 1994-1995. 2005-2006.
(Side note: It is 100% pathetic that this franchise has not had three consecutive winning seasons since 1988.)
For Matt Nagy’s program, getting to at least nine wins is crucial towards building a winning culture.
Improve Offensively
The coach is still an offensive head coach.
A lot of the players on this offense are coming back in 2020. (At least I think they are.)
This group needs to find some production if for no other reason than to rebuild optimism for next season, even if the quarterback is changing. Find some rhythm. And find some damn points. If they don’t, it won’t take long for Matt Nagy to go from Coach of the Year to Hot Seat.
Get Something Out of the Quarterback
Mitch is not the guy. But barring odd developments in the next six months, he’s going to be one of the guys in Bourbonnais next summer. The Bears should be signing a veteran starter in March and drafting a potential starter in April. But if Trubisky is coming to camp, the Bears want him to at least arrive with the belief that he can win the job.
Don’t Collapse on Defense
Right now the Bears defense – even off two poor efforts – is tenth in yards allowed and fifth in points allowed. They should finish the season top five in both of those categories regardless of the offensive performance. These rankings may not mean a lot to fans or the advanced metric folks but they carry significant weight inside the league and specifically inside the locker room. This defense is one of the most talented in the league. They need to finish the season like it.
These might be minor victories, as compared to a title, but they still can be victories. And if these elements above happen the Bears will still be competing for a postseason spot in late December. The late-Giants owner Wellington Mara defined a successful season for his team as playing meaningful football in December. The Bears can still achieve that.
