Mainly it’s because they’ve traded away a lot of draft picks to get the team that have now. So the guys they have are the guys they’re going to have to try to win with over the next two or three years.
So, if they’re not good now, they don’t have a lot of resources to try to get better.
That is very true, and coming into the season the big question was, "What will Trubisky do?" And then the trade for Mack happened and then it became very apparent we were in a "win now" mode. That thought, in and of itself at the time was crazy: First year coach? young QB? young defense? A lot of question marks. After Week 3 though, I think a lot of those questions were becoming answered.
Mitch has shown growth. He has shown to be more than competent and one could argue he's approaching decent quarterback status, possible star potential? Nagy doesn't appear to be stubborn and is willing to adapt to the strengths of the players. Now if only Howard could run for more than 3 yards a carry, we'd all be happier. The defense with Mack is other worldly. The defense without Mack is still a Top 10 unit.
The Bears have a Top 5 offense and Top 5 defense based on points per game. They're the only team in the NFL that can claim that. So sure, the teams on the early part of the schedule may have sucked, but damn they've looked good while taking care of them.
As mentioned, Minnesota will be a great test as they're Top 15 across the board.