Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears This Week?
I always like the Chicago Bears…
…but this is a team in complete freefall.
A Personal Note
This blog started in 2005. But 2006 was the first year things were taken seriously around here and that coincided with a magical run to the Super Bowl. From that season until Jay Cutler’s injury in the middle of 2011, it was a pleasure writing about the Chicago Bears daily. They weren’t perfect, by any means, but they were interesting.
But from then until now – with the exception of the 2018 mirage – it has been exhausting. Just think about all the mistakes this franchise has made:
- Jerry Angelo was not a great GM but the team went to the NFC title game in 2010 and were 7-3 before their starting quarterback got hurt in 2011. The team decided THAT was the time to fire Angelo? (I wrote then that it was not and was slaughtered for that opinion.)
- They hired Phil Emery, a candidate on very few radars. (Folks close to Ted Phillips have told me this is the most distinct regret of his time with the Bears.)
- Emery fired Lovie Smith after the 2012 season. Lovie was 11-5 in 2010, 8-8 (Hanie) in 2011 and 10-6 in 2012. And was fired.
- With reigning Coach of the Year Bruce Arians sitting in a hotel room, desperate to coach Cutler and the Bears, Emery hired CFL legend Marc Trestman to lead the Bears. It didn’t look like all that bad a choice in year one. Year two was a different story. Kromer rats out Jay to the media, then confesses. Jay is benched for Jimmy Clausen and Reverend Dave and I are forced to sit through it live.
- Bears hire Ryan Pace. Pace hires John Fox. Is that the coach he wanted?
- Pace drafts Trubisky over Watson without so much as meeting with Watson. Fox admits he was kept in the dark during this process. What’s odd about that? I KNEW THEY WERE DOING THIS THE MORNING OF THE DRAFT! But again, my connections are at the President/ownership level.
- What both of these decisions show clearly is the Bears are not functioning as a single organization. They are separate entities, with separate intentions, trying to weld those intentions into a cohesive plan. And that doesn’t work in the NFL.
Mistake after mistake after mistake. Exhausting.
Fun Christmas Song Performances: Volume I
I’m in Christmas mode. (And I have no interest in writing a breakdown of Texans v. Bears. Honestly, who cares?) Here are some fun performances of great Christmas songs. I’ll add a few more to this list over the next few weeks.
__________
Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin, A Very Murray Christmas
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Silent Night / Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis, Tom Waits
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It Feels Like Christmas, Muppet Christmas Carol
Deshaun Watson
The Trubisky Truthers: “Give Mitch a running game and he’ll be fine!”
Deshaun Watson has the worst running game in the NFL.
The Trubisky Truthers: “No quarterback could operate with this offensive line!”
Deshaun Watson has been sacked more than the quarterbacks in Chicago.
The Trubisky Truthers: “Give Mitch a better coach and he’ll thrive!”
Deshaun Watson is coached by Romeo Crennel now. His career coaching record is 32-59.
Watson’s 2020 Stat Line
68.8% completion. 3,542 yards. 24 touchdowns. 6 interceptions. 110 quarterback rating.
And now the Bears are looking for a quarterback again.
Haiku
The pass rush is gone
Millions and millions wasted
And Deshaun comin’
Game Prediction
Folks, I just don’t see it. I don’t see the pass rush suddenly finding form. I don’t see the offense stringing together positive efforts. I don’t see this locker room rallying after the humiliating losses of the last two weeks. Sunday feels like it will be the official end of the 2020 season, coming at the hands of the legendary college quarterback the Bears never even considered drafting.
In 2014 I picked against the Bears down the stretch of the season. That’s where I am now.
Houston Texans 27, Chicago Bears 20
