Congrats are to ensure that the McCaskeys on one other profitable season of proudly owning and working the mom-and-pop franchise generally known as the Chicago Bears.
Despite a season-ending loss in Green Bay, the Bears completed on the upswing after going 3-14 in 2022 and beginning this season 0-4, presumably giving coach Matt Eberflus one other yr to get issues proper.
Sure, the Bears are not any nearer to creating the playoffs than they’re to constructing a brand new stadium, however the narrative has dramatically modified since final January. You may virtually hear Chairman George McCaskey patting President/CEO Kevin Warren on the again after the late-season turnaround for a job effectively finished.
Instead of being a complete catastrophe, the Bears have been merely mediocre. And that counts for progress with a McCaskey-run soccer operation.
In the Bears homeowners’ imaginative minds, a 7-10 season, which included one win over an precise playoff group, the Detroit Lions, supplied proof they knew what they have been doing once they employed Warren and common supervisor Ryan Poles to show the group round and get their stadium constructed.
The Bears simply may’ve slid backward after the 0-4 begin and the controversy surrounding the September exit of defensive coordinator Alan Williams. But a 7-6 file the remainder of the best way was a step in the correct path, even when it got here in opposition to a few of the league’s weaker groups.
With a bit of luck the Bears may’ve been 10-7, or no less than 9-8 and “in the wild card hunt.” But in addition they may have blown video games they wound up profitable, so it most likely all evens out ultimately.
Some of the Bears’ gamers smoked cigars within the locker room after profitable their final residence recreation at Soldier Field, which may very well be construed as a untimely celebration of a turnaround. Or perhaps not.
Sometimes a cigar is only a cigar.
But simply think about for a second if the Bears had a game-changing quarterback like C.J. Stroud or a vivid younger thoughts like DeMeco Ryans as head coach. Does what the Houston Texans did in 2023 behind Stroud and Ryans make the Bears’ incremental progress much less significant?
They’re nonetheless the identical outdated Bears, ending the season with extra questions than solutions. Now it’s as much as McCaskey, Warren and Poles to resolve whether or not to maintain Eberflus and Justin Fields or transfer on from one or each.
The numbers aren’t straightforward to digest. Eberflus is 10-24 in two seasons and 2-10 within the NFC North. Fields ranked twenty third in quarterback ranking in ’23 at 46.2, after ending fifteenth in ‘22 at 56.3. Recall that Mitch Trubisky posted a 53.8 quarterback ranking in 2020 in his remaining season in Chicago, and nearly nobody was clamoring for him to stay round.
Neither Eberflus nor Fields ought to qualify as a slam dunk, although each the coach and QB1 confirmed sufficient within the remaining two months to make the argument for his or her return.
With or with out them, Bears followers do have causes for cautious optimism, regardless of the long-term prospects for a Lions’ reign within the division, the 10-game shedding streak to the Packers and the final skepticism that’s constructed into their DNA.
Some have even dared to match the ’23 Bears to the 2022 Lions, who went 8-2 of their remaining 10 video games to complete 9-8, then gained the North this season with a 12-5 file. I wouldn’t go that far. But with the No. 1 draft decide once more and an opportunity so as to add to the core, a 9-8 season in 2024 isn’t out of the realm of risk.
The ’24 schedule contains 5 patsies — the New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals, Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers and Tennessee Titans — and the 2 division video games in opposition to the Minnesota Vikings. That may very well be six wins proper there. All the Bears would wish is to go 3-7 within the different 10 video games to have a shot at 9 wins and respectability.
Would McCaskey dare to mess with what passes for fulfillment?
When requested Sunday if he anticipated to return, Eberflus informed reporters “expectation is a future word,” noting he needed to be “right here, right now,” sounding like a dated Pepsi business. He’s not precisely a wordsmith, however that’s not a deal-breaker for a head coach.
Bears consultants, together with our personal Brad Biggs, counsel Eberflus will probably return, although maybe with out his offensive coordinator, Luke Getsy, who may very well be simply the scapegoat administration wants to indicate they’re not completely happy with mediocrity.
Remember when Getsy stated in the course of the season that he and Fields have been on an “everlasting journey,” like they have been destined to spend the remainder of their careers collectively? Maybe they’ll each be gone and in some way find yourself collectively, laughing on the Bears for ever doubting them.
Who is aware of? No one actually cares about Getsy’s journey, so long as it includes leaving. But everybody has a divergent opinion on Fields. Some suppose he’s confirmed he’s prepared and desires solely the correct offensive coordinator to get probably the most out of his appreciable skills. Others imagine he’ll preserve his up-and-down trajectory.
Like many, I’m conflicted about Fields. Every time you rely your self out, he pulls you again in with one in all his moonwalking feats, turning a sack into a large acquire. But he’d comply with up an important recreation with a foul one and ended the season with out engineering a landing drive in opposition to the Packers.
Fields’ teammates reportedly love him, and he has represented the group and metropolis effectively in his three seasons whereas making some progress as a frontrunner.
“He’s the quarterback of the Chicago Bears until otherwise,” DJ Moore informed reporters Monday at Halas Hall. “And I don’t think that’s changing anytime soon. We’ll see.”
Will the assist of his teammates be sufficient to persuade the Bears’ brass to remain the course? Fortunately, discuss radio doesn’t get a vote.
Even if the Bears do resolve to maneuver on, do you belief them to make the correct name on the following quarterback after a lifetime of unsuitable decision-making?
Perhaps it’s safer to stay with Fields, draft vast receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the highest decide and use the No. 9 decide on a quarterback not named Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. Give Fields some actual competitors from a possible starter and power him to struggle to maintain his job. He gained’t prefer it, nevertheless it wouldn’t be in his curiosity to pout and it may make him a greater quarterback.
Fields stated after Sunday’s loss he would go into the offseason with none worries, insisting “I’m not going to let the potential (scenarios) or ‘What if? What if?’ stress me (and prevent me) from enjoying life.”
That’s the correct perspective. Fields will probably be high quality it doesn’t matter what occurs.
Meanwhile, the McCaskeys are additionally going to take pleasure in life, figuring out their mom-and-pop franchise is the one NFL group on the town.
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com