The National Experts Have Found Their 2018 NFL "Cinderella"

The Chicago Bears 2018 expectations are high. That's not a bad thing. This is a team that has undergone a lot of turmoil in recent years. Such is the price paid for having to go through an extensive rebuilding process. Years of mismanagement by prior regimes forced GM Ryan Pace to blow the whole thing up and basically construct this new team from the bottom up. It hasn't been a smooth process by any stretch. The Bears haven't had a winning season since 2012 and haven't made the playoffs since 2010. Pace has yet to produce a year better than 6-10 during his time running the team and already replaced his first head coach. His grace period runs short. This team needs to start winning. He hopes the new configuration he's put together will do the job. There's no question he believes it will, but he's biased. The serious critics he has yet to convince is the fickle national media who have often used the Bears as a punchline the past three years. Has anything changed at all based on the work Pace has done the past couple months? Believe it or not, yes it has.

Chicago Bears 2018 work is making believers out of people

Every year the NFL seems to have one or two teams that come out of nowhere to surprise people. Last season it was the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles. The Rams went from 4-12 to 10-6 under new head coach Sean McVay. The Eagles went from 6-10 to 13-3 and won the Super Bowl. Both teams followed a similar blueprint, drafting young quarterbacks and then surrounding them with talent. It's something Pace has seen fit to copy almost to the letter, and experts are impressed with the results. Adam Schein of NFL.com, a notorious Bears critic, admitted he sees Chicago as being the "Cinderella of this upcoming season.

"What would Sister Jean do? Yes! Yes, of course!! In the spirit of Loyola-Chicago's march in March, our 2018 NFL Cinderella team is the Chicago Bears. Now, I'm not guaranteeing that the Bears will make the playoffs this season. I do have a brain, and the NFC is loaded. But yes, Jim Carrey, I'm absolutely telling you there's a chance. Realistically, I think Chicago's goal should be to make the playoffs in 2019. But teams have proven ahead of schedule many times before. And I'm digging the Bears' current plan of attack -- starting with the fact that, well, unlike in prior offseasons, they actually have one."

He's not alone either. Fellow colleagues at NFL Network, the Good Morning Football crew are also on the Bears bandwagon. Former wide receiver Nate Burleson went into detail about how the team will put it all together this season. [video width="854" height="480" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/NFL-Cinderella-Story-In-2018-New-York-Jets-Chicago-Bears-Chargers000000.000-000333.656.mp4"][/video]

Bears could be a good draft away from being ready

There's no question they've done some good work up to this point. Matt Nagy, Mark Helfrich, and Brad Childress are significant upgrades on the offensive coaching staff vs. last year. Vic Fangio returns to continue doing his thing on defense. It's a group that has a great mix of young ideas and veteran experience. Free agency soon followed and Pace probably had his best run as a GM, at least on paper. Allen Robinson, Trey Burton and Taylor Gabriel bring loads of playmaking potential to the passing attack for Mitch Trubisky. Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara are back on long-term deals for the defense. They even added a young kicker with a Pro Bowl history in Cody Parkey. All this before the draft, Pace's best event, has even arrived. Yeah, it's getting easier to understand why optimism is so high on the Bears of late.