Chicago Bears: Bold predictions for the defense in 2019
By Ryan Heckman
The Chicago Bears will be an elite defensive group yet again in 2019. You can book it.
It’s funny what some national media members try to do with the Chicago Bears. It’s almost as if they cannot, or will not admit that the Bears are a Super Bowl contender. Instead of saying anything positive, they run with the silly narratives.
“The Bears lost two starters on defense and their defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio.”
Well, technically the Bears lost one of their 11 starters in safety Adrian Amos. They also lost their starting nickel back, Bryce Callahan. Both of these guys, in the grand scheme of things, are two of the more replaceable starters on the roster.
I won’t get into it too much, but let’s use this for an example: When Callahan went down last year, Sherrick McManis came in and the defense didn’t miss a beat. Now, McManis is fighting for a roster spot less than a year later.
“The Bears will regress in 2019.”
Well, it depends on what your definition of regression is. I’ll get to that a bit later, though.
The fact of the matter is, the Bears have one of the best defensive players of this generation in Khalil Mack. That’s a solid starting point, but they’re also loaded at all three levels in terms of talent. It is going to be very, very difficult for these so-called “experts” to look smart at the end of the season with how ridiculous the narratives have gotten.
Do I expect this Bears defense to be invincible? No, of course not. But, will they be elite once again? You better believe it.
How good will they be and which players could surprise us? Let’s get into a few bold predictions for the defensive side of the ball, shall we?