The Chicago Bears did a ton of work this offseason to construct a roster they believe is capable of competing for the playoffs. The hardest part was whittling it down from 90 players at the start of training camp all the way to 53 on August 31st. It sounds simple, but it by no means is. Coaches and scouts have to conduct extensive evaluations and make some really tough decisions. Not every player who deserves a spot is going to get one.
So how exactly does the team go about this process? The Bears provided a glimpse during their final episode of the YouTube series 1920 Football Drive. Following each preseason game, the Bears coaching staff is given a task. Review the game film and evaluate every player. Then assign them grades based on performance. When finished, head coach Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace gather everybody together to go over the details.
It is a highly collaborative process.
This offers an idea of how seriously the Bears take this. They don’t want to do any of it half-assed. A surefire way to create a bad football team is by not paying attention to the little things. By involving the position coaches in such a way, Nagy ensures he gets any of the details he might’ve missed in his own evaluations. As for Pace, he also gets an idea of where the team could be deficient and in need of some help.
That is likely what led them to be so aggressive at wide receiver following final cuts. The addition of Nsimba Webster to help special teams and Breshad Perriman to add more veteran experience on the back end of the depth chart. The position is now absolutely better than it was a couple of weeks ago.
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Chicago Bears made some interesting decisions
Offensively it centered on two things. Keeping five offensive tackles and five tight ends. Most often an NFL team will carry four tackles or maybe even three with two starters and a swing backup. It is odd the Bears would choose to keep five with Jason Peters, Germain Ifedi, Larry Borom, Elijah Wilkinson, and Lachavious Simmons. While offensive line help is obviously a must, it didn’t feel like Wilkinson or Simmons were all that good during the preseason. So keeping both feel somewhat pointless.
Defensively, the most puzzling decision was inside linebacker where the Chicago Bears chose to keep seven guys following final cuts. That number was soon reduced to five after Danny Trevathan went on Injured Reserve and Josh Woods was waived. Even so, it feels like they went heavy at the position at the expense of others. Like cornerback where they only have five bodies. Still, it did lead to some really cool stories like undrafted rookie Caleb Johnson cracking the roster.
It was moments like that Pace and Nagy relished most.
Now the team will see if the work they put in was worth it. The Bears face a difficult schedule this season. A lot of experts aren’t seeing them anywhere near the playoffs in 2021. They believe differently. An improved (on paper) offense combined with a still solid defense should be enough to get them into the tournament.