Early predictions for Chicago Bears 2022 schedule

[Toast88]

I think the only way you can get them to 8-9 is if they win every single 50/50-ish game.

That would entail winning 3 out of 4 of Lions/Vikings (we’ll see), a sweep of the New Jersey trips (meh, doubt it) and a clean sweep of the average/mediocre teams like the 9ers, Dolphins, Falcons, Eagles and Commanders (not gonna happen).

If even 2 of those teams I listed beat the Bears, it will take multiple wins against teams like the Packers, Cowboys and Patriots to get to 8 wins. It ain’t gonna happen.

Adam Hoge, who had the Bears at 8-9, had to revise his prediction as they went game by game in last weekend’s CHGO podcast because he realized how damn near impossible it is.

Unless Fields plays like NFC Mahomes, this is a 6-win team. I just think there’s a ceiling there this year with this talent.

 

[pseudonym]

Yeah, I think more like 6 or 7 wins. Even if they get to 8-9 so what? This year is all about growth. They need to LOOK better. Players like Fields and Kmet need to evolve. Younger guys need to prove themselves. Rookies need to step in and play.

 

[airtime143]

Yeah, I think more like 6 or 7 wins. Even if they get to 8-9 so what? This year is all about growth. They need to LOOK better. Players like Fields and Kmet need to evolve. Younger guys need to prove themselves. Rookies need to step in and play.

absolutely.
We are in the infancy of the new rebuild, and identifying keepers is all I expect this year.
Doesnt need to be all pro players across the board, just people that can do their job play after play while the bears start hunting key pieces.

... My biggest gripe the past 2 decades has been the bears' tendency to keep people long after they prove they are unworthy of being kept.
They need solid roll fillers, not erratic failures who have a splash play here and there that get 3 years to try to get their shit together.

 

[bears5150]

4 or 5 wins. Im not looking so much at the record but how much effort they give. If the losses are by double digit that would be horrible, that said if they loose games that are close that would show me that they are some tweaks away from turning the corner.

 

[mecha]

To your first point, the 3-4 is a 5 man front in reality. Two DEs, a NT, and two OLBs in the base defense. Our sub package when in nickel was still a four man front with the OLBs being defacto ends and two of the interior OL still being there.

I've heard of the 3-4 having greater versatility. the Bears running it just seemed wrong, especially doing it to appease Fangio and he was among one of the first fuckheads to leave the team and the defense was never right since.

it brings me great joy that he failed as a head coach just like Gase, an overrated never-was before or after Peyton Manning.

 

[greg23]

Similar mediocre teams like the

Niners?
Eagles?
Dolphins??

The similar like teams on the schedule are the lions/texans/jets/giants/Falcons

To have any chance at 8 wins the bears need to win 5 of those 6.....and then still find 3 more wins vs better teams

 

[Chicagosports89]

Similar mediocre teams like the

Niners?
Eagles?
Dolphins??

The similar like teams on the schedule are the lions/texans/jets/giants/Falcons

To have any chance at 8 wins the bears need to win 5 of those 6.....and then still find 3 more wins vs better teams

Jets are vastly superior talent wise after having a couple good offseasons in a row. If their coaching is any good, they should be decent.

Falcons should be the worst team in the NFL with Seattle, those teams have pretty much zero talent and no qbs. People who think Miami, Philly, and SF are close to the bears haven't been paying attention. All 3 teams are pretty elite outside of qb.

 

[Spitta Andretti]

Similar mediocre teams like the

Niners?
Eagles?
Dolphins??

The similar like teams on the schedule are the lions/texans/jets/giants/Falcons

To have any chance at 8 wins the bears need to win 5 of those 6.....and then still find 3 more wins vs better teams

You mean a 9ers team that they almost beat last season?

 

[Chicagosports89]

You mean a 9ers team that they almost beat last season?

Or a 9er team that almost made the super bowl last season

 

[BearbaFett]

Or a 9er team that almost made the super bowl last season

bears beat a team that made the super bowl last season

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

bears beat a team that made the super bowl last season

And then somehow got worse as the season went on, while that team they beat went to the Super Bowl. I'm not sure this is the home run statement you're looking for.

@TheWinman

 

[didshereallysaythat]

And then somehow got worse as the season went on, while that team they beat went to the Super Bowl. I'm not sure this is the home run statement you're looking for.

@TheWinman

It's almost as if Any Given Sunday is a real thing and teams with a worst roster can beat the team with a better roster for numerous reasons.

We go game by game and pick these games like it's so obvious what should happen. Yet, NFL games are hard to pick as it has been shown year after year.

 

[didshereallysaythat]

It's getting kind of ridiculous to argue if the Bears are going to win 4 games or 8 games. Like they were on the radio this morning. Everyone knows the roster is not set to contend. What matters is if Fields progresses.

Personally, I can't see both Fields progressing but the team getting worse. I think that is almost impossible actually. But it doesn't matter what I think I suppose.

 

[BearbaFett]

It's getting kind of ridiculous to argue if the Bears are going to win 4 games or 8 games. Like they were on the radio this morning. Everyone knows the roster is not set to contend. What matters is if Fields progresses.

Personally, I can't see both Fields progressing but the team getting worse. I think that is almost impossible actually. But it doesn't matter what I think I suppose.

only facts here....wins won't matter, as it's a year of evaluation, not contention.

however, wins might be a byproduct of the development of fields and the rest of the team, especially if the system and scheme clicks....but again, it doesn't matter.

 

[didshereallysaythat]

only facts here....wins won't matter, as it's a year of evaluation, not contention.

however, wins might be a byproduct of the development of fields and the rest of the team, especially if the system and scheme clicks....but again, it doesn't matter.

That's what I am thinking. I just have a feeling that if the Bears are really bad like 4-13 or even 5-12 that it largely means that Fields did not take the next step. I really can't think of too many examples of QBs that by year 2 were considered franchise QBs but were simultaneously on bad teams. I can think of tons of QBs that struggled as a rookie on bad teams that elevated their team in year 2. I can also think of tons of QBs that struggled on bad teams as a rookie and struggled the next year that turned out to be busts.

 

[Chicagosports89]

That's what I am thinking. I just have a feeling that if the Bears are really bad like 4-13 or even 5-12 that it largely means that Fields did not take the next step. I really can't think of too many examples of QBs that by year 2 were considered franchise QBs but were simultaneously on bad teams. I can think of tons of QBs that struggled as a rookie on bad teams that elevated their team in year 2. I can also think of tons of QBs that struggled on bad teams as a rookie and struggled the next year that turned out to be busts.

Deshaun Watson. Justin Herbert as a rookie. Kyler Murray. Matt Ryan

 

[didshereallysaythat]

Watson
Rookie in 2017: 4-12 (3-4 individual record)
2nd year 2018: 11-5 made playoffs
Watson completely elevated a bad team

Ryan
Rookie in 2008: 11-5 made playoffs
2nd year in 2009: 9-7 (8-5 individual record)
Ryan was already on a good team

Murray
Rookie in 2019: 5-10-1
2nd year in 2020: 8-8
Improvement in Murray lead to improvement in the team

Herbert
Rookie in 2020: 7-9
2nd year in 2021: 9-8
Improvement in Herbert lead to improvement in the team

Only Ryan had a worst record in his 2nd year and that was only because of the anomaly of the team playing so well his rookie year where Michael Turner was sensational.

Not sure what you were trying to provide with these names but these are not QBs that got better the 2nd year where the team did not.

 

[Chicagosports89]

Watson
Rookie in 2017: 4-12 (3-4 individual record)
2nd year 2018: 11-5 made playoffs
Watson completely elevated a bad team

Ryan
Rookie in 2008: 11-5 made playoffs
2nd year in 2009: 9-7 (8-5 individual record)
Ryan was already on a good team

Murray
Rookie in 2019: 5-10-1
2nd year in 2020: 8-8
Improvement in Murray lead to improvement in the team

Herbert
Rookie in 2020: 7-9
2nd year in 2021: 9-8
Improvement in Herbert lead to improvement in the team

Only Ryan had a worst record in his 2nd year and that was only because of the anomaly of the team playing so well his rookie year where Michael Turner was sensational.

Not sure what you were trying to provide with these names but these are not QBs that got better the 2nd year where the team did not.

I'm not sure why the 2nd year is so relevant. Watson was 4-12 the year before last. Ryan has had many poor records as a franchise qb. Herbert's team was bad as a rookie even though he played at an elite level. The team can still be really bad while Fields improves and plays well

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

I'm not sure why the 2nd year is so relevant. Watson was 4-12 the year before last. Ryan has had many poor records as a franchise qb. Herbert's team was bad as a rookie even though he played at an elite level. The team can still be really bad while Fields improves and plays well

@TheWinman check out all of this seriousness, thank you for setting us straight

 

[Chicagosports89]

@TheWinman check out all of this seriousness, thank you for setting us straight

Thank you, I forgot to tag @TheWinman so he could partake in the football talk