Reading the Bears Scat #2

Reading the Bears Scat is a blog series about the Chicago Bears Football Team. I take what I hear in podcast, read in articles, and see in press conferences and break it down. The truth lies in between all these sources, let's see if we can sniff it out.

Let's get started.

It's the late-season check-in. The beginning of the season was too painful to recap every week so here is a quick a recap of the first three quarters of the season. 

Recap Weeks 1 - 13 14

Clearly, we didn't learn much about the team during the during the preseason time. A lot of players were injured, and the coaches held back a lot of the offense to hide schemes from the competition. At first, this obfuscation appeared to be gamesmanship, not letting the opponent see your cards. However, after the season began, it became clear that this was not gamesmanship, it was an organization being unprepared to start the season. The discombobulation of the offense and defense suggests that this theory is correct. While the ship has somewhat been righted, I still feel that the team should find a new coach. My reasoning for this will become clear throughout this post.

Through 14 games this team has six wins, and what's concerning is that a lot of these losses were close, and the Bears found ways to lose them. To me, that speaks to coaching. The losses, while close, were a product of players being unprepared for obvious situations. Unlike basketball, American football requires coach and player to work together. The players on both sides of the ball rely on the coaches to solve some of the problems presented by the opposing team. Yes, the players execute, but the game plan is on the coaches. It's why coordinator match ups mean so much in this league. Over the course of the season, we have seen Fields go down, we met his back up Tyler Bagent and his dad. Those weeks where Bagent was starting were tough because of the disrespect the fans and media showed Justin Fields. Black quarterbacks get little respect, and if you watch how people talk about them it will become evident. Full disclosure, I'm black and can hear dog whistles with more ease than the average Bears reporter, so take that as you will. Bagent went 2-2 and benefited from an improved defense. When Fields came back, we continued to see improvement from him. Even though, it hasn't always been pretty is has been much more of a relief to watch this team play and be in games at the end. I still pick against them because I'm tired of being hurt, but the point still stands.  Even though the Bears have been looking better in the past few weeks, I still think change is needed for the organization, let's get into it. We'll talk about the front office, coaches and players and how we got here and where we're going.

The Front Office:

Kevin Warren: He's met with fans, he's met with staff, he's met with mayors. But we have seen little from him in regard to the team. This is a good thing, to me it means he is really taking a look and evaluating the circumstances the team finds itself in before taking action. I think he will be measured and take a much need aggressive approach. It has been reported that Kevin will be more involved with the football side of the organization starting this off season. Thank god. I'm excited to see what he will do. 

Ryan Poles: At the beginning of season Ryan Poles did a mini press tour where he explained his vison for the team and celebrated the trade of the first pick in the draft. This press tour teetered between confidence and arrogance, 14 games into the season and I think we can confidently say that this was arrogant. The construction of this team is still bad, while it's better than last year, I still think we are missing several pieces. This is what makes me think touting the trade and roster construction in the off season was arrogance. The team appears to be no better than last year, the pass rush was lacking until the trade for Montez Sweat and the offense still needs a consistent o-line along with more threats for the passing game. The lack of work put into the offensive personnel leads me to believe they didn't believe in Justin. And if they didn't believe in him, they should have traded him last off season. I think they would have gotten more for them. Luckily, Justin is still able to string together good play so hopefully they will get more for him this off season. Poles has some big decisions to make. I think this off season is critical for him. He needs to make some big decisions and if he doesn't, he will fail. I will detail what I think needs to happen further down the line. 

The Coaches:

Matt Eberflus: I think we have the answer to the question of 'can he coach?'. The answer is no. He is not a good head coach. He came in taking the 'CEO of the team' approach to being coach and it didn't work. This is months ago now, but two coaches that he picked to be on his staff were let go of due to non-football matters. This all happened within those first few games and caused the team to be a mess. This was all on Flus' watch and it is unacceptable. It's why he needs to go. In addition to that, the team's execution is lacking. Even as recent as week 13, the team was using execution as a reason to why they lost. This should not be an excuse this late in the season, hell, it shouldn't be at the start of the year. Just speaks to his inability to lead. While I do not think he is a good head coach, I will say that he can call a defense. Since he took over the team's defense certainly looks better and has certainly come on. It was revealed to us this week during a press conference that Flus has his fingers in everything and is constantly giving feedback on the offense. I find this interesting, especially after Justin pointed out how coaching was making him play in his head and how we find the gameplans to be so bizarre at times.

Luke Getsy: I don't think he was ready for the job of coaching a raw talent such as Justin Fields. Being the quarterbacks coach to a hall of fame quarterback unfortunately is not enough of a resume to be coaching a raw talent. Patrick Mahomes greatness has ruined how we talk about the quarterback position. Because of him we expect them to make up for all decencies around them. That simply isn't the case for most quarterbacks. In my opinion, an offensive coordinator will tailor the offense around the quarterback, they should not force a quarterback into their system. It seems that Getsy has been reluctant to do that. I am not an insider, so perhaps there is something I am missing? Lastly, I think Getsy is just an inexperienced play caller. On critical downs, when the offense needs to make a play, Getsy dials up something that doesn't work. Not only does it not work, but the defense usualy is able to sniff it out in embarrassing fashion. I think his game plans are suspect as well. Looking at the Vikings game, the overuse of screens just looked bizarre. 

As stated above, there has been an interesting development which could take Getsy off the hook. Flus being heavily involved in the offense may be the reason it doesn't make sense. Perhaps there are too many cooks in the kitchen. Can the bizarre game plans, and play calls be due to his inFlusence? I think there is a chance. This is not a thing I think we'll ever know. Unless they lose out and there are leaks.

Defensive Coordinator: hahaha. The lack of name of this position points to Eberflus's failing as a coach. I don't think Alan Williams would have survived long as a play caller if he had not resigned before the second game. The way he was coaching the defense was holding it back, and I don't think he would have made the changes that Flus has. That's where I have to give Flus credit. He has adjusted and started calling more blitzes to make up for the lack of pressure he was getting from the line. I noticed this before the addition of Montez Sweat, but Flus hasn't stopped since his addition. The defense certainly is starting to look good, but the unit's improvement should not save Flus.

The Players:

Justin Fields: I pray that the Bears trade him. The false importance at the quarterback is over inflated and that has led to us overanalyzing the hell out of this quarterback. That's the name of the game, but his time here is over. I don't think the GM or coaches believe in him as their guy. The lack of talented players around him and the inability to call a decent offensive game plan leads me to believe this. They call plays like they are scared he is going to lose them the game. If that is the case, so be it, but hamstringing the quarterback is dumb. I think Justin can sense this as well, thus we see him hitching. This is all speculation. When Justin hinted that the coaching was making him 'robotic' earlier in the year, I think he gave us a great read into what's going on behind the seasons. When 'coaching them up' goes bad.  In fact, I think it led to the infamous hitch. Remember what I said earlier about Flus' being heavily involved in the offense as the CEO Type coach? Well, perhaps he is the one making Justin robotic? Honestly, I hate that this team wasted him. He has an immense amount of talent, and the team was unable to utilize it or harness it. It's just sad. So, I hope Justin gets out of Chicago. I think a fresh start can be good for him. Either way, I will continue to be a fan.  

Jaylon Johnson: PAY THE MAN. They should have signed him before the trade deadline. First it was Roquan, and now it's Jaylon. Poles inability to negotiate peacefully with his homegrown talent is a little concerning. I have been a Jaylon Johnson fan for a while. Listening to him in press conferences and during his weekly hit on Parkins and Spiegel have given us a lot of insight into his mentality, and the mentality of the team. In terms of the contract, everything we hear from Jaylon sounds like his expectations for compensation are reasonable. He was not expecting to reset the market, but I'm certain he still wanted top dollar. Before Flus, Johnson played good ball and his game was never to take chances to get picks. He was good allowing no catches. He was asked t to improve his ball production, and he has this year. granted he has dropped a few pick sixes, but he is still getting his hands on the ball. although he was drafted under a different regime he has stepped up to their challenge and is buying in. This was an easy signing in my opinion. We should continue to watch this negation to see how Poles navigates it. Is he just bad at working with talent? If so, does that hinder the Bears chances at premium free agents? Anyway, keeping on locking em down, Jaylon.

Darnell Mooney: Mooney has had a quiet year. Mooney just hasn't had the connection with Justin this year. To me, he looks a step slow, likely due to his injury. In the NFL, we see many examples of players bouncing back immediately from injury without much delay, but the reality is that sometimes it takes until the year after the injury for the player to get back to normal. I think that may be the case here. The issue is his contract is up. Does it make sense to resign him? I don't think it does, and I LOVE Darnell Mooney. I think we seem him on another team next year, the Chiefs hopefully. But time will tell, let's hope he stays around, but I'd rather he get his money. 

Roquan Smith: ROQUAN WON. He's not on the team and he got paid what he wanted. I'm talking about him because of the way the negotiations went down with him. Poles wasn't going to pay him and let it drag out longer than it needed. With Roquan and Jaylon, I'm starting to see the Ryan Poles isn't so player friendly when it comes to negotiations. I recently watched an interview with Roquan on Marlon Humphreys' podcast, and I think Chicago media and fans are dumb when it comes to him. Watching his interview, it was clear that Roquan doesn't use an agent because he is a small tow guy. His mentality is not one that needs a handheld, he just wants honesty. It's clear Poles/Eberflus didn't value him, which speaks to their talent evaluation. Since Roquan got to the Ravens that team has found an identity and has established itself as one of the tops on the league. I am a Roquan fan, so I'm biased, but this s damning on the current regime's talent evaluation.

The Scat Report: What Should Happen

I am not a fortune teller so I will not predict what is going to happen. I can only tell you what should happen based on the shit I've seen this season and here's the report: 

They should move on from coach Eberflus. The start to the season and the chaos which ensued was alarming. Though the team is sticking together and still fighting, we need to move forward. This ain't the mom and pops Bears anymore they are trying to be an actual franchise. 

They should trade Justin Fields to Atlanta. Specifically, Atlanta because he's from there so he will be cherished and respected. Also, he fits right into their offensive scheme and that team would instantly be really fun to watch.

They should use that high draft pick from the Panthers and take a quarterback. Specifically, Caleb Willams. The hullabaloo about his character has been ridiculous. He's young and knows playing in college isn't the end goal. he will instantly take this team further.

This likely, won't happen. The Bears will win out and look okay doing so. Eberflus will keep his job and they'll run it back. Trade that panthers pick for more picks for more draft capital and we're back in misery. Thankfully, I can't see the future because that would be a bleak outlook. 

That's it for this post.

Ending this post how I'll end every post, with a chant created by friend out in upstate New York:   B - E - A - R - S, Rawr! Go Bears!