The Long Nap Goodbye
The Long Nap Goodbye
It’s Over. It’s Always Over.
December 29, 2019
Bears and Broken Hearts
Bears 21, Vikings 19
The Chicago Bears' season came to a victorious finish on Sunday as they topped the Vikings, 21-19 in Minnesota thanks to Eddy Pineiro’s 22-yard field goal with ten seconds to play following an impressive march down the field.
This thrilling victory propels the Bears into the playoffs where they are expected to steamroll their way to the Super Bowl and capture yet another Lombardi Trophy.
OK, we made that last part up.
The victory in Minnesota gives the Bears an 8-8 record and, as we have known for two weeks, they are not in the playoffs and the only trophy they're getting is, perhaps, for good sportsmanship. And maybe nice helmets.
Nothing felt quite right this season for the Bears, even their triumphs. This victory in Minnesota was in doubt until the very end and it came against the Vikings B team because their starters are resting up for the playoffs.
In two seasons under head coach Matt Nagy the Bears almost always played up or down to their opponent, so maybe it's just one of those things. And, in fairness, the Bears were without a few key players as well. But when running backs and quarterbacks and defensive backs and hunchbacks whom even Bud Grant has never heard of are giving you fits, something is wrong.
A lot was wrong with the 2019 Bears who regressed quite badly after 2018's 12-4 division winner and not many in Chicago saw it coming. On that season-opening Thursday against the Packers we never saw more Bears gear walking around Chicago. The whole city seemed to truly believe that the Bears were going to celebrate their 100th season with a Super Bowl triumph.
Were we kidding ourselves? Probably. Sports Illustrated was among the national prognosticators who were not fooled by the Bears' thrilling 2018. SI predicted the Bears would finish 7-9 this year and sit in last place in the NFC North. So, actually, the Bears did surpass expectations by going 8-8 and topping the lowly Detroit Lions for third place.
NFL wonks were dead on though in saying why the Bears wouldn't be good, as the experts essentially said four months ago that the Bears defense would take a step back from 2018 and so would quarterback Mitch Trubisky.
There you go.
The Bears defense was again one of the tops in the league, finishing in eighth in yards allowed and fifth in points allowed, but it was not the turnover machine it was a year ago.
And Trubisky and the offense did not just take a step back this year; they seemed to stick their heads in the turf and hide.
Chicago's offense ranked 29th in yards this season, and 29th in points. Last season, the Bears were not light years better, finishing 21st in yards, but they did finish 8th in points. That's due in large part, of course, to last year's defense, which not only scored a lot but also gave Trubisky and the offense short fields to work with making scoring a whole lot easier.
How far away are the Bears from being good again? At first glance it seems bleak. They are a mediocre team with a questionable quarterback and no first round pick.
So let's take a second glance. This time with feeling. Imagine this Bears team with a healthy Akiem Hicks all season. Now think of this squad with a slightly improved offensive line and a top-notch tight end. 8-8 could turn into 12-4 again pretty easily, we think.
We like to think.
The Bears never quit on Nagy. He appears to be a leader. Now hopefully, he's also a learner who will accept his offense's deficiencies a bit quicker next season. And with a safety valve at tight end and another half-second to throw the ball, Trubisky's shortcomings should be far fewer.
But will it be Trubisky under center in 2020?
The names are out there: Teddy Bridgewater, Ryan Tannehill, Marcus Mariota, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Derek Carr and others. Who will guide the Bears offense next fall? Quarterback is not the only position that matters, but it's the one that matters most. The Bears are pretty good at building defenses and finding running backs and the occasional nifty receiver. But the difference between the Bears and the league's top teams is simply that they always have a quarterback, or can always find one, and the Bears never do.
Maybe Chicago already has one. But that doesn't mean we don't have to find another one.
Next year is the 35th anniversary of Chicago’s only Super Bowl victory. So you have to be losing your hair to have any memory of the Bears being on top. We're tired of waiting. We're tired of a lot of things. --TK
Sunday, December 29, 2019