A Chicago Bears playoffs run sounds hard to imagine for man. There are some young fans of the franchise who were born and have never seen the team play a postseason game. Think about that. Kids born from February 2011 would be seven-years-old now and never lived in a time where the Bears contended for the Super Bowl. That's so depressing.
It's why there's an element of desperation in the optimistic attitude among fans this year. The Bears did such a good job upgrading their roster and overhauling their coaching staff. It truly feels like this team is ready to win. That's why a healthy number of them predict a similar turnaround to the Rams and Eagles last year.
Except several NFL experts remain unconvinced. No, not because they lack faith in the Bears. That has changed to a healthy degree. What continues to hold them back then? If it's not the team, then it's what the team has to go against.
Chicago Bears playoffs dream will be crushed by NFC North
The common thread for most regarding the Bears' chances is simply the fact they play in one of the toughest divisions in football. Dan Hanzus was ranking his teams that could go from worst to first in 2018. The Bears were listed under "Never say never....but probably not." He's impressed with their improvements, but still thinks they aren't ready to take down the Vikings or Packers."Success was fleeting in the Cutler years, but the hope in Chicago is that the pairing of second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and new head coach Matt Nagy will signal an eventual changing of the guard in the NFC North. We like the Bears and their future prospects ... the only problem is, we like the Packers and the Vikings a lot more in 2018."He's not the first person to make this pronouncement either. Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz of USA Today stated the same exact thing just last week.
"The NFC North competition, however, might temper Chicago's prospects. The Bears were just one of two teams to go 0-6 in their division last season (along with the Browns) and have neither the star-studded roster of the Vikings nor the transformative talent that the Packers boast in Aaron Rodgers."It's hard to blame them for this stance. The Bears haven't had a winning record against the division since 2010. Is it any coincidence that was also the last time they made the playoffs. The NFL has proven time and again that teams who can gain constant dominance over their division tend to compete regularly in January. The New England Patriots are the shining example, having owned the AFC East for over a decade. Chicago isn't there yet, at least on paper. They'll have to change the script to make believers out of people.
