One of the best ways to determine how you should really view your football team is to see how people who cover other teams do. That is especially true of division rivals. If the experts from other NFC North teams don’t view the Chicago Bears as a threat, maybe it’s time to step back and examine why. One could understand if the division didn’t consider the Bears a threat. Detroit, Green Bay, and Minnesota all finished with 13 or more wins last season. They went a combined 5-1 against Chicago.
It appears the confidence isn’t quite as strong as you’d think. Packers beat writer Rob Demovsky of ESPN illustrated this. He was asked in a roundtable which player or unit would impact the division race the most this season.
“The Bears’ offensive line. Chicago had to do something to help Williams, who was sacked a league-high 68 times last season. The Bears should have three new starters on the line with the addition of Thuney, Jackson and Dalman. This could give Williams the chance to show why he was the first overall pick in the 2024 draft.”
One of the big reasons the Packers and other teams managed to handle the Bears was their appalling offensive line. Demovsky knows that beating Chicago becomes considerably more difficult if the protection is much better this season. That is before you get into other factors.
For years, the NFC North has held at least one of three key advantages over them in head-to-head matchups. One was the quarterback. Green Bay and Detroit had future Hall of Famers. Minnesota usually had a Pro Bowler. The Chicago Bears may finally have an answer with Caleb Williams. Next was coaching. Matt Lafleur, Kevin O’Connell, and Dan Campbell have all been shown to be quality leaders, while the Bears tried to match them with Matt Eberflus.
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Last but not least are the trenches. The Bears haven’t been dominant at the line of scrimmage for years, especially on the offensive side. It is why other North teams always seemed to make the key plays late in games. They had the blocking necessary to do so. If Demovsky is correct, Chicago is ready to challenge the status quo.