I don't think we're really very different from the Lions

Moose27 said:

I do not like to compare us to Detroit at all but there are similarities to the Lions. I feel like this team is just stuck. We are not good enough to make it in the playoffs and beat playoff teams but we are not bad enough to get higher drafts like a top 10. Granted we have drafted pretty poorly in the last 20 years but you never know what can happen with a pick in that area. I am still not sold on Phil Emery as a good GM. He has done well in drafting offensive players like Alshon, Kyle Long and Jordan Mills but what has he shown on the defensive side?

Click to expand...

Yeah, unfortunately being average gets you average draft picks, making it hard to climb your way up, discluding great drafting, which we haven't had for the most part.

We're different than the Lions:

-Bears fans pray they keep Schwartz... They fire Schwartz
-Lions fans pray we keep Tucker... We keep Tucker

3rd and Long said:

We're different than the Lions:

-Bears fans pray they keep Schwartz... They fire Schwartz
-Lions fans pray we keep Tucker... We keep Tucker

Click to expand...

good fucking call mate.

Scoot26 said:

In 2011, The Bears beat 2 playoff teams the entire season.
They beat Atlanta in Week 1 and Detroit in Week 10.

They lost to New Orleans, GB (2x), Denver, and Detroit

Mind you if Cutler doesn't break his thumb I think they beat Denver and then them and Detroit do not become playoff teams.

In 2012, The Bears beat two playoff teams. They beat the Colts in Week 1 and the Vikings in Week 12
They lost to the Packers (2x), Houston, San Francisco, Seattle, and Minnesota.

This year, the Bears beat one playoff team (2 if you count the Rodgerless Packers). The beat the Bengals in Week 1.

They lost to New Orleans, Philly, and Green Bay

Seems this team hasn't changed in 3 years concerning beating playoff teams. And in reality has had trouble beating any playoff teams over a long period of time. The 2006 team only played 2 playoff teams the entire season. They beat Seattle, lost to New England. The 2010 team beat Philly, GB, lost to Seattle, New England, GB.

Click to expand...

The 06 Bears also played the Giants and Jets. The 10 Bears also played the Jets.

You suck.

Moose27 said:

I do not like to compare us to Detroit at all but there are similarities to the Lions. I feel like this team is just stuck. We are not good enough to make it in the playoffs and beat playoff teams but we are not bad enough to get higher drafts like a top 10. Granted we have drafted pretty poorly in the last 20 years but you never know what can happen with a pick in that area. I am still not sold on Phil Emery as a good GM. He has done well in drafting offensive players like Alshon, Kyle Long and Jordan Mills but what has he shown on the defensive side?

Click to expand...

The difference between us and the Lions, though, is that about every 3 years they REALLY implode and end up getting a top ten pick. We seem to always hover around the 'slightly' better than mediocrocy, without being able to beat good teams. We never go 3-13 or 4-12 in recent years. I would love the 6th pick of the draft for once if we are just stuck.

Also, you have to take emotion out of it when understand what it means to 'choke'. Choking is when you are expected to do what's in front of you, but you end up sucking. The defense unit on the field WAS JUST BAD. Did you really in your mind, think the Bears should dominate the Eagles on the road at night? I want the Bears to win as much as you but there was not ONE game we played this year that at kick off I thought, "Oh, no way we should lose this game. NOT ONE. Not with that defense on the field and the unknown transition to McCown.

4th and 8th. I won't repeat the ending. I would say Conte CHOKED on that play. He was expected to receive the call and he failed to execute. I wouldn't say the Bears as a whole choked this year; they were just bad. At least what I saw.

roadwarrior_joe said:

I said this in a thread I started last night. I think the Bears have fallen into a level of mediocrity that started in 1986 and they are not figuring out how to climb out of it. They hire guys like Lovie who did wonders with defense and ST, but failed miserably with offense. Now they appear to have fixed the offense but the defense and ST completely fail. And yes injuries matter, but it seems when you are mediocre in pro sports it tends to stay that way because of the big money involved. So when you make a bad move, either coaching hire, or high draft bust, you are stuck with that for years.

Click to expand...

I'd disagree with that.

I think the Bears fell into a period worse than mediocrity beginning in the early/mid 90s with the end of the Ditka era. From there Wannstedt drove the Bears franchise into the ground. Jauron had one fluky good year in 2001, but then it was a few more years of bad football before he got the ax.

Seriously. Do you guys remember just how bad the Bears were in the late 90s/early 2000s? Laughing stock of the league, man.

I think Lovie changed that. Lovie came into Chicago and within 3 years had the Bears in the Super Bowl. I don't know if I can call the years after that "mediocrity" considering that there is a conference championship appearance in there.

But Lovie also became a victim of the high bar he'd set for himself. And when he was no longer able to get the Bears to reach that level again, he was let go. If the Bears had hung on to Lovie, I think you could make the argument that they're still settling for mediocrity.

But with the complete shift in organizational philosophy from defense-first to offense-first, I think it's apparent that they realized that their current plan wasn't working and they shifted course in pursuit of a championship.