Chicago Bears: 5 Reasons We Haven't Seen the Best out of This Team

The Chicago Bears spent Week 8 of the NFL season on their bye, resting and relaxing before facing the Philadelphia Eagles Week 9.

The Bears have had a solid start to their season, and sitting at 4-3 after a tough early season schedule isn't bad at all.

What the Bears have struggled with this season is playing a complete game, dominating on offense, defense and special teams for an entire 60 minute football game.

This list will cover what has hindered the Bears from playing their best, and why we haven't seen the best out of them, yet.

Strength of Schedule

The first reason why we haven't seen the best out of the Chicago Bears is their early season schedule.

The Bears started the year playing the top seed from the NFC last season, then the past two Super Bowl winners.

It doesn't get much tougher than that, and it's hard to put together 60 minutes of dominance against high quality opponents.

The Bears schedule has been tough through the first eight weeks of the season but it does get easier. After three weeks of the Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions and San Diego Chargers, the Bears get four very winnable games, and could easily rattle of four in a row.

Recent Bears teams have been better teams after the bye, and I expect the same from this unit.

Expect to see a complete game from the Bears in the next three weeks, getting them closer and closer to a playoff spot.

Penalties

Penalties always end up making a bigger impact on a game than people think, and the case is no different when the Chicago Bears play.

The Bears offense is top five in total penalties in the NFL and top 10 in total penalty yards.

That means we've had a lot of holdings and false starts that end up killing drives.

The Bears have had big leads in games, and when the offense is trying to run time of the clock, a punt after a three-and-out from a penalty gives the opposing offense the ball back and a chance to score.

If the Bears cut out some of their false start penalties, it would give their offense a better chance to move the ball, rack up first downs and prevent the opposing teams from sneaking back into games.

Giving Up Big Plays

For whatever reason, this year's Chicago Bears defense has given up "big plays" like they never have before.

A defense that prides itself on preventing points, keeping everything in front of them and giving up field goals, not touchdowns, has allowed a few teams to break games open by scoring on one deep pass or long run.

In games against the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints, the Bears' defense gave up plays that gave all the momentum to their opponent.

The Bears' offense isn't good enough to play catch up after being down 14 or more points, and in those games, when the Bears seemed to be working towards building a lead, the big plays brought it all down.

Even games in which the Bears led by more than a touchdown, they've allowed teams to drive down the field quickly and score touchdowns in a short amount of time.

The Bears defense will improve upon this, especially after the bye week, and should be back to their usual selves by Week 9.

Red Zone Offense

The Chicago Bears' offense has struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone this season, and it has prevented them from putting a number of games away.

The key to closing out football games is "stomping on your opponent's throat" and putting them out of the game before they even have a chance to get back into it.

There are a few ways to do this, but the easiest way is to score touchdowns when you have the chance and to build your lead as big as possible.

The Bears main struggles in the red zone probably come from their lack of "playmakers" at the wide receiver and tight end positions. If Jay Cutler had a big target to throw to in the end zone, the team's red zone touchdown numbers would be better and so would the team's overall record.

Constantly bringing the ball to the red zone and settling for field goals allows opposing teams to stay in games and gives them a chance at coming back.

If the Bears are going to put together a complete game, they will need to work on stomping out their opponents and building big leads in the process.

Third Down Offense

We haven't seen the best out of the Chicago Bears this season because they have struggled to put together a 60 minute, complete game of football. 

The Bears have had leads worthy of "blowout" status, but allowed teams to crawl back in and make the game close.

A win is a win, but there is something about blowing a team out that can build your team's confidence and momentum.

The number one reason we haven't seen a complete game from the Chicago Bears, is their lack of third down conversion effectiveness.

The Bears are 28th in the NFL in third down conversion rate, and don't seem to be improving.

If the Bears are going to make the playoffs, this number will need to go up and the Bears will need to be able to convert first downs more effectively.

Converting on third down moves the chains and allows more and more time to run off the clock in blowouts. It allows for your offense to build confidence and score more points, and allows for your defense to rest on the sidelines, keeping them fresh and ready to go at all times.

It may seem like a simple fix, but figuring out our third down problem is going to be an important part of this team making the playoffs and an important part of seeing this team play their best football.