Over the last few months, national media pundits, analysts, and seemingly anyone with a platform is predicting a less-than stellar season from the 2022 Chicago Bears.
Many believe the team under first-year general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus will take a step back before moving forward due to the perceived lack of talent on the roster. It’s a common prediction that has riled up Bears fans across the world, but one NFL columnist is taking things a step further by saying they will be the worst of the worst.
Adam Schein of NFL.com recently posted his yearly nine bold predictions for the upcoming NFL season and has the Bears finishing the year with the worst record in the league, locking them into the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.
Schein explains his rationale for the prediction:
Some of you might think Atlanta’s the obvious choice. But the Falcons potentially have a stud rookie receiver in Drake London. Team him up with Kyle Pitts, and Marcus Mariota has some nice weaponry to work with, especially in the red zone. Also, Arthur Smith has a year of head-coaching experience, unlike Matt Eberflus, who faces a serious uphill battle in Chicago. It’s not his fault. Eberflus and new GM Ryan Poles inherited a Matt Nagy/Ryan Pace mess.
I feel for Justin Fields, whose rookie year was largely torpedoed by Nagy’s ineptitude. And the 23-year-old QB’s supporting cast heading into Year 2 isn’t exactly star-studded. I like Darnell Mooney as much as the next guy, but he’s far from a proven WR1. And the rest of the receiving corps is akin to a witness protection program. The O-line? Yeah, a lot to be desired there, too. And the defense is decimated, with Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks among a bunch of departures.
I get what Poles and Co. are doing here. Pace’s poor roster management induced a complete teardown. It makes sense for the long haul. But it’s going to be a long, long season in the Windy City.
Schein isn’t saying the new Bears regime is going to be a failure, but he sees this season as a wash given the retooling the team is going through. While it’s true they jettisoned talented, yet overpaid veteran players during the offseason, the improved coaching should help mitigate some of those losses by putting current players in better positions to succeed, unlike the last coaching staff led by Nagy.
Still, even if the Bears do take a step back, it’s hard to imagine them being the worst team in the league. Eberflus and his staff lean heavily into effort-based practicing performances and could very well get the most out of many of their players. If players buy into the system, this is a team that won’t be at the bottom of the standings.
It’s also rare that the Bears have the worst record in the league. It hasn’t happened since they went 1-13 in 1969, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I wouldn’t bet that it’s happening again in 2022.
As for Schein’s other bold predictions, where has Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers taking home another MVP trophy and the Cardinals missing the playoffs, he’s had a relatively low hit rate since 2019.
About two of his nine predictions usually come true, his most notable one last year being that the Cincinnati Bengals would win more games than the Pittsburgh Steelers. But for every hit, there are three misses like the Carolina Panthers having a top-five offense or the Falcons winning 10 games.
Bold predictions are supposed to be outlandish. But this is one even the most jaded Bears fan might have a hard time believing comes true.
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