Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2017 10:35:13 GMT -6
Column: Bears’ futility to be extreme and prolonged
The Tribune's Dan Wiederer and Brad Biggs break down the Bears' 15-14 loss to the 49ers on Dec. 3, 2017.
Dan Wiederer Dan WiedererContact ReporterChicago Tribune
Prince Amukamara was sounding it out as best he could. The veteran cornerback was still processing the Bears’ 15-14 loss to the 49ers on Sunday and working to articulate the frustration. But then came a direct question.
Was a loss like this embarrassing for the Bears?
“Are you saying because of the 49ers’ record?” Amukamara asked.
Yes, he was told. After all, the 49ers had won only one other game all season, downing the reeling Giants in Week 10.
So was a defeat like this embarrassing?
“Not embarrassing,” Amukamara said. “We’re just disappointed. Because I think there are games in the NFL where you look and say, ‘OK, we should win this game. We’re pretty confident.’ And to be blunt, this was one of those games.”
Look, there’s nothing wrong with confidence, which the Bears had plenty of heading into the 49ers game. And there’s nothing wrong with a team feeling like it should beat an inferior opponent. But by now, the Bears need to realize they aren’t superior to anyone in the NFL, that their self-assurance is often hollow.
A team that has lost nearly three-quarters of its games over a four-season span can’t accidentally stumble into lapses of overconfidence. A team five years removed from its last winning season shouldn’t traipse anywhere near a misguided belief that it’s on the cusp of bigger things.
Chew on these nuggets of ineptitude.
This season alone 19 NFL teams have enjoyed a winning streak of at least three games. The Bears’ last three-game surge? Well, that came in the first month of the Marc Trestman era — way, way back in September 2013. The only NFL teams that have gone longer without a three-game winning streak? There are none. (Even the Browns have won three in a row more recently, doing so in the middle of 2014.)
The Bears have also been in last place in their division since Dec. 22, 2015. The only team stuck in their division basement for longer, without even a one-week peek outside: The Browns.
The Bears have made only one playoff appearance in the last 10 seasons. The other teams without multiple trips to the postseason party in that span: The Browns, Buccaneers, Rams, Bills, Titans, Raiders and Jaguars.
The Bears have only 25 wins in the five seasons since Lovie Smith was fired. The teams with fewer victories over that stretch: The Jags (23) and Browns (15).
You are the company you keep.
As the city of Chicago knows by now, Sunday marked just the seventh time in three seasons under coach John Fox that the Bears were favored to win. It also marked the seventh time in such games under Fox that they lost. That is a disturbing trend that speaks to some calamitous glitch within the system.
Is it lack of focus? Poor preparation? Unusual overconfidence? Maybe a combination of everything?
Who knows? But the inquest at Halas Hall to further examine this franchise’s prolonged failure must intensify.
Sunday’s loss wasn’t just an unfortunate stumble. This was Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner off the cliff, plummeting to the ground then taking an anvil to the skull before accepting a package of lit dynamite.
These aren’t just your 2017 Bears. This is yet another low point for a franchise that has been sputtering for much of the past quarter-century. Since 1992, in fact, the Bears have had more 10-loss seasons (nine) than playoff appearances (five). And that 10-loss season total will soon tick up to 10, perhaps as soon as Sunday in Cincinnati.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Bears have not been at .500 at any point since Week 7 of 2014. The only team with a longer skid of futility in that department? Again, there is none.
It all speaks to an organizational failure to establish proper standards in the pursuit of success. Under the weight of such damning evidence, team Chairman George McCaskey should feel obligated to fully examine and then explain the perpetual malfunction.
Yet somehow there’s still no guarantee things won’t get worse before they get better.
Three weeks from now, Fox’s team will host those still-winless Browns on Christmas Eve at Soldier Field. The Bears will likely be favored and expecting to win. In other words, buckle up. The embarrassment could continue.
Either way, significant changes will soon be necessary. Ultimately, if there is a true commitment to turning things around, McCaskey should go through every corner of the building and insist that improvements be made. That will require new leaders in some areas and different philosophies in others.
The Bears’ brain trust can no longer hide from the mirrors at Halas Hall. They need to take a long look and be brutally honest with what they see. Just a forewarning, none of it is pretty.
dwiederer@chicagotribune.com
The Tribune's Dan Wiederer and Brad Biggs break down the Bears' 15-14 loss to the 49ers on Dec. 3, 2017.
Dan Wiederer Dan WiedererContact ReporterChicago Tribune
Prince Amukamara was sounding it out as best he could. The veteran cornerback was still processing the Bears’ 15-14 loss to the 49ers on Sunday and working to articulate the frustration. But then came a direct question.
Was a loss like this embarrassing for the Bears?
“Are you saying because of the 49ers’ record?” Amukamara asked.
Yes, he was told. After all, the 49ers had won only one other game all season, downing the reeling Giants in Week 10.
So was a defeat like this embarrassing?
“Not embarrassing,” Amukamara said. “We’re just disappointed. Because I think there are games in the NFL where you look and say, ‘OK, we should win this game. We’re pretty confident.’ And to be blunt, this was one of those games.”
Look, there’s nothing wrong with confidence, which the Bears had plenty of heading into the 49ers game. And there’s nothing wrong with a team feeling like it should beat an inferior opponent. But by now, the Bears need to realize they aren’t superior to anyone in the NFL, that their self-assurance is often hollow.
A team that has lost nearly three-quarters of its games over a four-season span can’t accidentally stumble into lapses of overconfidence. A team five years removed from its last winning season shouldn’t traipse anywhere near a misguided belief that it’s on the cusp of bigger things.
Chew on these nuggets of ineptitude.
This season alone 19 NFL teams have enjoyed a winning streak of at least three games. The Bears’ last three-game surge? Well, that came in the first month of the Marc Trestman era — way, way back in September 2013. The only NFL teams that have gone longer without a three-game winning streak? There are none. (Even the Browns have won three in a row more recently, doing so in the middle of 2014.)
The Bears have also been in last place in their division since Dec. 22, 2015. The only team stuck in their division basement for longer, without even a one-week peek outside: The Browns.
The Bears have made only one playoff appearance in the last 10 seasons. The other teams without multiple trips to the postseason party in that span: The Browns, Buccaneers, Rams, Bills, Titans, Raiders and Jaguars.
The Bears have only 25 wins in the five seasons since Lovie Smith was fired. The teams with fewer victories over that stretch: The Jags (23) and Browns (15).
You are the company you keep.
As the city of Chicago knows by now, Sunday marked just the seventh time in three seasons under coach John Fox that the Bears were favored to win. It also marked the seventh time in such games under Fox that they lost. That is a disturbing trend that speaks to some calamitous glitch within the system.
Is it lack of focus? Poor preparation? Unusual overconfidence? Maybe a combination of everything?
Who knows? But the inquest at Halas Hall to further examine this franchise’s prolonged failure must intensify.
Sunday’s loss wasn’t just an unfortunate stumble. This was Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner off the cliff, plummeting to the ground then taking an anvil to the skull before accepting a package of lit dynamite.
These aren’t just your 2017 Bears. This is yet another low point for a franchise that has been sputtering for much of the past quarter-century. Since 1992, in fact, the Bears have had more 10-loss seasons (nine) than playoff appearances (five). And that 10-loss season total will soon tick up to 10, perhaps as soon as Sunday in Cincinnati.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Bears have not been at .500 at any point since Week 7 of 2014. The only team with a longer skid of futility in that department? Again, there is none.
It all speaks to an organizational failure to establish proper standards in the pursuit of success. Under the weight of such damning evidence, team Chairman George McCaskey should feel obligated to fully examine and then explain the perpetual malfunction.
Yet somehow there’s still no guarantee things won’t get worse before they get better.
Three weeks from now, Fox’s team will host those still-winless Browns on Christmas Eve at Soldier Field. The Bears will likely be favored and expecting to win. In other words, buckle up. The embarrassment could continue.
Either way, significant changes will soon be necessary. Ultimately, if there is a true commitment to turning things around, McCaskey should go through every corner of the building and insist that improvements be made. That will require new leaders in some areas and different philosophies in others.
The Bears’ brain trust can no longer hide from the mirrors at Halas Hall. They need to take a long look and be brutally honest with what they see. Just a forewarning, none of it is pretty.
dwiederer@chicagotribune.com
