Other Teams

[BearFan PHX]

Hey Guys,

So, this weekend we will all probably watch more than one game. When you do, pay attention to the rhythm of the other teams you watch. Notice how they gain momentum. They may not convert third downs and have to punt, but they look like they know what they're doing. In short, they look professional.

We watch the Bears. Probably 85% of the games I watch are Bears games. I see the opponent for sure, but I see them in the context of this crazy rhythmless game.

When I watch any other teams go at it, they may be bad teams, they may make bad decisions or plays, but you can feel the structure around them. The Bears never have that. And this is what coaching LOOKS like. Notice it when you watch other games. It's easy to see. They all look like football is supposed to - like a Madden game. Even when they are losing or winning, the pace feels like football.

Conversely, about 10 years ago I was flipping through channels in the middle of the day. I didn't have NFL network, and I don't think it was football season, so when I saw a replay of a high school game was on ESPN, I thought Id watch for a few minutes. I watched a team in green on offense break the huddle and get into their stances in the O line, and before the ball was even snapped I knew I was looking at the best coached team I'd ever seen. They moved together like a Roman phalanx. Regardless of their abilities as players, together they were a psychological steamroller that would roll you over. You couldn't even really see any of them as individuals. They were a machine - a team.

Later I found out I was watching DeLaSalle High School football, and at that time the team hadn't lost a game in like 10 years or something. And of course players only stay in high school 4 years, and probably only start for two or less. This is pure coaching. It lept off the screen immediately.

When you see it lacking on the Bears, you'll know it's time to fire Nagy. You'll know just how bad we've been for so long. Even when we rode Grossman to an unlikely superbowl - it was more like winning a raffle than beating opponents with a plan.

You can see a team just by the way they line up, and work together. If it looks like a machine, like a dance, it's in rhythm, and the players have bought into it. It it looks like a bunch of guys trying to keep everything from blowing up as individuals, that's not a team.