Now, that defense on the other hand ... Well, there's a lot of work to be done this off-season on that side of the ball. And the Cutler deal, while costly, doesn't completely prevent moves from being made. Rather, there's a number of other players on this year's team that Bears management will need to evaluate and decide whether it is really in the organization's best interest to bring back. Julius Peppers is probably one of the most expensive question marks on defense, and his virtual disappearance this season in terms of impact is not likely to have many fans shedding tears if indeed Chicago decides to part ways with the defensive end. Charles "Peanut" Tillman, who didn't finish the year after sustaining a triceps injury, would not be as easy to say goodbye to. Still, if he's unwilling to accept a hometown discount. And then there's just a variety of other positions on defense that need upgrades, possibly through free agency but more likely through the draft.
Again, a lot of work to be done this off-season.
I would like to say that the 8-8 record this season was what I had expected Chicago to end up at, but I acknowledge that this sort of went up and down throughout the year. Still, I think it's pretty indicative of how this campaign went for the Bears: There was just as much bad as there was good.
As I've said all year long, the offense looked better than ever, but the defense has never looked worse. It's that latter part that is the next great challenge for the Bears coach after his inaugural year. Now that he's shown he can run an offense, can he make the changes necessary to improve this defense? While a substantial amount of criticism has understandably been levied on Mel Tucker, we need to keep in mind that he came in this year and tried to retain Lovie Smith's defensive scheme. Tucker's track record doesn't exactly give us a lot of reason to believe he'll dramatically turn around this group and transform them into a Top 10 group. Still, it seems unfair to call for the man's head when he has not been given a real chance to show what he can do.
Regardless of how the Bears handle Tucker, the improvement needs to be made and the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the head coach. Trestman cannot simply be seen as "just an offense" guy. However, the burden also needs to be shared by Phil Emery, who has yet to prove that he can draft defensive players we can believe in. There's long been rumors and hopes of the team transitioning to a 3-4 defense, but the change in alignment isn't going to matter much if the franchise does not obtain better, younger players that are improvements over the maddeningly poor play we saw throughout this season.
So no playoffs this year despite having two opportunities to get in during the final two games. I had my doubts about how far the Bears would have gone anyway, so I can't say the level of disappointment was too overwhelming (I was more peeved that the popularly picked Packers won the division despite being without their own star QB for most of the season). At this point, I still feel grateful that what had been the biggest issue and concern all year long was resolved almost immediately. There remains a sizable contingent of fans who hate Jay Cutler only because he's Jay Cutler. It's an unfair sentiment, and I look forward to Cutler coming back for at least three more years.
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