Pity ‘da Bears. Pity the poor Chicago Bears. The San Francisco 49ers were able to get their quarterback of the future in Jimmy Garoppolo with a 2nd round pick and the keys to Citibank. The Bears had to give up the farm to the 49ers just in order to move up a single spot and select Mitchell Trubisky. To call Trubisky a bust would be immature, but Jimmy Garoppolo he aint.
That said, Trubisky has the full keys to the offense after taking over from Mike Glennon in 2017 and the Bears will be expecting big things out of their quarterback. Beyond Trubisky, well, you saw the Bears last year against the 49ers and not much has changed.
I re-watched the Bears game in 2017, which was Garoppolo’s first start for the 49ers and it was one of the ugliest games in retrospect. Not a single touchdown, five field goals, and a punt return touchdown by Tarik Cohen. The difference was the 49ers had a quarterback only weeks on the roster ad-libbing playcalls while on the other end was a rookie trying to carry the franchise.
Despite the ugliness, the Bears still appeared outplayed. The 49ers were making dumb mistakes due to Garoppolo’s inexperience in the offense and the Bears got a chance turnover in a crazy Kyle Fuller strip interception and a special teams touchdown that should have been called back for an illegal block in the back. The 49ers still won, but the score should have been greater.
The Bears fired John Fox concluding the 2017 season and hired Matt Nagy, offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs. Defensively, the team decided to retain Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator. The Bears decisions could be positives, but it all rides on Trubisky.
Let’s see if the Bears have gotten any better.
Draft picks
Round 1: Roquan Smith (LB)
Round 2: James Daniels (C)
Round 2: Anthony Miller (WR)
Round 4: Joel Iyiegbuniwe (LB)
Round 5: Bilal Nichols (DT)
Round 6: Kylie Fitts (DE)
Round 7: Javon Wims (WR)
Notable free agent acquisitions
Allen Robinson (WR)
Taylor Gabriel (WR)
Trey Burton (TE)
Aaron Lynch (LB)
Trey Burton should sound familiar, he’s the guy who threw the touchdown pass to Nick Foles in the Super Bowl. Beyond that, the Bears addressed one of their biggest needs: Wide receiver. Robinson is coming off an ACL tear in Week 1 of 2017’s season, but is seen as a respectable pickup. Gabriel thrived in none other than Kyle Shanahan’s offense and didn’t too bad in 2017 when Shanahan left.
On the other side of the ball, the first round pick of Roquan Smith will let retained defensive coordinator Fangio excited. Smith is scouted to be either a 4-3 or 3-4 linebacker, but for some odd reason I see him better as 4-3.
All said, Bears fans should be getting excited for the new coaching staff, and the acquisitions made in this offseason. This has only made the Bears better.
Way too early gambling line
The matchup
Bears fans need to be excited for what they have. The acquisitions in the offseason as well as the new coaching staff already makes a steep upgrade from last year.
The wildcard is Mitchell Trubisky. He’s going into his second season and it’s an important one. If he can get things together, the Bears will have a potential good team in another year. Nagy also is an interesting coach. He knows quarterbacks and is perfect for Trubisky’s development, but he also served as offensive coordinator for only two seasons and only called plays toward the end of the 2017 season, having served under Andy Reid.
The offense just has too many question marks, coaching, talent and otherwise. The 49ers are heavily favored in this game—but that’s a mistake. Vic Fangio knows how to scheme a defense and I won’t be surprised if he gives the 49ers hell, maybe an interception out of Garoppolo. At this juncture, the 49ers have the better quarterback and should be able to squeeze out a win.
I only hope there’s at least a touchdown this time around.