Bears Are NFL.com's 2018 Cinderella Team.............

Bears pegged as 2018's Cinderella team by NFL.com

By: Bryan Perez | 3 minutes ago
bearswire.usatoday.com/2018/03/29/bears-pegged-as-2018s-cinderella-team-by-nfl-com/


The Chicago Bears have struggled to achieve NFL relevancy for several seasons. They’ve finished no better than 8-8 over the last five years and have only 19 wins in the last four seasons combined.

Despite their recent failures, NFL.com’s Adam Schein thinks the Bears will be next season’s Cinderella story.

Let’s start with a crucial change at the top. John Fox is gone. Enter Matt Nagy, who’s set to play the role of Sean McVay to Fox’s Jeff Fisher. Now, being fair to the reigning AP Coach of the Year, there’s only one Sean McVay. But I love the idea of getting an offensive guru in the big chair to clean up after Fox. Nagy will develop Trubisky in Year 2 like McVay did with Jared Goff. The Bears’ offensive coaching staff was stuck in the mud last season. This is a big upgrade. Last year, I loved Doug Marrone and Co. in in Jacksonville, as well as McVay’s all-star group in L.A. Chicago assembled a difference-making staff this offseason.

Nagy met with the media at the NFL owners meeting in Florida and described Chicago’s new offensive philosophy as aggressive. He wants to challenge defensive backs in the downfield passing game, something the Bears rarely did in 2017.

Chicago assembled a group of capable playmakers in Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Trey Burton in free agency and could add a few more in the 2018 NFL Draft. It’s a massive upgrade from last year’s receiving corps, to say the least.

I love the Allen Robinson signing. He’s a legit No. 1 wideout — and a great teammate. Yes, he tore his ACL last September, but he recently told me on SiriusXM Radio that he’s way ahead of schedule in his rehab. Also, let’s be honest: His game wasn’t built on supreme quick-twitch athleticism in the first place. He’ll be just fine. But the Bears weren’t satisfied with just adding Robinson to their pass-catching group — they also went out and got a speed burner (Taylor Gabriel) and a move tight end (Trey Burton).

Rarely does a team coming off a five-win season face the pressure of expectations the following year. But the Bears have found themselves in that strange place. They can blame the Rams, who made as significant a jump in one season under coach McVay as any seen in recent NFL history. The similarities between the two clubs — new coaching staff, young quarterback, additions at the skill positions — make the comparison a fair one.

Now it’s up to Nagy, Mitchell Trubisky and the rest of Chicago’s leaders to get the job done on the field.