Can This Offense Someday Carry the Defense?

[Runruffshod75]

No idea. Id like to see a team that doesnt need one side to bail out the other with regularity.

Personally to me the ideal team would have the #1 ranked defense with around the 5th ranked offense. Anything better would be icing on the cake.

I think the defense is going to steal the show, in spite of so many expecting an immediate boost to the offense..

Though, a BIG reason I do think the defense will be better is going to be in large part that the offense will FINALLY be consistent enough to allow the defense to not be strung out to dry by week 8.

If you look at the defense there is pro bowl & possibly multiple pro bowl talents at every phase of the defense. Unfortunately they lack effective depth behind the starters.

I do think theyll prove to be better than expected at areas like CB too. The Bears have been quietly stockpiling young DBs & I DO think its time to stop farting around with the overpriced free agent clunkers and playing it safe & trot the kids out there.

If guys like Denmark are still on the PS(not sure) but if he is, theres a kid I would have had learning the ropes at SS the second he signed.

Instead of letting the kids develope over two consecutive underwhelming seasons, it seems like Nagy was bent on filling holes with the best washed up vets he could find, and gravitated away from the youth infusion that helped make that 2018 roster so effective.

All I know is that after this draft I feel like the organization finally took some BIG vital steps towards my dream of a Bears vs Raiders Super Bowl.

 

[Bears4Ever_34]

Depends obviously on how good Fields becomes. If he turns into a top 5 quarterback, the offense is going to be really good. If not, then Ryan Pace is going to have to strike gold a few times in the draft to find some elite talents at the skill positions to bolster the offense.

Whenever/If-ever it happens, it won't likely be this year. I'm still leery about the talent on the offensive side right now. Too many question marks not being able to know how Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet develop in year 2. If neither one of them take the next step, the offense is probably going to look similar to the way it looked last season (aka not good).

 

[hebs]

Lots of hypotheticals need to come to fruition for this team to reach top tier status in the league.

1. If Justin Fields can maintain his deep ball accuracy in the NFL that he had in college, along with his penchant for explosive down field plays, then this offense could finally reach Nagy's vision of being a quick strike, multi-faceted scoring machine.

2. IF #1 happens, then the aging defense will have the advantage of playing against 1 dimensional teams as they will likely be forced to abandon the run in order to play catchup ball. (a la 2005-06 Colts)

3. For 1 and 2 to happen this year, Fields would need to develop at a rate similar to Russell Wilson's rookie year. He will need to learn to diagnose complex NFL defensive schemes and consistently find his "hot routes" during pressure and blitz situations. (probably the weakest part of his game in college) - The thing he does having going for him is above average intelligence.

It's exciting to think about... and perhaps the Bear's 2021 luck streak continues post draft (I mean... Fields falling to 11 and the Bears actually making the trade to go up and get him along w/ taking their expected 1st round Tackle prospect in the 2nd? Who could have predicted that?) but the odds would continue to get higher and higher as more things go their way.

If all of the above came to be, the energy and excitement experienced by Bears fans would dwarf the Cubbies run in 2016, which is just crazy to think about.