My view on the bears right now.

[Beengay fudgepackers]

I like a lot of the coaching hires, and the personnel could make one believe that it can be turned around, but I am not getting optimistic about the bears until they show me that they do not suck anymore. Until they prove it, they still suck to me. I don't care if we have the best draft ever, trade cutler for Rodgers, and acquire the best defensive players in the game. This team still sucks to me until they prove otherwise on the field. I advise others to do the same.

 

[leomaz]

"I advise others to do the same"



No thanks.

 

[noonthirtyjoe]

We do still suck and will continue to suck until we stop leading the league in picks.

 

[NCChiFan]

We do still suck and will continue to suck until we stop leading the league in picks.

I wouldn't mind leading the league in picks if we had 2x as many TD passes as the next best TD pass team in the league...

BeenGay, while I don't share you total pessimism, I do consider myself a realist. Moving in the right direction is enough to elicit optimism from me. That's good enough for me.

 

[beardown07]

I'm as tired of losing as the next guy, and Jay has been part of that and can make me wanna gouge my eyeballs out at times, but to say that these last two years have all been Jay's fault is dumb.

Jay will always be over-scrutinized...cuz he continues to make head-scratching decisions, but all QB's do, (see Brady's first pick last nite.) but the shitty decisions are more abundant when the team sucks as a whole. The last two years have lacked discipline and leadership. Talent is there IMO.

Jay's stat line this year almost mirrors Philip Rivers', but San Diego was winning and Rivers was in the MVP conversation there for a bit. His 18 int's are no better than Jay's.

It appears that Jay is here for next year. I don't really see an alternative. Let's hope Fox gets back to a more balanced offense, utilize his weapons more efficiently.

 

[toooverbearing]

F-it... I'm optimistic. Here's why:

1. George McCaskey. That's right, I'm putting a McCaskey at the TOP of the list. There were reports that the owners were in closed door meetings after each major loss. There was a public apology to Bear fans before the season was even over for how sorry things had gotten. They fired the HC and GM right away and got Acorsi to come in and consult them on how to do the hiring the right way. I think George is cut from a different cloth and is the type of owner who has a passion for the product, not the asset. Starts at the top they say... he's been hitting all of the right buttons with me. I never thought I would highlight the ownership as a cause for optimism, but there you go.

2. The Bears were the favored destination. Ballard, Pace, Fox and Fangio all had other options that they didn't even give a second thought to. This was after we heard about how the Bears were considered a sub par destination for prospective GMs and coaches. Well guess what, when the ones who's futures were really on the line looked at the situation here, there was obviously more than met the eye. What was it? Not sure... but there must be something to it. Certainly a cause for optimism.

3. We hit home runs on the coaching hires. Will it work out and equate to Super Bowls? Not making that claim. But it sure seems like we pulled off an inside straight.

There is still a lot of work to be done before things get good in terms of scouting systems, development systems and personnel acquisition... but to have things settled at the top of the organization is a necessary start.

 

[cubzzzfanincali]

Jay's stat line this year almost mirrors Philip Rivers', but San Diego was winning and Rivers was in the MVP conversation there for a bit. His 18 int's are no better than Jay's.
.

I agree with much of what you wrote, but I think you are bending a few things in the Rivers analogy. First of all, the "Rivers MVP" talk was early in the season after a run of wins he managed against several bad teams, Buffalo, Oakland, Jax, the Jets. That talk died out when he proceeded to lose them 6 of the last 10, and yes his many interceptions were instrumental to those losses. Two, Cutler also had 6 lost fumbles, so he was tied for the lead in BOTH interceptions and fumbles. Not an honor anyone would prefer.

A better question that might be asked is "if the best we can do is our version of Phil Rivers?" But that's a debate for another day.

This being said, I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic right now on the team's future. I am going to withhold any judgment until we see how good of a job Pace does with free agency and the draft. Right now I don't have anything to base him off of, so I'm not sure why I would have an opinion.

 

[toooverbearing]

Just to jump in on the Cutler part of this... I'm pretty neutral on him. I accept that he isn't a great quarterback but think that he gets more of a bad rap than he deserves. But watching the Super Bowl last night, there were times with both Russell and Brady (who I think is a legit HOFer) when I thought to myself "if that was Cutler, people would want his head on a pike". With Brady, that first interception was one point and another was on 3rd and 2 when he could have walked for a first down and instead threw a terrible bounce pass to someone who was covered. It was a Super Bowl and he wasted a possession instead of taking the first down that was right there for him. And Russell looked ordinary (except for the few throws to Matthews). No completions until midway through the second quarter??? And between last night and the NFCCG when he threw four picks and was a complete disaster for most of the game... he still seems to be the golden child. Cutler would have in the witness protection program.

I'd still grab a qb if one of the top two fall to seven (unless doing our due diligence it really seems like Winston is a rapist... sorry, it matters to me)... but I just don't think Cutler is the chump he's sometimes made out to be.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

"I advise others to do the same"



No thanks.

Well, you'll probably be disappointed next year.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

F-it... I'm optimistic. Here's why:

1. George McCaskey. That's right, I'm putting a McCaskey at the TOP of the list. There were reports that the owners were in closed door meetings after each major loss. There was a public apology to Bear fans before the season was even over for how sorry things had gotten. They fired the HC and GM right away and got Acorsi to come in and consult them on how to do the hiring the right way. I think George is cut from a different cloth and is the type of owner who has a passion for the product, not the asset. Starts at the top they say... he's been hitting all of the right buttons with me. I never thought I would highlight the ownership as a cause for optimism, but there you go.

2. The Bears were the favored destination. Ballard, Pace, Fox and Fangio all had other options that they didn't even give a second thought to. This was after we heard about how the Bears were considered a sub par destination for prospective GMs and coaches. Well guess what, when the ones who's futures were really on the line looked at the situation here, there was obviously more than met the eye. What was it? Not sure... but there must be something to it. Certainly a cause for optimism.

3. We hit home runs on the coaching hires. Will it work out and equate to Super Bowls? Not making that claim. But it sure seems like we pulled off an inside straight.

There is still a lot of work to be done before things get good in terms of scouting systems, development systems and personnel acquisition... but to have things settled at the top of the organization is a necessary start.

1. I don't care if they apologized. I don't care if they had meetings after every loss, that's what they should be doing. That's their job. This isn't a cause for optimism for me. If I have a shitty employee under me that fucks up all the time, I don't give a shit if he apologizes for it. I also don't give a shit if he is actively trying to improve. That's what he should be doing. I would still fire his sorry ass.

2 and 3. I think the coaching is a valid cause for optimism, but you can polish a piece of shit all you want, it's still a piece of shit. The shit being the roster, specifically QB and defense. This could change, but I doubt it. I still think we have a lot of losing ahead of us. I didn't believe the bears were ever not a favored destination. A big city and a team that gives you the opportunity to change the roster and build it the way you want is probably very attractive to many hc candidates. And I disagree with the comment on not giving it a second thought. Fox went back to Denver for a reason. Fangio interviewed at Washington for a reason. Gase came here after a few head coaching interviews. I see second thoughts there. In the case of Gase, we were the second thought. Pace is unproven, but has made some good coaching hires.

 

[toooverbearing]

1. I don't care if they apologized. I don't care if they had meetings after every loss, that's what they should be doing. That's their job. This isn't a cause for optimism for me. If I have a shitty employee under me that fucks up all the time, I don't give a shit if he apologizes for it. I also don't give a shit if he is actively trying to improve. That's what he should be doing. I would still fire his sorry ass.

2 and 3. I think the coaching is a valid cause for optimism, but you can polish a piece of shit all you want, it's still a piece of shit. The shit being the roster, specifically QB and defense. This could change, but I doubt it. I still think we have a lot of losing ahead of us. I didn't believe the bears were ever not a favored destination. A big city and a team that gives you the opportunity to change the roster and build it the way you want is probably very attractive to many hc candidates. And I disagree with the comment on not giving it a second thought. Fox went back to Denver for a reason. Fangio interviewed at Washington for a reason. Gase came here after a few head coaching interviews. I see second thoughts there. In the case of Gase, we were the second thought. Pace is unproven, but has made some good coaching hires.

1... So you see no change in pattern?

2/3... Fangio reportedly turned down more money at Washington. Plus he was being spotted two OLB pass rushers in Orakpo and Kerrigan. Pace and the candidate from the Chiefs turned down overtures from other places including NY and Atlanta. NY is a big city the last I heard and Atlanta supposedly had the best to offer according to that GM survey. Fox interviewed where else? I didn't catch what you were saying the reason was he went back to Denver. Was he interviewing for the Broncos job he just lost? I mean, he lived there, it is possible he had to feed his dog or something.

I know... we all like to rag on our teams and how much they suck and are going to suck because it is easier to deal with low expectations and have the satisfaction of saying "I told you so" if things suck and pretend you weren't shitting on the team if they turn out to be any good. But I really don't get, if you're being honest, how you can say the last couple of months have been the same old shit. And like I initially said, there is still a lot more stench to clean up with the roster but we have an owner that finally gives a shit and is embarrassed by the clown show that was the Bears, and we finally have a coaching staff that knows how to coach an NFL football team. Seriously... there is NOTHING to be optimistic about?

 

[anotheridiot]

Just to jump in on the Cutler part of this... I'm pretty neutral on him. I accept that he isn't a great quarterback but think that he gets more of a bad rap than he deserves. But watching the Super Bowl last night, there were times with both Russell and Brady (who I think is a legit HOFer) when I thought to myself "if that was Cutler, people would want his head on a pike". With Brady, that first interception was one point and another was on 3rd and 2 when he could have walked for a first down and instead threw a terrible bounce pass to someone who was covered. It was a Super Bowl and he wasted a possession instead of taking the first down that was right there for him. And Russell looked ordinary (except for the few throws to Matthews). No completions until midway through the second quarter??? And between last night and the NFCCG when he threw four picks and was a complete disaster for most of the game... he still seems to be the golden child. Cutler would have in the witness protection program.

I'd still grab a qb if one of the top two fall to seven (unless doing our due diligence it really seems like Winston is a rapist... sorry, it matters to me)... but I just don't think Cutler is the chump he's sometimes made out to be.

I think Brady gets a pass on the first interception and the second interception for the first two super bowl MVP's he won, or the first three super bowls he won, how he is the all time leader in super bowl touchdowns, and set another record with 36 completions.

Cutler would get cut slack if he could actually lead a team to the playoffs or had a better record than 1-1 that didnt even win a conference title.

I know its really a reach to find a way to defend cutler, but I think he puts in about half the work that wilson or brady do. He shows enough that he cannot read defenses that Martz did not allow him to audible at all. Wilson and Brady are both miles ahead of Jay.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

1... So you see no change in pattern?

2/3... Fangio reportedly turned down more money at Washington. Plus he was being spotted two OLB pass rushers in Orakpo and Kerrigan. Pace and the candidate from the Chiefs turned down overtures from other places including NY and Atlanta. NY is a big city the last I heard and Atlanta supposedly had the best to offer according to that GM survey. Fox interviewed where else? I didn't catch what you were saying the reason was he went back to Denver. Was he interviewing for the Broncos job he just lost? I mean, he lived there, it is possible he had to feed his dog or something.

I know... we all like to rag on our teams and how much they suck and are going to suck because it is easier to deal with low expectations and have the satisfaction of saying "I told you so" if things suck and pretend you weren't shitting on the team if they turn out to be any good. But I really don't get, if you're being honest, how you can say the last couple of months have been the same old shit. And like I initially said, there is still a lot more stench to clean up with the roster but we have an owner that finally gives a shit and is embarrassed by the clown show that was the Bears, and we finally have a coaching staff that knows how to coach an NFL football team. Seriously... there is NOTHING to be optimistic about?

Well let's hold off on crowning the ownership until we see the coaching staff in action. I do like the hires, but let's not forget that Denver fans were happy to see fox go. I think the only thing to be optimistic about is the coaching staff hires, to be honest. However, I am just not letting myself get excited over this team until they prove that they don't suck on the field. If they are good, I am not going to say I was on the bandwagon the whole time. I will be surprised.

 

[toooverbearing]

I think Brady gets a pass on the first interception and the second interception for the first two super bowl MVP's he won, or the first three super bowls he won, how he is the all time leader in super bowl touchdowns, and set another record with 36 completions.

Cutler would get cut slack if he could actually lead a team to the playoffs or had a better record than 1-1 that didnt even win a conference title.

I know its really a reach to find a way to defend cutler, but I think he puts in about half the work that wilson or brady do. He shows enough that he cannot read defenses that Martz did not allow him to audible at all. Wilson and Brady are both miles ahead of Jay.

I said Brady was a HOF'er and deservedly so. My point was if Cutler had a game that looked like either qb's yesterday people would be lining up to punch him in the stomach. As far as Wilson goes, the NFCCG was ALSO a colossal disappointment. Everyone overlooks how bad he was in that game because by a fluke they won.

Here's my take on Cutler.

1. He's a competent quarterback.
2. He has elite skills.
3. He holds on to the ball too long and that will never change.
4. When he's under duress his mechanics go to pot and that will never change.

My take on Wilson:

1. He's not as good as people give him credit for being.
2. He has a great team that gives him a lot of cover.
3. He's very smart.
4. Great feel for scrambling.
5. Even though he's not as good as he gets credit for now, he just finished his second year and will probably be much better in the next few years.

My take on Brady:

1. Elite HOF quarterback.
2. Yesterday wasn't his best game, but it was good enough to win because Seattle matched New England in the stupid plays department.

Back to Cutler. Because he holds on to the ball so long and panics under pressure, a leaky line will always affect him more than a QB that gets the ball out faster. Behind an A+ line (like he had his final season in Denver or even the A- line he had last year) he looks very good. He can get the ball anywhere on the field when he has five seconds and no one about to hit him. But that is just too much for any qb to ask for in the NFL. That's my two cents.

 

[toooverbearing]

Well let's hold off on crowning the ownership until we see the coaching staff in action. I do like the hires, but let's not forget that Denver fans were happy to see fox go. I think the only thing to be optimistic about is the coaching staff hires, to be honest. However, I am just not letting myself get excited over this team until they prove that they don't suck on the field. If they are good, I am not going to say I was on the bandwagon the whole time. I will be surprised.

I hold off on crowning George if you hold off on the torches. I think some people may want to hold on to stereotypes on him because he's a McCaskey instead of actually acknowledging how things happened this off season. To me, it's not as much about the Fox hire as it was the passion, the decisiveness and the hiring of Ernie Accorsi. What has pissed me off in the past is having a guy running the show who seemed like he was more concerned with the team as an asset than developing a winner. All the moves may turn out to be the wrong ones... success isn't guaranteed... but I do want to see an owner that can't accept losing.

 

[noonthirtyjoe]

I'm as tired of losing as the next guy, and Jay has been part of that and can make me wanna gouge my eyeballs out at times, but to say that these last two years have all been Jay's fault is dumb.

I don't think it's all Jays fault. But I don't see us winning without a QB switch. Fox will fail with Jay at the helm. Sorry to be the board pessimist but Jay has got to go. My biggest concern with the Fox hire is he went to a SB with Jake D and will think he can again with Cutler. This whole league comes down to turnovers. The teams that get them wins and the team that loses them loses. Jay throws picks and fumbles more then any QB I ever seen play. He is not a leader, he is not cool under pressure, he is not smart with the football. We have IMO the best combo of WRs RB TE in the league and Jay is holding them back. I have been Jays biggest supporter but even I the board HOMER can no longer defend him. I would start Clausen over Jay. Clausen sucks but he would not lead the league in turnovers. I just can't do it anymore. We all know the definition of insanity. Its doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. We gave Jay everything and he flopped big time. It's time to move on.

 

[wood20ks]

I wouldn't mind leading the league in picks if we had 2x as many TD passes as the next best TD pass team in the league...

BeenGay, while I don't share you total pessimism, I do consider myself a realist. Moving in the right direction is enough to elicit optimism from me. That's good enough for me.

That is kinda hard to find here.......it really is.

 

[wood20ks]

We do still suck and will continue to suck until we stop leading the league in picks.

Although I tend to agree most of this,less picks more points,but does not keep us keeping the opponents points.
We need some def help.

 

[wood20ks]

I'm as tired of losing as the next guy, and Jay has been part of that and can make me wanna gouge my eyeballs out at times, but to say that these last two years have all been Jay's fault is dumb.

I don't think it's all Jays fault. But I don't see us winning without a QB switch. Fox will fail with Jay at the helm. Sorry to be the board pessimist but Jay has got to go. My biggest concern with the Fox hire is he went to a SB with Jake D and will think he can again with Cutler. This whole league comes down to turnovers. The teams that get them wins and the team that loses them loses. Jay throws picks and fumbles more then any QB I ever seen play. He is not a leader, he is not cool under pressure, he is not smart with the football. We have IMO the best combo of WRs RB TE in the league and Jay is holding them back. I have been Jays biggest supporter but even I the board HOMER can no longer defend him. I would start Clausen over Jay. Clausen sucks but he would not lead the league in turnovers. I just can't do it anymore. We all know the definition of insanity. Its doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. We gave Jay everything and he flopped big time. It's time to move on.

Someone else besides I that has figured it out...All I ever heard on this board was excuses after excuse,year after year as to why jay (the best ever bear qb,lmao) falters year after year.
We have gotten everything imaginable,everything possible to get him out his never ending horrible playing.

He will never get us to the SB.....I agree with Joe"he`s got to go"....Deal with it.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

I wouldn't mind leading the league in picks if we had 2x as many TD passes as the next best TD pass team in the league...

BeenGay, while I don't share you total pessimism, I do consider myself a realist. Moving in the right direction is enough to elicit optimism from me. That's good enough for me.

I consider myself a realist as well. However, I do not expect this team to compete for a while. I am not even sure fox will be here when they become a playoff team again. I hope I am wrong.