Someone That I Used To Know
Someone That I Used To Know
This is How it Ends, This is How it Begins
March 11, 2022
The Goodbye Bears
When the Chicago Bears made a blockbuster trade to get pass rush specialist Khalil Mack in 2018 it signaled that the Bears were moving in a new direction, building on an already solid defense to make it dominant, and coupling that with a promising young quarterback.
For a year, it worked. The 2018 Bears went 12-4, made the playoffs and, perhaps even more important, they were fun. They were interesting. And it looked as if giving up two first-round picks and signing Mack to a $141 million extension was a bargain.
Four years later, getting rid of Mack is just as smart a move.
According to ESPN and others, the Bears are sending Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers for a second-round pick this year and a sixth-rounder next year. Mack is good. But he’s also 31. And expensive. His best days are probably behind him. And even if they’re not, the Bears are not in position to take advantage of any greatness left in Mack’s cleats. After three seasons of tinkering, mistakenly thinking that the solid 2018 team was just a tweak or two away from greatness, the Bears, under new General Manager Ryan Poles, have realized it’s time for a rebuild.
And Mack is the first old brick to get bulldozed.
And now the other dominoes are falling. The Bears, according to various reports, are also jettisoning defensive lineman Eddie Goldman, linebacker Danny Trevathan, and running back/return man Tarik Cohen.
They have all talent. They all deserve our thanks. None of them will be missed.
The Bears need draft picks, receivers, offensive lineman, and honesty. Poles possesses that last thing and he also has freedom, seeing as he acquired none of those guys it won’t break his heart to kick them to the curb. As we’ve said and, more often, seen, many times, you have to be willing to admit your mistakes quickly in the NFL or else you’ll be chasing old girlfriends instead of silver trophies.
Poles’ job is to build the Bears anew around quarterback Justin Fields who just finished his rookie year with a grade of I for incomplete. It’s all about #1.
And if, a year from now, Fields does not look like the next Dan Marino, or at least a much younger Russell Wilson, Poles will have a decision to make. And another quarterback to draft. Two years might not be enough to evaluate a QB but that doesn’t mean you can’t try to get another one.
But for now we hope the Bears dismiss just about everyone on this milquetoast roster except Fields. So keep cutting, Ryan. Your scissors are paid for.
…and speaking of Russell Wilson…his trade from the Seahawks to the Broncos makes the NFC even less imposing and makes the AFC a more treacherous football minefield. Whoever hoists the Lamar Hunt Trophy next season will likely drop it out of exhaustion. The suddenly lethal Broncos, Bengals, Chiefs, Titans, Patriots, Ravens, Raiders, Chargers, wow. Holy helmets, boys and girls, that’s tough.
But who’s great in the NFC? The Super Bowl champion Rams, sure. But they’re old, don’t have a great quarterback, and no draft picks. Aaron Rodgers, as you may have heard, is back with the Packers so yeah, they’re always in contention. Beyond that, no one intimidates us tough guys. So maybe the Bears shouldn’t be rebuilding. Maybe with some spit and glue this team could go 10-7, get hot in January and….oh, please. Please keep knocking down this flimsy house built on one good season and a whole lot of lies. --TK
Friday, March 11, 2022