Hub Arkush: Chargers game is judgment day for these Chicago Bears
Before writing the Chicago Bears off for the remainder of this 2019 season you really should ask yourself, were they any worse in Week 5 and 6 this year than they were last year Weeks 5 and 6 versus the Dolphins and Patriots?
Are things the same otherwise this year heading into Week 7 vs. the Chargers than they were last year vs. the Jets?
The Bears faced the Jets last season without Khalil Mack and Sunday they will be without Akiem Hicks.
Against the Jets awful offense the Bears defense reestablished its dominance and the offense leaned on the running game for 34 carries-for-179 yards to get back in the win column.
After all of this week's hand-wringing, self-reflection and player meetings there is no reason to believe the Bears can't turn things around Sunday versus the 2-5 Chargers. But only if they are able to acknowledge how far they've slipped on both sides of the ball since they were double-doinked out of the playoffs last season.
What has been lost in all the hysteria this past week is the one thing we haven't been wrong about: this year's Bears are in fact more talented than last year's group.
I think most of those who, like me, are around this team almost every day would agree that what has been different going all the way back to Bourbonnais has been the buzz or the vibe around just who these guys are.
Matt Nagy didn't reinvent his offense over the offseason and Mitch Trubisky isn't losing games by himself.
Last year's group was first learning how to win and every new victory was a shot of adrenaline and a new sense of purpose that left them yearning for more.
These 2019 Bears came back to work expecting to win and have seemed surprised these last few weeks that suddenly things aren't working out.
It is an awfully fine line the plethora of teams that have gone from worst to first in a season these last two decades have tried to walk, and it is the main reason that of the 25 that turned the trick between 2001 and 2017, only seven have made it back to the playoffs the year after winning their division and only three were able to equal their records.
As a side note, it is interesting that the only one to get to the Super Bowl the year after going from worst to first was the '05-'06 Bears, but I digress.
Or perhaps I'm not?
Those Bears featured players like Brian Urlacher, Mike Brown, Lance Briggs, Tommie Harris, Olin Kreutz, Thomas Jones, Ruben Brown and others - Pro Bowl caliber players all of whom would likely say their single strongest memory of being a Bear is losing that Super Bowl.
They never at any time took winning for granted.
Who are those guys on this Bears team?
I think I can list Danny Trevathan, Kyle Fuller and Allen Robinson but other than that ...?
Clearly it is up to Ryan Pace to acquire players who know how to win, and as the head coach it is up to Nagy to have them ready to not just play, but to compete and win every Sunday.
But other than Bill Belichick can you name a single coach who's never faced what Nagy is dealing with right now?
There could be another two dozen guys on these Bears who fit the mold of those '06 Bears and I am not trying to indict them yet.
But judgment day is Sunday.
The Chargers game is not a must win for the Bears in any win-loss record sense. 3-4 is not that deep a hole.
But if ever there has been a time for this team to figure out what has been missing from last year it has to be after evaluating the embarrassment of last Sunday versus the Saints.
One thing we are all going to know is what these Bears see when they look in the mirror come Sunday night.
Hopefully it will be everything they want.
• Hub Arkush, the executive editor of Pro Football Weekly, can be reached at harkush@profootballweekly.com or on Twitter @Hub_Arkush.