For Bears fans, “deja vu” is a phrase that is well played-out over the last three years. But it’s also a phrase that is already too true in this young 2017 season, as the air in the Chicago Bear’s optimism balloon is starting to seep.
It was at this time last year where the Bears and their fans were feeling optimistic about being much more competitive than most NFL “experts” believed they would be, after holding their own against a formidable Houston Texans team that just made the playoffs the year before. Then, Week 2 is when the IR body bags started to fill up. By seasons end, the Bears had nineteen players on injured reserve, nine of which were projected starters at the beginning of the season. As a team that is still considered to be “rebuilding,” it was far too much to overcome, resulting in a 3-13 season.
Fast-forward to today, after the Bears were four goal-to-go tries away from upsetting the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons, the Bears are well on their way to having a very similar IR epidemic.
There are currently eight players on IR, four of which were projected starters heading into Week 2 against Tampa Bay. Two of those starters were the outside receivers Cameron Meredith and Kevin White, which leaves us with one of the worst receiver groups in the league. Couple that with a quarterback in Mike Glennon who struggles with timing on his throws and is a statue when under pressure, and it adds up to be quite a potential disaster on offense.
The loss of Jerrell Freeman, one of the best inside linebackers in the game, stings a bit as well. Though, I am intrigued to see what sophomore backer Nick Kwiatkowski can do as he and 27-year old Danny Trevathan are the future of the Bear’s defense, Jerrell Freeman led the team in tackles last year with 110 even after missing four games. He was named team captain and his veteran-ship is an important asset to an already young defense. Chicago still has a solid front seven, with Akiem Hicks starting the year on a good foot with two sacks to go along with his 4-year, $48 million extension he signed with the team just before the season began. With the emergence of second-year pass-rushers Leonard Floyd and Jonathan Bullard, the Bears defense still has the capability to keep the team in close games.
The seemingly lone bright spot for the Bears has been the rookie running back Tarik Cohen, A.K.A. “The Human Joystick.” Drawing a lot of comparisons to Eagles tail back Darren Sproles, Tarik is quick, explosive, shifty, and, well, small. The 5’6″ rookie tallied 158 total yards from scrimmage in his impressive debut against a well-coached Falcons defense, including an electrifying run where he changed direction in an intended outside-run and picked up 46 yards (1:06 mark in highlight video below).
Not only was he able to show off his explosiveness, he also revealed his strength and toughness, breaking tackles and jolting back up after getting crushed for making catches over the middle of the field. Now that the secret is out on Cohen and his play-making ability, the Bears have to find ways to creatively get him involved in the offense. Using him and Jordan Howard in the wildcat, a play in which they scored during week 1, is certainly an option going forward.
The lack of weapons on offense paired with the amount of injuries that are mounting has put a dent in whatever optimism any Bears fan has had so far. Then, sprinkle on top a starting quarterback getting paid $18.5 million to be a stop-gap game-manager. *Yawns* Wake me up when the athlete is starting at quarterback…
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