With the 2016 season about halfway through, let’s talk about the brutal Chicago Bears. Your beloved Bears are currently sitting at the record of 2-6 with no signs of that turning around.

After one season with the Bears, offensive coordinator Adam Gase left the team on Jan. 9 to become the coach of the Miami Dolphins. This was an absolutely disaster for the team. Quarterback Jay Cutler has had six different OC’s in his eight year career with the Bears. Last season was his best with OC Gase. Cutler looked most confident in the pocket and had a career high passer rating at 92.3. Dowell Loggains was promoted to OC two days later after previously being the team’s quarterback coach. Cutler has never been able to reach his full potential due to the fact that he can never get comfortable in one system.

On the first day of free agency on March 9, the Bears signed ex-Broncos linebacker Danny Trevathan on a four-year deal and ex-Cardinals offensive tackle Bobby Massie on a three-year deal. On March 12 they signed ex-Colts linebacker Jerrell Freeman on a three-year deal and the next day signing ex-Patriots defensive end Akiem Hicks to a two-year deal. One of the better signings for the Bears in free agency was the signing of ex-Texans QB Brian Hoyer on a one-year deal, he’d serve as the team’s backup QB to Cutler.

If you make additions to the team, you also need to get rid of players. The Bears got rid of Pro Bowl left tackle Jermon Bushrod, Pro Bowl tight end Martellus Bennett, Antrell Rolle, and Matt Slauson. The Bears traded Bennett for a fourth-round pick, which in reality is almost nothing. There had been talk that Bennett was not a good teammate in the locker room and just caused lots of tension. Now he is striving in the Patriots system alongside Rob Gronkowski.

The NFL Draft was on April 9 and the Bears had the ninth pick in the draft, selecting outside linebacker/defensive end Leonard Floyd out of Georgia. He led his team in sacks and tackles for loss at Georgia. The Bears had drafted eight more players in the draft, a couple of them being guard Cody Whitehair from Kansas State, defensive end Jonathan Bullard from Florida, Deiondre’ Hall from Northern Iowa, and Jordan Howard from Indiana.

On August 11 the preseason started with the Bears taking on the Denver Broncos at Soldier Field and lost 22-0. Then on August 18 they played the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium and lost 23-22. Then on August 27 they played the Kansas City Chiefs at Soldier Field and lost 23-7. And finally on September 1 they played the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium and actually won 21-7. In the preseason the Bears were outscored 75-36, that is honestly just sad. For being a Chicago fan, at least the Cubs are looking good right?

To begin the regular season the Bears took on the Houston Texans on Sept. 11 at NRG Stadium. The Texans had the third ranked defense in 2015 and reigning Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt. The Bears fell to them 23-14 after being up 14-10 at halftime, putting their record at 0-1.

The next week they played on Monday Night Football at home against the Philadelphia Eagles and rookie quarterback Carson Wentz on Sept 18. The Bears got beat up this game and it wasn’t even close, losing 29-14. They lost starting QB Jay Cutler (thumb), defensive end Lamarr Houston (torn ACL), defensive tackle Eddie Goldman (ankle), safety Adrian Amos (concussion), cornerback Bryce Callahan (concussion), and running back Ka’Deem Carey (hamstring).

On September 25 the Bears took on “America’s Team” the Dallas Cowboys with rookie quarterback Dak Prescott on Sunday Night Football, the Bears second consecutive primetime game. And guess what, they lost again. The Cowboys won 31-17 and just dominated the Bears. This is the second consecutive year that the Bears fell to 0-3 to start the season.

Finally! A promising game for your Chicago Bears! The Bears took on the Detroit Lions on October 2 at Soldier Field. You might not believe me, but the Bears won! 17-14 over the Lions. The Bears are now 1-3 on the season.

Their next game you could say is a “rivalry” but only for you Indiana folks. The Bears took on the Indianapolis Colts on October 9 at Lucas Oil Stadium. The entire game was a close one only trailing 16-13 at halftime and with a final score of 29-23. For the first time since 2004, the Bears fell to 1-4.
On October 16 the Bears took on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Soldier Field. The Bears started out very hot this game heading into halftime with a 10-0 lead, and at the end of the 3rd quarter they were up 13-0. When the 4th quarter started, all hell broke loose. Jacksonville was clicking on all cylinders and won the game 17-16. The Bears are now 1-5 on the season, and losing 16 out of their last 20 home games.

America’s favorite rivalry, Bears vs Packers. A rivalry that has been around since 1921, playing each other 193 times, the most between any two teams. The teams are just about split even in wins against each other with the Bears winning 94 and the Packers 93 and there being six ties. But this time, the Packers got the best of the Bears, winning 26-10 and just making it look so easy. Aaron Rodgers played no where near his best and still threw for over 300 yards and a couple touchdowns. Bears QB Brian Hoyer also broke his arm this game, resulting in him being put on the injured reserve. The Bears dropped to 1-6, their worst start since 2000.

It was Halloween night on Monday Night Football and the Bears took on the 5-1 Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field. Everyone expected this to just be a walk in the park for the Vikings, their defense has dominated the league this year and with Jay Cutler back, people were expecting the worst. The Bears went into halftime with a 13-3 lead over the Vikings and ended up winning the game 20-10 and Bears rookie RB Jordan Howard had 204 total yards in the game, the most the Vikings had given up to one single player. With the Bears how 2-6 and beating one of the best teams in the league, could you now say there’s an upside to this team?

In my honest opinion, with times like this, it’s tough to cheer for the Bears at all. I watch their games and just think, “why make that choice?” I believe the Bears should just lose out. Clearly the Jay Cutler era in Chicago is now over, John Fox has lost all trust and respect for him. The Bears are going to draft a QB next April and I think they should go after Clemson QB Deshaun Watson. He is a proven winner and a leader, something the Bears really need. They should just start everything over and rebuild so that one day we can become the “Monsters of the Midway” again.