Thank you.

First, I want to take a few sentences to thank all of those who supported DBB during our annual pledge drive last week. It was our most successful by a significant margin and I take that quite seriously.

It was my intention to take a step back from DBB, to focus my attention on coursework and allow Robert to take the site in a new direction. It didn’t work out. Overwhelmingly I was told the loyal readers of this site did not care for that new direction. When Robert told me he wanted to dial back some of his commitments to the site, I made it clear that that a part-time editor-in-chief was not something I was looking for and I re-took over the site day to day. To say my content has been inconsistent is an understatement. But I’m proud of the good stuff.

DBB will remain under my literary control for the whole of 2025. At the end of the year, I’ll evaluate how things went and debate (with myself, probably out loud in the shower) whether to seek out another editor-in-chief. But for the year to come, enjoy the haikus!

– Jeff

You ain’t lion.

• Caleb is good.
• The defense is not.
• Stop jumping offside when the offense is only trying to get you to jump offside.
• Rome Odunze doesn’t look like a star WR to me.
• Promoting Thomas Brown, as predicted, was very silly.

The holidays.

This week’s schedule at DBB will be tricky over this holiday week.

Tuesday and Wednesday: DBB will be off for the Christmas holiday.

Thursday AM: Bears v. Seahawks game preview will be live.

Thursday PM: Bears v. Seahawks game thread.

Friday: A new short play!

2024. What a year. 

DBB tried having someone else run the show. It didn’t take. So, while taking on the full course load of a PhD student, I’m proud that I was able to re-man the ship, add short plays to the structure, and deliver dozens of brilliant haikus.

Are the Bears good? They are not. But the work of DBB doesn’t stop! And we get a new coach…again!

I can only do what I’ve done here because of these pledge drives. I will NEVER put this content behind a paywall. I will never interrupt the content with annoying ads. Instead, I’m channeling the NPR model of soliciting support from our readers and followers for one week. This is that week. We ask for seven days and then we don’t ask again until next season.

So, give what you can. A dollar. A fiver. A hundo. Nothing. Your readership is the only support we’ve ever truly wanted. This drive simply ensures you’ll continue to have unique work to read.

ANYONE GIVING $25 OR MORE WILL BE ENTERED INTO RAFFLE TO WIN TWO (2) BEARS TICKETS FOR A 2025 GAME.

The link to support is right here!

Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears This Week?

I.

Always.

Like.

THE.

Chicago.

Bears.

Where is Sam Darnold in 2025?

Darnold’s statistical rankings:

• Yards: 6th.
• Touchdowns: T-3rd.
• Completion percentage: T-6th.
• QB Rating: 3rd.

For the life of me, I do not understand why the Minnesota Vikings are even considering moving on from a quarterback that is not only playing exemplary football, but he will also only be 28 years old next season. Some guys take time. Some guys need the right coach, and the right structure around them. But Darnold has been more impressive in 2024 than anything we’ve seen from Jordan Love or Trevor Lawrence. Why are the Vikings so willing to gamble at the position?

Side note: Josh Allen would be my MVP, and his performance, even in a loss last week, should solidify that. But why isn’t Darnold in the conversation?

Who Will Be the Next Bears Coach?

This has been a very busy time for me academically, but I reached out to folks around the team last night for a list of names and that list is unsurprising (to say the least). Here is what I was told.

• Is Kevin Warren making this hire? No. Is he going to be the one who stamps Ryan Poles’ choice? That seems more likely than not. Is that a good thing? No.

• Ben Johnson’s people have made it clear to the Bears that he’s interested. But the process of communication with Johnson will be complicated by the (expected) deep playoff run for the Lions. Would the Bears be okay waiting for Johnson till after a Super Bowl? “Yes,” I was told, unequivocally, if he’s the guy.
• Everyone seems so down on the notion of a defensive head coach. But citing the coaches “to win the last X Super Bowls” is a very silly metric. The NFL is cyclical. Would you really want Joe Brady or Todd Munken over Mike Vrabel or Brian Flores? I know I wouldn’t, and I don’t think the Bears will either.
• Bill Belichick being the North Carolina coach is wild to me. But you know what? They are now must see television for me in September.
• I’ve been tweeted the name Dan Lanning by multiple folks, but I was told the Bears are not going to take a shot on a college coach with zero professional experience. That also includes Lincoln Riley.
• If there is any coach the Bears should NOT be considering, it is Kliff Kingsbury.

Side note: We’ll be doing the DBB pledge NEXT WEEK, to get that business out of the way before the end of the season, allowing me to concentrate on the coaching search. 

Read More …

Caleb, poor Caleb.

There are better days ahead.

There just have to be.

Tomorrow: Game Preview and Prediction!

The next coach will be,

the defining figure of

this generation.

Tomorrow: Haiku Thursday!

Poor, poor Thomas Brown.

A candidacy in flames.

We hardly knew ye.

Tomorrow, another haiku! 

It’s not yet winter.

A season lies in ruins.

Dark before the dawn.

Note: This is the final week of my semester, and thus time will be a precious commodity. Since the Bears are delivering much of an effort on game days, I’m moving to haikus until this week’s game preview on Thursday.