Tarik Cohen Dropped the "D Word" When Stating the Bears' Goals

Most players keep their highest expectations to themselves when in front of the media. Sure they'll state their own personal goals, but they tend to avoid declaring what the team is aiming for. Probably because they don't want to risk angering the football gods. Tarik Cohen is not one of those guys. The Chicago Bears running back has made it clear from the start that he is a different kind of person. One who isn't afraid to make bold declarations.

This shouldn't be a surprise. Being 5'6 in a sport filled with giants, he has to speak up if he wants to be heard. Not only must he have confidence in himself, but also his team. That is how he found success at North Carolina A&T, became a 4th round pick, and then an All-Pro in the NFL. His self-confidence is impossible to ignore. Then on the first day of 2019 training camp, he didn't shrink from the moment.

Sporting a sharp Walter Payton jersey on Sweetness' 65th birthday, Cohen was asked by the media what the Bears are striving for. Obviously, it's to win the Super Bowl. The same as any other team. However, he took it a step further. Being content with winning one championship is how teams get forgotten. That's why they want multiple. They want to be a dynasty.

Tarik Cohen made sure there are no compromises

Cohen seems of the belief that the worst thing a team can do is lower their expectations. If only they can win one championship, they'd be satisfied. To him, that is a surefire fast track to failure. The goal of every player on this team should be to reach the pinnacle of greatness. Why else do they play the game? It's to be the best. Everybody knows the best teams are centered around those that win multiple championships.

Pittsburgh of the 1980s.

San Francisco in the 1980s

Dallas in the 1990s

New England in the 2000s

The Bears have made it no secret they're striving to conquer the long shadow of the 1985 team. Not just their great defense but the team in general. They're the only ones to reach the mountaintop and come home with that trophy. However, for as amazing as that group was, many can't forget how they also underachieved.

After getting that championship, they failed to win another despite having one of the most talented rosters in franchise history. Cohen wants to succeed where they failed. There is nothing wrong with that. Hopefully his teammates feel the same way.