The Bears Playoff Breakdown

WindyCity

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Taking a look at the Bears playoff record over the last 20 years I was able to get a good understanding of just how unsuccessful they have been.

People believe that Bears fans are upset over a bad season, to the point of over reacting. The truth is that a simmering boil of incompetence, has now raged into a roaring boil as Bears fans will again not be watching the playoffs.

The Bears are the charter franchise, in the 2nd largest media market and have a proud nearly century long history. There playoff record indicates that they are closer to being an expansion team than they are to being the proud face of the NFL.

This is not a one season reaction. It is a lifetime reaction.

Since the Superbowl

1 of 7

The Bears have been to the playoffs once in the last 7 years. This led to Lovie being fired at 10-6 and the optimism of change. The optimism of change has led to an 11-13 record and no playoff appearances. The Vikings, who are largely seen by Bears fans as the worst team in the division, have been to the playoffs 3 times in the last 8 years. The "worst team" in the division goes to the playoffs 3 times more often than the Bears in the last 8 years. My argument is that the Bears are in fact the worst team in the division.

NFC North Since 2006

Packers 6/7 86%
Vikings 3/7 43%
Lions 1/7 14%
Bears 1/7 14%

The Last Decade

3 of 10

In the last decade the Bears have been to the playoffs 3 times, granted with a Superbowl appearance. The Bears followed a Superbowl appearance by not making the playoffs for 3 consecutive seasons. Over the last 10 years that is an incredible feet of incompetence accomplished by only the Bears.

The Bears post Superbowl incompetence is actually fairly impressive.

Since 2004 Superbowl Participants

New England [9 Playoff Appearances, 1 Superbowl Wins, 2 More Superbowl Appearances]
Pittsburgh [6 Playoff Appearances, 2 Superbowl Wins, 1 More Superbowl Appearance]
Indianapolis [9 Playoff Appearance, 1 Superbowl Win, 1 More Superbowl Appearance]
New York Giants [5 Playoff Appearances, 2 Superbowl Wins]
Baltimore [6 Playoff Appearances, 1 Superbowl Win]
New Orleans [5 Playoff Appearances, 1 Superbowl Win]
Green Bay [7 Playoff Appearances, 1 Superbowl Win]
Seattle [7 Playoff Appearances, 1 Superbowl Win, 1 More Superbowl Appearance]
Philadelphia [6 Playoff Appearances]
Denver [5 Playoff Appearances]
San Francisco [3 Playoff Appearances]
Chicago [3 Playoff Appearances]
Arizona Cardinals [2 Playoff Appearances]

*None of these teams, other than the Bears, failed to qualify for the playoffs in 3 consecutive seasons after their Superbowl appearance.

*All but San Francisco, Arizona, and Chicago made the playoffs 50% of season in the last 10 years.

*5 teams made multiple Superbowl Appearances in that time.


The Last Twenty Years

5 of 20

In the last 20 years, the majority of my lifetime, the Bears have been in the playoffs 5 times. 25% of seasons the Bears have made a playoff appearance. To add context in the 18 year history of the Jacksonville Jaguars they have been to the playoffs 6 times, making the playoffs 33% of the time. The Bears have a worse record making the playoffs than the Jaguars who are a perennial laughing stock.

The Bears have made the playoffs at a worse rate than the expansion teams that have formed in that time.

Jacksonville Jaguars 6/18 [33%]
Houston Texans 2/12 [16%]
Carolina Panthers 5/19 [26%]

The Bears, the oldest franchise in the NFL, gets to the post season about as often as an expansion team, which started from scratch, over the last 20 years.


The anger of Bears fans this season is not just about the Bears not living up to their potential in 2014, but instead, it is about 20 years of not having success.
 
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bearmick

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Since the Superbowl

1 of 8

The Bears have been to the playoffs once in the last 8 years. This led to Lovie being fired at 10-6 and the optimism of change. The optimism of change has led to an 11-13 record and no playoff appearances. The Vikings, who are largely seen by Bears fans as the worst team in the division, have been to the playoffs 3 times in the last 8 years. The "worst team" in the division goes to the playoffs 3 times more often than the Bears in the last 8 years. My argument is that the Bears are in fact the worst team in the division.

NFC North Since 2006 [Based on Current Standings]

Packers 7/8
Vikings 3/8
Lions 2/8
Bears 1/8

Shouldn't this really be 7 years? 2007, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13.

7 years.

The Last Decade

3 of 10

In the last decade the Bears have been to the playoffs 3 times, granted with a Superbowl appearance. The Bears followed a Superbowl appearance by not making the playoffs for 5 consecutive seasons. Over the last 10 years that is an incredible feet of incompetence accomplished by only the Bears.

They went 3 consecutive seasons after the SB. 2007, 08, 09.

2010 was the Bears Packers NFCC game.
 

SlickWilly

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My favorite teams
  1. New York Mets
  1. Detroit Pistons
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. North Carolina Tar Heels
Taking a look at the Bears playoff record over the last 20 years I was able to get a good understanding of just how unsuccessful they have been.

People believe that Bears fans are upset over a bad season, to the point of over reacting. The truth is that a simmering boil of incompetence, has now raged into a roaring boil as Bears fans will again not be watching the playoffs.

The Bears are the charter franchise, in the 2nd largest media market and have a proud nearly century long history. There playoff record indicates that they are closer to being an expansion team than they are to being the proud face of the NFL.

This is not a one season reaction. It is a lifetime reaction.

Since the Superbowl

1 of 8

The Bears have been to the playoffs once in the last 8 years. This led to Lovie being fired at 10-6 and the optimism of change. The optimism of change has led to an 11-13 record and no playoff appearances. The Vikings, who are largely seen by Bears fans as the worst team in the division, have been to the playoffs 3 times in the last 8 years. The "worst team" in the division goes to the playoffs 3 times more often than the Bears in the last 8 years. My argument is that the Bears are in fact the worst team in the division.

NFC North Since 2006 [Based on Current Standings]

Packers 7/8
Vikings 3/8
Lions 2/8
Bears 1/8

The Last Decade

3 of 10

In the last decade the Bears have been to the playoffs 3 times, granted with a Superbowl appearance. The Bears followed a Superbowl appearance by not making the playoffs for 5 consecutive seasons. Over the last 10 years that is an incredible feet of incompetence accomplished by only the Bears.

The Bears post Superbowl incompetence is actually fairly impressive.

Since 2004 Superbowl Participants

New England [9 Playoff Appearances, 1 Superbowl Wins, 2 More Superbowl Appearances]
Pittsburgh [6 Playoff Appearances, 2 Superbowl Wins, 1 More Superbowl Appearance]
Indianapolis [9 Playoff Appearance, 1 Superbowl Win, 1 More Superbowl Appearance]
New York Giants [5 Playoff Appearances, 2 Superbowl Wins]
Baltimore [6 Playoff Appearances, 1 Superbowl Win]
New Orleans [5 Playoff Appearances, 1 Superbowl Win]
Green Bay [7 Playoff Appearances, 1 Superbowl Win]
Seattle [7 Playoff Appearances, 1 Superbowl Win, 1 More Superbowl Appearance]
Philadelphia [6 Playoff Appearances]
Denver [5 Playoff Appearances]
San Francisco [3 Playoff Appearances]
Chicago [3 Playoff Appearances]

*None of these teams, other than the Bears, failed to qualify for the playoffs in 5 consecutive seasons after their Superbowl appearance.

*All but San Francisco and Chicago made the playoffs 50% of season in the last 10 years.

*5 teams made multiple Superbowl Appearances in that time.


The Last Twenty Years

5 of 20

In the last 20 years, the majority of my lifetime, the Bears have been in the playoffs 5 times. 25% of seasons the Bears have made a playoff appearance. To add context in the 18 year history of the Jacksonville Jaguars they have been to the playoffs 6 times, making the playoffs 33% of the time. The Bears have a worse record making the playoffs than the Jaguars who are a perennial laughing stock.

The Bears have made the playoffs at a worse rate than the expansion teams that have formed in that time.

Jacksonville Jaguars 6/18 [33%]
Houston Texans 2/12 [16%]
Carolina Panthers 5/19 [26%]

The Bears, the oldest franchise in the NFL, gets to the post season about as often as an expansion team, which started from scratch, over the last 20 years.


The anger of Bears fans this season is not just about the Bears not living up to their potential in 2014, but instead, it is about 20 years of not having success.

Pretty sure the Lions have not been to the playoffs twice since 06.
 

WindyCity

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Shouldn't this really be 7 years? 2007, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13.

7 years.



They went 3 consecutive seasons after the SB. 2007, 08, 09.

2010 was the Bears Packers NFCC game.


1. Used Current Standings and both Green Bay and Detroit are on pace for the playoffs.

2. Thanks screwed up the math.
 

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Some things aren't adding up. You have 1/8 and I see 3/9.

Arizona didn't make your list so:

*All but San Francisco and Chicago made the playoffs 50% of season in the last 10 years. Arizona has made it twice.

I have no idea what to believe in your little history/rant but the truth is the Bears have been a team of average NFL success of late. You compare them to the most successful teams in the last 10 years. Why not compare them to worst teams in the last 10 years? So how that goes. The Bears being an old franchise does not give them a magic key for dominance.
 

WindyCity

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Pretty sure the Lions have not been to the playoffs twice since 06.

I am projecting for this season to account for the fact that the Bears are not making the playoffs.
 

WindyCity

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Some things aren't adding up. You have 1/8 and I see 3/9.

Arizona didn't make your list so:

*All but San Francisco and Chicago made the playoffs 50% of season in the last 10 years. Arizona has made it twice.

I have no idea what to believe in your little history/rant but the truth is the Bears have been a team of average NFL success of late. You compare them to the most successful teams in the last 10 years. Why not compare them to worst teams in the last 10 years? So how that goes. The Bears being an old franchise does not give them a magic key for dominance.

Thanks for the Arizona spot.

I compare them to the best teams because that is where they were at.

I compare them to best teams because we know they are better than the Raiders and Browns, but I was surprised to see just how mediocre they were compared to other teams that played in the Superbowl in the same era. I think most of us look at the 2005-2010 as a good era of Bears football and it really wasn't that great.

I wanted to know how bad things were, because I always look at this team as a potential contender and a team that can compete.
 
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Packer Fan

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Thanks for the Arizona spot.

I compare them to the best teams because that is where they were at.

I compare them to the best teams to showcase how mediocre they have been. We all know they are better than the Raiders and Browns, but based on what I saw they are an incredibly mediocre team.

What if you projected them at this time last year and assumed they would make the playoffs? Then 2/7? 29% is a lot better than 13% (1/8). Or you may have projected at that time 3/8 because surely they would improve under Trestman Now maybe we are at a 38% projection if you did this a year ago. I'm just not digging your numbers man. Seems to be a bit of cherry picking to me.
 

WindyCity

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What if you projected them at this time last year and assumed they would make the playoffs? Then 2/7? 29% is a lot better than 13% (1/8). Or you may have projected at that time 3/8 because surely they would improve under Trestman Now maybe we are at a 38% projection if you did this a year ago. I'm just not digging your numbers man. Seems to be a bit of cherry picking to me.

Projecting them 8 games into the season is pretty close to a statistical probability.

If you do not like the projection, which will come true, then they are 1/7 currently or 14%,

So the difference is between

1/8, 14% [projected]

1/7, 12.5% [actual].
 

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Your numbers make no sense. You pick 10 years for 1 thing and 7 years for another thing.

And your not even using real stats. I project that the Packers will win the Super Bowl this season. That means the Packers will have won 40% of the Super Bowls in the last 5 years! Ha! Take that!

Just see how it plays out. Perhaps your genius Wonka rain man will surprise. And if not then post some actual numbers.
 

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Packers 6/7 86%
Vikings 3/7 43%
Lions 1/7 14%
Bears 1/7 14%

You might as well start your own bears history with a BG date (before Grossman) and BC date (before Cutler). Throw in a BD (before Ditka) and an AD (after Ditka) and you could pretty much cover their relevant recent history.
 

WindyCity

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What surprised me was that in the last 10-12 years the Bears, despite not really being super competitive, have clung to mediocrity. There was no real time where they were really bad and rebuilding.

Part me wonders if this is a result of free agency being used to supplement the team, or mediocre drafting.

I wonder if the Bears would have been better to bottom out for a couple of season and used that to build a more talent rich roster?
 

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