2020-21 NFL Season

[The Sultan]

The thing is, I am sure the Bears WANT to win.  I think the idea that they just want to cash checks is misguided.

But they have no idea HOW to win.  I'm sure that they look at successful franchises and see "stability," but don't have an understanding that "winning" causes stability....not vice versa.

It just reminds me a lot of the Packers of the 80s and early 90s.  No concept of how the modern NFL works.

[Jockey]

The thing is, I am sure the Bears WANT to win.  I think the idea that they just want to cash checks is misguided.

But they have no idea HOW to win.  I'm sure that they look at successful franchises and see "stability," but don't have an understanding that "winning" causes stability....not vice versa.

It just reminds me a lot of the Packers of the 80s and early 90s.  No concept of how the modern NFL works.

Dish made some great points and so do you. You are right - they want to win, but don't know how.


They have a GM whose choices for QBs have been Glennon, Trubisky, and Foles. THAT is the guy they want to choose the next QB. But a miss on a QB isn't like a miss on a guard. When - not if - he misses on another QB, that is a decision that hurts the team for 4-5 more years.

Tower's boys will be good before the Bears are.

[tower912]

The Lions have won one playoff game in the Super Bowl era.   Dead cinch lock da Bears win another playoff game before the Lions.   Because the Lions are about to start Another ground-up rebuild.

[jutaw22mu]

Sunday's game between the Browns and Steelers was the most watched primetime show since last year's super bowl.  Imagine what the ratings would be on a GB-CLE super bowl.....

[Jockey]

Sunday's game between the Browns and Steelers was the most watched primetime show since last year's super bowl.  Imagine what the ratings would be on a GB-CLE super bowl.....

Almost as much as a Rodgers - Mahomes matchup. 

[wadesworld]

I've been pleading for some time for an AFC team to move to Chicago.

Never more so than today.

That was the most tone deaf end of season presser you'll ever see. In an absolute cutthroat league, the Bears are like a ma and pa shop selling CD Roms across the street from an Apple Store.

Always room for another Packers fan out there...

[Pakuni]

I've been pleading for some time for an AFC team to move to Chicago.

Never more so than today.

That was the most tone deaf end of season presser you'll ever see. In an absolute cutthroat league, the Bears are like a ma and pa shop selling CD Roms across the street from an Apple Store.

The Bears would never allow it, and I can't imagine why the NFL would even consider it. The league wants to be in more markets, not fewer.

[hairy worthen]

Always room for another Packers fan out there...

I just turned it around and imagined myself a Bears fan if the situation were reversed and I threw up in my mouth a little from disgust.

[JWags85]

Dish made some great points and so do you. You are right - they want to win, but don't know how.


They have a GM whose choices for QBs have been Glennon, Trubisky, and Foles. THAT is the guy they want to choose the next QB. But a miss on a QB isn't like a miss on a guard. When - not if - he misses on another QB, that is a decision that hurts the team for 4-5 more years.

Tower's boys will be good before the Bears are.

I don't even think it's "don't know how", I think that's superseded by their polluted sense of "how" things should be done, and what should be valued. They are loyal to a fault, have no eye for football front office talent versus "nice people", and still think "The Bear Way" is as profound and important as it was before Papa Bear died...40 damn years ago.

Glennon was a stop gap, who cares, that doesn't bother me. Foles was actually not a terrible idea....but the price was wrong and deluded in its thinking this team was ready to win NOW. 

More damning for me is, not just Trubisky, Pace has been a colossal disaster in early rounds. Since he's been GM, in rounds 1-3, he has 5 picks who are no longer Bears, guys who are decent like Whitehair and James Daniels, and then 3 good players in Roquan, Miller, and Eddie Goldman. Kmet could be really good and Jaylon Johnson is TBD.  But otherwise that's terrible, not to mention 2 of 6 years they had ZERO 1st round picks.  He's been a drafting disaster, outside of a few gems later like Cohen and Eddie Jackson

The Bears would never allow it, and I can't imagine why the NFL would even consider it. The league wants to be in more markets, not fewer.

Then why did the NFL move a team from a top 30 market in San Diego to LA concurrently with another team?  The Bills, Jaguars, or Bengals moving would be similar

[Billy Hoyle]

Then why did the NFL move a team from a top 30 market in San Diego to LA concurrently with another team?  The Bills, Jaguars, or Bengals moving would be similar

Both San Diego, St. Louis and Oakland refused to use taxpayer money (or enough public money) to build new stadiums, not unlike Seattle with the NBA (and almost Milwaukee). LA is a large enough they can sustain two teams, with 4 million more people (12 million v. 8 million) than Chicago has.

[Pakuni]

Then why did the NFL move a team from a top 30 market in San Diego to LA concurrently with another team?  The Bills, Jaguars, or Bengals moving would be similar

1. Because San Diego wouldn't build a stadium.
2. Because the owner of the LA franchise wanted a second team for his stadium (think the Bears want a second team in their market?)
3. Because they hoped San Diego televisions would still tune in to watch the Chargers.

[The Sultan]

Yeah getting two teams in LA was about making the stadium project more viable there.  Twice as many dates.  The only question was if it was going to be Chargers and Rams at current site or Rams and Raiders in Carson.

They will not be moving any teams to Chicago.  I get the frustration, but the best thing to happen would be for the family to sell the team. 

[Jockey]

I don't even think it's "don't know how", I think that's superseded by their polluted sense of "how" things should be done, and what should be valued. They are loyal to a fault, have no eye for football front office talent versus "nice people", and still think "The Bear Way" is as profound and important as it was before Papa Bear died...40 damn years ago.

I think we are just talking about 2 sides of the same coin, I have no problem with your characterization. So whether it is "don't know How" or just wrong ideas on "how", the result is the same.

Where I really think you nailed it is that they have no eye for front office football talent. That's where Fluffy's comparison of GB in the 70' and 80's hits home. They "thought" they were doing the right thing until finally they hired Wolf and it was plain to all just how bad the football people were.

[Dish]

The Bears would never allow it, and I can't imagine why the NFL would even consider it. The league wants to be in more markets, not fewer.

It was a bad attempt at humor. Obviously you're correct.

[hairy worthen]

I think we are just talking about 2 sides of the same coin, I have no problem with your characterization. So whether it is "don't know How" or just wrong ideas on "how", the result is the same.

Where I really think you nailed it is that they have no eye for front office football talent. That's where Fluffy's comparison of GB in the 70' and 80's hits home. They "thought" they were doing the right thing until finally they hired Wolf and it was plain to all just how bad the football people were.

The thing that turned it around for the Packers was the orginazational structure change when they brought in Bob Harlan. The team president and board no longer made football decisions and they gave that power to the GM, the first being Ron Wolf under that structure. Not familiar with the Bears situation but it sounds like a similar change needs to be made.

[The Sultan]

The thing that turned it around for the Packers was the orginazational structure change when they brought in Bob Harlan. The team president and board no longer made football decisions and they gave that power to the GM, the first being Ron Wolf under that structure. Not familiar with the Bears situation but it sounds like a similar change needs to be made.

Actually the Bears structure is fine.  Nagy reports to Pace who reports to Ted Philips.  The problem is that Nagy is no Holmgren, Pace is no Wolf, and Philips is no Harlan.

And the structure change with the Packers was a little different than you remember.  The Board stopped getting involved in personnel matters long before Harlan.  Prior to him, the GM (Braatz) and the coach (Infante) both reported to the President (Parins).  That structure still exists in some places today - in Kansas City and Seattle for instance.  And while I would prefer the way the Packers are structured now, the biggest problem with Braatz, Infante and Parins were they were not very good at their jobs.

[cheebs09]

Actually the Bears structure is fine.  Nagy reports to Pace who reports to Ted Philips.  The problem is that Nagy is no Holmgren, Pace is no Wolf, and Philips is no Harlan.

And the structure change with the Packers was a little different than you remember.  The Board stopped getting involved in personnel matters long before Harlan.  Prior to him, the GM (Braatz) and the coach (Infante) both reported to the President (Parins).  That structure still exists in some places today - in Kansas City and Seattle for instance.  And while I would prefer the way the Packers are structured now, the biggest problem with Braatz, Infante and Parins were they were not very good at their jobs.

I think that's how Murphy changed it up. I believe both Lafleur and Gutey report to Murphy.

[The Sultan]

I think that's how Murphy changed it up. I believe both Lafleur and Gutey report to Murphy.

I thought they changed it when Thompson was outed and both Gutey and McCarthy were in place, but changed it back when LaFluer was hired. Maybe I'm wrong.

[Pakuni]

Sounds like Urban Meyer to Jax is almost a thing.
I'll give him credit for trying, and he will get a franchise QB to start with. But this feels more like Steve Spurrier to Washington than Jimmy Johnson to Dallas.

[shoothoops]

Jacksonville has 11 draft picks and $100 million in cap space.

[The Sultan]

Jacksonville has 11 draft picks and $100 million in cap space.

Which leads me to believe I would rather want an experienced GM running things.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

I don't get the Urban Meyer fascination.  His system works in college but looks like a bad fit for the pros.  He also won't be able to out athlete the opposition in the pros.

I'd put Eric Bienemy at the top of my list.  He helped developed Mahomes and learned from a very successful coach in Andy Reid.  That's who I would want developing Trevor Lawrence.

As for the Bears, they remain my favorite comedy show.  Bet they re-sign Trubisky on a short term deal.  Something like 2 yrs, $25 million.

[shoothoops]

Which leads me to believe I would rather want an experienced GM running things.

Yeah we'll see. While I don't have a big rooting interest in the situation, I hope Shad Khan does well. He's taken the long road to get into the NFL owner's club that didn't treat him all that well, (to put it nicely) going back to even before he had an agreement to buy the Stl Rams from Stan Kroenke. And then he didn't let having Kroenke pull the rug out the very last day he could stop his NFL ownership pursuits.

And he owns U.S. friendly Fulham. Challenging market in Jacksonville. We'll see what happens with Meyer and what they can or can't build.

[JWags85]

I don't get the Urban Meyer fascination.  His system works in college but looks like a bad fit for the pros.  He also won't be able to out athlete the opposition in the pros.

I'd put Eric Bienemy at the top of my list.  He helped developed Mahomes and learned from a very successful coach in Andy Reid.  That's who I would want developing Trevor Lawrence.

As for the Bears, they remain my favorite comedy show.  Bet they re-sign Trubisky on a short term deal.  Something like 2 yrs, $25 million.

I don't know if Meyer will be successful in the NFL, I think he will struggle with a comparative lack of control compared to what you have in college.

  However, let's not run with this whole "he just had better athletes" thing.  He took over a BG program that was 15-21 the previous 3 years, including 2-9 the year before, and promptly went 8-3 and 9-3.  Utah was a middling Mountain West team who was 5-6 the prior year, Meyer had them 10-2 and 12-0 and playing in a New Years Day bowl immediately.  Same with UF. They weren't a dumpster fire when he got there, but they were just ok with Zook and he won't a title within 2 seasons.

I can't stand him, but the dude can coach, flat out.  Will it work in the NFL? Not sure, but he's not the football equivalent of "get studs and roll the ball out there"

[Billy Hoyle]

The Lions are hiring Rams Director of College Scouting, Brad Holmes, as their GM. This is the guy who made the move to get Aaron Donald.  O'Brien was hit or miss (more miss) with the draft so I'm glad to see the Lions go this route.