The Chicago Bears fell to 4-10 after a rough loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Making matters worse, they have a date with the 0-14 Cleveland Browns looming on Christmas Eve at Soldier Field.
Wait, the Browns are an 0-14 team coming into the Bears’ building. Why is that bad news?
Well, the Bears are 0-7 as favorites under John Fox, with their latest failure at the hands of Jimmy Garoppolo and Robbie Gould’s San Francisco 49ers in Chicago three weeks ago. And the Bears opened as a 6.5 point favorite over Cleveland for Sunday afternoon’s game. Uh-oh.
As we approach Sunday’s “Toilet” Bowl, we reach into this week’s Mailbag. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions.
It’s amazing that this is a news story, honestly. Yesterday, Mike Jurecki Tweeted that Jeff Fisher is looking to return to the NFL, and is interested in at least three jobs that are expected to open up at the end of the year, including the Bears’ job. Tweet below.
There is zero chance that he gets hired in Chicago. In fact, there is negative chance of this happening. After three years of conservative, uninspired, and boring football, there is no way Ryan Pace and ownership is looking to bring in a John Fox carbon copy in his stead. Fox’s purpose, which was to restore respectability and culture at Halas Hall, has been served. The record may not measure up, but this team is not close to the circus of the Marc Trestman era. It’s time to bring in some fresh blood to roam Chicago’s sideline next year and take this team to the next level. That fresh blood will NOT be Jeff Fisher.
However, keep in mind that this does not necessarily mean the Bears will hire an offensive minded head coach. They’re going to hire whom they believe is the best coach period, one who may or may not specialize in offense. The key will be for the new head coach to assemble the right staff, especially offensive coaches to pair with Mitch Trubisky to unlock his considerable potential going forward.
The reality is that Sunday’s game against the Browns is a prime letdown example the Bears have become known for under John Fox. Just this year, the Bears flopped against the Buccaneers (though that was a Mike Glennon disaster), the Brett Hundley-led Packers at home, and the San Francisco 49ers at home. Two years ago, after their Monday Night Football victory at San Diego, they coughed up a winnable game against the Broncos at home. Then, after their Thanksgiving night upset of the Packers at Lambeau Field, they came home against the Blaine Gabbert-led 49ers and melted down in overtime. The number of examples of such inconsistency is way too high.
Unfortunately, not much will happen if they lose this game as far as expediting any timelines. Fox, who should have been fired after the Packers loss at home, will still coach the finale in Minnesota, will still get fired on New Year’s Day like most lame duck head coaches, and the clock towards the new era will start ticking.
This game won’t say much about the roster, either. The Bears have talent. They proved as much by beating the Steelers, Ravens, and Panthers (dominating the better part of each game, really). They are just poorly coached and are unable to consistently focus on the details required to win each game. That, hopefully, will change once Fox & Co. are gone.
As crazy as last year’s draft was, this draft could be even crazier. By some draft evaluations, there could be as many as five quarterbacks deemed worthy of first round consideration. Five! And the Bears, who took their franchise quarterback last year, could be sitting pretty with a top 10 draft pick and a plethora of teams competing for the right to draft their future quarterback. I covered some of it in last week’s Mailbag.
The Bears could certainly be in position to trade down if a team feels strongly enough about a QB (or another player) and is afraid another team may jump them. Remember, two years ago, the Bears desperately wanted Leonard Floyd and traded up with the Buccaneers to get him because they were worried the New York Giants would take him. And we all know about last year’s Mitch Trubisky trade.
But keep in mind, every team’s big board is different per their respective scouting and evaluation criteria. In the draft, teams generally (should) take the best player available, period, according to their board. Teams get into trouble when they reach for a position of need. It’s obviously a best case scenario when your board lines up with your needs and available players.
Early mock drafts have Bradley Chubb going to the Indianapolis Colts, but lots could change between now and April. When the Bears pick, they could be looking at their pick of top pass rushers (Chubb, Clelin Ferrell and Arden Key), wide receivers (Calvin Ridley), offensive linemen (Connor Williams), or defensive backs (Minkah Fitzpatrick and Derwin James). They could look to trade down with a team that covets a top quarterback. Or, they could even trade up if they feel that strongly about a player (least likely scenario). One thing I’ve learned though, is never rule anything out with Ryan Pace when it comes to the draft.
I think I answered most of your question in the previous one above. Given that they had just a five-pick class last year and still have to add some talent to the roster, it makes the most logical sense that they would look to trade down with a team that’s looking to get their next quarterback.
But as I mentioned, never rule anything out with Ryan Pace. If he feels strongly enough about a player, he’ll ignore teams calling him to trade up to either stay put or even trade back up himself to get the guy he truly covets.
Calvin Ridley is certainly one of the top receiver options in the draft given his great route running prowess and ability to get open. But given what’s likely to be a relatively deep receiver free agent class and the ability to find immediate contributors in later rounds, I would imagine the Bears go either EDGE rusher, defensive back, or offensive line in the first round. But it all depends on how Pace’s draft board shakes out.
Another one that I partly answered above. It really depends on who is available when the Bears pick and who is available. While I don’t think their top pick will be a wide receiver, I do expect that the top players available will still align very well with the Bears’ needs, which is why this is such a promising offseason for Ryan Pace. If I had to pick a player who very well could be available at each position of need, I’d choose the following:
EDGE: I think Bradley Chubb will be long gone. I’d think one of Clelin Ferrell or Arden Key could be the Bears’ pick.
Defensive Back: Minkah Fitzpatrick
Offensive Line: Quenton Nelson
From what I’ve seen so far, and this could change as we learn more heading into March/April, I think Fitzpatrick is the best player out of all of them, so if he’s available, I would take him. But if not, I’d expect one of the EDGE guys to be the pick.
Roy Robertson-Harris redshirted all of 2016, and bulked up considerably in the offseason to support a position switch from outside linebacker to defensive end. He won a roster spot this preseason with his strong play. This year, he has contributed on special teams and has rotated in on the defensive line at times.
So far, he has a sack, a pass defensed, and a fumble recovery. But he’s brought relatively consistent pressure when asked to rush the quarterback and has shown that he can hold his own against NFL offensive tackles and guards in the run game.
Part of his limited effect so far is John Fox’s dislike of playing younger guys, preferring to play (an admittedly productive) Mitch Unrein, instead. But Robertson-Harris has shown enough growth so far to certainly be considered a part of the Bears’ future, at least as a rotational player. A pretty solid undrafted find for Ryan Pace.
That’s what I do!
