I mailed this today to George...

[madlithuanian]

delete

[madlithuanian]

January 13, 2021

 

 

 

Dear Mr. George McCaskey,

 

 

 

I am a longtime fan of the Chicago Bears and currently am on the waiting list for season tickets.  I am currently 50 years old and have been a fan for as long as I can remember.  My father passed his love of the team down to me.  My father even went to college with the great Dick Butkus.  My dad sat me down at a very young age in the mid 70’s and asked that I watch Walter Payton run.  I did.  And my life was forever changed.  I watched some very bad years.  I also watched some great ones.  Including the best of all time, 1985.  I’ve read countless books on the great Papa Bear and others throughout Bears history to gain a greater appreciation of the team.

 

 

 

All my years as a fan, I’ve never written the club.  After today’s press conference, I am compelled to do so.  I have watched this team regress over the period of three years.  I watched GM, Ryan Pace, draft poorly in the first round.  I watched Mr. Pace give up a tremendous amount of draft capital for players who aren’t performing.  I watched Mr. Pace promise me that he’d draft a quarterback every season.  He has not.  I watched Coach Matt Nagy not groom a young quarterback.  I watched Coach Nagy tell me the team should run more, when he is the one making the call on how often to run.  This is the Bears.  We run the ball.  I watched coach Nagy give up play-calling and see some success with Coach Bill Lazor.  Then, I watched coach Nagy take the play-calling back, which resulted in some less than stellar performances against our most bitter rivals, the Packers and the Saints. 

 

 

 

I was truly hoping your press conference today would allow the fan-base to get a fresh start.  Instead, we are getting more of the same.  A trajectory that seems more regressive than progressive.  To say I am disappointed is an under statement.  While I respect what Mr. Pace and Mr. Nagy have done, they simply have not done enough.  One winning season out of three is not what this team should be striving for.  Sadly, watching more of the same from these two men is leading me down a path of apathy.  My passion has simply been put on hold.  I simply do not trust these men to lead the team.  They need to regain my trust to gain my passion.  I just do not see that happening after what I’ve seen for three years with Coach Nagy and longer with Mr. Pace.   

 

 

 

I currently live near Los Angeles, so I have to subscribe to the Direct Ticket in order to watch all the Bears games.  I’ve been doing this since about 2004.  This season, I am planning on cancelling that as I feel the cost of the Ticket will not be worth the product on the field.  I will still watch what I can from the national games for the Bears and still root the players on.  But, the questionable leadership from Mr. Pace and Mr. Nagy leave me with no other choice.

 

 

 

I am hoping the Bears can again become a team to be reckoned within the next few years.  But, I feel this coming season at minimum will not be worth expending much energy on.  I will someday be a season ticket holder, and will take that responsibility to heart.  I will attend games and root my team on.  The Bears are in my blood.  The Bears feel s like family.  But, like family, sometimes tough love is needed.  Now is that time.  My parents and fellow Bears fans that I am in communication with feel the same way. 

 

 

 

Please consider a large chunk of your fan-base as unhappy with the lack of accountability from the head coach and GM, and we eagerly await candidates to fill those roles that are better suited for the job.  Thank you very much for your time.  My best wishes to your wonderful mother and matriarch of the Bears.  Stay safe and healthy.  Bear down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sincerely,

[jason]

25 minutes ago, madlithuanian said:

I watched coach Nagy give up play-calling and see some success with Coach Bill Lazor.  Then, I watched coach Nagy take the play-calling back, which resulted in some less than stellar performances against our most bitter rivals, the Packers and the Saints. 

Wait. Was this confirmed somewhere?! I didn't even know it and I called it watching both games. It reeked of Nagy.

If so, figures they shit the bed. That dude has no clue how to serve as a play-caller and maximize his players' abilities.

[adam]

Nice, let us know if you get a response. 

 

It still comes down to dollars and cents > wins and losses. As long as they remain a top 5 valuation in football and top 20 in all of pro sports, why change anything? 

It is like someone who sells a crappy product, but sells a ton and makes a huge profit. Like some of those "As seen on tv" ones. From a bottom line perspective, whatever you are doing is working, so why change it?

Supposedly the family has really taken to Ryan Pace and there is not much he can do wrong in their eyes. It's like a biased parent who gives their kid the benefit of the doubt, especially when they work for them. It feels like Pace has that with the McCaskey's and Phillips. 

[madlithuanian]

47 minutes ago, jason said:

Wait. Was this confirmed somewhere?! I didn't even know it and I called it watching both games. It reeked of Nagy.

If so, figures they shit the bed. That dude has no clue how to serve as a play-caller and maximize his players' abilities.

I've heard form a number of various sources, none truly official, that the first "Lazor" game was still mostly Nagy.  All of Lazor's plays went through Nagy, then the next 2-3 were more Lazor...which was when we saw our largest uptick.  Then, once Nagy got off the hot seat, he took it back like the first "Lazor" game where it all went through Nagy.  Seems plausible given what we saw.  If I'm wrong, I hope George corrects me.  But, even then, not sure that'd be the truth.

[madlithuanian]

24 minutes ago, adam said:

Nice, let us know if you get a response. 

 

It still comes down to dollars and cents > wins and losses. As long as they remain a top 5 valuation in football and top 20 in all of pro sports, why change anything? 

It is like someone who sells a crappy product, but sells a ton and makes a huge profit. Like some of those "As seen on tv" ones. From a bottom line perspective, whatever you are doing is working, so why change it?

Supposedly the family has really taken to Ryan Pace and there is not much he can do wrong in their eyes. It's like a biased parent who gives their kid the benefit of the doubt, especially when they work for them. It feels like Pace has that with the McCaskey's and Phillips. 

Will do.

I used to work for a similar type of company.  Eventually the broken clock got it right, and they brought in a guy that believed in modernizing.  That one person brought them from profitable to extremely successful.  I honestly don't trust any McCaskey or McCaskey "consultant" to purposely get it right.  I hope one day, we just luck into it. 

If they like money, imagine what windfall winning will bring?  Hell, even a few more games at the stadium brings loot. 

Yeah, they have been conned by Pace

 

[Bill]

Maybe you'll get back a fake signed postcard of the team.  Like I did with Hicks.  Which I still appreciate, but don't expect much more.  

But if every Bears fan did the same thing perhaps that would make a difference.   Thanks.  

[madlithuanian]

5 minutes ago, Bill said:

Maybe you'll get back a fake signed postcard of the team.  Like I did with Hicks.  Which I still appreciate, but don't expect much more.  

But if every Bears fan did the same thing perhaps that would make a difference.   Thanks.  

Gotta start somewhere.    I did what I can do.  I know it's jousting at windmills.  But it was cathartic writing and sending it. 

[Bill]

I forgot to ask where did you send it. I do want to do the same thing.

[madlithuanian]

14 minutes ago, Bill said:

I forgot to ask where did you send it. I do want to do the same thing.

Mr. George McCaskey

Chicago Bears

Halas Hall

1920 Football Dr.

Lake Forest, IL 60045

[Mongo3451]

23 hours ago, jason said:

Wait. Was this confirmed somewhere?! I didn't even know it and I called it watching both games. It reeked of Nagy.

If so, figures they shit the bed. That dude has no clue how to serve as a play-caller and maximize his players' abilities.

This is from a Bear Goggles article.  And yes it reeked of Nagy...

More evidence of Matt Nagy’s flaw as Chicago Bears head coach

Moving back to more current events, there were many reasons why the Bears lost to the Packers last Sunday. However, I believe that the main reason the Bears lost this game was that Matt Nagy called a lot of plays that day. He just could not control his compulsion to involve himself calling plays in this pivotal game.

The main evidence of Nagy calling plays was the Bears ran less and threw more passes around the line of scrimmage than they had since Bill Lazor took over as their play-caller. There is a long history of West Coast Offense play-callers calling an inordinate amount of passes within five to ten yards off the line of scrimmage and failing miserably in big games. They typically consider it their smart safe move. However, this tactic among other things lacks courage and often demoralizes the offensive players.

When the Bears substituted short passes for some run plays to control the time of possession, they lost one of the most important battles of a football game. They lost the intimidation factor. Football players need their emotions to override the physical pain and mental exhaustion that comes from a hard-fought battle.

When a football team is winning the battle of who controls the line of scrimmage, it creates big-time confidence and big waves of energy that courses throughout the entire offensive unit. This tactic is the fatal flaw of practitioners of the West Coast Offense. They often eschew run plays for lots and lots of short passes.

To make my point, it was not just the reshuffling of the players in the offensive line that made them a better group. It was also letting them dominate at the line of scrimmage by calling more run plays. This fueled the Bears’ offensive line in playing a big part in the Bears’ late-season surge to the playoffs.

[madlithuanian]

48 minutes ago, Mongo3451 said:

This is from a Bear Goggles article.  And yes it reeked of Nagy...

More evidence of Matt Nagy’s flaw as Chicago Bears head coach

Moving back to more current events, there were many reasons why the Bears lost to the Packers last Sunday. However, I believe that the main reason the Bears lost this game was that Matt Nagy called a lot of plays that day. He just could not control his compulsion to involve himself calling plays in this pivotal game.

The main evidence of Nagy calling plays was the Bears ran less and threw more passes around the line of scrimmage than they had since Bill Lazor took over as their play-caller. There is a long history of West Coast Offense play-callers calling an inordinate amount of passes within five to ten yards off the line of scrimmage and failing miserably in big games. They typically consider it their smart safe move. However, this tactic among other things lacks courage and often demoralizes the offensive players.

When the Bears substituted short passes for some run plays to control the time of possession, they lost one of the most important battles of a football game. They lost the intimidation factor. Football players need their emotions to override the physical pain and mental exhaustion that comes from a hard-fought battle.

When a football team is winning the battle of who controls the line of scrimmage, it creates big-time confidence and big waves of energy that courses throughout the entire offensive unit. This tactic is the fatal flaw of practitioners of the West Coast Offense. They often eschew run plays for lots and lots of short passes.

To make my point, it was not just the reshuffling of the players in the offensive line that made them a better group. It was also letting them dominate at the line of scrimmage by calling more run plays. This fueled the Bears’ offensive line in playing a big part in the Bears’ late-season surge to the playoffs.

Yup.  Nagy fingerprints were all over it.