FOX 32's Chicago Bears Quarter Century Team, the offense edition
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It's safe to say the Chicago Bears run the city in the fall.
The heartbeat of this massive sports town begins every September when the Bears take the field, and the last 25 years gave Chicago plenty of highs to remember fondly.
FOX 32 Chicago continues its collection of quarter century teams, moving on to the Chicago Bears. Part one of this two-part series looks at the best offensive players.
Quarterback:
Jay Cutler
Love him. Hate him. He remains the best quarterback in Bears' history all the same.
In the franchise's six-best seasons for passing yards, Cutler owns four of those six spots. He was 27 yards from overtaking Erik Kramer for the most passing yards in a single season in 2014.
Cutler owns the Bears' franchise records for passing yards, completions and passing touchdowns. He helped take the Bears to the playoffs in 2010 and 2011, and should've made the playoffs in 2012 and 2013. The reasons the Bears didn't were out of his hands due to injuries and shortcomings elsewhere.
Perhaps Caleb Williams will earn this title in the future. He might if he breaks the 4,000-yard barrier this season and leads the Bears to a winning record. For now, Cutler earns this spot.
Running Back:
Matt Forte
The gold standard for running backs in Chicago is always unattainable. It's Walter Payton, who rushed for over 16,000 yards and once held the NFL's all-time rushing record.
Forte didn't come close to that record, as he finished his Bears' tenure with 8,602 rushing yards. That's still the second-most rush yards in Bears franchise history. He was one of the most trusted playmakers to put on a Bears uniform in the last 25 years, and the Bears have been searching for that kind of consistency and longevity at running back since.
Beyond running the ball, Forte amassed 12,718 yards from scrimmage and 64 total touchdowns. He averaged five yards per touch, meaning he averaged a first-down if he touched the ball twice in a row.
It's not a stretch to say Forte is the second-best running back in Bears history. The numbers back it up.
Center:
Olin Kreutz
This was the easiest selection on the list.
Kreutz made six straight Pro Bowls this quarter century, and was an All-Pro two years in a row. He was a first-team All-Pro in the 2006 season. Kreutz also made the Pro Football Hall of Fame's All-Decade Team for the 2000s.
He's not in the Hall of Fame, but he should be.
Offensive Guards:
Kyle Long, Roberto Garza
Long made three Pro Bowls to start his Bears' tenure, and is one of the most beloved Bears in the last 25 years. He stuck with the team during its horrible stretch in 2014 and 2015, only to be a part of the Bears' turnaround in 2018.
Garza doesn't have a Pro Bowl to his name like Ruben Brown had in 2006, but Garza was a member of the "consistently good' list. He wasn't the best of the best in the league at the time, but he was still highly regarded and even took over at center when Kruetz left the Bears. His longevity speaks volumes for a team that's been longing for something similar.
Cody Whitehair also made a Pro Bowl, but as a center.
Offensive Tackles:
Charles Leno, John Tait
Leno went from a seventh-round pick to being a Pro Bowl left tackle for the Bears as one of the better success stories of the last 25 years. He wasn't the best left tackle in the game, but he was the best one the Bears have had in the entire 2010s. If Leno started for the Bears at left tackle in 2010, perhaps Cutler never gets injured in the 2010 NFC Championship game.
Tait didn't make a Pro Bowl, but he was as solid and unheralded as they come. Of all the conversations about the Bears' offensive lines over the years, it's easy to overlook how consistently good Tait was because he never gave fans a reason to argue.
Tight End:
Cole Kmet
Here are some tights ends that suited up for the Bears over the years: Greg Olsen, Desmond Clark, Martellus Bennett and Jimmy Graham. Some were here for the long haul, others had short-lived stints.
Kmet has the numbers to prove he deserves the nod here. He has more catches and receiving yards than Olsen had through the first four years of his Bears tenure. If the present-day Bears used Kmet more consistently in the passing game, and it's well-deserved, the Notre Dame alum would probably have more receiving touchdowns.
There's one thing all of the above are missing, except for one player: A Pro Bowl nod. Martellus Bennett was the only one of these tight ends to play in a Pro Bowl, which came in 2014.
Wide Receiver:
Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffrey
Marshall was a Bear for just three years, but was one of the best receivers in Bears' history.
In those three season, Marshall made two Pro Bowls and earned a first-team All-Pro nod. He had his best season in 2012, where he put up 118 catches for 1,508 yards and 11 touchdowns. Those numbers for receptions and yards remain franchise records.
Jeffrey has the second-most yards in a single season with the 1,421 he recorded in the 2013 season. He had 304 catches for 4,549 yards and 26 touchdowns in five seasons in Chicago.
It's hard to fathom how the Bears had both on their roster at the same time.
It was hard to leave out...:
RB: Thomas Jones
TE: Desmond Clark
TE: Greg Olsen
WR: DJ Moore
WR: Allen Robinson
WR: Marty Booker
OT: Fred Miller
OG: Reuben Brown
OL: Cody Whitehair
These guys just missed the cut, but they made it hard to do so.
Jones was the heartbeat behind the Bears' offense in the mid-2000s, churning out yards with a near-perfect mix of speed and power. Clark was a mainstay at tight end, and we know how Olsen became one of the best tight ends in the game. That came well after his Bears' tenure.
Moore would have made this list if he had been a Bear for longer than just two years, as he's had fantastic seasons working with subpar offenses. Robinson was a premier free agent signing who was the No. 1 receiver for the Nagy-era Bears and had a phenomenal 2020 season. Booker made a Pro Bowl and was an underrated player in the 2000s. Unfortunately, both Marshall and Jeffrey both had their incredible stints with the Bears in the 2010s.
Miller and Brown joined the Bears after their golden years, but still helped anchor an offensive line that went to the Super Bowl. Like we mentioned before, Brown was a Pro Bowler in 2005. Whitehair was a Pro Bowler for the Bears, but it's hard to put him over Long and Kreutz.
FOX 32's Quarter Century Team List