2018 NFC North/NFL thread

[Pakuni]

I'm not saying he was absolutely against the idea.  I'm saying that the coach was basically selected for him.

And I'm not the one saying this.  I have heard this multiple times.  Dish could probably comment on this if he wanted to.

And I'm not saying that Fox's hire was influenced by Accorsi/ownership.
I'm just not buying the notion that Pace had no say in the hiring, or that it was foisted upon him against his will. I find it unlikely he would have taken the GM job under those circumstances.

FWIW, there's been a ton of revisionist history over the past nine months about Fox's hiring. Back when it happened, the Bears were widely praised for it.

John Fox, Chicago Bears
Grade: A-minus
Pace has a long road to travel en route back to postseason contention. He covered a lot of ground by nabbing Fox.
https://www.si.com/nfl/2015/01/11/nfl-coaching-hires-2015-analysis-grades

John Fox hiring is a veteran move by the Bears
Rick Morrissey

Bravo, Bears.
I can't think of the last time I wrote that, thought that, dreamt that or was forced, under threat of torture, to say that.
But bravo, indeed.
The Bears have hired John Fox, a veteran head coach who has been to the Super Bowl with two different teams. Savor that last sentence the way you might a warm breeze.
http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/john-fox-hiring-is-a-veteran-move-by-the-bears/

Pace scores big on first decision

The Bears didn't need to be cute. They didn't need to attack a specific side of the ball. They needed the best football coach available. That's Fox, a 59-year-old who took two franchises to a Super Bowl. Fox once won a playoff game with Tim Tebow at quarterback, which is like winning the World Series with a hockey team.
http://www.espn.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/12195047/chicago-bears-getting-proven-winner-john-fox

[Dish]

So Lynch was lying to help the bears look better?

Oh yeah, smart business for him to do so. You want other GM's to do business with you going forward.

[Pakuni]

So Lynch was lying to help the bears look better?

It's certainly in his interest not to have himself portrayed as someone who fleeced one of his peers.

[jesmu84]

Fair enough. And I understand the logic of Lynch lying.

Seems dumb for Peter King to then propagate the lie

[GGGG]

Fair enough. And I understand the logic of Lynch lying.

Seems dumb for Peter King to then propagate the lie

Does Peter King know it's a lie? 

[jesmu84]

Does Peter King know it's a lie?

I assume most of the people who responded to me, who stated it is a lie, know less about and spend less time around the NFL than Peter King. If they can see it is a lie, then I would have to assume, so can he.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I don't think anybody lied. I'm sure people besides the Bears called the Niners about the number 2 pick. I wouldn't be surprised if they even offered some sort of deal for the number 2 pick. The Bears offered the most. I would also be stunned if the other teams asking about the number 2 pick were intending to draft Trubisky.

[MUBurrow]

Peter King is about the furthest thing from a true reporter that you'll find, and would never do anything to even remotely jeopardize being a part of the NFL old boys club. If he received information that would be unpopular in NFL circles for him to report, there is no chance he would report it. If it behooves Lynch to further the belief (inferential or otherwise) that there was heavy competition for Trubisky at that pick, Peter King would be right near the top of the list to call to "leak" that info.

[Pakuni]

Peter King is about the furthest thing from a true reporter that you'll find, and would never do anything to even remotely jeopardize being a part of the NFL old boys club. If he received information that would be unpopular in NFL circles for him to report, there is no chance he would report it. If it behooves Lynch to further the belief (inferential or otherwise) that there was heavy competition for Trubisky at that pick, Peter King would be right near the top of the list to call to "leak" that info.

Yes, exactly this.
Pete thrives on, and his career is dependent upon, access. (to be fair, this is not uncommon in his profession).
Sometimes gaining and maintaining that access means playing along with your sources even when you suspect they're in all likelihood feeding you a bunch of bull.
I'm 99 percent sure Lynch told King there was intense competition for the #2 pick. I'm almost equally sure King is going to report it that way, even if he suspects it's not quite true.

[Sir Lawrence]

Yes, exactly this.
Pete thrives on, and his career is dependent upon, access. (to be fair, this is not uncommon in his profession).
Sometimes gaining and maintaining that access means playing along with your sources even when you suspect they're in all likelihood feeding you a bunch of bull.
I'm 99 percent sure Lynch told King there was intense competition for the #2 pick. I'm almost equally sure King is going to report it that way, even if he suspects it's not quite true.

For a certainty.  Plus an Allagash White.

[GB Warrior]

Ladies and gentlemen, Exhibit A

[GGGG]

And Skyline Chili of all places...

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Jay Cutler has found a job...

In the commentary booth with Fox.

[MU B2002]

Jay Cutler has found a job...

In the commentary booth with Fox.

Best thing for him.  Gets to walk away relatively healthy, and continue to make solid money.

[Spotcheck Billy]

I hope he is on the broadcast team for all Bears-Packer games, could be fun.

[wadesworld]

I hope he is on the broadcast team for all Bears-Packer games, could be fun.

I just hope he's a better broadcaster than he is football player.

[Dish]

I think Cutler will be really really good in the booth. If you are more of a diehard football fan, I think he's going to be a fun listen. I think Burkhardt is a good partner for him too. Although I thought a Dick Stockton/Cutler booth would have been amazingly interesting tv.

[MerrittsMustache]

I think Cutler will be really really good in the booth. If you are more of a diehard football fan, I think he's going to be a fun listen. I think Burkhardt is a good partner for him too. Although I thought a Dick Stockton/Cutler booth would have been amazingly interesting tv.

I agree. Cutler's a bright, articulate guy who knows his stuff. He should do well...but the concern is that there are enough people like wades out there who are going to rip Cutler regardless of what he does or how well he performs. They'll be tuned in though, which is good for Fox.

[wadesworld]

I agree. Cutler's a bright, articulate guy who knows his stuff. He should do well...but the concern is that there are enough people like wades out there who are going to rip Cutler regardless of what he does or how well he performs. They'll be tuned in though, which is good for Fox.

Not really.  I hated Troy Aikman/the Cowboys.  A lot of people hate Troy Aikman (and Buck) as a broadcaster.  I personally think he's (and they're) really good and love when he's (and they're) calling Packers games.

People can say I'm a hot take, meat of a fan.  But the fact of the matter is if I was so wrong and such a blind homer about my position on Cutler he wouldn't be accepting a job in a broadcasting booth right now...

I simply call it as I see it.  Turns out I saw it more clearly than the Bears fans here.  Cutler stunk.  Simple as that.  If whoever the Bears start at QB throws the ball more to the Packers than he throws the ball to the Bears this year, I'll call him a horrible quarterback as well.  If he's killing it I'll say, "Damn I wish the Bears didn't have that guy under center."  If Mike McCarthy continues to call games conservatively and it continues to burn the Packers I'll continue to call him on that as well.

[Dish]

I agree. Cutler's a bright, articulate guy who knows his stuff. He should do well...but the concern is that there are enough people like wades out there who are going to rip Cutler regardless of what he does or how well he performs. They'll be tuned in though, which is good for Fox.

By contrast, I think Cutler would be a terrible studio guy. I don't think he'll be into fluff, and with the amount of coaches he's worked with, he'll have good perspective. I'll definitely be interested to hear him.

[MerrittsMustache]

People can say I'm a hot take, meat of a fan.  But the fact of the matter is if I was so wrong and such a blind homer about my position on Cutler he wouldn't be accepting a job in a broadcasting booth right now...

I simply call it as I see it.  Turns out I saw it more clearly than the Bears fans here.  Cutler stunk.  Simple as that.  If whoever the Bears start at QB throws the ball more to the Packers than he throws the ball to the Bears this year, I'll call him a horrible quarterback as well.  If he's killing it I'll say, "Damn I wish the Bears didn't have that guy under center."  If Mike McCarthy continues to call games conservatively and it continues to burn the Packers I'll continue to call him on that as well.

Cutler is 34, coming off a serious shoulder injury and would only go some place to be the starter. He was looking for a very specific situation and in the end, he chose the booth over the Jets. Tony Romo was in a similar situation and chose TV over a couple potential NFL openings. Does that mean he also sucks?

Cutler never lived up to his talent and potential as an NFL QB but he was significantly better than many fans and "hot take shouters" will ever give him credit for.

[wadesworld]

Cutler is 34, coming off a serious shoulder injury and would only go some place to be the starter. He was looking for a very specific situation and in the end, he chose the booth over the Jets. Tony Romo was in a similar situation and chose TV over a couple potential NFL openings. Does that mean he also sucks?

Cutler never lived up to his talent and potential as an NFL QB but he was significantly better than many fans and "hot take shouters" will ever give him credit for.

Fair enough.  You can believe what you want.  His 1 career Playoff win to go along with his 217 career touchdowns (passing and rushing combined) compared to his 178 career turnovers (interceptions and fumbles lost) suggests you are very wrong, but I'm just a meatball Packer fan with my green and gold shades on.

[Sir Lawrence]

One QB threw a pick out of every 30.265 passing attempts.
Another QB threw a pick out of every 30.76 passing attempts.

One is named Favre, the other Cutler.

[MerrittsMustache]

Fair enough.  You can believe what you want.  His 1 career Playoff win to go along with his 217 career touchdowns (passing and rushing combined) compared to his 178 career turnovers (interceptions and fumbles lost) suggests you are very wrong, but I'm just a meatball Packer fan with my green and gold shades on.

In no way, shape or form does pulling a couple stats make me "very wrong" about Cutler being better than many believe.

In fact, if you want to cherry-pick stats then I can counter with Cutler's QB Rating, which is higher than Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb, Alex Smith, Joe Flacco, Steve McNair, Marc Bulger, Jim Kelly, Matt Hasselbeck...the list goes on. Oh, and it's higher than Brett Favre's QB Rating while in GB.

We can continue to pull stats like this all day or we can simply agree that you think Cutler was horrible and sane, rational people who understand football will disagree with that assessment.

[cheebs09]

I don't have time to look up the stats, but would it be fair to say Packer fans are skewed because he played worse against us than other teams? I seem to remember hearing a lot of how Cutler could never figure out the Capers defense (one of the few it seems) and that it always caused him problems.

I think he's an average QB. Didn't he have a ton of different coordinators early on and with Chicago? He didn't help his cause with dumb throws and his demeanor, but he's not nearly as bad as many Packer fans make him out to be. It's just more fun to talk about him like he is that bad. I know I enjoy the running jokes.