USAT: Bears Wire audio clip

USAT: Bears Wire

Feb 19, 2022

The Chicago Bears are coming off a disappointing 6-11 season that resulted in the firings of general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy. Now, they have a new regime in place with GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus, where the hope is they can get the Bears back to relevancy. - But Chicago has a lot of work to do, and they’re not inspiring much confidence heading into this 2022 offseason. - In ESPN’s early 2022 power rankings, the Bears landed among the bottom of the league at No. 26. Clearly, Chicago has plenty to prove heading into the new year. - Before new coach Matt Eberflus has a chance to shine, the Bears’ new GM, Ryan Poles, needs to find him some playmakers. Quarterback Justin Fields and running back David Montgomery are a good start, but Chicago is void of wide receivers and tight ends who are true difference-makers. The Bears have several No. 2s at those positions, but none who can take over a game or beat a double-team consistently. Poles is likely to focus on the offensive line — he played that position — but the Bears will be an ordinary offense until they get explosive. That’s a word Eberflus used several times when he was introduced as the new coach. - It’s impossible to evaluate what kind of team the Bears are going to be in 2022, as there’s plenty of work to be done with the roster heading into free agency and the NFL draft. But there’s reasons to be optimistic about the direction of the team. - That starts with quarterback Justin Fields, who’s entering this offseason as the clear-cut starter. While he has a new offense to learn under offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, it’s certainly encouraging to hear Getsy say the offense will be built around Fields’ strengths. - There’s a wealth of talent elsewhere on the roster in Darnell Mooney, Roquan Smith, Cole Kmet, Khalil Herbert Jaylon Johnson, Teven Jenkins and a slew of others — both proven and unproven. - Follow The Bears Wire Podcast: - Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts - - - List - - 10 wide receivers the Bears should target in free agency to help Justin Fields - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Bears Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Bears Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

F i l t e r   &   S o r t