8 Moves the Chicago Bears Need to Make This Offseason to Become Contenders

The Chicago Bears have had a disappointing season after getting off to a solid start and riding a five-game winning streak to a 7-3 record. Injuries to their top two players in Jay Cutler and Matt Forte have derailed their season, and now the Bears have lost five straight and are on the outside looking in to the playoff picture. 

But truth be told, the Bears never really were that talented, nor were they Super Bowl contenders. They simply rode a hot streak that their quarterback Cutler took them on and overachieved for a chunk of the season. Underneath it all, they have some serious deficiencies. So what do they need to do this offseason to become Super Bowl contenders?

Well, here are eight ways they can do that.

Acquire a Number One Wide Receiver

The Bears best wide receiver right now is Earl Bennett. That's sad, considering that Bennett would be a third or fourth option as a wideout on the Green Bay Packers. The Bears need to upgrade the receiver position, and they need to do it pronto.

Granted, Caleb Hanie played pretty terrible throughout his four-game stint, but he made some decent passes which were dropped by the Bears average to below average receivers. 

Jay Cutler had been masking the need for a No. 1 target at the receiver spot with his great play during the Bears five-game winning streak, but once he went out with the injury, the receiver spot was exposed. Currently, Johny Knox is the Bears leader in receptions.

That's pathetic considering Wes Welker has 116 by himself on the season. Jay Cutler and the Bears badly need a Greg Jennings, Calvin Johnson, Welker or heck, even a Victor Cruz, who's had a breakout season. Cutler can't keep masking this weakness for long. 

Acquire a Security Blanket Tight End

The game is changing right before our eyes as the tight end position has become one of the most vital on the field. Robo-tight ends like Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham have been essentially become your do-it-all TE's, who can block and especially catch when you need them to. Heck, Gronkowski has become Tom Brady's No. 1 target. 

The Bears had a viable option at tight end a year ago with Greg Olsen, but traded him for a lousy third-round pick to the Carolina Panthers. Jay Cutler needs a security blanket receiver to throw to, like Brady and Brees have with Gronkowski and Graham.

When the defense is smothering the receivers, Cutler needs a tight end in the middle of the field to throw to, to avoid being sacked or throwing away the ball. 

Get a New Voice in the Locker-Room

Lovie Smith is a nice coach and all, but I'm sorry, he's got to go. That's not saying that he's the reason for the Bears terrible season, but he isn't helping either. His conservative, monotonous and lathargic style of football has run its course with the Bears.

He doesn't know when to deviate from the game plan and is too often stingy to want to change his style of coaching to fit the game situation.  

His time has run its course with the Bears, and there needs to be a new voice in the locker room for the Bears to play for. Take, for example, the Chiefs with Romeo Crennel, whom the Chiefs played their heart outs for and defeated the at the time undefeated Green Bay Packers.

The Chiefs won that game for their new coach, and it just hasn't been the same for Smith and his Bears. A change in voice wouldn't hurt the Bears. 

Pay Matt Forte

To be a contender in this league, you need a viable running game to go along with passing attack. The Bears have one of the best backs in the league in Matt Forte, who was playing better than any running back through the first 10 games of the season.

In fact, even though he's missed the last few games, he still has more rushing yards than Adrian Peterson, Michael Turner, Frank Gore and Marshawn Lynch. 

Forte has been the Bears best offensive player for the majority of the season, and if the Bears have any hopes of winning a Super Bowl, they'll need to keep Forte. They can franchise tag him for one season, but should pay him to keep him long-term in Chicago.

He's one of the lone bright-spots on a depleted Bears team and didn't complain when the Bears were unwilling to pay his asking price. He's well worth the price tag, and the Bears need to pay him. 

Fire Mike Martz

Plain and simple, Mike Martz and his stubborn offense has run its course in Chicago. 

Martz's offense was one of the major reasons the Bears weren't able to get a legitimate quarterback to replace Jay Cutler when he went down with the injury. Quarterbacks like Donovan McNabb, Jake Delhomme and even Brett Favre couldn't and weren't willing to come to Chicago because of the difficult to pick up Martz's offense. 

He didn't adapt to the change in offense this season in the NFL. Some games, he would rush Forte 30-plus times, while other games he would completely shut down the running game. He threw Caleb Hanie under the fire right away and made him throw play after play, when he should have been conservative. Martz needs to go, period. 

Get Jay Cutler a Real O-Line

The Bears offensive line has been lackluster all season. They've been sewn together like a badly knit sweater. Frank Omiyale has been thrown into right and left tackles. Chris Spencer has had to play right guard and center.

All in all, the Bears O-line hasn't done it's job, and that's protecting Jay Cutler. He was the most sacked quarterback in the NFL prior to his injury. 

In the first game against the Lions at Detroit, it seemed like Cutler would have been sacked every time he took a snap. Fortunately, he was able to manuver himself out of the pocket and make some brilliant passes. The Bears offensive line needs to improve or else Cutler's career could be cut short. 

Get a Legit Backup QB

This NEEDS to happen. 

Even though the Bears had many weaknesses, you can't deny at the high level they were playing at during their five-game streak in which they defeated some solid teams like Detroit and Philadelphia. Had the Bears got a legit backup quarterback like a Vince Young or a Kyle Orton, the Bears playoff chances would still have been alive, instead of being crushed like a bug. 

With Orton or Young at the helm, the Bears could have easily won at Oakland, Denver and Kansas City. Wrong plays at the wrong time by Caleb Hanie essentially cost the Bears their playoff chances and their season.

The Bears need to address the backup QB position next season incase Jay Cutler goes down again, and will need to do better than Hanie and Josh McCown. 

Fire Jerry Angelo (or Hope He Retires)

For all this to happen, one man needs to take initiative. And that's Bears GM Jerry Angelo. 

He has been the reason for the Bears not addressing their issues, from the wasted draft picks to the poor money spending on Roy Williams and Marion Barber, all the way to not paying Matt Forte. Jerry Angelo has been the reason for the inevitable deficiencies, and he needs to go. Or Bears fans better hope he retires. 

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