Last Year: 

Record: 6-10

Offense: 344.6 YPG (21st), 20.9 PPG (23rd)

Defense: 345.4 YPG (14th), 24.8 (20th)

The Chicago Bears were actually better than I thought they’d be in 2015. Yes, they only won 6 games, but there were a lot of positives for Chicago to build on going forward after last season. Cutler had 1 of the best seasons of his career. He completed nearly 65% of his passes and only threw 11 interceptions. Alshon Jeffery was having a monster year before he got hurt and the offensive line didn’t implode despite losing two key veteran starters most of the year to injury in LT Jermon Bushrod and center Will Montgomery. Defensively, the Bears were in a state of transition under new head coach John Fox who implemented a new 3-4 defense. As expected, there were going to be some rough times and inconsistent play but there were also some good moments. They still have a lot of growing to do but,  Pernell McPhee looked like a stud in his 1st year in Chicago. The biggest issue with the Bears defense was just all the young guys they had to play. They have a little talent and with more experience they could play a lot better.

Offseason: 

Key Acquisitions: DE. Akeem Hicks, LB. Danny Trevathan, RT. Bobby Massie, LB. Jerrell Freeman,

Key Loses: RB. Matt Forte, TE. Martellus Bennett, OT. Jermon Bushrod, OG. Matt Slauson, C. Will Montgomery, LB. Shea Mcclellin, S. Antrel Rolle

2016 Draft Picks

2016 Outlook

Coaching Staff

HC: John Fox

OC: Dowell Loggains

DC: Vic Fangio

ST: Jeff Rodgers

Projected Depth Chart

Offense

QB. Jay Cutler, Brian Hoyer

RB. Jeremy Langford, Jacquizz Rodgers

WR. Alshon Jeffery, Marquess Wilson

WR. Kevin White, Deonte Thompson

WR. Eddie Royal

TE. Zach Miller, Khari Lee

LT. Charles Leno, Jason Weaver

LG. Cody Whitehair, Aminu Silatolu

C. Hroniss Grasu, Ted Larsen

RG. Kyle Long, Cornelius Edison

RT. Bobby Massie, Nick Becton

Defense

DE. Akiem Hicks, Will Sutton

NT. Eddie Goldman, Terry Williams

DE. Mitch Unrein, Jonathan Bullard

OLB. Pernell McPhee, Lamarr Houston

MLB. Jerrell Freeman, Christain Jones

MLB. Danny Trevathan, John Timu

OLB. Willie Young, Leonard Floyd

CB. Tracy Porter, Deiondre Hall

SS. Chris Prosinski, Harold Jones-Quartey, Deon Bush

FS. Adrian Amos, DeAndre Houston-Carson

CB. Kyle Fuller, Sherrick McManis

NB. Bryce Callahan

Special Teams

K. Robbie Gould

P. Pat O’Donnell

Breakdown

Offense: 

The Bears looked to start the youth movement on offense getting rid of 3 veteran starters on the offensive line, letting veteran RB Matt Forte walk in free agency, and shipping out TE Martellus Bennett to the Patriots. Outside of signing Massie to play RT, the Bears made no trades or signed in free agents to come in and start offensively. Instead, they opted for the draft or to promote within. The offensive line will be extremely young in 2016, but there is talent. At LT, Charles Leno is a former 7th-round pick, but after stepping in and playing the position last year, he proved himself and the Bears front office opted not to add another LT via draft or free agency. If that’s not a vote of confidence, I don’t know what is. Whitehair, a rookie from Kansas State, should start at LG and I thought he was the top guard prospect in this year’s draft. At center is 2015 3rd-round pick Grasu, who was forced into a starting role due to injury last season. He’ll need to play a lot better if he wants to secure this spot for years to come but for a 3rd-round rookie, he showed some promise last season. At RG is Kyle Long who is the best of this group and hopefully can get to play all 16 games instead of having to swing out to tackle out of necessity. And free agent Massie rounds out the group at RT. Overall it isn’t a spectacular group on paper by any means, but there is so much youth there that there is always the possibility that they could surprise. As far as the skill players go, a simple case of better health will go a long way for the Bears. They have the potential to have an elite receiving corps. Alshon Jeffery, who is 1 of the top 10 receivers in the NFL, only played in 8 games last season. Eddie Royal, who is a good slot option, only played in 9 games. And Kevin White, who was a 1st-round pick in 2015, missed the entire season due to injury so 2016 will essentially be his rookie year. If they can just keep those 3 guys on the field, their passing game should be legit. It’s the running game I have questions about. Their offensive line is better at pass blocking than run blocking and projected starter Jeremy Langford was not impressive last season backing up Forte. All of this will surround veteran QB Jay Cutler. He was good last season but I need to see him protect the football the way he did in 2015 again before I’m ready to just say that’s who Cutler is as a QB. Overall, I expect the Bears to be able to throw the football but struggle on the ground.

Defense: 

The Bears opted to add more veterans on defense for the upcoming 2016 season, which should result in better overall play from this unit. Up front, their 3-man line will feature free agent new comer Akiem Hicks at DE, their 2015 2nd-round pick Eddie Goldman at NT, and Mitch Unrein at the other end. Will Sutton and their 3rd-round pick Jonathan Bullard will push Unrein for that other end spot, but he’s currently the favorite. Overall, it’s not 1 of the most impressive 3 man fronts. There is a serious lack of pluggers and guys who thrive as a 2-gappers at the end position. Most likely they’ll utilize more of a hybrid 1 gap 3-4 defense to better utilize guys like Hicks and Sutton who are much better playing 1 gap and utilizing their quickness. The linebacker position is where the Bears should see the most improvement. The additions of Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman are huge upgrades in the middle and Christian Jones, who got to start last season, now is 1 of the best backup LBs in the league. On the edge, Pernell McPhee is the best defensive player on this team and a flat-out beast of a 3-4 OLB. He thrives as both a pass rusher and run stopper. They have a slew of other options in Willie Young, Leonard Floyd, and Lamarr Houston who will all contribute regardless of who starts. My biggest concern about the Bears defense is their secondary. Tracy Porter is the top corner on the roster and that in itself is a huge red flag. He’s not a bad player by any means, but he’s certainly not ideal as your team’s number 1 corner. I think Kyle Fuller is the most talented corner on the roster and will outplay Porter in 2016, but he hasn’t quite lived up to his potential yet, either. Both players are better in zone coverage than they are in man, which limits what the Bears can do. At safety, there just isn’t a lot of experience whatsoever. Amos, the starting FS, made a name for himself with his run support, recording over 100 tackles in his rookie season. But he had no interceptions and the Bears secondary as a whole only had 4. The starting SS position is a mystery. Prosinski is the projected starter, but I think rookie 4th-rounder Deon Bush might finish the year as the starter. My overall outlook for the Bears is that they have a good front 7 with a strong group of MLBs and a good mix of pass rushers. However, they are completely unproven at safety and lack bulk up front to really thrive as a 3-4 defense. It’s not an awful defense but best case scenario they’re a middle of the pack unit.