Resetting Expectations for the Bears
It’s Week 17, and the Chicago Bears have already clinched a playoff spot.
Who would have thought?
Me. I did.
I’m the lunatic who had them going 12–5. I’m also the same guy who could convince himself this team would win 10+ games with Ashton Kutcher at quarterback if the vibes were right.
So no, this isn’t an “I told you so” blog. I’m far too brainwashed for that to be meaningful.
This, however, is a blog about resetting expectations.
Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of the same phrases floating around. “House money.” “Everything from here is gravy.” “If you told me in Week 1 the Bears would win 11+ games and make the playoffs, I’d be ecstatic.”
And look, a lot of that is true.
But I also think it’s important to let people fan how they want to fan. More importantly, I think it’s okay to reset expectations as the season unfolds, because expectations aren’t set in stone in Week 1. They evolve.
For example, when this team hit nine wins, I heard a lot of people saying the Bears had already exceeded expectations and that next year was the real year. But at that point, if the Bears had missed the playoffs, it would have been an absolute disaster.
Why?
Because once you know you’re good, pretending you’re still rebuilding doesn’t make you rational. It makes you dishonest.
And the new information we have now is simple.
This team rocks.
They’re not fluky. They’re not surviving on vibes alone. They’re not sneaking wins they don’t deserve, even though the haters love this take. They’re playing real football in December, and that matters.
As things stand, it’s looking like the Bears are trending toward the 2 seed and potentially hosting the Packers in the Wild Card round. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself.
Although I still fully believe we’re stealing the 1 seed. That’s between me and God.
Caleb has proven he has the clutch gene, this Offensive line and run game can dominate in cold weather playoff games, and even though this defense bends (a lot) they find ways to make big plays when it matters most.
Resetting expectations doesn’t mean demanding a Super Bowl. It doesn’t mean calling the season a failure if everything doesn’t break perfectly. It means acknowledging what this team has shown us and allowing your standards to rise accordingly.
Because once a team proves it belongs, “gravy” stops being an excuse.
So screw it; let’s go win the whole damn thing!
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Categorized:Bears