3RD PRESEASON GAME DOESN’T SPELL DOOM
‘ Dress rehearsal’ wasn’t pretty, but it’s not necessarily an indicator of what’s ahead
You have to go all the way back to 2010 to find a Bears team that looked like it was doomed to a losing season only to make the playoffs.
As dreadful as the Bears’ firstteam offense was in a 23- 7 loss Saturday to the Chiefs at Soldier Field, Jay Cutler was statistically worse in a 14- 9 loss to the Cardinals in the “dress rehearsal” game in 2010— 10- for- 20, 129 yards, two interceptions, four sacks and a 31.0 passer rating. The defense was no great shakes either against journeymen Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson as the overall performance was panned by the experts as a harbinger of a difficult season.
At that point, 8- 8 looked “wildly optimistic.” But the Bears went 11- 5 in the regular season, won the NFC North and reached the NFC Championship Game.
That doesn’t mean the Bears are going to reach the conference championship game or even make the playoffs. A reasonable range in general manager Ryan Pace’s second season was 7- 9 to 9- 7 heading into camp, and until we see how many starters can’t play inWeek 1, that hasn’t changed.
The Bears are a rebuilding team that needs to develop a core of future Pro Bowl players — Kevin White, Leonard Floyd, Eddie Goldman, Jeremy Langford, Adrian Amos, Deiondre’ Hall, Cody Whitehair being prime candidates— that not only lays a foundation but provides proof that Pace and his personnel staff know what they’re doing in the draft. It looks shaky right now, but the third preseason game is not the time to make that judgment. 2Vic
Fangio’s defenses have a history of taking big steps once the bell rings. In Fangio’s second season in San Francisco in 2012, the 49ers allowed 24 points and 265 yards in the first half against coach John Fox’s Broncos in the third preseason game. The 49ers finished third in total defense and second in scoring defense and played in the Super Bowl that season. 3Rarely are developing, rebuilding teams such as the Bears as bad as they look in the preseason. For what it’s worth, the Bears’ 12 playoff teams since the start of theMike Ditka era ( 1982) are 2- 10 in the dress- rehearsal preseason game. 4Or as good. In coach Marc Trestman’s first season with the Bears in 2013, the Bears took a 27- 3 lead at halftime in the third preseason game against the Raiders in Oakland. After a 3- 0 start in the regular season, the Bears slumped to an 8- 8 finish, and the wheels were soon to come off for the Trestman/ Phil Emery regime. 5The
Bears have trailed at halftime in all six of their first three preseason games under Fox. They were outscored 42- 15 last year and 50- 11 this season. 6Quarterback
Connor Shaw didn’t even get a chance to enjoy being the people’s choice after a stellar performance in a third- string role against the Chiefs. It would’ve been interesting to see if the Bears would’ve given Shaw a rightful chance to win the No. 2 job behind Cutler after his impressive performance— 5- for- 6 for 68 yards and a touchdown for a 153.5 rating.
7With
greater needs than a developmental quarterback, the Bears passed on Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott three times in the fourth round in the 2016 draft. With Tony Romo out six to 10 weeks with a broken bone in his back, the Bears are likely to face Prescott inWeek 3 at Cowboys Stadium. Prescott has a 137.8 passer rating ( five touchdowns, no interceptions) in the preseason.
8Nick Kwiatkoski remains a mystery four months into his Bears career. thewest Virginia product suffered a hamstring injury July 29— the third overall practice, first day in pads. He has made some progress with the injury but has not practiced since. 9 For What
It’s Worth Dept.: Cutler didn’t throw an interception in the preseason for the second consecutive year and only the third time in his eight seasons with the Bears. 10Pick
to click: Safety Harold Jones- Quartey was playing for the Cardinals at this time last season, but he has taken to Fangio’s defense as well as any of the young players. His aggressiveness puts him in position to make plays, and he seems to be more productive every time out.