The Bears are the Rams. At least that's what Chicago is hoping -- after canning Jeff Fisher and hiring a young offensive mind (Sean McVay), the Rams saw their highly-drafted quarterback (Jared Goff) take off behind a talented running back (Todd Gurley) with some nice, underrated receivers (Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp). The Bears hope they see the same from their decision to surround Mitchell Trubisky, Jordan Howard/Tarik Cohen and Allen Robinson/Trey Burton/Taylor Gabriel combinations while putting Matt Nagy in charge. 

It's a blueprint the Eagles used as well; Chicago and GM Ryan Pace wisely just flat-out copied what those two teams did. You could do worse than copying a pair of teams who won 23 games combined last year. The question is whether or not it will actually work out for Chicago in similar fashion. 

The Bears aren't the top NFC sleeper darling this offseason (hello, 49ers), but they're pretty close. A lot of people like them to make noise in a very tough division. On the other hand, there are certainly skeptics, including CBS Sports Pete Prisco, who pegged the Bears for 28th in his post-draft power rankings. 

Vegas agrees with Prisco, because their 2018 NFL win total is set at 6.5 games. 

In or out on Mitchell Trubisky? Are the Bears the 2017 Rams? Would you trade Anthony Rizzo to the Cardinals for a Bears Super Bowl? Dan Katz of Barstool Sports answers those questions and more on the Pick Six Podcast with Will Brinson. It's a daily dose of football in your podcast app inbox by 6 a.m. to get you right for that commute or gym trip. Subscribe: via iTunes | via Stitcher | via TuneIn | via Google Play

Why They'll Go Over

Again, the Bears look like a MUCH better team on offense than they did last year. That's not hard to do: they've been run by John Fox for the last few years and Fox, despite his success as a head coach in the NFL (he's been to multiple Super Bowls with multiple teams) just isn't a good mix with a rookie quarterback. That's especially true when the best weapon said rookie quarterback has at his disposal is a backup Chargers wide receiver acquired in a midseason trade (Dontelle Inman). There are plenty of questions about Mitchell Trubisky, but plenty of people are sold he's the guy to turn the franchise's offensive woes around. The Bears did the smart thing by surrounding him with weapons. If Allen Robinson is healthy he's a WR1 and Taylor Gabriel is more than a gadget player in the right offense. He could be a poor man's Tyreek Hill for Nagy in Chicago. Same for Trey Burton and Travis Kelce. The Bears have a nice offensive line, although adding Quenton Nelson would have gone a long way in the draft. Still, there's a ton of upside in this offense. If it clicks, Chicago will be fun.

Defensively they made big strides last year, going from 23rd in Football Outsiders DVOA in 2016 to 14th in 2017. And they added Roquan Smith in the first round -- he's the type of guy who makes an immediate impact and has us wondering why he was even available at No. 7 in the first place. The cornerbacks might be a weak spot, but if they get healthy seasons out of Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara the secondary can hold up. Keeping Vic Fangio was massive.

Why They'll Go Under

Maybe the Trubisky fans -- and I consider myself a very big Trubisky fan despite the Bears methods of acquiring him -- are wrong. Projecting quarterbacks is hard; we're still arguing about guys like Russell Wilson, much less the next generation of quarterbacks like Trubisky, Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes. If he doesn't take a big leap under Nagy this year with all these weapons surrounding him, there will be lots of questions asked about the Bears future on offense. Burton doesn't have a full season of production, Robinson is coming off an ACL and Gabriel isn't a No. 1 wideout. Anthony Miller is a promising rookie, but he's also a rookie. These weapons look great in April and May, but we might be singing a different tune in September and October. The defense is a fairly anonymous unit. Leonard Floyd and Smith are first-round picks of the Pace Era, but let's not pretend this is a star-studded unit. Even with the consistency of Fangio, there's a chance the defense takes a step back.

Early Schedule Analysis 

A Week 5 bye is never good, regardless of what the coaches say. It will tell us a lot about the Bears though: they open in Green Bay (good luck in the wars to come), play the Seahawks at home, the Cardinals on the road and the Buccaneers at home. 2-2 needs to happen if Chicago is going to compete in this division. In an odd quirk, the Bears play the AFC East teams in four consecutive weeks out of the bye, drawing the Dolphins (road), Patriots (home), Jets (home) and Bills (road). Again, that's a 2-2 stretch to stay in the hunt. The Lions (home), Vikings (home), Lions (road) and Giants (road) comprise the next stretch of needed 2-2 ball. 6-6 through those games will have people talking and make people comfortable with the over. It won't be a lock, though, because the Bears close with the Rams (home), Packers (home), 49ers (road) and Vikings (road). That's a brutal closing stretch for any team and will likely decide whether the Bears are competitor in the conference. 

What They're Saying

"The Bears have had, it's been a very long time, since they've had a bunch of dynamic guys all together. The Brandon Marshall/Alshon Jeffery/Matt Forte kind of group, those were dynamic guys. But since then it's been hodgepodge, throwing guys together, a lot of guys who aren't heralded, maybe not speed guys, so I'm very excited to see if putting all these guys together [works]. It's very clear the Bears whole, entire process here was, we invested in Mitch Trubisky, we have to put everything behind him, we have to give him all the tools, we invested in an offensive-minded coach, we have to give him the tools.

"All these guys hopefully come together and you have an actual offense, not the John Fox run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, punt the ball

-- Dan Katz (@BarstoolBigCat) talking Bears on the Pick Six Podcast

The Pick

There are too many overs in this division, which is always a bad sign, but I can't pick against the blueprint the Bears have followed to get here. I think they can rip off 2-2 in those stretches and then steal a game or two down the stretch to get to either 7-9 or 8-8. If Trubisky takes a huge leap, there's no reason they can't compete in the division and chase a wild-card spot.

VERDICT: OVER