NEWSLETTER
Snagging a pair of Jordan XIII from the SNKRS app is either the best thing to happen for me this year or the best thing to happen for me so far.
• This is what Bears football should look like:
https://twitter.com/ChiSportsDay/status/1350450232908247047
• Big throws in the snow, a tight end streaking down the field, offensive linemen who push others around, and a playoff win at Soldier Field is the stuff I dream of these days. I dream because we can’t experience right now. That the Bears haven’t won a playoff game in 3,653 days is the saddest number. You’d think that alone would nudge ownership in the direction that change is necessary. But nah.
• Since the Bears’ last playoff game, they have:
⇒ More 8-8 seasons (4) than winning seasons (2).
⇒ More losing seasons (4) than winning seasons (2).
⇒ Lost 3 playoff games, the last 2 of which came in the postseason’s opening round. In other words, Chicago hasn’t advanced beyond the postseason’s first round since the 2010 campaign. Pretty gross.
⇒ Hired 3 head coaches and 2 general managers.
⇒ Employed 7 offensive coordinators.
⇒ Started 11 different quarterbacks.
⇒ Drafted 3 quarterbacks.
• If you knew Nathan Enderle (Round 5 ,Pick 160 in 2011) and David Fales (Round 6, Pick 183 in 2014) were the other quarterbacks not named Mitchell Trubisky (Round 1, Pick 2 in 2017) who were drafted by the Bears since their last playoff win, then you’re as big of a Bears fan as you claim to be. Respect.
• Meanwhile, our most recent playoff memory is going to haunt me for a long time:
Javon Wims, oh no
— PFF (@PFF) January 10, 2021
• I’m not saying the Bears would have won last weekend’s playoff game if Javon Wims catches that ball. But save for that one whiff, the first-half game-script could not have been any better for Chicago. The Bears mucked that game up good. Their defense balled out, dictated tempo, and slopped it up enough to give the team a puncher’s chance against the No. 2 seed. And yet, it wasn’t enough. If there’s a play that better encapsulates the state of the Bears right now, I haven’t seen it.
• Kalyn Kahler (Bleacher Report) paints a bleak picture that suggests help isn’t on the horizon and hope isn’t walking through that door. It’s not pretty, but the piece provides perspective as to who the Bears are and what they’re up against moving forward. Nothing like needing to battle yourself and 31 other NFL teams to get where you want to go.
• OOF. What is even this line of thinking?
Bears fans who are upset that big changes weren't made should look back at the team's history since 1988 — and look around at how other teams are doing https://t.co/KvHDvUgv7Z
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 16, 2021
• What an awful and flawed line of thinking. It’s frustrating to read. And more than that, it’s aggravating to re-share. But because I feel a need to strike a balance in the Force, I will do what I must. The results are what they are. But just because other teams are doing things similarly (or worse) doesn’t mean your team has to follow that path. My grandmother used to to tell me “Just because Foolanito did it doesn’t mean you have to.” So just because other teams continue to refuse to adapt and progress, it doesn’t mean the Bears need to follow suit.
• Simply put, Bears fans (1) aren’t just mad because changes weren’t made, but if they were (2) it’s deserved. It’s not good enough to record back-to-back 8-8 seasons when your team to spends what it spends and moves draft capital at a whim the way it did. Maybe that’s good enough for Florio’s Vikings. But that ain’t it if you’re a Bears fan. TL;DR — It’s good to have standards.
• Future Bears:
Bears signed two wide receivers to reserve/future contracts: Reggie Davis and Jester Weah.
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) January 15, 2021
• And former Bears:
QB Kyle Sloter, who finished the regular season as a member of the #Bears practice squad, has signed a reserve/futures contract with the #Raiders.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) January 15, 2021
• Guess I’ll share this for bookkeeping purposes:
#Bears WR Anthony Miller and #Saints CB C.J. Gardner-Johnson were both fined for the dustup that ended with Miller getting ejected from last week’s wild-card game. Miller: $8,589 for unnecessary roughness. Gardner-Johnson: $15,000 for unnecessary roughness.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 16, 2021
• I’ve got a feeling I’ll be using this .gif in the not-too-distant future:
https://twitter.com/WhiskeyRanger29/status/1350176361466490880
• Some interesting reading regarding how the relationship between former Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz turned into “a pissing match” between the quarterback and his former head coach:
Inside Carson Wentz’s turbulent season and the forces behind his regression.
A perfect storm of organizational hero-worship, dubious coaching, injuries, poor roster management and Wentz himself led to one of the NFL’s worst-ever QB declines.
The story: https://t.co/nNWn0VNwUh
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) January 16, 2021
• One ex-Bear continues to do wonderful work outside of football:
..I’m starting a new Podcast!! It’s called the Athletes for Justice podcast and we’re bringing stories of justice and hope to a broken world. Launch day is 1.29.21. Let’s join this journey of justice together https://t.co/uMRvyX3InY pic.twitter.com/SgiV1DmDHV
— Sam Acho (@TheSamAcho) January 15, 2021
• A rough night of sports results, sure — but we’re here for you:
Baby Steps … Baby Steps – Lightning 5, Blackhawks 2https://t.co/e1VrQMl0c1
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 16, 2021
A 99% Chance of Winning with Two Minutes Left Wasn’t Enough: Thunder 127, Bulls 125https://t.co/hdpVHF1C7Y
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) January 16, 2021
