August 11, 2021: Back to the Playoffs

The Bears road back to the playoffs begins on Saturday with their first preseason game against the Dolphins. Only 3 preseason games this year by the way; no biggie. But if I was a betting man, I would be betting on the Bears this preseason.

The biggest reason to bet on a team in the preseason is their QB depth, and yes, the Bears actually fit this bill. We knew we weren’t going anywhere with Dalton and Foles, but when the framing changed, when we drafted a QB in the first round, having Dalton and Foles as backup QBs??? Yes, that sounds a lot better. It wouldn’t be that great if they had to take over when the games counted, but playing against 2nd and 3rd string defenses in the preseason, with their experience… yeah, I like the Bears odds to move the ball late in these meaningless games. This is, of course, assuming that Fields holds his own early on in these games. He is starting, right?

Well, I guess that hasn’t been decided yet… so be it. When the first real game of the season kicks off about a month from now, it will be Justin Fields at the starting QB position; I’m pretty confident in that. Unless he absolutely shits the bed in the preseason, I got to think he’s taking that first snap. Nothing against Dalton… well, actually yes, it is something against Dalton, but more so about the talented QB we picked up in the draft. It’s Fields time baby!

It’s not just about Fields though. The Bears still have a really great defense; I think some folks may forget about that. We still have Khalil Mack, and newsflash, he’s still really good. With a healthy Hicks in the middle of that defensive line, with a well rested Eddie Goldman, and oh yeah, the Olympic champion’s brother who owes us for last year… I’m expecting a whole hell of a lot of pressure generated from our front four. And then there’s Roquan… he good. And Trevathan, who I thought may have been washed up last year, will be trying to show everybody, OK maybe just himself, that he’s still got it; I like that. And yes, Fuller will not be in the defensive backfield, but Jaylon Johnson showed a whole lot of good stuff last year. I guess my biggest question is the rest of the secondary, more specifically, Eddie Jackson. Will the real Eddie Jackson please stand up? Is he the turnover machine, that will ignite this defense with his big plays, or is he the guy who has made a business decision not to stick his head in there to make a tackle? If Eddie can be half of his best year, I’d take it.

The offense has some weapons. I will be looking to scoop David Montgomery in my fantasy football leagues this year. I think with Fields at QB, it will open things up a bit for David. Robinson is still here, and is very solid. Mooney is everybody’s favorite sleeper. Kmet is expected to take some steps. I guess the biggest question is the offensive line. That is an important question…

But, I think I can do my season preview now, my game by game prediction. I started off wanting to do that today, but that will have to wait. Getting back into the playoffs though? Don’t want to wait any longer for that.