ORLANDO, Fla. — One year ago, the Bears invaded this city like toddlers with mouse ears on. Seven players — including starting quarterback Mitch Trubisky, believed to be on the brink of becoming the Bears’ long-awaited franchise quarterback — jogged through practices, posed for pictures and signed autographs at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex. Somewhere back home, Khalil Mack, their best player, rested up for what was certain to be a better second season with the Bears.
Even after a crushing playoff loss, the Bears’ future was bright as one of those late-night Disney parades.
Thursday felt different. Rather than having seven players representing the NFC, the Bears boasted three players at the second practice of Pro Bowl week: safety Eddie Jackson, cornerback Kyle Fuller and special teams player Cordarrelle Patterson. Mack, voted into Sunday’s all-star game, stayed home again this year.
Jackson and Fuller weren’t as gobsmacked as they were last season, in which they both made their all-star game debuts.
“Last year as a surreal feeling,” Jackson said Thursday. “This year is more numb.”
Like last year, Fuller could appreciate sharing a field with the best in the game.
“I guess I had the experience last year so I know what to expect, I know how to feel,” he said. “It’s a cool experience.”
None of the three could be blamed for the Bears’ disappointing season, in which they needed to beat the Vikings’ second string to finish 8-8. Patterson was a first-team all-pro returner. Jackson and Fuller posted standout performances despite each finishing with four fewer interceptions than he did the year before.
All three had Super Bowl expectations for the team — and Pro Bowl expectations for themselves. They were proven half-right. This week is bittersweet: they’d hoped, at the start of the season, to be able to skip the game while preparing for the Super Bowl.
Patterson was doing just that as a member of the Patriots at this time last year. As fun as his third career Pro Bowl week feels — “It’s a blessing, getting the opportunity to come out here with the best of the best, and some of these guys are Hall of Famers,” he said — last year felt more substantial.
This offseason has taken some getting used to.
“It’s long as [heck], man,” he said. “Now I’m out here and I’m done in January. Dec. 29, we were done. That was kind of weird.
“That gives you a long time to really reflect on your year and look back and critique yourself and see what you can do to fix all your stuff.”
Patterson said he didn’t have strong opinion on the Bears’ offensive coaching changes — receivers coach Mike Furrey, who oversees Patterson, remains from last year. Patterson insisted, though, that he left yards on the field on offense and as a returner.
“Next year I’ll try to double what I did last year,” he said. “Every year you just want to be better than you were the year before then.”
Watching the Chiefs and 49ers reach the Super Bowl has only added to the offseason motivation.
“Just seeing where we ended up and where we wanted to be,” Fuller said. “Seeing these teams in the playoff and that get to play in the Super Bowl, I think that speaks for itself.”
Former Bears coach John Fox once said he’d rather have Super Bowlers than Pro Bowlers. He got exactly three of the latter during his three-year stint with the Bears — all offensive players named as injury replacements — and none of the former.
The Bears’ all-star roster this year looks abundant by comparison. Fuller has now reached the Pro Bowl twice since inking a lucrative extension, while Jackson is mere weeks removed from a signing four-year, $58.4 million deal.
“They even took an opportunity with me, giving me a chance to come in and prove myself after my injury [during his senior year at Alabama],” Jackson said.
“Now, having this benefit at the end of the year — I’d rather it be a Super Bowl, obviously. But coming out here and being selected and being around the guys, it’s always a blessing.”
Jackson smiled when he was asked if the contract means he plans on being one of the faces of the franchise going forward.
“I’ve been feeling like that — with the money or without,” he said. “We have a job. everybody has a role to play. Ours is to go out there and lead and win. “
In that sense, Fuller said, this offseason won’t be different from last year.
“I think we’ll approach it the same way,” he said. “Just work hard and try our best to have a better year.”
