I guess it’s official now? The Bears schedule was released on Thursday; it’s about a four month countdown until we see our boys play in the regular season. Can’t think of a much better way to start the season than hosting the “HOF-QB less” Green Bay Packers, that is, unless you think Jordan Love will be punching his ticket to Canton next… I’ll take our chances.
Yes, the season will kickoff on Sunday September 10th against the cheese; Bears a very early 2.5 point favorite. Have to like that… We’ve been here before; getting so excited for a season, especially the opener, especially against the Packers, only to see our bubble get busted. Will this year be different? God I hope so. I think the checklist for the season goes a little something like this:
Improve upon last year’s record: This should be a slam dunk, or better yet, an extra point, unless your name is Cairo Santos; OK, low blow. Exceeding our win total of 3 better not be a problem. How about doubling our win total? I think that’s a very safe place to set the bar, a very, low, conservative bar. How does 6-11 sound? Better than 3-14, but definitely plenty of room for improvement.
Beat the Packers: I’ve had conversations with people about this; I’ve had those who say what does that matter? Well, besides the obvious rivalry bragging rights which we have slim to none over the past 30 years, they are on our schedule twice. If we want to exceed that win total, wins against the Packers will help us do so. They are in our division as well; if we want to talk about future goals, like winning the division, beating the Packers will go a long way. How about home field advantage in the playoffs? Certainly not a priority this year (I wouldn’t think so, just making it would be something), but in the next few years… yeah, heck yeah, and again, 2 wins against a team in our division will help us there.
See Fields improve his passing game: We saw what Justin could do on the ground; now, with a beefed up WR corps, and an improved OL, and the 2nd year with the same OC/coach combo, I expect Fields to take some serious strides passing the football. Maybe I should have mentioned stay healthy first, but that should be assumed; goals become more and more difficult as the injuries pile up, especially to key positions, like the QB. The Bears have committed to Fields at QB, which I’m totally onboard with, but… if he doesn’t make improvement in the passing game this year… the skepticism will creep in, for those of us who aren’t there yet. Kick some ass this year Justin; make us feel warm and fuzzy.
I could go on; I’ll get to game by game predictions eventually, but first pass at it… the schedule doesn’t look too bad. In this year to year league that the NFL is, who knows who will be better and worse than last year, including us, but… besides Ls vs the Chiefs & Chargers, figuring a split with our division foes, a winning record (5-4) against the remaining puts us at 8-9 minimum… this certainly has some promise. Oh man… can’t wait. Bear Down!!!
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