Chicago Bears Blown Out By New Orleans Saints: A Mostly Unbiased View
Dec 15, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (17) catches a touchdown pass over New Orleans Saints defensive back A.J. Davis (20) during the second half at Soldier Field. New Orleans won 31-15. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
It can be hard being a fan of an NFL team. The rollercoaster ride from week to week can be exhausting. One week your team looks like they could take on anybody, but just a week later they could be taken apart by a team that you don’t think they should have any trouble defeating. It’s never as good or bad as it seems, and certain problems will persist throughout a season while others can be worked through. That’s why we here at BGO have decided to bring you “Bear and Balanced: A Mostly Unbiased View of your Chicago Bears”. I can find the silver lining to any cloud, but also find areas of concern in the most convincing victory. Each week I’ll try to bring you the facts from the game from an unbiased standpoint to help you, the fans, get a better feel for where the season is going.
Another week of the NFL season is in the books, and I feel like a broken record. This season has been so disappointing for fans of the Chicago Bears that most of us are actually hoping for a rebuilding period. Rebuilding a team takes time and can be a pretty ugly thing more often than not, but at least we could focus on the small improvements each week instead of just pulling our hair out. That having been said, my sights are now squarely set on the NFL Draft in May. The NFL Draft is the ultimate silver lining when your team is in the dumps. If the season were to end now, the Chicago Bears would be picking 9th with a chance of moving up as high as 6th depending on how the rest of the season plays out. It’s still very early in the process and I haven’t done all the research I will by the time the draft rolls around, but it’s not too hard to pick out prospects when you’re picking in the top 10. Let’s look at a few of the consolation prizes the Chicago Bears could land as a result of this debacle of a season…
Jameis Winston, QB Florida State. If the Chicago Bears do in fact blow everything up and start over, Jay Cutler will likely be gone. That puts quarterback squarely atop their list of needs. Winston has all the physical tools you look for in a franchise quarterback. His size, arm strength and athleticism are all elite, plus he has the instincts that we’ve all learned are one of the most important parts of a quarterback in recent years. Winston would be a shoe-in to be a top 5 pick and likely challenging Marcus Mariota as the top quarterback off the board, if it weren’t for concerns off the field. Those concerns, however, could be just what allows him to fall to the Chicago Bears.
Amari Cooper, WR Alabama. I don’t think there is much of a shot that Cooper is still on the board by the time the Chicago Bears are on the clock, but he could be the pick if he is. If Jay Cutler is gone, there is a decent chance that Brandon Marshall gets the boot as well, meaning that the Bears will be looking for a wide receiver to play opposite Alshon Jeffery. Cooper is an excellent at running routes to go along with the speed to stretch the field vertically. I feel like he would be a perfect complement to the monstrous Jeffery. You might say that the Chicago Bears have bigger fish to fry come May, but a player of Cooper’s talent level is definitely worth a look.