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Chicago Bears Second Half Checklist

By Mike "Boomer" Burzawa

CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 10: Players practice on the field prior to the game between the Chicago Bears and the Atlanta Falcons at Soldier Field on September 10, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Kena Krutsinger/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 10: Players practice on the field prior to the game between the Chicago Bears and the Atlanta Falcons at Soldier Field on September 10, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Kena Krutsinger/Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – OCTOBER 29: Mitchell Trubisky
NEW ORLEANS, LA – OCTOBER 29: Mitchell Trubisky /

The Bears have a lot to figure out on the offensive side of the ball.  The Bears have won games mostly on the merits of their defense and running game.  The Bears have a lump of clay when it comes to the offense.  It can be molded into whatever they want, but they’ll need to figure out what pieces they have worth building around.

Mitch Trubisky still has the training wheels in his first four starts.  In his limited work, we’ve seen what GM Ryan Pace saw in him to make him such a high pick, but we’ve also seen the inexperience that might have kept him on the bench if Mike Glennon was even halfway decent.  The Bears need to figure out what Trubisky can and can’t do.  It’s important for him to make mistakes when the stakes aren’t as high while they’re still rebuilding.  He needs to learn the speed of the game and what “open” means on Sundays.

The Bears have a proven commodity on offense and it’s running back Jordan Howard.  We’ve had enough of a sample size in a season and a half to know that Howard is legit.  But what about his compliment?  The Bears invested a fourth-round draft pick on Tarik Cohen to be the lightning to Howard’s thunder.  Cohen burst on the scene in the first couple of weeks of the season but has faded in recent weeks.

Does the league have Cohen figured out?   Are the Bears tipping their pitches when Cohen is in the game?  They need to figure out how to get Cohen involved and effective again for this season and beyond.

The Bears don’t have much in the way of pass-catchers.  Cam Meredith is recovering from a torn ACL, so he’s not coming back.  Is it possible that Kevin White could make his way back from a shoulder injury that’s had him sidelined since Week 2?

Speaking of injuries, nothing from the first half of the season is worse than Zach Miller’s injury.  I’m holding out hope that he makes a full recovery, but if I had to guess, we’ve seen the last of Miller in a Bears uniform.  The Bears drafted Adam Shaheen in the second round of the 2017 draft.  Where has he been?  He’s got just one catch on two targets through the first eight games.  Now that Miller is out for the season, can Shaheen carve out a prominent role in the Bears offense worthy of his draft status?

The Bears traded for Chargers Dontrelle Inman before the deadline to try to bolster the offense and give Trubisky another potential target.  Is he part of the future or just a stop-gap?  Is he a building block now that he’s not behind Keenan Allen and Co?

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