BearFan2000

I agree as well. Since he arrived in 2009 with the expectation of him being the Savior of the team while coaches, coordinators, and GM's did little to surround him with much to work with. How many years were we screaming "FIX THE FREAKING OL!" he's had virtually no consistency in both weapons and systems. He's had up years and down years. He has been a lightning rod for media scrutiny and much of which may be his own doing. I don't know him personally so I can't say for sure if he is the jerk who doesn't care like the media makes him out to be. It may be greatly embellished cause on Bears teams since 2009 who've disappointed they needed someone to hang it on and Jay's outwardly odd behavior made him an easy target. It may be a bit of both, he may be misunderstood, and personally a little rough around the edges. His teammates stand up for him and seem to like him and that is really what matters. While the past has been very mercurial with regards to his play on the field and the team's overall play, we do have a top notch coaching staff for the first time in recent memory here. Jay and Gase are clicking and have trust in each other. Jay can trust Gase cause he clearly knows his stuff. That I think is huge. He finally has a coordinator who has had much success, is highly respected and though of in the league. It's like being taught by a substitute all your career and now having a top notch teacher you have more trust in them knowing what they are telling you. And when Jay buys in the offensive players around him buy in and start truly believing in the system. He has looked far more under control and confident this year which is why I think we have to look at how things are now vs forever making him have to overcome a past that he can't change. We may finally have a staff that can get the most out of Jay, the evidence is there especially considering the mash unit our roster has become. After last season I wanted him gone I was tired of losing and tired of watching horrible offensive football. I came into this season with the understanding that he's here pretty much because his contract made him virtually impossible to move and with the expectation that after this season he's gone. That thinking is beginning to change I see positives that make me think I'd be ok if he was here beyond this season. Not saying contract extension, but after this year his contract is far easier to swallow, and if he proves this year to be a QB who can run this offense efficiently I think he may deserve a chance to run it with the full compliment of talent around him. I'm not 100% sold on him yet because it is hard to shake the past but I think some objectivity here is wise. Consider this if by season's end Jay proves he can not only be competent but has full command of this offense, keeping him around and drafting a QB we can groom behind a Cutler that can help teach the kid the offense that could be a win win for us. I do have one question regarding Jay. I've noticed that he has had some throws the last couple weeks that were low. Could this be partly effected by the hammy, or is it somewhat intentional on contested throws to make them harder to pick off, or is it just a continuity issue as he's playing with guy's he's had little experience with and is getting used to. Most of the guys he's throwing to were on the field in preseason when he was on the sidelines as we have been scraping the bottom of the barrel for warm bodies to line up outside.

http://www.sportsmanias.com/news/chicago-b...e6336ae5d8b45d3 I also like the article directly below the McPhee article. The one about Acho and players taking ownership of the defense. Sounds like some good culture changes going throughout the team, and I like it a lot. New staff, new systems, new players mixed with old, on a team who's culture needed a life line after two years under Dr. Death. This team is not only starting to develop an identity they are taking the onus to create an identity. We may not be going anywhere this year, but if we're patient and give this office and staff and players, a chance. We might be seeing them build the foundation for a bright future.

and helps the younger guys and vets around him be better. We need Guys like that on the field who can be an extension of the coaching staff. That was the biggest thing we lost with Urlacher gone his body was failing him but he knew that system and was like a coach on the field. Same with Mike Brown in the secondary. Good to great defenses have guys like this at various levels who elevate the play of those around them and help get everyone where they should be. That was what was almost as hard to watch last couple years as the overall performance was our D was gutless, leaderless, and hapless. The D needs leadership and some nasty, and some attitude, and heart.

Agree as well, should be interesting to see how this plays out. While he hasn't given us much to hang our hat on in the past, I don't think he's 100% unredeemable either. If he can put in a good season and play well this year, his contract does get cheaper going forward. Last offseason we were resigned to keeping him this year due to the contract and then unloading him after this year because he will be easier to shop. But If he proves to be a good fit for this offense then why not keep him but also bring in someone to groom. I think Jay is a system QB not one that can transcend systems. In the right offense he could flourish. Maybe thet offense is Gase's offense that finally is a system he fully trusts, and believes in and can excel in. Course that remains to be seen and we'll have to see how it plays out this year. But not out of the realm of possibility that Jay earns the job beyond this year. This season for the current roster is an audition for next year.

I also enjoy reading these posts.

Amen, those were good times, add to that the pre injury hampered Harris. Remember the year we won with Kyle Orton, and the D carried the team pretty much all year. We sure blew that window of opportunity with the D studs we had then

I miss Dave Toub

Couldn't stand Carroll at USC and can't stand in Seattle. There were a lot of non calls and bogus calls that would have made a difference when they happened, as mentioned the holding calls, pick plays, several late hits there were few when Clausen slid feet first giving up his body that a Seattle player would dive on to him, last I checked that was hitting a defenseless player, he also got hit often late after throws but no call. The botched call on the punt was horrible. It was wrong the first time it was dead wrong on review. The ball clearly changed direction when it came near his foot. Now I'm no rocket scientist but gravity and momentum doesn't do that. At that point in the game it was 3-0 and as Adam pointed out that would have given us the ball in the red zone which would have at the very least been a easy game tying 3 if not a possible TD to take the lead. I too did not care for Seattle having the game well in hand and throwing deep or throwing at all he coached that way in college. He's an a-hole and the team has adopted that personality. Talking head were giving Seattle way too much credit for holding us to punting every possession and how great their D is. Congrats you just beat a crippled team in transition. I think the Bears offensive ineptness was more on us than on their D. That said, it is hard to say whether the missed calls would have changed the outcome. We can't worry about that stuff, truth is it's going to take us a couple seasons to to get to where we are making serious noise. We have a new FO, new coaching staff, and a roster of players brought in to run a different defense and a different offense. It will be a process of evaluating and moving guys around to find out what pieces on the current team will be part of the future and which ones won't. We as fans have to have some patience here I see a lot of panic and frustration and and we've only played 3 games have we lost sight of the fact that it may take some time to build this team back up? We have to look at it from a standpoint of what can we build on. In the two games I've seen I didn't see any of last weeks cardinals game. But what I have seen is a defense or defensive players showing some positive things. Yesterday I saw that the D played pretty decent considering the offense did them no favors and putting no points on the board. Second half I saw a defense that just got gassed. For all the crap cutler gets it's clear he's by far the best QB on the roster, Clausen looked terrible not that he was asked to do much but what he did he didn't look good doing. When you go into a game starting WR's that would probably otherwise be on other teams practice squads or deep on their bench aside from Royal. We did the one thing we felt we could do well, and that is run, run run, putting 3 TE's extra linemen in it worked for a while but it made us one dimensional and became easy to stop. We've lost to probably one of the best teams in the NFC, the two teams playing for the NFC title game last year. We knew this was a brutal start to the season. Personally I could care less what our record is this year I know we won't be going to the playoffs, but I do look for the bears to improve as the year goes on. I'm not going to freak out after just 3 games and jump on the dump the roster, fire everyone bandwagon, that's a bit knee jerk IMO. Let's all just take a step back and let this season progress.

makes me glad I didn't waste a draft pick on Bridgewater in my fantasy leagues there was a lot of hype and that team looks like a mess. No wonder AP wanted out lol

We had a defense last year?

The pattern continues. There's a reason he wore out his welcome on 3 teams and counting despite his skills and abilities on the field. Teams simply grow tired of his act.

And they wonder why people hate the Pats, Bill Belicheat, Tom Shady, et all. It's an example of a win at all costs organization, they don't care what rules they have to bend or break. Integrity means nothing to them. And as long as the NFL and judges look the other way they'll keep doing it.

This. Much of what people say about Jay outside of the organization and locker room is perception, what matters is what his teammates think of him and their level of respect. None of us are with the team or in the locker room and see Jay on a day to day basis. Media perception loves to latch on to the negative, and will jump on or invent controversy to sell papers, get hits on web pages, blogs, and ratings. I've never met him, never been around him so I can't say if he's a good leader or not, all I can judge him by is what he does on the field. There is much there to be desired since he got here but he isn't as awful as he's made out to be either. For him the skills, the talent, the arm, is all there, but his random brain farts are what has kept his potential from being realized to this point. If his teammates trust him and believe in him that's what really matters.

What I saw of the game sure looks like he doesn't stay low like he should he gets stood up too easy and as an OL when you stand up and give up leverage it's game over you get tossed around like a rag doll which I think why he has to resort to holding in an attempt to keep Jay from getting blown up. His technique and footwork are awful.

I think we all expected this year to be a potentially painful year to watch. New FO and Coaching staff were handed a pile of crap to work with. Their job now is to sift through the rubble and look for what's salvageable, and start building from there. What I'm looking for this year is to see progress over the course of the year and us develop and find players that can be part of the teams future. I have a feeling this coming offseason will involve a decant amount of roster moves to unload guys who don't have a future here. It's going to be a year long evaluation of the team as a whole. I don't even want to predict a record or have a record in mind of what I want them to achieve. Gotta start the rebuild somewhere.

Add Jordy Nelson to that list. Been trying to prepare for fantasy drafts and guys are dropping like flies across the league. Somehow it seems like there has been a rash of injuries that seems worse than previous years maybe not but sure has been a lot.

The play action thing has been baffling as we have a mobile QB who can throw on the run, and we have had the luxury of a complete every down RB like Forte that we've not taken advantage of those things. Let Jay create mismatches by rolling out, extending plays. Too much trying to make him a pocket passer which has never been his strength.

Saw those articles and I take it with a grain of salt because the Media knows (and in some ways has helped create the persona) that Jay is a very polarizing player. To what degree it's true we as fans may never fully know but. But what the media is usually good at is yelling fire even if there's no smoke and insinuating that there is actual smoke to justify what they write. Whatever each of us personally think or make of Jay, it's abundantly clear the media hates him and sees him as a gold mine for negative articles. It's the easy lazy thing to do to write an article based on assumptions fueled by public opinion merely to stir the pot, and get views, and reads by creating controversy when there may really be none. That said, it is a little odd that AJ is closing to work with Marshall now that Marshall's no longer a Bear. Last offseason it would have made more sense since they were teammates vs working out with Jay and the rest of the WR's who are current teammates. To each his own, he may be working out with Marshall because is used to doing that to prepare himself using the fit speed (or whatever it's called) program that he's used since he came into the league. It's not uncommon for NFL players to go off and do their own offseason workout programs to prepare for camp and the season. What matters is that whatever he does and whatever his teammates do that he's ready to go when the season starts.

Agree, and honestly, I was surprised he signed the one year deal last season to play another year in Chicago. Was fully prepared for the parting to happen last offseason. Can't respect the guy enough really embodied everything you would want in a pro on and off the field. Will always think of him as a Bear and one of my favorite Bears. Class act all the way.

Cause she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, good looks, and has been pampered all her life and bathed in wealth. She has no other redeeming qualities she's one of those idiots who tell everyone they should not vaccinate their kids (which that mentality will only lead to revisiting some the nasty plague type diseases that had been pretty much eradicated). Some people in this world get non stop media attention who the rest of the world could care less about and have no reason to care about. It's hard to know what these people are like when the cameras are off, but pretty sure she's a B in real life. Jay may be cool to family and friends, and a jerk to everyone else, he may just be a total jerk, he may be completely missunderstood. After this season he's likely gone and then my ability to care anything about him will be completely gone. For now he's our QB so that's as far as I care and want to see the Bears do well.

Couldn't agree more. There are many good things Thibs did but also many bad things, burning players out in the regular season, simplistic and predictable offense. Head scratching defensive calls at times, head scratching rotations, and play design. I think it was time for a change early on in his tenure here we saw a lot of good things happening we were a sound defensive team, a hustling team, a never die never quit attitude. Over the past couple seasons and more so this past season that is breaking down. The Bucks series was absolutely painful to watch. If the buck didn't suck so bad we wouldn't have made it out of that series. We looked out of sync more often than than we looked sharp. Turning over the ball like we're gunning for a turnover record. There's has been no consistency or balance or adjustment to our offense. We either take the first shot that presents itself or force one up from distance (when we aren't a great 3 point shooting team), or we pass the ball indefinitely till there's only a few seconds on the shot clock like a game of hot potato and more often than not it ends up in the hands of someone who has no shot or can't create their own shot resulting in either a shot clock violation, or horrible shot. We don't even seem to consistently do the hustle things either, fighting for loose balls, boxing out, etc. We take bad shots with no one near the rim, we don't box out on defense very well either which is compounded when like you said we double'd James out past the 3pt line leaving us vulnerable to easy buckets. The bulls I saw in the playoffs were a bulls team that seem to rarely show hustle and do the little things, a team playing very fundamentally unsound. There is also no adjustment to the game flow. We took game 1 against the cavs because they didn't defend the pick and pop, they adjusted we seemed lost once they took that away. The turnover issue could partly be due to the predictability of the offense teams know how to bait us into bad passes, bad shots, etc. I'm not to big of how the front office of Gar/Pax is doing things too. Keep changing the tires on the car when the engine needs work is dumb. I loved Pax as a player, but they have meddled in things when they should let their coaches coach, the relationship between Thibs and management has been deteriorating for years, especially when they fired one of his assistants without involving him in the decision. The other bad thing is this is not some secret it's well known and been well documented. So that plays into searching for coaches. I hope Hoiberg pans out, but the management needs to let him do his job and manage his staff, not have deal with meddling. Management needs to just focus on managing the roster, draft and FA and get their coach the players he wants/needs to do his job.

The part that I'm happy to see is that the Bears wasted no time releasing him. We speculated what the stipulations of his deal were and how short the leash would be. Very glad to see that the Bears were swift and did the right thing. Even if he is cleared this guy has a pattern of putting himself in bad situations. With the talk about bringing in quality character players I was surprised they even took a chance on him, but clearly the deal was a prove you can keep your nose clean and be a productive member of society and this team. He has the talent to be be a valuable asset. Had it worked out it would have been a good deal for us, but it didn't so he's gone no one's fault but his. But I'm sure glad this incident didn't occur and have to wait as our front office/staff figured out what they were going to do, they had a unified agreement if something like this happened and they acted quickly. That's one thing I have liked since the end of last season. There has been a swiftness and a sense of purpose to the moves we've made from firing Dr. Death and Emery, to hiring Pace and brining in Fox and assembling the staff. We won't all agree on every decision, not every decision will be correct, but, when a mistake is made (in this case signing McDonald) we fix the mistake and move forward.

definitly! I'll take as many of these 12-15 guys as we can get. Time will tell once training camp gets underway, preseason, and then when the games count. I think it's going to take some time to see what kind of identity our defense will have and who will surface as studs and who will be the duds. So many ? at nearly every position. Lots of bodies have been brought in so it's hard to tell but also excited to see what our D will look like with Fangio at the helm. That alone gives me more hope/confidence than I've had in recent years.

especially for the Bears lol How many guys have we had that could give us 12-15 a year with any consistency from year to year. We had guys have breakout years only to disappear the following year after our hopes were up. We've brought in guys who previously were prolific pass rushers who seemed to somehow get neutered wearing the blue and orange.

On the fence about this on one hand I would rather it just stay, it's been that way for a long long time. Are we changing things just to change something? Sure it's a virtually automatic thing but it's just normal tradition. I do like the idea of awarding 7 points for a TD and making it optional to go for 2 to make it an 8 point score with the risk of losing a point by failing the conversion. This to me would add strategy without making a major change TD's now are basically 7 with the gimme extra point and the option to go for 2. It would also make things more interesting as some scores would end with the TD where a team ops not to go for 2. Right now the extra point is basically an extra couple min of break to grab more snacks or beverage, or restroom break. On the other hand your kicker should be able to knock down 33 yard kicks at a fairly high percentage. What this might actually do is reverse the balance of how often teams go for 2 vs 1. Where the 2 point conversion may become more of the norm since you only need 2 yards for 2 vs kicking a 33 yard fg for 1. Either way I guess we'll find out.