Hot Take Tuesday: The Chicago Bears have arrived!

Hot Take Tuesday: The Incoherent Rantings of a Belligerent Bears fan.

That’s right, NFC North, take notice.

Remember when everyone said the Minnesota Vikings were going to win the division? Heck, they were saying that as recently as Sunday afternoon. Everyone thought the Green Bay Packers would be wrapping up a wild card in a few weeks. Heck, even people thought the Detroit Lions would finish ahead of the Chicago Bears.

Well, this is why you don’t listen to people who don’t actually pay attention to teams.

That’s the bottom line here. The Bears were a 5-win team in 2017 so here’s the superficial thinking, best case scenario in their eyes: young players develop, 5 to 6 wins, free agent additions, 6 to 7 wins, Khalil Mack, 8 wins.

The most optimistic national media types had the Bears at 8-8. Most had them at 7-9. Vegas had the over/under set at 7.

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It was laughably low. No, it wasn’t laughably low because we’re drinking the Kool Aid. Want to know why I’m drinking the Kool Aid? I wasn’t drinking it the last three years of the John Fox era and I wasn’t drinking it during the final year of the Marc Trestman debacle. I was drinking the Kool Aid in August because it was clear this team was about to come together.

If you watched this team, you knew it. You know how good Eddie Goldman and Akiem Hicks are. You know how good the secondary is. You know that the offensive line was good and not a pile of garbage like some ill-informed people thought.

You knew the wide receiver situation was a mess, but you knew how much better it was with Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Anthony Miller (heck, throw in Trey Burton). If you watched, you knew. You knew they just needed a couple of pieces to come together.

If you paid attention and you knew, are you shocked? Are you sitting here, mouth agape staring at the standings on your phone going, “How is this possible?” No, of course not.

I love the fact that, as a Kool Aid drinker, I had this team at 10-6 after the Khalil Mack trade and it appears I underestimated this team. That’s right, apparently even I’m a doubter.

Now suddenly, the national media is coming around because they’re running out of excuses as to how they can possible call the Bears a fluke.

Why’s that? Because they aren’t a fluke.

Remember folks, just because someone is on ESPN or NFL Network or any other outlet, doesn’t mean they actually know what they are talking about. Some do, they do their homework, they have objective, informed opinions and they should be listened to. Others, however, know how to deliver a message and stand by their opinions and nobody really cares if it’s accurate, as long as it sounds good.

The Bears have arrived. They are for real. You can’t take it away from them anymore. This team will make the playoffs. Odds are this team will win the division. The Bears will be favored in their divisional round game (don’t go crazy and think they’ll get a bye, they won’t), which means if they take care of business at home, they are looking at a road game in Los Angeles against the Rams for a spot in the NFC Championship game.

This is not far-fetched. This is well within the grasp of this team right now.

Remember how the informed analyst said over the summer that the Bears could be this year’s Rams? Well, they’ll have a chance against that very team to prove that they aren’t this year’s Rams, they are better than the Rams.

It’s all coming together.

One more note, if you read last week’s Hot Take Tuesday, you know I called out the haters. Well, one hater I didn’t mention was one Michael Wilbon.

Wilbon cheered against the Bears when Robbie Gould had 15 points against Chicago, Wilbon screamed stupidity when Alshon Jeffery went to the Eagles, Wilbon even called for Pace to be fired at the end of last season. And now, suddenly, it’s this tweet:

Wilbon, my response to you:

Don’t let these clowns back on the bandwagon. You can criticize Pace, but if you don’t have the guts to take your lumps, admit you were wrong and then hop on the bandwagon, we don’t need you.

The bandwagon is full, we are only accepting more applicants on a case-by-case basis and the first step on the application is an admission of guilt.

Quick Hits

• Trubisky is 50-50 to play vs Detroit, and it was a dirty play by Harrison Smith (who also hit Trey Burton late out-of-bounds), the NFL better at least fine this guy, his play is despicable.
• Anthony Miller is a dawg. Go eat!
• Did you notice on the touchdown play that Miller tapped his wrist like he was looking at a watch prior to the snap, translation, “It’s Miller Time!” Love that swagger!
• Jon Gruden traded Khalil Mack to the Bears! Hahahahaha!

• Leonard Floyd is bringing it now. Fangio is moving him around some, maybe it was the injury, not sure what it was, but he’s stepping up, he keeps this up, the fifth year option is a no brainer.
• Eddie Jackson is a cornerstone piece to this franchise, he’s so good. Did you even see him directing traffic on Adrian Amos’ interception?
• Bryce Callahan continues to impress, Bears need to block him from free agency and get a deal done in their exclusive window.
• And finally, Akiem Hicks, the one that Belichick let get away. 5 tackles for a loss vs Minnesota. Five! That’s obscene.