Hope and curiosity outweigh contempt as Bears opens 2018 against Packers

The Sunday night Bears-Packers game captures Chicago's imagination, as an unfinished session for weeks, anticipating the unveiling being as important as its arrival.

This is the season, the 99th in the history of the Bears and the most publicized since everyone cares so much about the beginnings of an indifferent quarter.

For a refreshing change in a cynical football town, curiosity outweighs contempt and hope beats doubt by two touchdowns. A local feeling of inevitability of dismissal no longer concerns every press conference. Some people predict 10 wins, not just happy hours.

It is therefore impossible to miss the last game of the longest rivalry of the NFL, instead of being able to lose. The time has come to provide tangible evidence, results to support noble rhetoric. But this validation does not have to go through the victory. Even if the opponent happens to be the hated rival north of the border with Illinois.

The first week does not represent a referendum on the 2018 Bears season, but a mandate to make us believe that this accumulation was more than many empty words. Of course, beating the Packers would convince those who were waiting for the slightest boost to start talking in the playoffs. But having the impression of being an aggressive and innovative NFL team in Matt Nagy's first game as head coach, winning or losing, would keep the momentum positive for one organization in full transformation – another.

It's really one of those times when the process counts more than the result.

That means Mitch Trubisky, who looks like a quarter of the franchise the Bears think is and runs a fast attack full of deployments and bootlegs and game-action passes that accentuate his strengths. This means that Nagy keeps the Packers guessing with the type of inventive game and the formations that have hired him and finding ways to release weapons such as catcher Allen Robinson, Trey Burton and defender Tarik Cohen.

This means a neglected offensive line giving way to Jordan Howard, even if stacked, and protects Trubisky as if he were a head of state. This means that there was no slamming of shots and limited penalties for the starting offense, even though he did not play against a live opponent. since three weeks ago.

READ MORE: How Mitch Trubisky is helped in his rise to the NFL by the Wall Street Journal's chief columnist »

On the defensive, this means that Khalil Mack made his presence felt by forcing the Packers to report back and forth to Leonard Floyd, reminding everyone he could still play, broken or not. That means rookie linebacker Roquan Smith is explosive, which suggests it was worth it. That means one of the first seven in the league that stifles the game so that the Packers are one-dimensional, the best bet to beat Aaron Rodgers. This means that defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has pushed back the right buttons and cornerback Kyle Fuller closes quickly on the receivers.

This means that we have to support the great speech that comes from the Bears' dressing room, from all places.

On Wednesday, defensive end Akiem Hicks conducted a phone interview with Green Bay media while sitting in the training room next to Mack, another Bear the Packers continued without success. Three times in four minutes, Hicks boldly suggested that the Packers were not up to Mack's level. Hicks repeated Mack's name four times.

While the Steelers teammates publicly dared to reject Le'Veon Bell for being late, Hicks and his company praised Mack. This answer reflects how much the Bears have been empowered since the blockbuster trade.

Question: "What do you know about the Packers offensive start line?"

Hicks: "I know these five guys can not block Khalil Mack."

Hicks might be wrong to boast before a rival game if he was not right.

The acquisition of Mack ends the gap between the Bears and the Packers, which has seemed much wider in recent years than the 200 miles separating the houses from the teams. As the Packers reshuffled their organization after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008 by appointing a new general manager, Brian Gutekunst, and shaking Mike McCarthy's team, the Bears have redoubled their commitment to GM Ryan Pace.

Pace responded to the reprieve with clarity and vision not always obvious during his first three years, when the Bears went 14-34. He beat the Colts to hire Nagy, filled holes in the free agency by signing the best receiver on the market (Robinson) and his tight end (Burton) and added a linebacker (Smith) to the eighth pick. All did not go smoothly – the catcher Cam Meredith is still a Saint, but Pace put the Bears in position to take a step forward before seizing the opportunity that the Raiders offered them.