BearFan2000

I'm good with the signing it keeps continuity and if they extend whitehair then we can essentially keep the current line in place, build depth and look for talent to add to upgrade.

I could see that happening and as much as I'd like to see Robbie back here we can't overspend to do so either in salary or draft picks should they tag him. I could see SF playing hard ball to keep him if we show interest. Consider we'll be eating Parkey's contract we have to be careful how much we spend at the Kicker position, but by the same token, we can't really afford to not spend what we need to upgrade there. We can't keep having that position cost us games.

Agree, and just looking at these playoffs. We get eliminated by a missed FG, the Saints game no call that cost the Saints, the overtime games, the costly offsides for the Chiefs that cost them, there a lot of close games this playoffs. It's easy to look at this post season and think if we'd have made that FG we have every reason to believe we could have made it to the Super Bowl. Coulda, shoulda, woulda, right? Even in the regular season how many one plays changed our season for good or bad. There were games we were one play away from winning, there were games where we won on a critical play.

I agree, I'll take it for what it is. We often complain about the Bears not getting respect. After many losing seasons we went 12-4, were in contention for a first round bye, and we have a young roster that is built for continued success. This year isn't a fluke. What Pace has done turning this franchise around is exciting. Give Fox credit as well, he and Pace took over an absolute mess. While Fox didn't bring us wins or playoffs, he built a solid locker room, and a solid foundation to where Nagy could take over take us to the next step. I think those around the league (players/coaches) will recognize these things even if the media doesn't. What the media says doesn't matter, what the team believes, what us fans believe and the respect of their peers means more. It comes to reason that this year we are starting to get respect in the form of prow bowl representation, record wise we were the 3rd best team in our conference. Mich has plenty of room to grow but all in all he had a good season and has shown progress and promise that we finally may have that franchise QB that has eluded us for many long years. It's nice to see him get the recognition of his peers and represent the NFC in the pro bowl. I for one am going to enjoy the fact that we have a QB playing in the pro bowl. The bar for next year has been raised.

That shows respect. And wether he is in the pro bowl outright or as an alternate that is getting to go because Goff will be in the SB. That's still an accomplishment especially since we haven't sent a QB to the pro bowl since McMahon. We've had some decent QB play at times but there's been a lot of crap at that position. If Mitch can continue to improve and become more consistent and more of a play maker he could be a pro bowl regular. Respect is earned and he's starting to earn that respect.

sure is a good time to be a Bears fan. It's equally sweet seeing the Packers on the downturn. Was talking to a friend who is a huge packers fan he doesn't have high hopes. They got their new coach or should I say assistant coach. Rodgers runs that team.

I think being a Bears fan the way the media drools over Mahomes is just far more irritating. They downplay his mistakes and overreact to the good. They talk like Mitch is this teams' achilles heal. To be fair the Bears have a long tradition of suckage at the QB spot. Can't deny Mahomes has had a good year, he's also had something Mitch didn't and that is to sit behind a proven vet running the offense, and now that it's his time to start he's not learning a new system. Mitch on the other hand did get starting experience last year but in an offense that basically had him hand the ball off and this year has been a new offense, and new pieces. But just like the Bears in general, we can't really care what the "experts" think. In their mind till we prove we can consistently win year to year we won't get much respect. We as fans know what we see and we've seen Mitch grow this year, and our expectations of him and the Bears next year have elevated. In a lot of ways we were ahead of where we thought we'd be this year. I feel like in time MT and the Bears will get their respect. There is much reason to be optimistic that the Bears aren't going a way any time soon. Now if we could just fast forward to next season, I'm looking forward to the 2019 season.

For sure. I only saw the first half. Had the Saints converted in the red zone rather than settling for FG's they could have been up 21-3 easily. Instead in the waning moments of the first half they are only up 13-3 then give up a half ending TD drive to only lead by 3 at the half. They gave the Rams momentum going into the second half and the ball to start the second half. I didn't see any of the Chiefs, Pats game. Seems like every team I've rooted for in this playoffs has lost. Maybe I should root for the Pats so they lose to the Rams. After our loss and seeing what's transpired I believe we could have been been in the Super Bowl. It's been hard to be interested in the playoffs after we got eliminated.

I believe Donatelli went with Vic to Denver

When I first heard we hired Pagano my first reaction was a little meh, as the extent of my knowledge of Chuck was his time as HC of the Colts. A HC stint that started out well but didn't end well. But when I took a closer look his final season was without Andrew Luck, in his time there he wasn't exactly given much to work with by their GM. I'd say he got about as much as he could with the talent they had to work with. In 6 seasons he only had 1 losing season (his last season). First 3 season's he made the playoffs each of those three seasons advancing further into the playoffs. Prior to that he had success in Clev, Oak, and Balt as DB coach and as a DC for the Ravens. He's definitely of solid quality character, I feel like his personality, coaching style and the type of defense he likes to run that he showed in Baltimore to me make him a good fit here, he shares a similar philosophy to that of Nagy. The guys on D are going to like him and want to play hard for him. If it wasn't going to be Donatelli, this could be about the closest to a smooth transition. He brings an aggressive style that fits the talent we have. Vic is hard to replace and it's big shoes to fill but if I had one knock on Vic it was that he could get a bit conservative at times and didn't blitz much. Chuck I feel will be more aggressive in those areas. I feel like this is a solid to potentially great hire.

I would resign Massie as long as it is a reasonable team friendly deal, he's serviceable and has played decent, but it wouldn't hurt to look for a long term upgrade. Whether that's Coward, Sowell, or someone we draft or sign in FA. We do need to address RG largely due to Long's injury history. Witzman played ok in his absence. I like the progress we've gotten from Daniels and Whitehair. It's always good to look for upgrades and depth at O-line. I feel like overall our line play got better as this season went on. You can never have enough talent in the trenches. If you can't control the line of scrimmage you'll struggle elsewhere. Getting Mark back as O-line coach has helped that unit improve this season. Haven't looked ahead much at the 2019 draft to see what O-line prospects will be there to target.

Didn't Yeldon have some character issues? Talent wise he'd be a good fit. I do feel like Howard got more involved and looked more like himself in the second half of the season. If he can keep that up he's still a good tandem with Cohen. Now I wouldn't mind replacing Mizzell and Cunningham with a 3rd starter quality back. I do feel our bigger need in this offseason is OL, CB, Safety, Backup QB, Kicker, and TE.

I'd be good with Donatelli or a quality outside hire. We have loads of talent on the D and they finished the reg season as the top D in many categories. This is a place that should attract a high quality coordinator. Don would be the most seamless transition. But this is a great situation for either a top tier guy or an up and coming coach. Like Stinger said this kind of thing comes with having a successful team. Other teams will look to poach our staff. Happened with Gase. I also have to think that this hasn't totally caught Pace by surprise. Vic's been on teams radars in the past. I have a feeling he and Nagy keep an eye on the landscape in case a coordinator or position coach does need to be replaced. Our defensive talent offers a lot of potential for a coach to come in here and run with it. This isn't like when Rod left and we brought in Tucker and the inmates started to run the asylum. That's what I don't want to see. I don't want someone to come in and be afraid to make changes, or do things differently, or put his stamp on the D. Even Donatelli would likely do some things differently but the overall philosophy would likely remain in tact. It is an opportunity to bring someone in that might get more out of the talent we have possibly more aggressive in getting pressure.

Vic's D plays both 3-4 and 4-3 concepts. I feel like it's not a true 3-4 where it may be rooted in a 3-4 its' a versatile defense. I feel like we have versatile players. Hopefully we can find someone that runs a similar system. I have faith that we'll find someone who will be a better transition than when we went from Rod Marinelli to Mell Sucker. Either way we need someone who can run a system that gets the most out of our guys. No need to reinvent the wheel . Was hoping he'd stay but happy for him to get his shot at a head coaching gig. He's earned a shot.

My silver lining is that I have more positive to take away from this season than negatives. The negatives are pretty obvious. So I'll stick with the positives. Trubisky's second year, first full season and one could argue that this is more like a rookie season as 2017 was a partial season in an offense that made John Shoop look creative. Overall I feel he showed a lot of promise and you could see his progress week to week for the most part. He's got that it factor the game doesn't seem too big for him and I look forward to seeing how he does with a full offseason going into year 2 of this offense along with the new receivers in A-Rob, Gabriel, Burton, Miller, etc. There were definitely growing pains but in the big moments down the stretch he stepped up and made plays. That last drive to put us in position was clutch. Contrast that to the start of the season when we were trying to combat a crazy GB comeback and he looked overwhelmed. He's grown a lot this year and still has room to grow but his arrow is pointing up. Naggy for sure coach of the year to do what he did this season both in taking a team from worst to first and winning 12 games in his first year is impressive. He's created a culture of winning, unity, enthusiasm, and never quit attitude. This team was beyond dead under Trestman, there was initial excitement under Fox, and they were far more competitive and the locker room had improved, but, Nagy brought a real swagger to this team and an energy and enthusiasm that became contagious. This is by all accounts the most unified locker room and tight knit team I've seen in a long time. They would run through a brick wall for Nagy or each other. That is a winning culture we are creating here. Mack's impact on the D will continue, we went from a solid top 10 D to one of if not the best D in the league this season. They dominated teams and some weeks and won games for us when the pressure was on. I hope Vic stays but if he doesn't there is a lot of talent on this team that if we get the right coordinator to replace him this thing can keep rolling. Pace... what more can I say but thank you. He's made some mistakes as all GM's do, but he has put his stamp on this team and seeing him come into his own as a GM has been refreshing. He took over an absolute dumpster fire. Four seasons later we went 12-4 earned the #3 seed in the playoffs (had a chance at the #2 seed) and the future looks bright. His drafts have gotten better and he has made some brilliant moves in FA (some duds as well - looking at you Parkey). He's developed his identity as GM. When he wants something or has strong conviction he goes after it. The Trubisky trade, the Mack trade, Nagy's hiring, etc. His gut isn't always right but more often than not it is. He's transformed the Bears into a young contending team that is built for the long term. It's a good time to be a Bears fan. In past years after a loss like we had this past Sunday I'd still be devastated because my Bears typically underwhelm and once in a while have a surprise season so when you do get a bite at the apple it feels like it's all or nothing like we caught lightning in a bottle. I can move on from the Eagles loss because I believe we will be back stronger next year.

how about hiring Miller to be TE coach or be involved in coaching the TE's. He was a very talented and successful TE when healthy. And a good guy all around, it'd be nice to have him as part of the staff in some way. I do think Parkey will still be here in the offseason and up through mini-camps and maybe even training camp but agree that we'd be foolish not to bring in competition. There may even be some undrafted FA's that we could try out. I'd like us to make an offer to Gould I have a feeling he'd be open to coming back. I would be surprised if we didn't bring back RRH he's made too much of an impact to let him walk.

I'd forgotten about the National Championship game being last night. As a ND fan I pretty much lost interest last week other than rooting for Clemson to beat Bama. Wish I'd have watched it. Alabama getting stomped always brings a smile to my face. Assuming by the comment there was some goal post hitting going on in the kicking game last night?

I didn't realize he ended up close to 1000 yards this year it sure didn't seem like it during the season. He was more involved later in the season and perhaps that was in part due to a heavier focus on installing the passing game early on. I would listen to trade offers but I feel like a 4th rounder is too low. If we could pick up a late 2nd to early/mid 3rd I'd seriously consider taking it. But given the improvement's he's made catching the ball and in overall play once he got more opportunity I wouldn't mind us keeping him and with Cohen add another playmaker to the backfield more in the mold of a Hunt. To give us three quality RB's and let go of Mizzell and Cunningham. Outside of Hunt and Bell(neither of which I'd like to bring in), what's going to be out there and are there any interesting RB prospects that might be there when we pick.

Agree on NO. I have a good feeling that Philly's reality check will finally cash out next week. If we'd have put up more offense we'd have won and it wouldn't have come to a last sec kick. The Saints have offense in spades and their house is a tough place to play at. Their D is pretty decent as well. I'm rooting for a Saints vs Colts Super Bowl. What's interesting is this weekend all but one of the lower seeded teams won their matchups. Both #6 seeds beat the #3 seeds, Chargers at #5 beat the #4 Ravens. Cowboys were the only higher seed to win their matchup by beating the Seahawks.

I'd like to see Gould back. He's said that his getting cut woke him up and he has played much better. He looked like he'd lost his way before we cut him. He could continue his career with the Bears. I'd say he has some productive years left. Look at Vinatieri who's like 100 years old and still getting the job done in Indy.

Replacing a kicker mid season isn't as easy as it sounds, finding dependable kicker off the street or possibly someone's practice squad isn't a given. However, the refusal to bring in kickers to compete or try to find a better option when your kicker is clearly struggling and costing you games. I know you gave him a lot of money but why not kick the tires on some other options.

It was a great season. This was the Bears welcome back to the NFL season thankfully the Bears are built for the future and have a foundation to build on next year. It's disappointing because this team has raised the bar for what Bears fans expect losing in the first round feels like a gut punch. The Eagles were simply the better team that day though I feel the Bears are still the better team in general. This offseason should be interesting to see who we end up keeping, who we end up picking up, and who we get in the draft. Hopefully Vic stays here that would be a huge loss. I feel like the Bears are beginning to find their identity and this is a tight knit team that play for each other and care about each other. Perfect example is after the FG miss they consoled Parkey. The team has come a long way and I still feel the arrow is pointing up next year and beyond.

This is who I'd like us to resign. We have a few that will command more money but also quite a few that we should be able to resign for reasonable contracts. Unrestricted FA's Massie, Callahan, O'Donnell (at the right price), Amos. Possibly also Lynch and (I can't believe I'm typing this) Bellamy. Bellamy has been an asset on special teams and has been a serviceable WR this year. Restricted FA's Scales, Roy Robertson Harris, DeAndre Houston Carson. ERFA Isaiah Erving and Coward.

I chose not to post last night in the heat of the moment. My thought as the game wound down was this is my worst nightmare it's going to come down to a FG to win it and he's going to blow it. I was beyond mad at Parkey and yelled CUT HIM NOW! Even told my wife they should have tied him to the upright... I wanted to post so bad but chose instead to watch some The Office on Netflix as I needed to watch something silly and pointless. My other idea was to load up COD and go on a rampage lol. Now that I've had time to calm and reflect. It's easy to point the finger at Parkey and some of that is pent up frustration of seeing him miss a lot of kicks this season and this isn't the first game winner he's missed. We now know the kick was tipped. It also should not have come to that. We held the Eagles offense to 3 points in the first half and walked into halftime having only put up 6 points ourselves. One of our FG's was off a short field on a turnover if I recall correctly. The first half was our shot at putting the Eagles in a hole and we didn't do that. Opportunity missed. We come out in the second half and the D gives up a TD aided by 3 big penalties that gave them big chunks of yards. On the TD we only had 10 players on the field. We come back and score our own TD, but rather than run a conventional 2 pt conversion to make it a 7 point game we get cute and throw in a backfield of defensive guys and fail. Late in the 4th we have the ball and the 5 point lead and fail to move the ball and at the worst time Pat has a horrible punt and they get the ball with half the field to go for a go ahead TD. The D had several opportunities to stop them but they kept converting and manage to score on 4th and goal from a couple yards out. They failed on their 2 pt conversion. Cohen gets a huge return and Mitch guides the offense down the field with less than a min to go and gets us within Parkey's range only to have the attempt partly blocked. We could have played much better in all three phases of this game to where it wouldn't have come down to a FG to win it. What I don't want to listen to is another week of how great Foles is. The media worship of him this past week has been almost on the level of Favre, Rodgers, Brady butt kissing. There are a few level headed Eagles fans that realize they are playing with house money. The rest are obnoxious. While this loss stings because we know our team is talented enough to hang with best of them. We expected more from this game namely a win. The Bears exceeded my expectations for them this year I like many of us felt we were a year away from making serious noise. I'm closing to look at the positives from this season and this game. We went 12-4 with a new head coach, new offense, many new pieces on offense, a QB in his first full season under a new offense. We went from a top 10 D to one that really came into it's own this season. We have a really good front 7 and a playmaking secondary on the back end. We are a young team and unlike Bears past playoff experiences it's not a one off or surprise season. We aren't going away and are built to compete for the foreseeable future.

Agree and as AZ pointed out it feels like we had an exceptional year at staying healthy partly because we have had season after season of mash unit football. Perhaps we have a better training staff in house now that's helping our guys stay on the field better. Either way Injuries are one of the variables that you can't always control.