FAIR OR FOUL BALL?
The Sun- Times’ experts— Adam L. Jahns, Patrick Finley and Mark Potash— share their insights from the preseason and examine the questions that remain unanswered heading into the opener.
Jahns: Be better than most pundits and fans think he’ll be but still not good enough to escape the buzz around rookie Mitch Trubisky. Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains should be expected to get the best out of Glennon after he helped resurrect Matt Barkley’s career last season. But Barkley didn’t have to play through the scrutiny and pressure that Glennon will face. This is Glennon’s chance to prove that he’s capable of being a starter. He needs to be resilient. Coach John Fox seems to want him looking over his shoulder at Trubisky. Finley: Be fine. His third preseason game was more indicative of what we’ll see in the regular season than his first two exhibition debacles. He won’t be the driving force behind wins — the running backs are far more potent than the pass catchers— but he won’t be the reason they lose, either. He’ll be a caretaker, and that qualifies as an upgrade from last season. Barkley, who started the most games for the Bears last year, wasn’t good enough to make the 49ers’ 53- man roster Saturday.
Potash: Be better in the regular season than he was in the preseason, but never quite good enough to silence the call for Trubisky to start. The tumult of training camp/ preseason made Glennon look worse than he is, but he’ll need a lot of things going his way to keep the wolves at bay.
Trubisky’s first start willcome...
Jahns: This season, it’s just unclear when. Week 5 against the Vikings— a Monday nighter after a Thursday matchup against the Packers— is a soft point in the schedule. It’s after the Bears play the Falcons, Bucs, Steelers and Packers in the first four weeks. But playing Trubisky ultimately comes down to Glennon, who needs to play terrible for a change to happen, especially early on.
Finley: Because of injury. There are dates to target if the Bears want to promote Trubisky, sure— they have 10 days between Games 4 and 5 and a bye week after their eighth game— but since when have the Bears had the luxury of health? When training camp started, the Bears weren’t sure that Trubisky could shine if called on midseason. They feel better
about that now.
Potash: Against the Browns in Week 16. The Bears will stubbornly cling to Glennon as their starter throughout the season. Not until they finally are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs will they turn to the future and give Trubisky a shot in a comfortable spot: a home game against the wretched Browns.
Biggest upgrade from2016
Jahns: Running back. It starts with having Jordan Howard as the top back in the opener instead ofWeek 4, which is when he fully replaced an injured Jeremy Langford last year. Offseason eye surgery will help Howard be a better receiver. Rookie Tarik Cohen also gives the Bears’ offense a true change- of- pace back. He’ll be a factor this season.
Finley: Bears tight ends not named Zach Miller had 24 catches for 186 receiving yards last season. By comparison, former Bear Greg Olsen had 181 yards in a single game last year. The Bears have nowhere to go but up. Miller is still around, and effective, despite offseason foot surgery. Dion Sims got $ 10 million guaranteed to block and provide a reliable receiving option. Adam Shaheen,
the second- round pick, is a work in progress, but still presents a better red- zone target than any wide receiver.
Potash: The secondary. With cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper, safeties Quintin Demps and Eddie Jackson and nickel backs Bryce Callahan and Cre’Von LeBlanc, the Bears have upgraded at every position. Plus, an improved front seven will create opportunities that last season’s corners and safeties did not get.
Biggest downgrade from2016
Jahns: Receiver. The Bears were OK saying goodbye to injuryprone Alshon Jeffery, yet injuries still thinned the position. Cam Meredith ( torn ACL) is lost for the season and free- agent addition MarkusWheaton ( emergency appendectomy, broken finger) barely has practiced. It’s a more diverse group. KendallWright is a true slot receiver. But many questions remain. First and foremost: what will Kevin White become?
Finley: Receiver, and it’s not close. Jeffery had 821 receiving yards last year before the Bears let him walk via free agency. The five receivers on this year’s Bears roster not namedWright had 769 yards combined in 2016.
Potash: Receiver. No Jeffery and now noMeredith. White was a nonfactor in the preseason. And Wheaton did nothing because of injuries. The Bears have what has to be the most unproven group of wide receivers in the NFL. Tight end and running- back production in the passing game will mitigate the problem, but the Bears don’t even seem to have much room for growth here.
The teamMVPwill be ...
Jahns: Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd. He’s bigger and stronger— and faster— than most pass- rush threats in the league. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s hands- on approach with the outside linebackers will help Floyd reach his potential. Don’t limit your expectations for Floyd, either; the Bears aren’t. Floyd’s ceiling is VonMiller, who had 18.5 sacks in his second season.
Finley: Howard. Running backs are fungible, the NFL groupthink goes, but the Bears will lean on last season’s second- leading rusher in the league even more. They have the blocking prowess to hand it off to Howard 300 times. He had 252 carries last season.
Potash: Floyd looks primed for a huge second- year jump. He’ll be at least one difference- making player who provides not only bigplay, game- turning production but hope for the future.
BiggestX- factor
Jahns: Health. That’s an easy one. But as far as players, it’s Jackson. He has the potential to be the Bears’ best playmaking safety sinceMike Brown. He has the range, ball skills and athleticism. He could be the player who produces the takeaways the defense sorely missed last season.
Finley: How will concerns about Fox’s job status affect the way the Bears treat Trubisky? Balancing the short- term desire to win now with the rookie’s longterm development— both with practice reps and game snaps— will be tricky.
Potash: Injuries, of course. Already the Bears have several key players in question forWeek 1: linebacker Pernell McPhee is just off the physically unable-toperform list; guard Kyle Long and linebacker Danny Trevathan did not play in the preseason; defensive end Jonathan Bullard ( glute), Amukamara ( ankle) and nose tackle Eddie Goldman ( concussion) missed practice last week. And Callahan is coming off a hamstring injury. The issue — particularly with McPhee, Long and Trevathan— is not only who will play, but also how long they’ll last.
Projected record
Jahns: 7- 9. The Bears aren’t a bad team. They’ll be competitive with a strong running game and a stout defense. But the GlennonTrubisky dynamic is everything. Trubisky has the talent and mental makeup to take the Bears places; Glennon is a place- holder.
Finley: 6- 10. Even if the Bears get throttled in their first four games, a 6- 6 record the rest of the way— with Trubisky under center toward the end of the season— would qualify as progress. Steal one or two early and have some luck in the trainers’ room, for a change, and the Bears could maybe fight for .500.
Potash: 6- 10. The Bears still have the potential to be a surprise team, but an awful lot has to go right. They have more players with growth potential that can accelerate the rebuild— Floyd, Akiem Hicks, Bullard, Jackson, Shaheen, Cohen and CodyWhitehair among them. But after nine non- playoff seasons in the last 10 years, including two difficult years under the Fox- Pace regime, you still have to see it to believe it.