Packers: Interview with Bears expert ahead of Week 1 game

Ahead of the Green Bay Packers’ season opener with the Chicago Bears, we spoke to Bear Goggles On contributor Mike Burzawa.

On Sunday night, the Green Bay Packers meet their oldest rivals, the Chicago Bears, in their regular season opener. It also kicks off the Packers’ 100th season.

The Bears have made a number of big moves this offseason, from signing Allen Robinson and Trey Burton, to trading for Khalil Mack just last week.

To learn more about Chicago’s offseason and to get a Bears’ perspective on Sunday’s game, we spoke to Bear Goggles On contributor Mike Burzawa.

What were your expectations for the Bears this year before the Khalil Mack trade, and how have they changed since?

MB: Bears fans have been buzzing ever since GM Ryan Pace fired John Fox and hired Matt Nagy.  He’s a young, offensive-minded head coach off the Andy Reid tree. It seems like a great fit to couple him with Mitch Trubisky to try to harness his potential.

The offseason “wins” continued by keeping DC Vic Fangio, who oversaw a top 10 defense last season. Add big free agents like Allen Robinson, Trey Burton and Taylor Gabriel and the buzz continued.

Draft picks Roquan Smith and Anthony Miller have continued to heighten expectations. With all of those moves, I anticipated an improvement and maybe playing meaningful games in December, something the Bears haven’t done in several years.

The cherry on top of the offseason was trading for Khalil Mack, who fills the Bears’ most glaring hole as a dominant pass rusher. Sure, the Bears paid a hefty price to land the coveted outside linebacker, but it sends a signal that Bears management feels like this team is closer than most people think.

That has ramped up expectations from even the most skeptical Bears fans. My expectations before the trade were for 7-8 wins; after the trade, I’m thinking 9 or 10 wins and competing for a playoff spot.

What can we expect from Mitch Trubisky in his second season?

MB: There are a lot of things in Mitch’s favor in his second season with the Bears. They gutted nearly all of the pass-catching options and have a whole new array of wide receivers and tight ends.

Last season, Mitch started 12 games, but the offense was limited in what the coaching staff would let him do. It was basically “don’t make mistakes” with limited opportunities. That won’t happen in 2018. Matt Nagy will be aggressive and will take the reins off his second-year signal caller.

Expectations are high for Trubisky and rightfully so. He was the second overall pick last season. I’d like to see Trubisky throw for about 3,500 yards and about 25 touchdowns. Most importantly, you’d like to see interceptions in the single digits.

At the end of the 2018 season, you want to know that Trubisky is “the guy” going forward and cast aside any doubts that he’s the Bears franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future.

How do you see the NFC North finishing this season?

MB: I’m not going out too far on a limb to say that the NFC North is the best division in football.  The Vikings and Packers are still the teams to beat, but I think that both the Bears and Lions will have a say in how the division stacks up. I don’t think there are any pushovers.

I am interested to see how Kirk Cousins fits with the Vikings. That’s a big question mark for them. The defense should continue to be pretty stout.

The Packers are almost always a double-digit win team as long as Aaron Rogers stays healthy. After missing the playoffs last season, it’s hard to imagine them sitting out the postseason in consecutive seasons. For the Packers, I am still a little skeptical of their defense with some inexperienced corners and questions on the edge.

I’m not sure what to expect from the Lions. They’re the X-factor in the division. They have a new coaching staff so you don’t know what to expect. Matt Stafford will throw for a ton of yards as he usually does since the Lions’ defense usually can’t stop anyone. If Matt Patricia can help them figure that out, they could make some noise.

Here’s how I stack up the NFC North:

Packers 11-5
Bears 10-6
Vikings 9-7
Lions 7-9

How big of an impact can Tarik Cohen make this year working in Matt Nagy’s offense?

MB: Cohen has been conspicuously quiet this preseason, which has a lot of Bears fans expecting that he will have a bigger role in the offense than we might have originally thought. People want to shoehorn Cohen into the Tyreek Hill role that Nagy had in Kansas City. I don’t think that is quite what the Bears have in mind.

Look for Cohen to get 10-15 touches per game, but don’t expect them to come from just a running back position. I expect Cohen will be lined up all over the field. With so many weapons, he will be hard-pressed to get consistent touches.

What will be the key matchups in Sunday’s game?

MB: I’ll give you one on each side of the ball. When the Bears have the ball, it will be Mitchell Trubisky vs. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. If Trubisky can get the Packers safety out of position with some RPOs (that’s run/pass options), maybe the Bears will be able to pop a big gain.

When the Packers have the ball, look for Khalil Mack to try to make a statement in his first game in a Bears uniform. Let’s see if David Bakhtiari is up to the task.

Finally, what’s your prediction for the game?

MB: My heart says that the Bears surprise the Packers with their new-look offense and some new weapons on defense, but my brain says otherwise. I’m afraid the Bears’ new offense will suffer some growing pains and they’re not quite ready for primetime. Packers 23, Bears 20.