LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) -- Back in January after the end of a lost season for the Bears, team president Ted Phillips offered a curious endorsement of why he believed the team would win in 2021.
“We have exactly the right football culture that all teams strive for,” Phillips said.

That was the reasoning that Phillips – in his 23rd year in his current job – provided for retaining general manager Ryan Pace for a seventh year and coach Matt Nagy for a fourth year to lead the Bears.
Coming off back-to-back 8-8 regular seasons, Chicago is once again an even .500 at 3-3 as it heads to Tampa to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers (5-1) on Sunday. And it’s about time that Bears culture is revisited, because the results remain the same.
On Sunday after the Packers beat the Bears again and quarterback Aaron Rodgers screamed "I still own you" at the Soldier Field crowd, Chicago safety Eddie Jackson responded to a key missed tackle in the fourth quarter not by taking accountability for his miscue but by creating drama. Jackson searched the bowels of Twitter for tweets about former Bears star linebacker Lance Briggs, who had called out Jackson’s poor tackling effort.
Briggs, who was recently named a nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was a team captain for much of his 12-year career with the Bears. He was the type of leader who wouldn't have tolerated Jackson’s tweeting if they were teammates.
Another distraction came for the Bears on Wednesday, when second-year cornerback Jaylon Johnson complained on Instagram about being fined for arriving late to a team meeting at Halas Hall on Tuesday. The $2,745 fine was issued on a letter that was hand-signed by Nagy. Neither Jackson nor Johnson has spoken publicly with reporters about their social media posts like receiver Allen Robinson did in 2020 after his contract dispute became a source of frustration and he tweeted about it. That's part of being accountable.
The Bears have a struggling offense that needs to grow around rookie quarterback Justin Fields and a defense that’s stout but too often undisciplined. They’re a team still sputtering around in mediocrity, one that's probably not good enough to make a playoff run. So, who are the leaders who are looking to change that?
These Bears don’t have a Briggs-like figure to seek accountability from Jackson in the locker room for missed tackles or poor social media decisions. They don’t have an Olin Kreutz taking offense to Rodgers mocking their franchise.
Which Bears players were truly ticked off by another loss to the Packers? Who heard Rodgers humiliate them and are using that as motivation? Those are the ones you want in charge of a culture.
It’s unclear who the Bears’ leaders are right now. Under Nagy's watch, the Bears don't name captains in the manner that most other teams do. He instead prefers to make captaincy a weekly honor rather than empowering certain players for the entire season.
There's no set right way to establish captains. Former Bears linebacker Sam Acho, who's now an analyst with ESPN, said he doesn’t see honorary captains as a problem compared to season-long captains.
“Great leaders don’t need a ‘C’ on their chest,” Acho said.
That echoed what a few other former players told me, but another had a different perspective, believing regular captains can set a better tone for a team.
The Bears have respected veterans, vocal presences and great examples all over the roster, but it doesn’t seem like they have the guy. Perhaps someday Fields will develop into that role like Rodgers and Buccaneers star Tom Brady have in their careers.
The Bears don't have a toxic atmosphere that would derail an entire season, but they also don't have a culture that's the envy of the NFL.
They have the culture of a .500 team. Nobody is striving for that.
4-down territory
1) The GOAT
Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai could work for decades to come and never face a tougher challenge from opposing quarterbacks in consecutive weeks than he is now.
After putting together a game plan that kept Rodgers and the Packers in check for the most part, Desai is now preparing for Brady and the Buccaneers. It’s a tough task in facing two of the greatest of all time seven days apart.
Desai pointed to the differences between Rodgers and Brady in explaining why the challenge is especially difficult. Though their greatness is similar, Rodgers often thrives by taking his time in the pocket, while Brady typically works quickly and within the rhythm of his system.
“Just his overall command of the offense,” Desai said of Brady. “I mean, you see it on tape -- he’s so calm. He’s seen everything from a coverage standpoint, a front structure standpoint, a pressure standpoint. He hasn't played this long and not seen everything, so he's got all the answers built in. Probably the one thing that is pretty amazing is how fast he processes things from when he gets to the line of scrimmage to getting the snap. There's a lot of things going on and the game seems so slow for him. He's earned that right, you don't become great when the game doesn't slow down. That's what he's really good at.”
Brady has put together a stellar age-44 season that certainly has the Bears impressed. He has thrown for 2,064 yards and 17 touchdowns in six games. Chicago’s offense as a whole has just 1,477 yards and 10 touchdowns.
2) Watch and learn
While preparing for the Packers last week, Fields downplayed the idea that he was matching up with Rodgers. But there's certainly value in going up against a great.
Fields came away with an appreciation for how Rodgers led his offense with command of the game and situation. He knows he'll see the same from Brady this Sunday.
“You can just take away how they operate their drives and how they operate a game,” Fields said. “I think that's one thing I took away from last week is just the drives that you have to put together to consistently score. You have to put together a lot of plays on a good drive to score. It just can't be two, three good plays on a drive. You have to put together consistently positive plays to get down the field and at least get points. That's one thing I caught last game and really just I learned from last game is just, if it's a bad play, don't make it worse. Sometimes of course I'm going try to extend plays, but if it's not there, you get rid of the ball, move on to the next play.”
3) Back to the basics
There’s a growing frustration with the Bears’ poor tackling efforts this season – and now there’s an added emphasis.
The defensive coaching staff has put members of the Bears defense through drills this week to reinforce the details of proper tackling.
“Getting back to the fundamentals,” cornerback Kindle Vildor said.
It’s something the Bears have discussed in team meetings after seeing far too many missed tackles – in particular Jackson’s poor effort as Packers receiver Davante Adams broke free for a 41-yard reception in the fourth quarter Sunday.
The Bears are using portions of their individual position drills to work on better tackling.
"We're not going to shy away from those issues,” Desai said. “We're going to address them and attack them."
4) Living a fantasy
Rookie running back Khalil Herbert received a number of text messages following his first NFL start last Sunday. Many of them involved fantasy football.
Now leading the Bears’ beat-up backfield, Herbert has become a key option in fantasy football. He has heard from plenty of friends about being added to their rosters. For Herbert, it’s unique being in this position after playing fantasy football in years past.
“This year, I didn’t play,” Herbert said. “Obviously because I’ve kind of got a lot going on.”
Quote to note
“Tom Brady has been in this league a long time, and it’s just awesome to see him still playing when doesn’t have anything else to prove. I mean, he has won six or seven Super Bowl rings. Just seeing him play without anything left to prove, that just shows how much he loves the game. Of course he’s a great quarterback and will most likely go down as the greatest quarterback of all time in NFL history.”
-- Fields
Injury report
WR Allen Robinson (ankle) -- Robinson's injury was “as good as it was going to get” as he played through it last Sunday, he said. That means he's likely to give it a go again in Tampa, though at less than 100%. Still, Robinson has a favorable matchup against the Buccaneers’ depleted secondary.
OLB Khalil Mack (foot) -- Mack will likely continue to land on the injury report with his foot issue, which won’t heal without time off from football. Mack has been productive while playing through the pain, recording sacks in five straight games – including four since suffering the injury in a game on Sept. 26.
DL Akiem Hicks (groin) -- Hicks played last Sunday but exited early after reaggravating the injury while sacking Rodgers. His status for Sunday is in doubt.
WR Darnell Mooney (groin) -- Once again, Mooney’s injury is one that shouldn’t be of concern regarding his playing status. He has been limited in practice each week this season but has also been highly productive.
DL Bilal Nichols (knee) -- It's unclear how Nichols hurt his knee to pop up on the injury report, but a defensive front that needs to pressure Brady is clearly banged up.
S Tashaun Gipson (hip) -- It's another lower-body injury for the 31-year-old Gipson. Even if he's healthy enough to play, the Bears could use a rotation at safety.
PR Jakeem Grant (ankle) -- Nagy praised Grant for returning to action last Sunday after going down with the ankle injury. This week should provide much-needed rest for his injury, and he's expected to play Sunday.
Prediction (5-1): Buccaneers 31, Bears 20
It's difficult to imagine this Sunday going well for the Bears, who are overmatched against the defending Super Bowl champions. Look for Brady to continue his MVP-type season as Chicago falls to 3-4.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.