Emma: Few Surprises In Bears' Rebuilding Season

By Chris Emma—

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (CBS) – The late, great Doug Buffone delivered a passionate, appropriate rant during a 670 The Score postgame show toward the end of the disappointing 2014 season.

"The Bears are who we thought they were," Buffone said, paraphrasing former Cardinals coach Dennis Green's 2006 infamous rant. "No damn good."

Buffone left us in April, gone far too soon. His love of the Bears was unmatched, though something with which fans could relate.

That 2014 team was nearing the end of Marc Trestman's tumultuous tenure as coach and general manager Phil Emery's inability to build a solid 53-man roster. There were constant chemistry issues and several variables that crushed a season filled with preseason promise.

These current Bears enter Week 9 – the midway point of the NFL season – with a record of 2-5. They lost their first three games to NFC playoff teams of 2014, including a stomping in Seattle, then managed to split four hard-fought, down-to-the-wire games.

Chicago now has competent coaches in head man John Fox and trusted coordinators Adam Gase and Vic Fangio, plus a talented group of assistants who have gotten the most out of a roster largely built of replacement-level players. The Bears have fought hard, reflecting a new culture and better character. But they've come up short of being in the NFC postseason push.

Really, the Bears are who we thought they were.

"It's tough sometimes sitting at 2-5, and you might get lost in thinking, 'OK, this season is gone,'" Bears outside linebacker Sam Acho said. "But, in all reality, we're two plays away from being 4-3."

For a team that was picked by USA Today to go 3-13 – and so many other outlets to be picking high in the 2016 NFL Draft – a 2-5 record seems about right. But it doesn't necessarily reflect where this team stands.

Jay Cutler has been good in leading the Bears, making the most of his supporting the cast. In part, credit can go to Gase and quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains.

Alshon Jeffery looks as if he's going to be very rich after this contract season. Moving Kyle Long to right tackle has worked out – and he may be moving to the left side next season. Pernell McPhee has excelled at outside linebacker, ranking sixth in NFL edge rusher rankings by Pro Football Focus. In general, the defense has made great improvement from a year ago.

There are pieces for first-year general manager Ryan Pace to move forward with, like Jeffery, Long,  McPhee perhaps Cutler. Of course, the Bears' biggest problem comes at the bottom half of the roster, with a patchwork group that's simply not enough to compete for a playoff spot.

The second half of this season will be a great challenge for the Bears, beginning with Monday night's tilt in San Diego against the struggling Chargers. After that come contests with the Rams, Broncos and Packers.

"Well, we're 2-5," Long said. "We have an opportunity to be 11-5. And we have an opportunity to be 2-14."

To the credit of these players and coaches, they've put in the work to improve, even after falling to 0-3. It's not an easy process amid a season that offered little promise. Putting in the extra work to get better doesn't come easy in tough times.

Through it, the Bears believe in their direction and what could be ahead.

"It's encouraging, because we know we're not far – we're close," Acho said. "And then we watch the film, we realize we're getting better offensively, defensively, special teams, each phase, we're improving. That's the encouraging part as a player, as a staff, as a team, we know we're close to where we want to be."

In 2016, the Bears should have a firm grasp on the talent with which they'll build. Add in 2015 first-round pick Kevin White, some new free-agent signings and a second draft from Pace, and the arrow should be looking up.

As for this season, it's impossible for a logical observer to see the 11-5 that Long suggested. Continued growth would be a positive step forward for the Bears.

Just past the midseason point, the Bears have seen positive developments within their roster, instilled a culture that prioritizes winning, seen the fruits of a bright coaching staff fulfilled and made moves toward a better future. That can be considered progress.

Yet, the Bears still have a long way to go, because they are who we thought they were.

"Right now, 2-5," Fox said of evaluating the team. "That's kind of what we are, where we are, whether it's evaluating the coaches, evaluating the players. That's what we are. We're trying to get better than that."

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• Jay Cutler