Chicago Bears will be in the NFL playoffs in 2014 if…

If: Last year’s much-maligned defensive unit doesn’t pick up where it dramatically fell off this past season.

Where to begin when it comes to recapping what went wrong for the Bears on this side of the football? But first things first and that’s pointing out that this unit had its share of key injuries. Pro Bowl veterans such as outside linebacker Lance Briggs and cornerback Charles Tillman missed substantial time a year ago, while 2012 Pro Bowl defensive tackle Henry Melton (now with the Dallas Cowboys) missed the final 13 games of 2013.

So when the dust settled on this past season, only two teams in the NFL allowed more total yards than defensive coordinator Mel Tucker’s unit. Meanwhile, no team in the league was easier to run on than the Bears, who in their final 10 games alone allowed a whopping 197.1 yards per game on the ground.

Add in the fact that Trestman’s team was also tied for last in the NFL with 31 sacks and you can see why a team that allowed just 277 points in 2012 surrendered a disturbing 478 points this past season. Simply put, those are not numbers associated with the Chicago Bears.

To rectify the situation, general manager Phil Emery made defense a priority in free agency as well as the draft. Enter veteran Jared Allen (128.5 career sacks with the Chiefs and Vikings) and emerging defensive ends Lamarr Houston and Willie Young, who figure to learn plenty from the sack specialist. At defensive tackle, incumbents Jay Ratliff and Stephen Paea welcome rookies Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton—selected in the second- and third-round respectively. And Emery used a first-round selection on cornerback Kyle Fuller, who will learn his craft from standouts such as Tillman and Tim Jennings.

There’s certainly some promise here and the new pieces should add up to some big things.