2021 NFL Season Thread

[CentralChamps21]

Bears beat a team from each of the last two Super Bowls (TB last year, CIN this year). Only other team to do that is the Chargers (KC, CIN).

[Balta1701]

8 minutes ago, Tony said:

I mean, at this point you're arguing things that happen in every field, with almost every topic. 

If the Bears hired Harbaugh, there would be a bunch of Ohio State/Bears fans upset with the hire, calling him overrated. If they hired Peyton as head of football ops, there would be people saying "What does he know, you just hired a name, is there any proof he can run a team?"

Those people will ALWAYS exist, with EVERY franchise. If you can't get past that, that's on you. Those fans exist with the Cubs, Sox, Bulls, Steelers, Red Wings, Lakers, etc. Meatballs exist in all 50 states. If you're upset over the meatballs, you're never going to be happy, because they'll never change. 

Now, you bring up the Bengals. When Zac Taylor was hired, I'm sure the Bengals fan base wasn't ecstatic with the hire across the board. They were probably all pleased to be done with Marvin Lewis, but I'm sure Zac Taylor didn't blow anyone's doors off when he was initially hired. Additionally, he was 6-25-1 as Bengals HC coming into 2021, for a franchise that hadn't won a playoff game 1991. The point is, the Bears haven't won a playoff game since George McCaskey took over. Fans have seen multiple cycles of new coaches/GM's being brought in, and the same results follow. 

What you're asking for are fans to give the Bears the benefit of the doubt. In my opinion, they simply don't deserve that at this point. It doesn't mean Poles/Fus are going to be failures, and every Bears fan is hoping they lead them to a Super Bowl. But I don't feel you can get upset with fans that simply don't believe in the George McCaskey lead Bears. They have given fans no indication they know how to run a successful football team. And I don't think it's unrealistic or unfair to say "After Trestman/Emery and Nagy/Pace, I'm going to take the believe it when I see it approach rather than automatically thinking they got it right with this duo." 

Ok, so you’re not giving the team the benefit of the doubt. What does that mean? You won’t be watching them this year? You’re not buying tickets? You’re going to not comment on the Bears in this thread?

I have no idea if they got it right or wrong, and understand it might be year 2 or 3 before you can really tell. If they’re a 5 win team in year 3 at least it will be time for a new coach, and the GM could be on shaky ground. What more is there to say?

[Tony]

13 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Ok, so you’re not giving the team the benefit of the doubt. What does that mean? You won’t be watching them this year? You’re not buying tickets? You’re going to not comment on the Bears in this thread?

I have no idea if they got it right or wrong, and understand it might be year 2 or 3 before you can really tell. If they’re a 5 win team in year 3 at least it will be time for a new coach, and the GM could be on shaky ground. What more is there to say?

I didn’t say any of that. When I talk about not giving them the benefit of the doubt, it means I’m not going to be overly excited or hopeful based on any moves they make in the very near future. I’ll be interested in seeing what they do and I want them to be successful…but as we sit here today I have no indication that will happen. 

Let’s say I work at a company where I’m No. 3 in the organization. They have been hunting for a No. 2 for years and the people the No. 1 keeps bringing in bad people for that role. It’s making my life harder because I report to No. 2. After years of bad hires, I can hope No. 1 finally hires the right person, but I’d have serious doubts after the first handful were awful hires. 
 

I have no idea how these guys are going to work out. History tells me probably not well, but I simply don’t know. I really hope it does work. I won’t blame anyone who has their doubts. 

[bmags]

I really hope the Bears land Joe Brady for QB. His vertical passing concepts will be an awesome addition

[bmags]

I’ll be really bummed if Poles doesn’t work out. This is exactly the attitude I want to hear (re: visiting other league front offices for an edge).

I wonder if that was Sloan?

 

[Heads22]

Uh, as a Colts fan I liked Flus fwiw. Brought the defense from godawful to above average, but obviously as a HC it's a different deal than as a DC. 

[The Beast]

2 hours ago, Tony said:

I mean, at this point you're arguing things that happen in every field, with almost every topic. 

If the Bears hired Harbaugh, there would be a bunch of Ohio State/Bears fans upset with the hire, calling him overrated. If they hired Peyton as head of football ops, there would be people saying "What does he know, you just hired a name, is there any proof he can run a team?"

Those people will ALWAYS exist, with EVERY franchise. If you can't get past that, that's on you. Those fans exist with the Cubs, Sox, Bulls, Steelers, Red Wings, Lakers, etc. Meatballs exist in all 50 states. If you're upset over the meatballs, you're never going to be happy, because they'll never change. 

Now, you bring up the Bengals. When Zac Taylor was hired, I'm sure the Bengals fan base wasn't ecstatic with the hire across the board. They were probably all pleased to be done with Marvin Lewis, but I'm sure Zac Taylor didn't blow anyone's doors off when he was initially hired. Additionally, he was 6-25-1 as Bengals HC coming into 2021, for a franchise that hadn't won a playoff game 1991. The point is, the Bears haven't won a playoff game since George McCaskey took over. Fans have seen multiple cycles of new coaches/GM's being brought in, and the same results follow. 

What you're asking for are fans to give the Bears the benefit of the doubt. In my opinion, they simply don't deserve that at this point. It doesn't mean Poles/Fus are going to be failures, and every Bears fan is hoping they lead them to a Super Bowl. But I don't feel you can get upset with fans that simply don't believe in the George McCaskey lead Bears. They have given fans no indication they know how to run a successful football team. And I don't think it's unrealistic or unfair to say "After Trestman/Emery and Nagy/Pace, I'm going to take the believe it when I see it approach rather than automatically thinking they got it right with this duo." 

I see fans like these dominate the Facebook threads and hear them flood the Score incessantly. It’s definitely more than a few voices. I can get past the negativity, but I definitely think fans need to be more realistic with their expectations. Look at the Chiefs, even that squad failed this year and have an elite offense. One year going from mediocre to the super bowl isn’t plausible. I’ve been after meat balls for years trying to get them to actually think and stop with the lazy analysis they have.

I understand McCaskey hasn’t had results, but you and I both know they won’t sell, despite people wanting them to. If they sell, it will be after they move to Arlington Heights and will be sold to a bidder that will help their family keep their wealth.

I’m upset with mostly people who don’t consider more than just “McCaskey bad, therefore we b**** about everything the Bears do.” Or if a coach says something funny in a press conference that he’s Marc Trestman or something. 

Either way these same meatballs will still watch the Bears and follow them even if they b****. They’ll continue to be fans regardless.

2 hours ago, ShoeLessRob said:

They fired Pace and Nagy because it was the right decision to do.  Nagy was way over his head as head coach and Pace depleted the team with moving up in the draft several times and giving bloated contracts to aging veterans.

They seemed to have been “cute” again with their new hires. Fans want to see a historic franchise pony up and go out there and get a proven winner (a Harbough type) who has experience winning to show that the team can/wants to win NOW.

Obviously that doesn’t seem realistic with the current structure of the team and lack of draft picks this year and I believe next. Unfortunately we will prolly be pretty mediocre again next year. Unfortunately the key to this franchise turning around is solving the QB issue, hopefully these individuals they hired can play to Fields strengths. We have nothing to go off of with Eberflus or the OC they have selected, hence the pessimism. 

They weren’t going to go get Harbaugh and probably weren’t for the asking price he probably wanted. Given the lack of draft capital, Payton wasn’t realistic either. This class of coaches probably didn’t give them what they wanted.

In terms of your last point, I am skeptical of the OC they hired, but the Bears hired a defensive coordinator who was one of their longest tenured head coaches in recent memory. He couldn’t figure out the offense, but I am hopeful that this OC will. I would also love to know what people’s expectations are of the offense. Top 5 or top 10? How about being in the top half of the league? That seems more realistic.

[The Beast]

2 hours ago, Balta1701 said:

Ok, so you’re not giving the team the benefit of the doubt. What does that mean? You won’t be watching them this year? You’re not buying tickets? You’re going to not comment on the Bears in this thread?

I have no idea if they got it right or wrong, and understand it might be year 2 or 3 before you can really tell. If they’re a 5 win team in year 3 at least it will be time for a new coach, and the GM could be on shaky ground. What more is there to say?

The bolded is what fans who love to hate always threaten, but it rarely happens. They still watch and they always come back. 

[Tony]

29 minutes ago, The Beast said:

6 minutes ago, The Beast said:

I see fans like these dominate the Facebook threads and hear them flood the Score incessantly. It’s definitely more than a few voices. I can get past the negativity, but I definitely think fans need to be more realistic with their expectations. Look at the Chiefs, even that squad failed this year and have an elite offense. One year going from mediocre to the super bowl isn’t plausible. I’ve been after meat balls for years trying to get them to actually think and stop with the lazy analysis they have.

I understand McCaskey hasn’t had results, but you and I both know they won’t sell, despite people wanting them to. If they sell, it will be after they move to Arlington Heights and will be sold to a bidder that will help their family keep their wealth.

I’m upset with mostly people who don’t consider more than just “McCaskey bad, therefore we b**** about everything the Bears do.” Or if a coach says something funny in a press conference that he’s Marc Trestman or something. 

 

You're missing the point. Stop reading internet comments. Stop listening to the meatballs The Score puts on. You know how they say "NEVER read the YouTube comments?" The same goes for Facebook. And I'll bet you good money if you go to some stupid Chiefs Facebook Fan page today, you'll have a bunch of Chief fans saying everyone is overrated on their team, they stink, blah blah blah. 

You actually say in your post that you've been going after meatballs for years trying to get them to stop and think. The jokes on you for spending years trying to change the habits of a bunch of idiots. They won't ever change, it's how they'll always be. 

I don't think I'm a meatball fan. There are times I have meatball emotional takes (like when Grayson Allen decides to a cock for the 97th time in his career) but for the most part I think I'm a fairly level-headed fan. Why should I give the Bears the benefit of the doubt? Not Poles and Flus, but the Bears as a total organization. What actual evidence do I have that would tell me George and Ted got it right this time? Like anything in life, you need to earn that trust. And the Bears organization has done NOTHING to earn the trust of the fanbase. Only hurt it. So until I see real change happen on the field, I'm going to be skeptical of what they do as an organization. Doesn't mean I'm rooting against them, doesn't mean I want them to fail, and it doesn't mean I think Poles/Flus are bad hires. But if I'm asked to give my opinion on the subject, I don't know how I couldn't be skeptical. I know next to nothing about Poles or Flus. I'm not going to pretend I have followed them and really know their backgrounds. No idea. But what I have followed is the track record of executives and coaches George has brought into this organization since he took over......and it doesn't inspire a lot of hope. 

[ShoeLessRob]

1 hour ago, The Beast said:

I see fans like these dominate the Facebook threads and hear them flood the Score incessantly. It’s definitely more than a few voices. I can get past the negativity, but I definitely think fans need to be more realistic with their expectations. Look at the Chiefs, even that squad failed this year and have an elite offense. One year going from mediocre to the super bowl isn’t plausible. I’ve been after meat balls for years trying to get them to actually think and stop with the lazy analysis they have.

I understand McCaskey hasn’t had results, but you and I both know they won’t sell, despite people wanting them to. If they sell, it will be after they move to Arlington Heights and will be sold to a bidder that will help their family keep their wealth.

I’m upset with mostly people who don’t consider more than just “McCaskey bad, therefore we b**** about everything the Bears do.” Or if a coach says something funny in a press conference that he’s Marc Trestman or something. 

Either way these same meatballs will still watch the Bears and follow them even if they b****. They’ll continue to be fans regardless.

They weren’t going to go get Harbaugh and probably weren’t for the asking price he probably wanted. Given the lack of draft capital, Payton wasn’t realistic either. This class of coaches probably didn’t give them what they wanted.

In terms of your last point, I am skeptical of the OC they hired, but the Bears hired a defensive coordinator who was one of their longest tenured head coaches in recent memory. He couldn’t figure out the offense, but I am hopeful that this OC will. I would also love to know what people’s expectations are of the offense. Top 5 or top 10? How about being in the top half of the league? That seems more realistic.

If they can crack top 15 on offense I’d be ecstatic. But in regards to hiring a defensive coordinator as a HC, I wouldn’t be opposed to it, but when have the Bears weakness been defense? Granted they are not as good as the 85, or Lovie Era, but the Bears somehow always field a decent defensive team. They are always lacking on the offensive side of the game. Nothing they have done with these hires leads me to believe they have addressed that issue. But like I’ve said and you said, I don’t think this is a quick fix. Hopefully they can utilize Fields skills and groom him to be a catalyst for the offense. 

Edited February 1, 2022 by ShoeLessRob

[The Beast]

1 hour ago, Tony said:

You're missing the point. Stop reading internet comments. Stop listening to the meatballs The Score puts on. You know how they say "NEVER read the YouTube comments?" The same goes for Facebook. And I'll bet you good money if you go to some stupid Chiefs Facebook Fan page today, you'll have a bunch of Chief fans saying everyone is overrated on their team, they stink, blah blah blah. 

You actually say in your post that you've been going after meatballs for years trying to get them to stop and think. The jokes on you for spending years trying to change the habits of a bunch of idiots. They won't ever change, it's how they'll always be. 

I don't think I'm a meatball fan. There are times I have meatball emotional takes (like when Grayson Allen decides to a cock for the 97th time in his career) but for the most part I think I'm a fairly level-headed fan. Why should I give the Bears the benefit of the doubt? Not Poles and Flus, but the Bears as a total organization. What actual evidence do I have that would tell me George and Ted got it right this time? Like anything in life, you need to earn that trust. And the Bears organization has done NOTHING to earn the trust of the fanbase. Only hurt it. So until I see real change happen on the field, I'm going to be skeptical of what they do as an organization. Doesn't mean I'm rooting against them, doesn't mean I want them to fail, and it doesn't mean I think Poles/Flus are bad hires. But if I'm asked to give my opinion on the subject, I don't know how I couldn't be skeptical. I know next to nothing about Poles or Flus. I'm not going to pretend I have followed them and really know their backgrounds. No idea. But what I have followed is the track record of executives and coaches George has brought into this organization since he took over......and it doesn't inspire a lot of hope. 

Sometimes, the only way I can find people who disagree with me is to go online. For example, I have to go online to find people or stories with people chiming in who disagree with me on Covid precautions/mandates/vaccines or how much fault Biden is for inflation. 

Sure, I should stop reading the comments, but for all of the stupid comments, there is some conversation to be had there. I went after many of them on Twitter during a Vikings Bears game just to see how many of them had anything more educated or interesting to say than “Fire Nagy.” Most were too thick headed to respond with anything intelligent enough for a discussion. Some actually raised thoughtful points. There has to be a better way to engage with the other side of a perspective, but sometimes the internet is where the debates are at, even if it isn’t the temperature of the entire fan base, base or electorate.

I’m not really calling you a meatball and think you can be skeptical. I don’t really give a damn about George and Ted. I just think it is fair to give the newly hired HC and GM some consideration rather than writing them off as soon as they get here. (Which I can see you are open to.) That is better than just pointing out all of the problems and either rooting for them to fail to say I told you so or being a fickle Bears fan and joining the band wagon when they are doing well and shitting on them when they suck.

30 minutes ago, ShoeLessRob said:

If they can crack top 15 on offense I’d be ecstatic. But in regards to hiring a defensive coordinator as a HC, I wouldn’t be opposed to it, but when have the Bears weakness been defense? Granted they are not as good as the 85, or Lovie Era, but the Bears somehow always field a decent defensive team. They are always lacking on the offensive side of the game. Nothing they have done with these hires leads me to believe they have addressed that issue. But like I’ve said and you said, I don’t think this is a quick fix. Hopefully they can utilize Fields skills and groom him to be a catalyst for the offense. 

At least your takes are reasonable. I have asked people for some time what they want to see out of the offense and they can’t give me a straight answer. I have offered up do they want Peyton Manning, Drew Brees or someone if that caliber and I get crickets. Probably because they can’t figure out what they want to see out of a Bears offense. Frankly, I would love to see the Steelers offense when Roethlisberger was at his best or competence like the Titans or the Bills. I wanted Daboll because of what he did with Allen and that offense, but they didn’t go that route.

[Stinky Stanky]

On 1/30/2022 at 7:26 PM, Chicago White Sox said:

Huge momentum swinger and really stupid to not just take the points with five seconds.

Coach let Mahomes talk him into taking a shot, blew it, then put a lid on him 2nd half.  NFL football can be interesting if it doesn't involve an unwatchable Bears team.

[ShoeLessRob]

3 hours ago, The Beast said:

Sometimes, the only way I can find people who disagree with me is to go online. For example, I have to go online to find people or stories with people chiming in who disagree with me on Covid precautions/mandates/vaccines or how much fault Biden is for inflation. 

Sure, I should stop reading the comments, but for all of the stupid comments, there is some conversation to be had there. I went after many of them on Twitter during a Vikings Bears game just to see how many of them had anything more educated or interesting to say than “Fire Nagy.” Most were too thick headed to respond with anything intelligent enough for a discussion. Some actually raised thoughtful points. There has to be a better way to engage with the other side of a perspective, but sometimes the internet is where the debates are at, even if it isn’t the temperature of the entire fan base, base or electorate.

I’m not really calling you a meatball and think you can be skeptical. I don’t really give a damn about George and Ted. I just think it is fair to give the newly hired HC and GM some consideration rather than writing them off as soon as they get here. (Which I can see you are open to.) That is better than just pointing out all of the problems and either rooting for them to fail to say I told you so or being a fickle Bears fan and joining the band wagon when they are doing well and shitting on them when they suck.

At least your takes are reasonable. I have asked people for some time what they want to see out of the offense and they can’t give me a straight answer. I have offered up do they want Peyton Manning, Drew Brees or someone if that caliber and I get crickets. Probably because they can’t figure out what they want to see out of a Bears offense. Frankly, I would love to see the Steelers offense when Roethlisberger was at his best or competence like the Titans or the Bills. I wanted Daboll because of what he did with Allen and that offense, but they didn’t go that route.

I would have definitely been a bit more optimistic if they went Daboll. And even though your right, I don’t think they were ever in on a Harbaugh type (whether due to money, didn’t want to give him too much control, or hell maybe he never had any interest). I think for most fans it would have been more of a statement that they want to win NOW instead of the realization that this team is yet again a few years away from hopefully legit contention. 

[Chisoxfn]

I am pretty happy. It’s a press conference so grand scheme it means nothing but I like what I hear from Poles and in particular his vision and just the curiosity he has around surround himself with strong people but how he tries to learn from other orgs etc. 

I also thought it was classy how he reached out to Nagy on what went well or not and the two connected on that. Similarly - thought the same in terms of Fields reached out to Nagy and DeFillipo on advice. I know we have tipped Nagy for the whole Robinson fiasco but these were nice gestures by Matt. 
 

But Flus - I am pretty happy with what I heard and like that he is thinking like a CEO. I loved his answers on his vision for fields and more broadly team and liked how he described value he planned to bring to the offensive coaches etc. seemed to have a pretty clear vision for how he will operate as the Head coach and tone he will set - similarly pretty clear he knows what he won’t do (call plays on defense). 
 

All of the above is probably nothing - but a nice first day. Most importantly - unless I missed it - zero reference to Ted Philips from George to Poles to Matt. Pretty evident George was running point on the GM move and very clear Poles got his guy in Flus. 
 

I got impression from some of his interviews he did - that we will see Poles makes some trades this offseason too (to get some draft capital back). 

[bmags]

So now MN is bringing Harbaugh in for an in-person. That's going to be a hard pill for me to swallow playing Harbaugh/Fangio in the division.

But keeping that separate, I am hopeful for this offensive staff but it did make me nervous looking over at what Fangio put together in Denver. Vic took Shanahan's QB coach (Scarangelo) and was joined by the Steelers longtime Offensive Line coach (Munchak) and it just bombed the first year. But...that was Lock's first year, Flacco, and Brandon Allen.

I also think there was likely a mismatch between Munchak and Scarangelo that was similar to Hiestand and Nagy. I know we mentioned Callahan but we do want an Oline coach that is aligned to Getsy's run scheme.

Actually I think Vic pulled the plug a little early on this just going through the stats. Something I don't think Eberflus will do. They ran the ball well and threw it deep.

[maloney.adam]

The Bears are doing it the right way. Harbaugh would’ve been nice but he is commanding a boat load of money and it’s a risk because he is also commanding full control over a team’s decisions. That could backfire especially if a GM is already in place and will not relinquish control. 

Edited February 1, 2022 by maloney.adam

[bmags]

22 minutes ago, maloney.adam said:

The Bears are doing it the right way. Harbaugh would’ve been nice but he is commanding a boat load of money and it’s a risk because he is also commanding full control over a team’s decisions. That could backfire especially if a GM is already in place and will not relinquish control. 

I mean I could not care less about the mccaskeys needing to pay more for a coach because they’ve been so inept at building the organization correctly, and obviously they should have hired Harbaugh first.

[bmags]

I like Kenny Pickett. I hope that guy does well (unless in division)

[Kyyle23]

Yea who cares how much Harbaugh asks for, you spend that money every time and don't worry about it

[maloney.adam]

A lot of people are so against Eberflus. Why the criticism? Is it because he explains things in a different way than most people are not used to? If that’s the case, it’s best to read up on him so you have a better idea on who he is and what he brings to the team. He hasn’t coached one single game yet and people are already on him. Give the guy a chance. 

Edited February 1, 2022 by maloney.adam

[maloney.adam]

 

[Kyyle23]

20 minutes ago, maloney.adam said:

A lot of people are so against Eberflus. Why the criticism? Is it because he explains things in a different way than most people are not used to? If that’s the case, it’s best to read up on him so you have a better idea on who he is and what he brings to the team. He hasn’t coached one single game yet and people are already on him. Give the guy a chance. 

Maybe people want a proven head coach I dunno 

 

I want Eberflus to succeed but if Harbaugh goes to Minnesota, the bears fucked up.  

[scs787]

Man. Not having a 1R pick sucks. I woulda loved to trade down a bit and give Fields a Burrow/Chase combo set up with Olave. 

[Marqhead]

Sung to the chorus of Evenflow by Pearl Jam

 

Eberflus, will he be good in Chicago?

Oh we don't know, should we root for him anyway?

Not one game yet, he's begun to piss us off.

Meatball fans, fiercely chase him away.

 

The views expressed by this song lyric to not reflect those of Marqhead or its subsidiaries. 

Edited February 1, 2022 by Marqhead

[bmags]

3 minutes ago, scs787 said:

Man. Not having a 1R pick sucks. I woulda loved to trade down a bit and give Fields a Burrow/Chase combo set up with Olave. 

Yep, also makes offseason much less fun. Remember how much enjoyment we all got out of that pro football network tool last year?