Chicago Bears: Let’s go easy on Super Bowl talk

The Chicago Bears might make the Super Bowl, but let’s tone down the talk until the first down is played.

Let me be clear right off the bat: As a Chicago Bears fan, I want them to make it to the Super Bowl and win. As an observer, I think they have the talent to do just that.

That said, the rhetoric around town has been at fever-pitch. WSCR The Score’s Dan Bernstein says this is a Super Bowl or bust season, and other hosts on the station are predicting the Bears will be in the big game, if not winning it.

To which I say: Slow your roll.

I am not saying the Bears’ season last year was a fluke, although I wouldn’t be shocked if they finish 11-5 or 10-6 instead of 12-4. The regular season is a grind, football is strange, and sometimes good teams lose a game or two more than you’d expect.

Remember, this team wasn’t supposed to be a playoff team last year. They got good very quickly, then struggled to score against a good Eagles team during the playoffs. Yet they were still a couple of doinks away from advancing.

I do expect the defense to remain among the league’s best, even if there is a regression in turnovers. I do think the offense has more weapons. But there are questions remaining.

How much of a leap forward will Mitchell Trubisky take? Will a rookie like David Montgomery be a strong contributor for a full 16-game season, plus playoffs? Will Trey Burton be healthy?

Again – this is a very good team. I am not one of those national analysts saying that the Bears will be a .500-ish team due to defensive regression. I expect them to make the playoffs again, at the bare minimum.

And yes, I think this team CAN win the big one, this year. But I don’t think it’s a “bust” should they fail to do so. Nor do I think they’re a lock – there are four or five other teams that I think have just as strong a shot – the Chiefs, Rams, Pats (they never go away), Eagles, and perhaps the Saints. Not to mention there always seems to be one surprise contending team in football.

This doesn’t have to be binary. You can say the Bears are a legit Super Bowl contender – and they are – without saying that if they don’t win, the season will be a failure. Or without feeling obligated to predict that they will be the champs.

Maybe I am just setting expectations low so that it will hurt less if they don’t win it all. Or to keep myself sane should they lose a game or two they’re expected to win. I don’t know.

I do know this – the ride will be enjoyable. This is going to be a fun team to watch, and for the first time in a long time, the Bears seem to have a plan for sustained success (unlike the Dick Jauron or Lovie Smith teams that rode defense and luck, the Bears appear to be building to compete for a championship while they’re window is open).

Yes, I will be bummed if the season ends in anything less than a championship. But it’s OK to tone down the rhetoric while watching the season play out.