On September 9, 2018, the Chicago Bears will open their 2018 season against divisional foe Green Bay Packers. Coming off of a five and 11 record last season the Bears will look to start their season strong after an offseason filled with different moves and some additions still to come through the draft. With the Packers coming off a seven and nine record, they too will look to have a stronger season than last year after what some may call a tumultuous and troublesome offseason.
The Packers and Bears offseason in review
Coming off a season in which the Bears made a very questionable trade up in the draft as they traded a decent amount of assets to move up in the draft to take a player that, the team they traded up with (the San Francisco 49ers) was unlikely to select with their pick.
With that pick, they took the highly touted, pro-style quarterback out of North Carolina, Mitchell Trubisky. After taking over for Mike Glennon midway through the season, Mitchell Trubisky struggled to get his career off to a quick start.
In response to that rough start, the Bears looked to add some talent to the roster, conducive to helping their young quarterback. This off season they added speedy slot receiver, Tailor Gabriel, a true number one receiver in Allen Robinson, and a high upside receiving tight end in Trey Burton.
Last season the Bears most dynamic pass catching threat was a rookie running back who may be too small to take a high volume of hits. As true receivers, their leading receivers were Kendall Wright and Joshua Bellamy.
The two leading receivers didn't even combine for 1,000 yards receiving, so it was a very sensible thing to load up on pass catching threats this off season.
The Bears will look to remain aggressive in adding assets as they approach Thursday's NFL draft. This draft has been regarded by many as one of the more talent rich drafts in recent memory.
Going into the draft the Bears will look to add depth on the offensive line and will also need some help at both interior and outside linebacker.
With their first pick of the draft, sitting at eighth overall, I believe that they should and will select the highly touted offensive guard, Quenton Nelson, out of the University of Notre Dame.
It makes sense to continue to improve the assets around a young quarterback, and giving him some more time to throw would be a tremendous asset.
Also, Nelson will provide a solid boost to the running attack, led by young star running back, Jordan Howard, and a strong running attack will also be a tremendous help to their young quarterback.
On the other hand, the Packers, have had a less impressive off season. A few weeks ago they announced that they would be parting ways with long time star receiver, Jordy Nelson. Nelson had been the Packers best receiver for the past several years, and Aaron Rodgers' was quite open about him being his favorite target.
They did, however, add the big and athletic tight end, Jimmy Graham and they made some additions on defense by signing Muhammad Wilkerson and Tramon Williams.
Perhaps Jimmy Graham may experience a career renaissance, and return to his form from when he was Drew Brees' go-to guy; however, Rodgers has never been a quarterback that has focused his passes towards his tight end and he's also on the wrong side of thirty.
In the event that he's not going to make a return to his prime, Rodgers will be out of a go to guy, unless another player such as Davante Adams or Randall Cobb can elevate their game. Nonetheless, the loss of Nelson is a major hit to a team coming off of a down year. Granted Rodgers is back and healthy, he is also a year older and has also appeared to be upset with not being consulted on these moves. Rodgers insists he isn't upset but even if that is true the team certainly doesn't seem as strong as it was when it was a perennial super bowl contender.
The Packers too will look to make some final additions on draft day, and with an NFL high 12 total picks, they may be able to make necessary additions to bolster their roster. With a majority of those picks coming after the first two days of the draft. The Packers front office may look to be aggressive in moving up on the first day or two of the draft.
The Packers first and foremost need to help their star defender Clay Matthews with some young pass rushers. Muhammad Wilkerson may be a start if he can reach his potential, but they'll need a young defensive end or outside linebacker to help pressure the quarterback.
If they're fortunate enough to draft him, I would think Marcus Davenport out of the University of Texas, San Antonio, should be high on their priority list.
After that, I think they could use some offensive weapons for their star quarterback. The logistics of it are nearly impossible to work out but if I were a Packers fan, Nick Chubb out of Georgia and Calvin Ridley out of Alabama would be great additions to get Rodgers some help.
Ultimately the Packers have had a less than stellar offseason and the fact that it is relying on the draft is evidence of that. On top of that, even if they are able to add players through the draft, the fact that they have been unable to appease perhaps the best quarterback in today's NFL, also makes this less than ideal.
A prediction for week one
With the Packers playing at home and still having one of, if not the best quarterback in the NFL, compared to the Bears' second-year developing quarterback, I still think the Packers will pull this one out despite their comparatively week offseason.
Having Rodgers may lead some to believe that this should be a blow out in favor of the Packers. Despite the Bears having a solid offseason and the Packers having one laden with questions, I think the Bears will try to ugly the game up by running the ball and playing tough defense.
Being that it's early in the season and both teams will perhaps be a little rusty I think it will be a close low scoring game. My shot in the dark score prediction is a close 20-13 victory for the Packers with either Rodgers putting in the last score, or Trubisky being unable to bring his team back to tie it late.
