Fans loves a dramatic turnaround in the NFL. They make for great stories. That’s why the Los Angeles Rams of 2017 are such a hot topic. A year ago they were 4-12 and boasted the worst offense in the league. This off-season they hired head coach Sean McVay and upgraded their receiving corps. Now they’re 10-4 and boast the #1 scoring offense in the league. That’s an amazing turnaround, and makes some wonder if the Chicago Bears can do the same.
At this point fans have their concerns. The team is flirting with the worst three-season stretch in franchise history since the NFL moved to a 16-game schedule. Right now that sits at 14 wins from 1997 to 1999. The Bears have 13 wins since 2015 with two games to go. If they fall to both the Browns and Vikings it will be a new low.
The only thing left is the fleeting hope that a new coaching staff might be able to unlock the potential of this young roster. ESPN decided to do a rankings of teams with the highest odds of going worst to first in 2018. Their choice is certain to make Chicago happy.
Chicago Bears built almost exactly like Rams from last year
“Chicago is as close as we can get to last year’s Rams. The Bears have an underrated defense led by an interior disruptor in Akiem Hicks, with Fangio’s unit ranking 14th in DVOA before Saturday’s 20-10 loss to the Lions. The Bears traded up to grab their quarterback of the future in the 2017 draft, but Mitchell Trubisky hasn’t been very good; the second overall pick is last in the league in Total QBR (26.6), with a scarcely believable 3.4 QBR when under pressure. The Bears have a franchise running back but lack weapons for Trubisky at receiver, a position they’ll surely address this offseason.”
People love to pick on Trubisky these days but the fact is he’s played better than Jared Goff did for the Rams in 2016. Goff threw five touchdowns, seven interceptions and barely completed 54% of his passes for a 63.6 quarterback rating. Trubisky has seven touchdowns, seven interceptions, and has completed over 59% of his passes for a 77.8 rating. One could also argue the Rams had better receivers in Kenny Britt, Brian Quick and Tavon Austin.
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Trubisky has made due with Kendall Wright, Dontrelle Inman and Josh Bellamy. Goff also came in with more starting experience in college. So basically if he can do this turnaround thing, why can’t Trubisky? The key for the Bears will be finding the right head coach who understands what he needs. A good play caller on offense would be a nice way to start.
After that it’s all about finding a credible defensive coordinator to keep things on track with this defense. Not an easy task, but not an impossible one.
