The 2024 Chicago Bears Are Super Bowl Contenders
Todd Rosenberg. Getty Images.There, I said it.
The city is buzzing about the potential of this team, but I don't hear anyone really taking them seriously as a Super Bowl contender. Well let me tell you. A storm is brewing. One of those good cold fronts coming out of Nebraska or Iowa with the red bow-shaped formation inching towards you in slow motion on the radar. I feel the barometric pressure falling. I hear the leaves softly starting to rustle as if trying to whisper what's to come.
But that's not the only thing whispering. NFL analysts are softly marveling about the potential of this Chicago Bears team. Local and national. They seem caught off guard at how quickly this storm has formed, yet bite their tongue when it comes to predicting their potential for 2024. It makes sense. I get it. The Lions were at the precipace of making the Super Bowl last year and the Packers weren't too far behind in an NFC North that is primed to become the toughest division in the NFL. If you're a Vikings fan, may as well figure out how to mute those dragon head memes on social media now to prepare. So it's too early to give the Bears any chance at contending with a rookie quarterback who needs time to adjust, right?
Right?
Hell no. This team is ready is now. And it's not because they have the best preseason point differential since the 2013 Super Bowl champion Seahawks. No one cares about preseason so their 4-0 record showing the team's polished first unit and incredible depth doesn't matter.
Speaking of preseason that we're not talking about, I would have held my horses on this take after the starters began the Bengals game with three three-and-outs until it came out on Hard Knocks that Caleb Williams' helmet speaker was tapped into R2D2. That seemed wildly unlike any other series and explains how he was able to sling it vs the ones on the Bills but took a while to get going vs Cincinnati.
This take also isn't about the fact that Ryan Poles is all in on this season. The shot he took to get Judon didn't work but he went right back to the grind to beef up the already stout defense in trades for a quarterback marksmen in Darrell Taylor and now Chris Williams from the Browns who was their second best rated defensive player in preseason by PFF. Role players that will fill the gaps. And the fact that Poles took a shot at Judon tells you he'll be working the phones all the way to november to add another superstar.
But here's the main point. Here's the the reason the Chicago Bears are going to shock the NFL this season. Ryan Poles has done what most GM's could only hope to do in the wildest wet dream. He built his team by assembling the core before securing a slam dunk (actually) generational quarterback prospect that is about to hit the team with the NOS.
The NFL purposefully designs it's system the other way around in the name of parity. You're not supposed to have a good team AND get the #1 draft pick. And even if you do, certainly you won't also be lucky enough to have the most tauted slam dunk super freak prospect of the past 12 years waiting to be taken. It's a catch-22. Can't be done. No way. No how. You'll never be able to do this.
Ryan Poles:
I know it's not rocket science that teams with the #1 overall pick are terrible but to make the point of how unprecendented the Bears situation is I ran the stats on records for every team to draft a quarterback as the overall #1 since 1970 with their record the season before and after taking their guy.
The highlighted Rams and Colts teams had the best records before drafting their #1 QB if we don't consider the 2023 Panthers for obvious reasons (they blew up the team to select a mid overall #1 QB). Both the Rams and Colts traded to acquire their picks as indicated by the icon on the left but that doesn't mean they were teams ready to ascend. Rams receivers in Goff's rookie year included Kenny Brit, Mike Thomas (no not THAT Mike Thomas), Brian Quick, Tavon Austin, and Pharoh Cooper. Yikes. And I think we all know how monumental of a bust Jeff George was. The Colts traded up for him after going 8-8. What could go wrong with that stache?
Now let's talk about the other highlighted row. The Andrew Luck Colts. Caleb is the closest comp to Luck in terms of slam dunk prospect. He turned it around immediately with just a little bit of help in Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton despite having a terrible offensive line. That was all he needed to take the 2-14 Colts to 11-5 and the Playoffs. Caleb has a lot to prove to earn a comparison to Luck but the potential is certainly there.
With all that said, the 2023 Texans are probably the most relatable comp to the Bears as a team. They added Will Anderson, Tank Dell and Nico Collins to their star quarterback much like the Bears did with Montez Sweat, Rome Odunze, and Keenan Allen. Not to mention the Bears also might have gotten one of the steals in the draft on the other side of the defensive line in Austin Booker who's been all the rage in camp/preseason. The parallels are there. Defensive head coaches who built a sound defensive units with young gun star quarterbacks. The biggest difference I see is Caleb Williams is far more talented than CJ Stroud. And that's not a dig. It just is what it is.
Ryan Poles didn't invent the idea of building the team first and adding the star quarterback next. He didn't even perfect it. But he was there in Kansas City when it was. Patrick Mahomes is the most talented quarterback to ever play the game and he landed on a team that was so well constructed that Alex Smith was taking them to Playoffs. It wasn't just that Mahomes was that good. He fell into a perfect situation. That combination is how the Chiefs have been in six Conference Finals in six years of Mahomes starting.
The only question is how important was that first year of Mahomes watching…(checks notes) Alex Smith? I'll go out on a limb. Not so important. I think the Chiefs probably regret not unleashing him earlier if anything since he shot out of a cannon from his very first game. There were no growing pains. He was just HIM. Ryan Poles would have been privy to those conversations and I think is applying them to his guy who has the same out-of-structure unteachable talent Mahomes has.
Go ahead and tell me I'm crazy for comparing him to Mahomes. Go right ahead.
Get ready NFL. The storm is here. The Monsters of the Midway are back and the 2024 Chicago Bears are going to shock the world.
Bear Down.