Watching Bears-less Playoff Games Knowing What Could’ve Been Hurts and Other Bullets

Jan 13, 2019

I had a nice family dinner last night at a tapas joint and am looking forward to more such outings this year. Because even though I don’t do New Years Resolutions, trying to do more family things is something I’d like to do because I know it will be good for the mind and soul.

While I was out at dinner, football was played between the Cowboys and Rams. It’s a game that would have featured the Bears instead of the Cowboys had they found a way to take down the Eagles. Akiem Hicks’ tweet seemed to capture the spirit of the thing:

Me. Tryna be happy for others success while watching the playoffs on the couch pic.twitter.com/7bCDEDAEGe

— akiem hicks (@The_Dream99) January 13, 2019

Ummmm … how ’bout them Cowboys?

NFC teams that have made an NFC Championship in 21st century:

Giants
Eagles
Bears
Packers
Vikings
Falcons
Panthers
Saints
Buccaneers
Cardinals
Rams
49ers
Seahawks

Still waiting:
COWBOYS, [Redacted], Lions

— Law Murray ❌ (@LawMurrayTheNU) January 13, 2019

Same, Silvy. Extreme same:

I promised myself that I wouldn’t say the #Bears would 💯 beat this #Rams team.

BTW…I have a tough time keeping promises.

— Silvy (@WaddleandSilvy) January 13, 2019

It is extremely cool to know that the Bears extremely could have beat these Rams. Again. For the second time this football season. Extremely. COOL.

You know what else is extremely cool? Being triggered by a sound:

Adam Vinatieri finally misses a field goal in the snow. CC: @Raiders pic.twitter.com/AnBRp4pnZL

— Casey Baker (@CaseyBake16) January 12, 2019

Vinatieri also missed an extra point because, of course.

Weird. I had the same dream:

Had the weirdest dream that the Bears kicker missed a game-winning in the playoffs and then went on the Today Show to treat a city’s collective heartbreak like a segment on how to pack for a staycation. It was horrifying.
— Robert Mays (@robertmays) January 12, 2019

Hear me out, NFL Rules Committee: No more kicking. That’s right. No more field goals, extra points, or heck, even punts. Scrap it. Get rid of it. Discard of this aspect of the game. Make it go away. Save everyone the potential pain of missing out on points because of a player who sees the field a handful of times per game. C’mon … who says no? (Well, besides kickers and maybe the NFLPA.)

Let’s take a moment to process the playoff debuts of the quarterbacks drafted in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft:

Deshaun Watson: 29/49, 235 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 3 sacks, 69.7 rating
Mitch Trubisky: 26/43, 303 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 89.6 rating
Patrick Mahomes: 27/41, 278 yards, 0 pass TD (1 rush TD), 0 INT, 4 sacks, 85.2 rating

Mahomes was the only one of the three who led multiple touchdown drives in a postseason game. And more importantly, was the only one to lead his team to victory.

To be honest, it’s tough to watch Mahomes and not think what could have been … except for the fact that he would have been put in the same dangerous situation Trubisky was in last year. Mahomes believed the hot start to this season was partially a product of sitting, waiting, and learning behind Alex Smith. He would not have received that luxury in Chicago and we know how much of a negative impact John Fox and Dowell Loggains had on Trubisky’s development. On multiple occasions this season, Matt Nagy explained how Trubisky had to unlearn what he learned and break some old habits that were brought upon during his rookie year. Even backup quarterback Chase Daniel sensed and acknowledge it, too.

To be clear, there is no one “right” way to develop a quarterback. But having a proven system, coaches who are inclined to teach quarterback play, a room of strong-minded and experienced signal callers who can help keep the young one on the right path certainly helps. The Chiefs did everything right in cultivating the right environment in which to develop a quarterback, which is something the Bears didn’t start doing until the 2018 season. So while Mahomes is going to win MVP and chatter about how the Bears should have picked him over Trubisky will surface, let’s not lose sight of the back story here. There is always more than what meets the eye.

I feel as if the Bears hired a strong defensive coordinator, but the quick hire prevented us from doing a deep dive on some other candidates. One I wish we would have gotten to was Rex Ryan, who was clearly the people’s choice to replace Vic Fangio. Ryan would have certainly been the most polarizing candidate, too. Because where some see a larger-than-life coaching figure with unmatched bravado and an impressive résumé, others might see a brash loudmouth who is a ticking time-bomb. I guess we’ll never know, will we?

Not sure whether this clip would have hurt or helped his case, but Ryan would have received a ton of fan support for his stance.

“I don’t feel sorry for him.”

-Rex Ryan on Bears kicker Cody Parkey pic.twitter.com/byhqKtITbu

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 7, 2019

A week later, I’m not sure I have an answer to this hypothetical:

If your team lost in the playoffs, how would you prefer they go out?

A) Blowout loss like the #Colts
B) Missed FG at the end of the game with a chance to with like the #Bears

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 12, 2019

This will take a chunk out of your playoff check:

A few fines from the wild-card round:#Eagles DL Michael Bennett $10,026 for open-handed punch to Kyle Long’s face that negated a third-down stop
#Bears S Adrian Amos $26,739 for a hit on a #Eagles TE Zach Ertz
#Texans LB Jadeveon Clowney $10,026 for unnecessary roughness
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 12, 2019

I must be getting old because I only vaguely remember Chris Boniol kicking for the Bears:

New Bucs specalists coach Chris Boniol, who will work with the team's kicker, punt and long-snapper, is 47 and kicked for the Cowboys, Eagles and Bears during a six-year NFL career from 1994-99.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) January 12, 2019

The Buccaneers hiring of a Specialists Coach to work with the kicker, punter, and long-snapper is a different tactic than we’re used to seeing. Most teams have ST coaches and an assistant, but don’t break it down in a way where one is working with one set of specialists like this. It makes me wonder if this will be a trend-setter. If anything, the idea of the Bears hiring a coach to work with the kicking game who has kicking experience is going to rattle around in my head for a few days.

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Watching Bears-less Playoff Games Knowing What Could’ve Been Hurts and Other Bullets

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