An argument that has been made ad nauseum to undercut the Chicago Bears’ 2025 success was their seemingly easy strength of schedule. At the end of the 2025 season, the Bears finished with the 4th-easiest strength of schedule, based on opponent records, with a 0.458 win percentage. This ranked behind the Cowboys, Broncos, and Patriots — who had a historically easy schedule with a win percentage against of 0.391.

Of course, after a successful season, the Bears are slated to play a first-place schedule, meaning they will play teams like the Jaguars, Seahawks, and Eagles rather than the Titans, Cardinals,...

Although it might be hard to believe, the two primary acquisition phases of the offseason have come to a close. Now, that doesn’t mean that teams won’t continue to churn their rosters over the next several months, but outside of a handful of quality veteran free agents still left on the market. A few surprise trades, all 32 teams around the league have a good idea of what they’ll want the bulk of their 53-man rosters to look like come September.

For general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson, the heavy lifting following a division title and their...

Out with Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker. In with Coby Bryant and Dillon Thieneman. Did Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles simply reload at the Safety position, or did he restock with a completely new product?

Like most of you, I was ecstatic when former Oregon Ducks Safety Dillon Thieneman fell to pick 25 in the NFL draft last month. His skillset was universally lauded as one of the most versatile of any Safety in the country, and his pairing with new Bear, Coby Bryant, gives Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen myriad options on the back end.

But have we seen...

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

BEARSSSSSS

Mayor Johnson determined to block Bears’ move to Arlington Heights

He wants them to move to Indiana? Cause they ain’t staying in Chicago, Mayor Johnson.

Bears’ Success Means Chaotic Schedule That Makes Already Tough Slate More Difficult

Seriously, that’s the headline SI has on their website. The story is ripping off information from Florio, because they can’t do any original work at SI… I think it’s against corporate policy or something… or it actually requires work.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Stefon Diggs’s lawyer: “Professional athletes have a target on their back”

With no corroboration and a shaky...

With the dust now settled from the NFL offseason and teams starting to re-gather for offseason programs, we have a better idea now of what the league looks like heading into the 2026-27 season.

And the Chicago Bears’ outlook so far, much like it was in the second half of last season, keeps on looking up.

ESPN’s latest power rankings for their upcoming campaign had the Bears actually increasing their standing following the 2026 NFL Draft, jumping up to No.9 from the 11th spot in their previous offering. Not bad for a team that didn’t do enough to improve its...

The Chicago Bears doubled down on the center position after Pro Bowler Drew Dalman unexpectedly retired this offseason. First, they sent a 2027 fifth-round draft pick to the New England Patriots for the soon-to-be 31-year-old Garrett Bradbury. In his seven years as a pro, Bradburry has started all 105 games he’s appeared in, including every game last season for the AFC Champion New England Patriots.

While he’s not the same level of player as Dalman, he’s a professional who fits the scheme and is a capable starter who can seamlessly slide in and do all the mental things that Ben...

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

BEARSSSSSS

Property tax relief ‘negligible’ for homeowners in Bears stadium bill that passed Illinois House

Political blah blah blah Bears stadium blah blah yadda yadda blah but at least the article linked isn’t behind a paywall blah blah blather blither blah.

Ghosts of stadiums past haunt Chicago Bears quest for a new stadium deal

Even more blah blah blah Bears stadium blah blah yadda yadda blah but this time the article linked is behind a paywall blah blah blather blither blah.

NFL Draft Analyst Proclaims Bears Day 3 Pick as Steal

This is a video of...

We’re over a week removed from the NFL Draft, which makes this a perfect time for a Bear & Balanced cooled-down review of what the Chicago Bears did. Emotions have calmed. Film has been watched. Roster analysis has been made.

So now that we’ve had time to reflect, how will these picks impact the 2026 Bears? What work still needs to be done? Has the draft changed your opinion on the 2026 Bears?

Here’s our general bullet point outline of Bear & Balanced for this Draft recap special.

• Intro: We’ll both share some general thoughts about the draft....

The latest Bears Banter has dropped!

The 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, and we grabbed Charles Davis from CBS to break it all down. Charles is CBS’s lead college football analyst and covers the draft for NFL Network. He knows these players as well as anybody, and he joined us to break it all down.

Charles discussed everything from the Bears not addressing the defensive line, he talks about the challenges of building a sustained winner, and he breaks down every player the Bears selected.

Charles thinks the pick of Dillon Thieneman at 25 was outstanding, being BPA...

1) NFL Draft Coverage Booms

With the immense popularity of the NFL, it’s fascinating to see the coverage of the NFL Draft grow, even in the last decade. I watched the first two nights on the NFL Network, waiting for the Bears to make their picks so that I could record a quick hitter for our podcast channel. I walked around the house with my phone streaming the draft, making dinner with my wife while listening. We watched an alternate stream on NFL Network I get for free on my TV while we ate. My wife laughed several times...

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

BEARSSSSSS

Former Bears WR Chase Claypool tries to reboot career at Packers’ rookie minicamp

Two names I would be happy to never hear again, Claypool and Packers.

Bears take training wheels off QB Caleb Williams heading into Year 3

Good. It’s hard to run with wheels attached to your shoes.

What NFL Execs Thought About the Chicago Bears’ 2026 Draft Class

Nick Moreano spills the beans.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Former Steelers QB John Rhys Plumlee lands in the UFL

Well all righty then.
Caleb Downs has the top-selling rookie jersey, so far

How excited are Raiders fans...