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The Chicago Bears entered this critical offseason still reeling from an embarrassing Wild Card playoff loss at the hands of the New Orleans Saints and boat loads of questions. Would this be the end of the Ryan Pace/Matt Nagy era? Would this be the end of the Mitchell Trubisky experiment? Would the Bears re-sign their top playmaking threat Allen Robinson?
Bears fans were given the biggest piece of the puzzle when it was announced that both GM Ryan Pace and HC Matt Nagy would be returning for the 2021 season. This raised many eyebrows considering the three years these two men have been joined at the hip they’ve produced only one winning season – 2018’s NFC Division Title season. Since 2018, the Bears are literally a .500 football team. The fans with the rose colored glasses on will say the Bears have made the playoffs in 2 of the last 3 years but both of their playoff runs were a disaster. In 2018, the Bears could only muster one offensive TD and had to rely on K Cody Parker to try and win the game at the end… only for him to doink the ball off the goalpost not once, but twice. The Bears lost 16-15. 2020 was worse as the Bears back-doored their way into the playoffs only to be dog walked by the Saints 21-9.
The Bears’ brass went into the offseason promising, once again, that changes would be coming and the goal is to make this team a championship contender.
Things got off to a rocky start when it was announced the Bears were way over the salary cap. Being $17 million over the cap meant the Bears had virtually no wiggle room to go after big name free agents and worse yet being able to keep their own players. Then the Bears decided, at the 11th hour by the way, to put the franchise tag on WR Allen Robinson. Robinson hinted at not signing the franchise tag and possibly go into the preseason holding out. Cooler heads prevailed and Robinson accepted the franchise tag.
Rumors began to fly in late February about upgrading the QB position when Texans QB Deshaun Watson requested a trade out of Houston. That was followed Seahawks QB Russell Wilson reportedly saying the Bears would one of four teams he would consider playing for if he were to be traded. I for one never bought into the Russell Wilson hype just because I knew there would be ZERO chance the Seahawks would part ways with their Super Bowl winning franchise QB. The Deshaun Watson thing though had promise because it was out in the open that Watson wanted out.
To make a long story short, the Bears “tried” to make an aggressive push to get Wilson but the Seahawks informed the Bears Wilson would not be traded… for now. Having swung & missed, the Bears then decided to get… Andy Dalton for a one year, $10 million contract(remember that number). If just meh were a person, he’d be Andy Dalton. Instead of being shrewd, the Bears panicked and settled on a QB who hasn’t passed for 4,000 yards since 2016. He hasn’t thrown for 30 or more TDs since 2013.
This is just another mistake in a long, sad history of mistakes this franchise made… for decades. Ryan Pace was supposed to be the guy to fix this mess but he has made it worse. How? Well let’s start in 2017 when he traded up one spot to draft Mitchell Trubisky from North Carolina. In the year Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson were sitting there at #3 the Bears decided to trade up one spot to take Trubisky. That same year Pace spent $45 million(18.5 million guaranteed) to get Mike Glennon. Mike Glennon. The results: a 1-3 record and riding the bench for the rest of the 2017 season. The Bears made Trubisky their #1 QB midway through the 2017 season and got wildly, inconsistent results during his tenure(Nagy deserves some of the blame because he didn’t know how to or want to coach to the Mitch’s strengths). Trubisky was so erratic in 2019 that Pace went out and spent $24 million($17 million guaranteed) for… Nick Foles. Foles spent the 2020 season going 2-5 as a starter for the Bears.
The Bears will enter the 2021 season with Andy Dalton & Nick Foles as their QBs. What of Mitch Trubisky you ask? He’s off to play for Buffalo. This means once again the Bears will have to rely on their defense to carry the load. At least they have guys like Kyle Full…. oh that’s right, he was released. The Bears released All-Pro CB Kyle Fuller in a salary cap move that saves the Bears $11 million. Remember when the Bears signed Foles back before the 2020 season? Well the Cowboys signed Andy Dalton to a contract of $3 million. That’s right Bears fans, the beloved overpaid for Dalton when they could’ve signed him for way less 2 years ago. Had that happened you would’ve been able to keep your Pro Bowl cornerback. This is the EPITOME of gross ignorance. You can’t be the charter franchise of the National Football League and be this incompetent. Oh don’t let me tell you, allow WSCR’s Laurence Holmes & ESPN’s Jonathan Hood break it down:
This franchise has become a laughingstock. The charter franchise of the NFL is reduced to this – being a clown show. A few months ago I said the Bears are the football GarPax. They may actually be worse than this. I’m at my wits end trying to support this team… and judging by what I’ve read and seen over the last 2-3 days so are you.
I just don’t know anymore…
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