Are the Chicago Bears Giving Us a Bag of Sugar or a Bag of Shit?

Thanks to NFL+, I somehow watched almost three entire weeks of preseason football in seven days.

And honestly?

Shoutout to NFL+.

Preseason football is not always great football.

But I love watching it.

Because every year, some guy comes flying across the screen and makes you sit up and say:

Who the fuck is that?

Followed immediately by:

And why the fuck isn’t he on the Bears?

That is the beauty of preseason football.

You get to see the rookies. The undrafted guys. The backup running back built like Le’Veon Bell. The linebacker from some college you have never heard of who suddenly looks like Mike Singletary for six plays.

You also get a feel for the rest of the league.

Which teams are building something?

Which teams have a real plan?

And which teams are trying to sell their fans a bag of shit with a team logo printed on it?

That brings us to the Bears.


OTHER TEAMS TALK ABOUT WINNING

As I watched these games, I kept hearing owners and team presidents talk about the same things.

Building through the draft.

Creating a winning culture.

Giving the coaches and players the resources they need.

Building a foundation strong enough to survive the long NFL season.

Figuring out what the next step is, and then taking it.

Some of it is executive talk. I understand that.

These guys love saying “culture” almost as much as coaches love saying, “We need to clean some things up.”

But at least they are talking about football.

I watched Josh Harris talk about building the Commanders—yes, the Redskins, because we all know who they really are.

He talked about creating a team the fans could be proud of.

He talked about bringing a new stadium back to the old RFK site in Washington, where that franchise belongs.

Most importantly, he talked about the fans.

Because at the end of the day, the fans are the people paying for all this shit.

What do Bears fans get?

Kevin Warren talking about Indiana.

Kevin Warren talking about legislation.

Kevin Warren talking about renderings.

Kevin Warren talking about a “world-class destination.”

Enough horseshit already.


BRO, NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR AI STADIUM RENDERINGS

I am so fucking tired of hearing Kevin Warren talk about a stadium that does not exist.

Here is the dome.

Here is the entertainment district.

Here is the lake.

Here is the shopping.

Here is an imaginary family walking toward an imaginary stadium on a perfect imaginary afternoon.

Great.

Now show me the fucking football team.

No disrespect to the people of Indiana. I have been there. I enjoyed it.

This is not about Indiana.

This is about a team president who seems far more comfortable talking about real estate, politicians, and development plans than explaining how the Chicago Bears are going to become a lasting Super Bowl contender.

And I am tired of the phony lifestyle content too.

The carefully produced “day in the life” bullshit.

Who gives a shit?

We do not need another video of Kevin Warren’s day.

We need the Bears to protect Caleb Williams.

We need the secondary to stay healthy.

We need the draft picks to become real NFL players.

We need a franchise that does not collapse the moment expectations arrive.

Kevin Warren always sounds important.

He always looks busy.

He always seems to be headed to another meeting.

But what has he actually built?

Not the stadium.

Not a championship culture.

Not a consistent winner.

So far, Bears fans have received a stack of renderings and enough corporate bullshit to fill Soldier Field.

That is not leadership.

That is a PowerPoint presentation that never fucking ends.


SUNDAY ENDS THE SALES PITCH

The good news is that none of this matters once the football starts.

On Sunday, the Bears play the Carolina Panthers.

The captains have been selected.

The game plan is being built.

The roster is set.

And my lovely wife, the executive editor of this blog, and I will be at the best Bears bar on the East Coast, watching every snap.

That is when we begin finding out what this team actually is.

Not during training camp.

Not in a press conference.

Not in a stadium presentation.

On the field.

Against another NFL team trying to knock your quarterback’s head off.

So, what do I honestly expect?

I have the Bears going 9–8 and making the playoffs as a wild-card team.

There is plenty to like about this team.

But there are also enough questions to keep me from buying Super Bowl tickets and running shirtless through Hell’s Kitchen.


THE OFFENSE COULD BE FUCKING SPECIAL

I believe in Caleb Williams.

I believe in Ben Johnson.

And I absolutely believe in my boy TB17.

When this offense is working, it reminds me of Jared Goff’s early years with Sean McVay and the Rams, when they suddenly started scoring points like the Sacramento Kings.

It also gives me a little of that early Mahomes and Andy Reid feeling.

I am not saying Caleb is Mahomes.

Everybody calm the fuck down.

I am saying that when you pair a talented young quarterback with a coach who understands offense, the entire field starts to look different.

The easy throws become available.

The defense gets stretched.

Players are put in positions where they can succeed.

And the quarterback no longer has to perform open-heart surgery every time the team needs eight yards.

But Caleb still has to take the next step.

Can he consistently hit the short throws?

Can he deliver the intermediate ball accurately?

Can he take what the defense gives him instead of trying to turn every play into a goddamn magic trick?

Those throws are not glamorous.

They are basic NFL oxygen.

If Ben Johnson can help Caleb master that part of the game, this offense could become dangerous very quickly.


THE LEFT-TACKLE QUESTION HAS NOT DISAPPEARED

My biggest concern is still left tackle.

I made that case last week, and nothing has changed.

You can have Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson, talented receivers, creative formations, and a play sheet designed by NASA.

None of it matters if Caleb spends December running for his fucking life.

Against this schedule, any weakness at left tackle will eventually be exposed.

I hope I am wrong.

But hope is not a blocking scheme.


NOW FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT COULD RUIN MY SUNDAY

Can Tyrique Stevenson give us a complete and consistent season?

Can Jaylon Johnson stay healthy and play like one of the best cornerbacks in football?

And what exactly is happening with Kyler Gordon?

The man seems to spend half his life on a Spider-Man sabbatical.

Every time I look around, he is hurt, recovering, questionable, limited, or swinging between buildings somewhere.

Can D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai stay healthy for an entire season?

Can Rome Odunze stay on the field and become the receiver we were promised?

I am not calling him Kevin White or David Terrell yet.

But I have started smelling something in the kitchen, and I would really like someone to check the stove.

Then we have the rookies.

Sam Roush was a third-round pick.

Can he become a real weapon in this offense, or will Bears fans be screaming for blood by Week 8 because Ryan Poles spent a third-round pick on a blocker?

Jordan van den Berg was one of the great stories of training camp.

Wonderful.

Now do it when the games count.

Training-camp praise is nice. Preseason flashes are fun. But eventually, every young player has to step into live fire and show that he belongs.

That is the deal.

Nobody really knows until the games become real.


THIS TEAM COULD WIN MORE THAN NINE GAMES

There is a version of this season where everything comes together.

Caleb takes the next step.

Ben Johnson pushes the right buttons.

The offensive line holds up.

The secondary stays healthy.

The rookies contribute.

And the Bears steal two or three games that nobody expects them to win.

Suddenly, nine wins become ten.

Ten becomes eleven.

And now we are not talking about sneaking into the playoffs.

We are talking about making some fucking noise.

I can see that version of the Bears.

I am not predicting it, but I can see it.

The talent is here.

The coach is here.

The quarterback is here.

Now they have to prove they can survive a long season.

There will be injuries.

There will be terrible calls.

There will be at least one game where the Bears forget how to play football for an entire quarter, and I question every decision that led me taking my shirt off in the first quarter.

That is Bears football.

But the clichés are clichés for a reason.

One game at a time.

One week at a time.

As Herm said:
“You play to win the game.”

And it starts Sunday in Carolina.

No more projections.

No more training-camp stories.

No more renderings.

No more speeches.

Put the ball down and let’s find out whether the Chicago Bears are handing us a bag of sugar—

or another bag of shit.

My prediction:

The Bears finish 9–8 and make the playoffs as a wild-card team.

I am putting it out there.

Now go prove me wrong and win twelve.


ONE LAST THING

Can we please return to the all-white road uniforms?

Helmet.

White jersey.

White pants.

Clean. Classic. Perfect.

That look was fire, is fire, and always will be fire.

Do not overthink it.


REST IN PEACE, MATT SUHEY

Finally, I want to send my condolences to Matt Suhey’s family.

I loved watching him play when I was a kid.

He was tough, dependable, and completely unselfish, the kind of player who did the dirty work so Walter Payton could become Walter Payton.

Suhey did not need to be the star.

He helped the star shine.

That is football.

That is being a teammate.

And that is what the Chicago Bears are supposed to represent.

Rest in peace, Matt.

As of Today, the Chicago Bears are valued at approximately $9.7 billion.

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