When watching the Chicago Bears of 2016 you noticed one glaring issue. QB play was missing. Jay Cutler was injured and lost for the whole season. Backup Brian Hoyer goes down with an injury. Third strong QB Matt Barkley, although he played well at times was just not good enough. So what were the Bears to do? Will 2017 hold the same questions and answers?
The Chicago Bears went out and tried to strengthen the QB position in the offseason. They gave Tampa Bay Buccaneers backup QB, Mike Glennon a big contract to be their starter in 2017. In addition, in the draft, they surprised everyone and drafted Mitchell Trubisky. The Bears organization feels that they have two players who can lead them back to the postseason in the future.
The running game of the Chicago Bears was the best part of the offense. Rookie RB Jordan Howard quickly came on the scene and started making a name for himself. He played in 115 of the 16 games on the season. He started 13 of those 15. Howard carried the ball 252 times for 1,313 yards. He finished the season as the third-ranked rusher in the NFL.
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We have already touched on the passing game of the Bears. However, we have not talked about the wide receivers. The Chicago Bears are lacking in this area. They need to get a big play receiver. Alshon Jeffery was supposed to be that player. He could not stay healthy. The Bears then drafted Kevin White out of West Virginia. He too cannot stay healthy. Cameron Meredith started to emerge as a leader late in 2016. Can he stay the course in 2017? The Bears certainly hope so because the passing offense cannot sustain with second rate receivers.
The Chicago Bears will struggle again in 2017 on this side of the ball. They just do not have the weapons or experience to be a good offense. They may get a good couple of games but I do not see much success outside of the running game. The future may hold something bright but 2017 may just be a dim candle.
Editor’s Note: This article can also be seen in our upcoming NFL Preview Edition.