All that glowing talk about Mack and not one mention of Akeem Hicks. Since Hicks went down, keeping Mack in check has become a much easier task. Perhaps Mack isn't on his own the difference maker many want to proclaim him to be. Lol at HaHa playing like an elite safety. If anything the Bears are proving what should be a hard and fast rule by now - only QBs are worth mortgaging the future for. And few of them are worth it at that. The Bears are going absolutely nowhere in the next (6-7 years!) unless they pull a QB out of their rear. Mack is 28 years old. Such an odd timeline to grant them (6-7 years!) to have an '85-type season because of Mack. By the time they have the draft capital and cap room to fix their gaping holes at QB, OL, and TE, Mack will be nearing the end of his contract and pushing his mid 30s.

I'm not assuming he'll drop off either, but he's not likely to get much better. And current, in his prime Mack is taking them nowhere.

HiAndTight, what you aren't addressing despite it being said by many, is that the Bears don't have the means to significantly add to what they have. And that's largely in part because of what they invested in a non-QB. Not one person has said that Mack isn't a good player. He is somewhat less effective without Hicks on the field though and that is an indicator that he's not quite the difference maker you're making him out to be. You keep bringing up the Broncos with Manning and Miller yet conveniently ignore the point made by nodakfan17 about Miller being on his rookie deal. The Broncos have been a bottom feeding team since they paid Miller. And that's a huge factor with Mack. Not only did they trade away the proven most likely means of acquiring a franchise QB (1st round picks) they handed out a massive contract to do it.

The Bears have among the most depleted resources in the league with which to add talent. Both in terms of draft picks and cap. All those quotes and yet that one gets left out. The final head scratcher from you was excusing the Bears poor results this season due to their tough schedule. Yet no mention of the benefit realized last year due to a weak schedule. Could it be that the Bears folded in the playoffs because they finally played a good team? The "come out of nowhere season" on the strength of a weak schedule, bow out quickly in the playoffs, then fall off the cliff playing a first place schedule the following season, is a pattern repeated by fluke teams just about every season. The 2019 Bears are checking off every box to indicate 2018 was a fluke.

And you really haven't answered how this bounce back is going to happen, somewhere in the next 6-7 years. That's quite the window you've allowed for your prediction. Is Trubisky going to learn how to read a defense, throw to 2nd or 3rd options on a play, or magically begin throwing an accurate pass downfield? Or are the Bears going to find a new franchise QB with no high draft picks and no cap space short of cutting players off an already hole-filled roster?

And that's not even getting into the fact they have a head coach who decides a 40 yard plus FG is a chip shot with over 40 seconds, first down, and a timeout in his pocket. He didn't even think it was important to get the ball in the middle of the field, and instead had his kicker kick from the left hash on a miss that went just wide left. This in a game in which he declared his trust in his RB and o-line to get the job done then showed zero confidence in them getting a very conceivable 5-10 yards to make the FG a true chip shot. At minimum they could have run the ball to the center between the hashes to make the kick straight on. Nagy only adds to the likelihood 2018 was a fluke. New drastically different offense with unscouted looks, plays to his very limited QB's strengths, then the league catches up with them and turns them back into pumpkins. Last year they threw to Cohen like he was a WR and they guy looked like a video game. Now, when they throw to Cohen defenses are swallowing him up before he can get moving. A few weeks ago he had an eye-opening game where he caught 9 passes for a whopping 19 yards. That's what happens when a defense is no longer caught off guard by an offense. It's also what happens when a defense has no fear of the QB completing passes downfield.

So, I could go on about the massive decline in their offensive line play and the fact they carry 4 TEs without having a single good one. Instead I'll just rest on the fact that the Bears don't have a QB, might not have a head coach, a cascade of holes on offense, and lack the resources to do much about it.