2016 Chicago Bears – Bold Predictions

3.) The Chicago Bears Will Win the NFC North – Mike “Boomer” Burzawa

I almost considered not proposing this as my bold prediction, not because it’s too outrageous, but rather because it might not be bold enough.  If you follow head coach John Fox’s history, it suggests the Bears are a shoe-in for a playoff run and maybe even a trip to the Super Bowl.

Stop me if this sounds familiar.  Fox takes over a program that’s in shambles, an absolute embarrassment.  In Year One, his new team begins to regain respectability and starts to look like an NFL team again.  That was my view of the 2015 Chicago Bears.  Now consider the Fox’s first team, the Carolina Panthers.  In 2002, Fox took over a team that had gone 1-15 the year before.  Fox cleaned house and started to implement his plan.  In 2002, the Panthers went 7-9 and regained respectability.  In 2003, the Panthers went 11-5 and won the NFC, representing the NFC in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Fast forward to 2011 when Fox took over the Denver Broncos.  The Broncos had gone 4-12 the year before when Josh McDaniels got chased out of town.  Fox and the Broncos went 8-8 in Year 1 and rode Tebowmania and Marian Barber going out of bounds to eek out a division title.  The next season, the Broncos rolled to a 13-3 record and another playoff appearance, falling to the Ravens after a fluke 70-yard bomb to force OT.

Fox has cleaned house and lined up his chess pieces for the Chicago Bears to make a playoff push in 2016.  The rebuilt defense and a new running back by committee will lead the Bears to the NFC North crown in 2016.  Book it!

Next: Bold Prediction #4