Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers heading in different directions

In the Bears’ defense

The Packers currently have a very bad defense. Regardless of the category, their defense ranked in the bottom third of the league. And they didn’t get any better this season. Rather than shore up their defense and take a little pressure off of Rodgers, the Packers passed on the opportunity.

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While they drafted two rookie cornerbacks, it’s not reasonable to expect them to be “shut down” corners from day one. Their depth chart at inside linebacker looks like the “Wreck of the Hesperus,” and a couple of preseason injuries made it even weaker.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, Khalil Mack joins a defense full of “dogs.” He joins a unit full of impact players including Akiem Hicks, Leonard Floyd, Danny Trevathan, Kyle Fuller, Eddie Goldman, and Roquan Smith.

Beyond the quality and depth of the Bears’ defensive unit, they are also young. All of the players mentioned above are squarely in their prime, or in the case of Smith and Floyd, haven’t even reached it yet.

This bodes well for the Bears’ ability to sustain success. It also takes a tremendous amount of pressure off Trubisky and the offense. Meanwhile, the Packers are walking a thin line with little margin for error both this season and in the future.