I’m not here to dispute the fact that as of this writing, the bears are in first place
in the most vaunted division in the league - even if only by 0.050 percentage points with the 3rd easiest schedule to date
but people need to pump the breaks on the discourse that “the bears are the future of the [NFC] north.” In a league where “what have you done for me lately” reigns king, the Bears haven’t been atop the north at year’s end since 2018. And before that, it had been another 8 years (2010).
Quick side note. Here are a few facts about the world from the last time the Bears won the division:
- Game of thrones was still on air
- Caleb was a sophomore… in HS
- PlayStation 5 was 2 years away
- Avengers: Infinity War was the #1 film
In that same time period, the Packers, Vikings, and Lions have won 8, 3, and 2 titles respectively. Until the belt is ripped from the 2x defending champion Lions, they are the current and future standard of the division.
The former #1 overall pick had a horrendous rookie season. Among primary starters, he ranked:
- 17th in yards (yet another bears season without 4000 yds)
- 18th in completion %
- T15th in TDs
- 1st in sacks taken
- 26th in QBR
All this en route to a 5-12 record and a last place finish, which makes showing improvement child’s-play, something Caleb had failed to do this year as his current rankings are:
- 13th in yards
- 21st in completion %
- 19th in TDs
- 18th in QBR
Furthermore, calling him “by far the most promising QB in the division” makes me wonder the mental faculties of the author. Jared Goff and Jordon Love are established franchise quarterbacks with perennial MVP and Super Bowl aspirations, and JJ McCarthy - or his game day persona Nine - is no slouch himself despite a very small sample size. The entire division has bona fide stars, and there is no clear “most-promising” QB, but Jared and Jordon are at the top of the mantle right now with no end in sight.
I will applaud the Bears organization in seemingly figuring it out with “a foundation of a seemingly great coach and a positive young QB,” (despite how unconvincing the word “seemingly” is) something the Packers organization figured out DECADES ago. I can confidently say that I, and my fellow NFC north fans, are the furthest thing from worried one can be. I’ve spent my entire life not giving the Bears a second thought and a handful of poor wins by an overrated QB and glorified offensive coordinator doesn’t have me changing my tune.