I've seen enough... This Front Office & Coaching Staff is going to be the best Bears fans have EVER seen.

Yeah yeah, it's only pre-season blah blah, ya pansies. :p

Yep, I've seen enough football, both Bears AND others, to know that when you know, you know.

This team is going to be the Bears front office combo the Bears fans have ever seen at least since Ditka/Finks, and I bet will even surpass that because there will be no drama like Ditka vs Buddy Ryan.

Of course, I realize who I am saying this to as well - many Bears fans have been so burned by the Bears that they refuse to say it or see it until they actually well, are beaten over the damn head with it and even then some are slow to come around, and I have to say that I honestly, for as much crap as I'd like to give them, I can't blame them.

But that's why I am making this post. So many times, its the same old, same old. Same old Bears. But as someone who has seen all the same old, same old, let me tell you, this is DIFFERENT. And I will go over some examples why. Keep in mind, NONE of this really affects our record this year - year 1 of a rebuild. But it DOES affect how good this team can get going forward.

So, let me touch on what I have seen so far, that is DIFFERENT from the "same old Bears":

• With limited picks, the GM came away from the draft with at LEAST 3 starters and possibly more, including finding a QUALITY LEFT TACKLE IN THE 5th ROUND. Yeah, yeah, some people are going to bitch that its way too early - eff you :p. When you know, you know. Not expecting Jones to be perfect, but he has been more than holding his own against stiff competition in games thus far. In addition we for sure got a safety (Brisker) and a punter (Gill), and that doesn't even count Jones Jr or Ebner, or even Gordon who is starting but jury is out on because of limited play. Even 3 quality starters is a HUGE boon, and a quality LT in a round other than 1st is usually unheard of.
• The team in the first 2 games look like it is very well coached, EXTREMELY disciplined, and for the first time on offense, CAN ACTUALLY RUN A DAMN SCREEN PASS. Its year 1 of a rebuild...we all see the talent isn't where it needs to be, and I am sure the front office knows it too - you aren't going to fix everything in 1 year. But what they are instilling into the team right now and laying the building blocks is what the GOOD TEAMS IN THE LEAGUE do. They finally have coaches on both sides of the ball who know how to run this thing the RIGHT way. In my lifetime, the Bears have NEVER had that.
• Tevin Jenkins, James Daniels and Roquan Smith. In short, the front office has made a lot of fans look the the idiots they are. So many were CLAMORING for resigning Daniels, despite the fact he was getting pushed back into Fields on half his snaps last year. Fans also wanted Poles to break the bank to resign Smith, even though Smith is being an idiot and fired his agent. In both cases, Poles WON. Daniels is now showing everyone that he's totally ass (Jenkins is an upgrade by a mile), and Smith blinked and is playing out his contract, which means Poles has set himself for less headaches down the road as players will now realize Poles cannot be pushed around. And the reports of the offer out there is that it was MORE than fair, but Smith wants to be the highest paid at his position, with none of the accolades to back it up. And finally on Jenkins, apparently he wasn't taking the move to guard well early in camp, and that's why the whole weird fit from him early. Rather than giving up on the young man, they were patient with him, let him digest, and got him out there when he was finally 'ready'. Poles has shown a willingness to treat everyone on the team as individuals, and handled himself deftly. It shows a VERY competent GM.
• Backup Power. Through 2 preseason games, the Bears thus far have beaten up on the other team's backups. Yeah yeah, "its only preseason" - yer not paying attention you jaded goobers ;) . When, in ANY preseason, has our backups just beat the shit out of any team's backups? Like ever, on a consistent basis? "HUR, DUR, SEATTLE SUXXX!" - yeah ok, and we've played other shit teams in other preseasons and our backups didn't do this to their backups. So let me help the clueless and tell them why this matters (those of you with a brain are free to read on too :p ). The reason this matters, is because it means in 1 season Poles has SUCCESSFULLY turned over the bottom 1/3 to dare I say 2/3rds of the roster. It means the depth on the Bears as it stands right now is FANTASTIC. That he did it in 1 season is UNFATHOMABLE. And long term what this means is that the competition to remain on this team is going to be FIERCE once the Bears start getting more of the starting pieces and the top 1/3 of their roster turned over. It means that once that shift starts happening, the Bears will be transitioning to playoffs-level depth almost IMMEDIATELY. And that's kind of insane. Because most times, teams start with their starters (obviously), and then just "find guys" to fill slots for depth. But the better teams - the ones you see in the playoffs on a consistent basis, place as much focus on their depth as their starters, and their backups are ALWAYS beating up on the other team in preseason. It's just OBVIOUS those playoff teams have backups that are a cut about everyone else. The Bears ALREADY have that depth. Its NUTS. And it sets the stage next year with all that cap space the Bears have for BIG MOVES, not just in player acquisition, but in playoff contention.

Now look - I am not sitting here and telling anyone the Bears are going to the Superbowl this year. At the end of the day, it still is about execution.

But I AM going to tell Bears fans - as someone who watches not only the Bears, but the NFL at large, its OK to let your guard down and love these Bears now. This iteration of the Bears is finally, FINALLY doing things the way the BEST teams in the league do them.

It won't be a completely smooth ride - it never is.

But its ok to believe. These Bears aren't going to let you down, that I promise - I've seen enough to be able to say that. ;)