Chicago Bears: Three things most to blame for bad 2017 season

John Fox and the coaching staff

I won’t sit here and tell you that I expected this team to make the playoffs this season. At best, I thought they could win 7-8 games (and taht’s VERY optimistic).

But Fox’s decisions and his staff, especially on offense, sentenced the Chicago Bears to failure.

You can say that the Bears simply don’t have the talent to win, which isn’t Fox’s fault? What he can really do with this roster, you may ask? When he had better teams with Carolina and Denver, he performed better, right?

I’d say that’s only a halfway-relevant response.

Fox’s inability to maximize his players’ potential and prepare the Bears to play football games as well as he promised was evident at every turn. And as much as he had success with previous teams, you could argue that didn’t have everything to do with him.

And ask yourself this: when have you ever looked at John Fox and thought he gave you the edge you might need to win a football game?

How else do you lose to Brett Hundley-led Green Bay Packers team you had two weeks to prepare for?

Why else have they repeatedly failed to get difference-makers—Mitch Trubisky, Tarik Cohen and Adam Shaheen all stand out at various points—on the field at crucial times?

And why else does Fox boast more 20+-point losses (by percentage) than any coach in Chicago Bears history?

By playing football the way John Fox wants you to: defensively, reactively and without the slightest inclination to attack your opponent.

Trubisky will never be able to truly develop under him and Dowell Loggains. Under Fox, the offense would remain little better than a college team’s. And as a result, even a potentially good defense, like the one the Bears fielded this year, will fold under the pressure of holding up the team.

Also, I am convinced that something about the strength and conditioning staff’s methods under Jason George, who was hired by Fox, have contributed to the rash of injuries suffered by Bears players.

For several guys to endure muscle-related injuries, particularly torn muscles—Freeman, Kwiatkoski and Willie Young are all examples—screams of poor training techniques, including over-training.

And the way past injuries to Pernell McPhee and Kyle Fuller were handled may have cost them years off of their careers for no reason at all.

In short: do you trust John Fox with anything? I really can’t say that I do.

Next: Ridiculous to keep Hester out of Hall of Fame

The Chicago Bears have suffered enough under inept coaching. It may not solve all their problems, but it’s a completely necessary step to recovering whatever dignity this franchise can.