Week 11: Bears at Lions Open Thread
I.
Always.
Like.
THE.
Chicago.
Bears.
How many great quarterbacks are there currently in the NFL? How do we even define a great quarterback anymore? What if we reframed the question as…how many teams are currently not looking to upgrade the quarterback position? I’ll be conservative: Mahomes, Herbert, Russ (he does look pretty good) Lamar, Burrow, Deshaun (they have no choice), Tua, Rodgers (he’s old but he counts), Allen, Lawrence (I think), Stroud, Hurts, Dak (right?), Goff, Cousins (leave him there), Purdy (I know, I know), Kyler (maybe?). Some of those guys are elderly. Some of those guys are on the bubble. But even at my most conservative, only half the league has the QB position close to sorted.
How many great defenses are there currently in the NFL? Only nine units currently allow less than 20 points per game. But after watching the Browns and Ravens play a shootout and seeing the Saints get torched by Josh Dobbs, I would question whether there is a defensive group in the league capable of manhandling a decent opponent. The great defenses (a) bully bad offenses and (b) keep you in games with the good ones.
Is there a conclusion to be reached?
For me, the NFL has come down to a six-point lead with 1:41 on the clock. And two questions beg to be asked.
Do you have a quarterback that can put the ball in the end zone?
Do you have a defense that can keep the opponent out of the end zone?
If you can answer YES to those questions, you have a team that is likely to win double-digit games and make the tournament. Trying to find the next Peyton Manning/Tom Brady, or build the next ’85 Bears, seems a fool’s errand. Constructing a roster with the league’s financial impositions is too difficult. Find the right answers to those questions and become competitive on a weekly basis.
I.
Always.
Like.
THE.
Chicago.
Bears.
Heading into tonight’s game, the draft order is as follows: (1) Cardinals, (2) Panthers -> Bears, (3) Bears, (4) Giants, (5) Patriots. This is the complete list of teams with two wins or less and, I believe, they are the only five teams currently competing for the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Cardinals are going to get Kyler Murray back, likely this Sunday, and one would expect his presence to help them win a few more games. The Patriots are not a good football team, but does anyone think Bill Belichick won’t squeeze out a few victories over the second half of the season? And, honestly, the Bears showed good fight against New Orleans and will likely be better on both sides of the ball moving forward. 5-6 wins for them is not out of the question.
No, if the Bears want the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, they need it to come from the Carolina Panthers, and that means the Panthers need to finish with a worse record than the house-on-fire New York Giants. The Giants go to Dallas this week as 16-point underdogs, with Tommy Devito as their starting quarterback. If Devito continues to struggle, they’ll turn to #BarkleyTime. Even with their easy schedule on the horizon (Commanders, Patriots, Packers, Rams, etc.) there is a scenario wherein the Giants don’t win another game in 2023.
The clearest path to the top pick for the Bears is via the Panthers. And the Bears need to bury the Panthers tonight at Soldier Field to keep that path unfettered.
Killers of the Flower Moon is unlike anything Martin Scorsese has ever done, while also fitting perfectly into his remarkable canon. To see an 80-year-old takes these kinds of aesthetic leaps is a testament to the man’s genius. The film of the year, and the most emotionally and intellectually paralyzing final 20-minute passage I can remember.
New Orleans Saints 26, Chicago Bears 16
Stan, an objective fan of the Chicago Bears, can’t sleep. Retired for over a year, and widowed for slightly longer, he spends the late hours of the evenings listening to Chicago sports radio and giving fake interviews to the hosts about his beloved franchise, hoping his endless droning will trick him into slumber. It never works.
Knowing his local dive is open at 7 AM and knowing a few of the fellas who might frequent the tavern at that hour, Stan wanders around the corner. When he enters, only one seat is occupied, by a younger man, eagerly scrolling on his cell phone, adorned in a #1 Justin Field jersey.
Sheila, beautiful and pregnant, is behind the bar. She hasn’t turned on the tavern’s only television because she can’t find the remote.
__________
Sheila: What are you doing here?
Stan: You have coffee on?
Sheila: Yep. Gonna put in a breakfast order from The Greeks, you want anything?
Stan: No, I’m okay.
Sheila (to #1): How about you?
#1: Nah, I’m good.
Stan (sitting beside #1): Good game Sunday, huh?
#1: Yea, they finally got a win.
Stan: The kid quarterback played well too.
#1: (Reluctantly) Sure. (Then) He could actually be a good backup down the road.
Stan: Why do you say that?
#1: Say what?
Stan: Why do you say he could only be a good backup?
#1: Did you see his stats? (#1 holds up his phone to Stan, where he’d be staring at the Tyson Bagent completion chart on Twitter.) He didn’t complete a pass more than 15 yards downfield.
