Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears This Week?
I.
Always.
Like.
THE.
Chicago.
Bears.
Albert Breer on the Future of Flus
Breer works for SI, which I didn’t know still existed, under Peter King’s old MMQB moniker. His information regarding Flus’s future has been the best in the business:
The Chicago Bears’ move Tuesday morning didn’t come out of left field—Matt Eberflus himself indicated change could be on its way Monday during his press conference. It’s also not wholly unwarranted, given that the Bears haven’t scored a touchdown since losing on a Hail Mary in Washington two weeks ago.
But there is a larger question here, unrelated to an unhappy fan base getting a scalp as Chicago moves away from offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and to Thomas Brown as the team’s play-caller.
And what exactly will this fix?
Brown’s a good coach. But his play-calling experience, at any level, is limited to what he did last year in Carolina, when Frank Reich started as the Panthers’ play-caller, then gave the duties to Brown, took them back three weeks later, and then was fired, which cleared the way for Brown to call the offense over the last six weeks of the season. He’s never coached quarterbacks, and, at least on paper, he doesn’t really fix the problem.
And a big part of the problem is there’s been very little experience on the staff coaching the No. 1 pick in the draft who is starting at quarterback. Waldron had none. Brown had one year of it, and that didn’t turn out great last year. Quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph had none. So while there was acumen and expertise there, the staff was flying blind taking a quarterback like Caleb Williams from an Air Raid offense at USC into the pros.
Maybe the Bears will go outside the organization now to fill that void, and get Brown some help. Judging by how the offense has played, the staff could certainly use some.
Obviously, there are big-picture questions with Eberflus, too, and it’s fair to say his future in Chicago rides largely on Brown’s job performance.
The NFL’s had two offensive coordinators fired in-season thus far this year, and they just so happen to be the two guys that Eberflus has hired to run his offense with the Bears—Waldron, and now ex-Raiders coordinator Luke Getsy.
So it’d stand to reason that ownership probably won’t let Eberflus make a third hire into the position after this year. So Brown turning around Williams and saving the Bears’ season is likely Eberflus’s ticket out of this. And if Brown delivers, then, obviously, Brown would probably become an easy pick to stick as the OC.
Sidney Lumet’s The Verdict
This is a rather excellent “Making of” featurette on The Verdict, one of the finest films ever made. Thanksgiving week I’ll be doing a more thorough look at Lumet from 1980 onward, but I hope this short doc will encourage to see out and consume this film.
Can the Bears Still Have a Season?
The short answer is yes.
Does it feel that way right now?
The obvious answer is no.
But Matt Eberflus has actually been given a gift by the scheduling gods, putting Green Bay in Soldier Field this week.
If the Bears beat the Packers, they’ll be .500 and a game back of a playoff spot. If the Bears beat the Packers, and Thomas Brown makes a discernible impact on offense, the Bears will regain some wind at their backs. Bears fans always overinflate the importance of these Bears/Packers tilts. Winning one could be career saving for Eberflus.
Two Words for D.J. Moore
Show up.
Tomorrow: Game Prediction!