Bears try to pick themselves up this year

CHICAGO » The Bears insist better days are coming. Then again, it’s hard to imagine things getting worse for them.

The Bears are banking on an overhaul at quarterback as well as a deeper and healthier roster to get them pointed in the right direction coming off their worst season in decades.

“I think we’ve assembled the right kind of guys,” General Ganager Ryan Pace said. “I know that. The culture and the vibe of the locker room is really good right now.”

The Bears finished last in the NFC North at 3-13. They posted their lowest win total in a non-strike year since the 1973 team went 3-11 and most losses since 1969.

It certainly did not help that 19 players finished the season on injured reserve. That exposed a lack of depth, and the Bears come into the season with some new faces in key spots.

The most notable change is at quarterback.

The Bears parted with Jay Cutler and signed Mike Glennon. They also brought in veteran backup Mark Sanchez and swung a huge deal to draft Mitchell Trubisky with the No. 2 overall pick.

Some things to know as the Bears try to bounce back from their worst season in decades:

Taking snaps

Glennon comes into the season as the starter, though the question remains for how long.

The Bears insist they want to bring along Mentor High graduate Trubisky slowly because he only started 13 games at North Carolina and worked primarily out of the shotgun. But he dazzled at times during the preseason and sparked a quarterback debate in Chicago.

Glennon barely played behind Jameis Winston the past two years in Tampa Bay. He threw 11 passes last season and did not appear in a game in 2015.

Catching on

Kevin White needs to show he can stay healthy and develop into a No. 1 receiver.

The No. 7 overall pick in 2015 missed his rookie season because of a stress fracture in his left shin. White was limited to four games last year with a broken left leg. He was leading the Bears in receptions with 19 for 187 yards when he went down.