How 2005 Foreshadowed What Chicago Bears Will Do In 2023

People often say the professional wrestling business is cyclical. They could say the same thing about the Chicago Bears. It’s incredible how this team seems to mirror previous versions of itself every 8-12 years. That is happening again. The Bears have the worst offense in the NFL through the first month, including a passing attack on track to achieve some historic lows. Quarterback Justin Fields might barely top 2,000 yards passing and is completing only half of his passes. Bears fans would be more upset about it if they hadn’t already seen this movie before.

The 2004 Bears were basically a carbon copy. They couldn’t throw the ball to save their lives, bedeviled by quarterback and offensive line issues. They allowed 66 sacks that season. This current version is on track to allow 68. It is hard to ignore the parallels. That raises an interesting question. How did the regime back then go about fixing the problems? One must fast forward to the 2005 off-season for an idea. GM Jerry Angelo wasn’t subtle about his approach.

He signed veteran Fred Miller, who’d started 118 games by that point, to stabilize the right tackle spot. Then Angelo secured unheralded guard Robert Garza to a one-year deal, solidifying the offensive line. Last but not least, the Bears spent their first four picks in the NFL draft on the offensive side of the ball.

• 1st round – RB Cedric Benson
• 2nd round – WR Mark Bradley
• 4th round – QB Kyle Orton
• 5th round – WR Airese Currie

The new Chicago Bears regime will likely follow that same track.

GM Ryan Poles will be in a great position to do so. He’ll have $90-100 million in spending money for free agency. There will be no shortage of potential starters who can help, particularly on the offensive line. Then he’ll have all four of his top draft choices. The obvious hope is that he’ll do a better job loading up than Angelo. Missing on Benson and Bradley that season pretty much set the tone for the Bears’ eventual defeat in the Super Bowl a year later. Maybe things would’ve been different if he’d taken Jammal Brown and Vincent Jackson instead. There was always adding Aaron Rodgers instead of sticking with Rex Grossman.

The point remains unchanged. As much as Poles and Matt Eberflus may want to continue building up the defense, the biggest problem with this team is the offense. There is no way they can know if Fields is their guy without giving him a good supporting cast. If the Bears finish dead last this season, there will be no way to justify devoting significant assets to the defense. That would risk an outright rebellion by fans.