Would Bears play for 2016 positioning?

If mid- to late-season arrives and Bears are clearly not in playoff hunt, how comfortable is this franchise, front office, coaching staff with “playing to their level” remainder of season so as to maximize their 2016 NFL draft first round slotting? As you’ve opined, only way to improve this team is through draft and free agency, but mostly the former. — Rich C., Arlington Heights

I don’t want to put words into your mouth (or your email in this case) but it sounds to me like you are asking if the Bears are comfortable with the idea of tanking if they are clearly out of it at the end of the season. I can tell you that a lot of people that have worked a long time with coach John Fox in the past are adamant that he is not wired that way. I don’t know if there is an NFL coach that is wired that way. They are looking to win and improve each and every time out. The Bears will, no doubt, have young players on the field later in the season as they do now. In building for the future, those players need to taste success to build confidence. You want to see those players improving as the season unfolds so when it’s over you can point to a handful of them and say the arrow is pointing up. The livelihood of the players is directly linked to their performance, not what kind of draft slot their team has come the spring. The Bears could very well end up with a high pick in the draft but I don’t see any way in which they arrive at that point by choice.

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