Gabriel: Instilling A Winning Culture Is More Important Than A Few Draft Slots

By Greg Gabriel--

(CBS) When it gets to the point of a football season where your team is out of the playoff race, people have different thoughts as to how the team should play/react to the final games.

There's one school of thought that says the team is better off losing their final games, because it will end up with a better slot in the upcoming draft. There's another school of thought that says winning is more important than any draft choice, because it helps to create a winning attitude and helps create momentum going into the offseason and next season.

The reality is it can be just as fruitful to draft in the teens than it is in the back end of the top 10. Many first-round mistakes comes from the top 10, and history has shown that some great players get drafted between 10 and 20. If a club has a sound personnel department, the difference between a few slots shouldn't typically matter.

I believe winning is never a bad outcome. In the case of the Chicago Bears, they have a new front office and a new coaching staff. In this first season under the new regime, the team is trying to build a solid foundation for the future. In order to do that, they need to win as many games as possible. The coaching staff and the front office needs to know who the "winners" are on this football team.

This Bears team has been in 12 of the 15 games it has played. They're 6-9 currently and easily could have won seven or eight, but the record is reflective of what this team is. There aren't enough quality players, and there have been too many injuries to players who can play at a high level of efficiency.

In Week 15 in Minnesota, Chicago's effort was less then desired. The Bears looked like a team that was getting ready to run for the bus.

On Sunday, we saw a different team in Tampa Bay. The Bears played hard from start to finish to earn a 26-21 win against the Bucs, their sixth win of the season. The odd part is five of Chicago's six victories have come on the road, where it's supposed to be more difficult to win. For some unknown reason, this team plays better on the road than it does at Soldier Field.

Like with every game, there were some players who stood out and there were some areas for concern.

Rookie safety Harold Jones-Quartey -- who had only two previous starts -- played a strong game, with four tackles, two break-ups and a key interception. In his second start at inside linebacker, fellow rookie John Timu played another quality game with six tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Fellow rookie inside linebacker Jonathan Anderson had the best line-of-scrimmage hit of the year on Doug Martin, which caused a fumble. That was the kind of hit the Bears have been looking for from the inside linebackers all season.

Second-year running back Ka'Deem Carey continued showing us his playmaking ability with two touchdowns. Zach Miller has proved to be more than an adequate tight end replacement for Martellus Bennett and finished the game with seven receptions. He has 34 receptions and five touchdowns on the year and has really only played half the season.

A cause for concern is that the Bears' secondary needs a lot of work on its overall ball skills. Tampa Bay rookie quarterback Jameis Winston put the ball up for grabs four times. All should have been intercepted, and only one was. The last ball ended up being a Hail Mary touchdown completion to Austin Seferian-Jenkins.

Like it has been most of the season, the Bears' pass rush was inconsistent. While Chicago generated some pressures, it only had one sack.

Next Sunday brings the 2015 season finale against the division rival Detroit Lions. It's another game the Bears could and should win, but with all the injuries they have, it will take a high level of efficiency and energy.

If the Bears are victorious, they go into the offseason on a two-game winning streak that gives every player a feeling of confidence and pride. That will do more for this Bears team than drafting a few slots higher, should they lose.

Greg Gabriel is a former NFL talent evaluator who is an on-air contributor for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @greggabe.