Ranking Now Becomes Obvious for Bears

The Bears rank similar in most polls now and what's even more obvious is how difficult it will be to get that second pick in the draft even if they lose every game.

By not playing and watching everyone else succeed or fail, the Bears' true ranking has become apparent.

The consensus is overwhelming that they belong 30th, one spot ahead of the Denver Broncos, who owe the pick to Seattle. This doesn't say much for their chances of taking the second spot in the draft away from Denver/Seattle, but there should be a good pick available at No. 3 as well.

The Bears probably are better than more than Denver and unanimous No. 32 Houston, as well as one or two other teams. The Raiders come to mind because of the Josh McDaniels factor. Anyone who could lose to a quarterback down on his luck, with no preparation time on a 98-yard TD drive in the closing seconds, after leading 16-3, deserves severe scrutiny if not the second pick in the draft. 

When you're the Bears and losing games while facing a daunting schedule, the one real positive would be an upset win by your competitor for the second draft slot, the Broncos. 

Don't count on it, even if the Bears lose every remaining game.

The concussion Russell Wilson suffered leaves the Bears' draft fate in the hands of Broncos backup Brett Rypien for now. He has three career TDs and six interceptions. So it doesn't look good for the second spot in the draft. That means Denver gets the slot and then gives it to Seattle because of the Wilson trade.

Here are this week's polls.

NFL.Com: 28th

Dan Hanzus takes the focus off of Justin Fields in ranking the Bears higher than most, but in doing so makes a complete error. "The biggest surprise of the bunch through the bye week? Chicago area native Jack Sanborn, an undrafted linebacker who has thrived since replacing Roquan Smith as the starting middle linebacker."  The mistake: Roquan Smith wasn't replaced by Jack Sanborn. He was replaced by Nick Morrow, who was replaced at middle linebacker by Sanborn. So Sanborn's stats must be compared to Morrow's from when he was middle linebacker. Smith was weakside linebacker, not middle linebacker.

Fox Sports: 28th

David Helman has the Bears in a lofty spot by comparison to the rest of websites but asks the question "Can Chicago play any kind of spoiler?" If so, they'll be spoiling their own chance at the second pick in the draft.

CBS Sports: 30th

Another where the Bears are 30th and one ahead of Denver, Pete Prisco has Justin Fields on his mind this week. "It should be a good way for Justin Fields to get an idea of what might come next year by watching Jalen Hurts.'  That depends on what the Bears personnel department does more than it depends on Fields.

Yahoo Sports: 30th

Another site that has the Bears settled in at 30th, one better than the Broncos. However, Frank Schwab and Co. have jumped the gun by making Detroit a top 10 team. It's a team not in the playoff group at the moment. Let's wait until they get in the playoff grouping to anoint Jared Goff the greatest thing since Greg Landry. 

The Ringer: 30th

Austin Gayle and the ringer also have them one spot better than the Broncos and one worse than last week even though they were idle. And states they have to "...throw the kitchen sink" at surrounding Justin Fields with talent in free agency and the 2023 draft." Yah think? 

PFT/NBC Sports: 30th

Mike Florio says this is "spoiler season for the Bears" as he also ranks them 30th, ahead of Denver by one. I think spoiler season began long ago.

ESPN: 30th

The 30th club continues here but beat reporter Courtney Cronin points out how they rank last in the league in sacks and pressures but still are 11th in pass defense. This can't be construed as a negative, but much of their higher ranking against the pass is because teams run it on the Bears so easily they don't have to pass.

USA Today: 30th

The most relevant comment made in the week by anyone in the polls is from Robert Zeglinski and Christian D'Andrea in the USA Today poll, where the Bears are also ranked ahead of the Broncos. They list the remaining schedule: Eagles, Bills, Lions and Vikings and comment "So yeah, (the Bears) probably won't win another game."

The Sporting News: 31st

Vinnie Iyer went against the flow and has the Bears behind Denver. A real mistake, he said the Bears must "...finish strong with Justin Fields and the offense to carry momentum into 2023." So many of the Bears playing a role on this team will be gone next year that nothing they do will carry over to 2023 except Justin Fields' getting better as a passer, if he does.

Sports Illustrated: 31st

The Bears are judged worse than Denver, which should actually make plenty of Bears fans who think ahead very happy..

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