We are wrapping up not only the NFC North but the entire B.U.S. (Banged Up Score) breakdown series with the none other than NFL’s last place finisher Chicago Bears. The problem I have with that statement is that even though the Bears finished just behind Houston granting them the 1st draft pick (which they traded to Carolina), it never seemed like they were going to finish there. They played better than that all season and I feel that they could have finished with 7 or 8 wins just as easily as they did 3-14. We are a data company though and the facts are the facts, that was their record and if they wanted to finish higher then they need to make changes to do so.
How did the Bears do last season?
The facts are the Bears finished in the bottom 5 in total yards per game, bottom 10 in points per game and dead last in passing yards per game. Where they did excel was rushing yards per game where they finished #1 in the NFL. Now I understand that dual threat QB Justin Fields has a lot to do with that stat. His ability to take off and run is among the best in the NFL. Fields can throw too however which is why I offer another explanation that played into their passing game struggles. You guessed it….health. Afterall, this whole series is based off health analytics and we are a performance and health analytics company.
The Bears struggles are very similar to those of their division rival Green Bay Packers. With an average B.U.S. health ranking of 78.3, the Bears weren’t in an injury position that you would necessarily believe correlates to the record they ended the season with, but once you dive in deeper you understand how they could get to that point. As most NFL fans recognize, every NFL offense leans on their strengths whether that be the passing or rushing game. To be successful however, you must have the other to keep the defense honest. If you lose one to the point that it becomes obsolete your chances of winning plummet significantly. When it comes to Chicago, the amount of injuries and therefor lack of depth in their receiving corps made it extremely difficult to rely on the passing game.
Who was injured on the Chicago Bears?
Darnell Mooney (High Ankle), Chase Claypool (Knee), N’Keal Harry (High Ankle) and Velus Jones (Hamstring) all spent multiple games on the injury report and sideline due to injuries last season. The teams best receiver wasn’t a receiver at all. It was their tight end Cole Kmet who logged 544 yards receiving last year. Second was Darnell Monney with 493. That’s a far cry from a strong receiving corps which was solidified with their last place ranking in passing yards. Meanwhile their rushing game was strong. David Montgomery missed just one game and even though his injury is one that can linger he was able to finish with 801 yards behind QB Fields who had 1143. Like Green Bay, despite having one part of the offensive engine running well, the injuries sustained to the wide outs cost them dearly over the course of the season due to missed games and lack of chemistry with QB Fields when they were present.
Were the Bears healthy?
From a broader view, the team overall was relatively healthy finishing the season 7th with an average weekly health position of 10.2 out of the 32 teams. Unfortunately for them, that was still 3rd in their division behind both Minnesota and Green Bay. Their health trend was steady through the first half of the season but took a sharp dive through the latter half finishing with a 62.1 BUS week 18 coinciding perfectly with their inability to win at all following week 8.
In their NFLPA report card they received high praise from the players both for their medical staff and strength and conditioning staff. Nutrition was a different story entirely. That category registered a D+ grade. Most of these are because of the food options or cafeteria size. The Bears was a little more concerning. “Complaints come from the timing of the meals and the quality/healthiness of the food before practice”. This concerns me as we know that a holistic approach to health has to be taken and if the healthiness or quality of the food is not up to standards, you can’t expect the best out of the players and that also generally increases chances of injury. If the Bears want to improve their health, they can start there.
Next season I truly believe that the NFC North is up for grabs and to be honest I have Detroit as a front runner. If the Bears want to have a chance though they need to use their draftees wisely, and they are going to have to avoid big injuries and injuries to one particular position so they can mix up their offense. They will also need to improve their defense but we can talk about that later.
