Bears: Phillips, Pace, Nagy will all return

[Z Bear]

I just found it funny that no one would confirm when his contract expires. It seems they are hiding an extension to appease the masses that wanted to run him out of town.

[The Cooler King]

I just found it funny that no one would confirm when his contract expires. It seems they are hiding an extension to appease the masses that wanted to run him out of town.

So I think it's normal to have a formal policy to not formally comment on contracts, but if they thought that question wasn't going to come it's kind of silly. They've obviously made an effort to conceal it, but maybe they'll reconsider and "let it leak" after that.

[dplank]

That press conference was utterly useless IMO. Watched the whole thing and learned basically nothing other than how well everyone seems to work together - yay.

[Xee]

Thanks for the summaries @UOK. I got the idea the way Mitch was talking his last couple press conferences he knew he wasn't coming back; he seemed a lot less hesitant to point fingers and came pretty close to calling out Nagy directly. Hope he goes on to have a decent career in the NFL.

[Burl]

Yes, thanks to all esp. UOK for the summaries.

Im good with Mitch walking and Foles mentoring some draft pick, I guess. Just so long as Foles isn't the team's projected answer going forward.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Mitch.

[dplank]

Thanks for the summaries @UOK. I got the idea the way Mitch was talking his last couple press conferences he knew he wasn't coming back; he seemed a lot less hesitant to point fingers and came pretty close to calling out Nagy directly. Hope he goes on to have a decent career in the NFL.

I've never understood the "I hope he has a great career elsewhere" logic. I mean, that would be bad for the Bears in a few different ways, no? Loyalty is to the uniform. Mitch is a good kid, got it, and agree - but once he wears another uniform he's the enemy and whichever team he's playing for I hope loses (unless they are playing the Packers).

[The Cooler King]

That press conference was utterly useless IMO. Watched the whole thing and learned basically nothing other than how well everyone seems to work together - yay.

Still waiting for that useful presser to ever occur.

Anyways, its useful to try and read between the lines. If I'm reading between the lines, McCaskey knows he doesn't know what he doesn't know, but if things are functional he isn't going to rock the boat. He did it with Lovie and it ended up disastrous. He probably regrets that and knows he got over ambitious trying to leave his mark at Chairman.

That's my hot take.

Ryan and Nagy were of course allusive. Nagy seemed tense, especially though... The zoom conferences give a little more nuance to pick up on those things verse a formal presser I think.

[dplank]

Think about it. We took Mitch #2 overall in 2017 and his lack of ability cost us 4 years of team development. That typically doesn't endear one to the fans, but because Mitch is a nice guy everyone heaps praise on him and feels bad for him? He's made what, like 20 million dollars playing shitty football for us? I just don't get it at all.

I know this is crazy talk, but you can simultaneously appreciate the fact that he's a nice kid AND hate the fact that he significantly hurt our franchise even if it wasn't his fault where he was drafted and who was passed on instead.

[wab]

Thanks for the summaries @UOK. I got the idea the way Mitch was talking his last couple press conferences he knew he wasn't coming back; he seemed a lot less hesitant to point fingers and came pretty close to calling out Nagy directly. Hope he goes on to have a decent career in the NFL.

I've never understood the "I hope he has a great career elsewhere" logic. I mean, that would be bad for the Bears in a few different ways, no? Loyalty is to the uniform. Mitch is a good kid, got it, and agree - but once he wears another uniform he's the enemy and whichever team he's playing for I hope loses (unless they are playing the Packers).

Your loyalty might relegated to the uniform, but I also hope he goes on to be successful. It's also possible to root for players that don't wear Bears uniforms.

[dplank]

I honestly believe this sentiment has a lot to do with how invested you were (or weren't) in him when we drafted him and the desire to ultimately be proven right in some misguided way.

[wab]

I honestly believe this sentiment has a lot to do with how invested you were (or weren't) in him when we drafted him and the desire to ultimately be proven right in some misguided way.

Not really. I was incredibly disappointed that they drafted him.

He's a good kid, a hard worker, and tries to do things the right way. It has literally zero to do with being right about anything, and everything to do with wishing the best for a human being.

[G08]

I honestly believe this sentiment has a lot to do with how invested you were (or weren't) in him when we drafted him and the desire to ultimately be proven right in some misguided way.

I think you miiiight be projecting here a little bit with Foles, buddy

To you point though, I think you will see posters here that are driven hard by ego and the desire to be proven right, as you mentioned above. @wab isn't one of those dudes.

[Z Bear]

I really thought they traded up for Jamal Adams or Soloman Thomas (who is a bigger bust than Trubisky). I was mad when I saw them on the clock and irate when they selected Trubisky.

I am fairly convinced they are going to be trading up this year too. Everyone mentioned getting the QB right, and George stated emphatically that he and Ted stay out of the football side of things. That means Pace will be falling in love with someone and trading up again, further crutching the future of the franchise. Calling it now, they Bears trade up with Carolina and take Wilson if he is there at 8.

[G08]

I really thought they traded up for Jamal Adams or Soloman Thomas (who is a bigger bust than Trubisky). I was mad when I saw them on the clock and irate when they selected Trubisky.

I am fairly convinced they are going to be trading up this year too. Everyone mentioned getting the QB right, and George stated emphatically that he and Ted stay out of the football side of things. That means Pace will be falling in love with someone and trading up again, further crutching the future of the franchise. Calling it now, they Bears trade up with Carolina and take Wilson if he is there at 8.

If Pace/Nagy are hellbent on running Nagy's scheme, I think it'll be Mac Jones. I could maybe see a trade up to 14 if they are worried New England wants him.

[The Cooler King]

It's probably worth mentioning that Paces trade ups to date have never been that big. He's been agressive, but in each case it was more protectionist than purely ambitious.

Not saying he doesn't have it in him, but jumping up like 15 spots woild be a first.

[dplank]

I honestly believe this sentiment has a lot to do with how invested you were (or weren't) in him when we drafted him and the desire to ultimately be proven right in some misguided way.

I think you miiiight be projecting here a little bit with Foles, buddy

To you point though, I think you will see posters here that are driven hard by ego and the desire to be proven right, as you mentioned above. @wab isn't one of those dudes.

I realize how I wrote that made it sound like I was directing that point at wab but I wasn't, it was a more general thought. Sloppy writing on my part. There's this very general sentiment that everyone wants to see Mitch succeed for some other franchise that just doesn't make any sense to me as that would literally be a bad thing for the Bears.

I don't hate the kid or anything, but he sucked for us and cost our franchise dearly. I have no interest in seeing that mistake further magnified by him doing well for some OTHER franchise. Generally speaking, I want good things for the Bears franchise and bad things for other franchises. It's not personal, I feel like many here make it personal because they like Mitch as a person.

There's no reason to feel bad for Mitch. He was given EVERY CHANCE here, he just isn't very good. He made a fuck ton of money being a bad quarterback. I cannot wrap my head around the thinking that we somehow owe him anything or screwed him in some way - he made MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PLAYING BAD FOOTBALL. Give me that chance pls...lol

[Rusty Trombagent]

so based on the bitching on twitter, everyone assumed today that virginia was going to walk out and proclaim "EVERYONE HAS BEEN FIRED"

[G08]

I hear ya. I think he is (was?) miscast in this offense, and his production in a system that better fit his talents were evident this season. I want most every Bear that leaves here to succeed (unless they play us, of course) unless they were just complete pieces of shit (hello, Martellus Bennett).

Still, I don't think he was as terrible as many Bears fans (speaking in general terms here) make him out to be. It just doesn't seem to be a good fit with Nagy, and that's fine.

[G08]

so based on the bitching on twitter, everyone assumed today that virginia was going to walk out and proclaim "EVERYONE HAS BEEN FIRED"

*church organ sounds* BAH GAWD THAT'S VIRGINA MCCASKEY'S MUSIC!!!

[The Cooler King]

so based on the bitching on twitter, everyone assumed today that virginia was going to walk out and proclaim "EVERYONE HAS BEEN FIRED"

Sports radio callers upset the press conference wasn't as informative as they wanted for the 20th straight time in their life.

[Otis Day]

Someone was on the radio the other day and was discussing Pace. They were discussing his trading up and the signing of some FAs. They tied that to his failures in the draft. Signed ARob because White failed. Signed Quinn because Floyd failed. The trade up for 10 may be a little different, but it was a fail. So trading up, possibly, for another QB, losing valuable picks (probably) will be because the other QB (10) failed.

I just can't see Pace and Nagy turning this around, just can't. Hope and pray I am wrong, but expecting another unsatisfying year, 2021.

[Xee]

I think you miiiight be projecting here a little bit with Foles, buddy

To you point though, I think you will see posters here that are driven hard by ego and the desire to be proven right, as you mentioned above. @wab isn't one of those dudes.

I realize how I wrote that made it sound like I was directing that point at wab but I wasn't, it was a more general thought. Sloppy writing on my part. There's this very general sentiment that everyone wants to see Mitch succeed for some other franchise that just doesn't make any sense to me as that would literally be a bad thing for the Bears.

I don't hate the kid or anything, but he sucked for us and cost our franchise dearly. I have no interest in seeing that mistake further magnified by him doing well for some OTHER franchise. Generally speaking, I want good things for the Bears franchise and bad things for other franchises. It's not personal, I feel like many here make it personal because they like Mitch as a person.

There's no reason to feel bad for Mitch. He was given EVERY CHANCE here, he just isn't very good. He made a fuck ton of money being a bad quarterback. I cannot wrap my head around the thinking that we somehow owe him anything or screwed him in some way - he made MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PLAYING BAD FOOTBALL. Give me that chance pls...lol

I think it's clear we saw where Mitch's ceiling was and he most likely will end up bouncing around the league as a backup quarterback. He's not exactly someone who I think we have to fear. And I don't feel bad for him in any way or think we owe him anything. Feel free to quote me if you can find where I said that.

And I don't get how you wish that you had the chance to earn millions of dollars playing bad football. By your logic, Mitch should be tarred and feathered for doing the same thing.

Look at it this way, you go to college to be a plumber, graduate with good grades and a company looks at your resume and makes you an offer of a million dollars per year to work for them. After a few years working for the company, it's apparent that you are not advancing in any way and because of this, the company fires you.

Because you apparently sucked at being a plumber in the professional space, should the company hate you for "hurting" their company? I don't see how that makes sense at all. It was either you excelled in college but couldn't continue that in the professional arena (which you couldn't possibly know in college) or the company made huge mistakes in evaluating your potential.

The only way I can see "hating" Mitch was if he pulled a Jamarcus Russell and just completely phoned it in every game and obviously had no interest in actually playing, practicing, staying in shape, etc. Then you could argue he was actively hurting your team.

You may have that opinion, but I don't. I think Mitch tried his best but, like I said before, his best wasn't good enough to be a starter so the Bears showed him the door. That's how it goes for the majority of players who are drafted; very few are going to be playing until they retire.

[The Cooler King]

Someone was on the radio the other day and was discussing Pace. They were discussing his trading up and the signing of some FAs. They tied that to his failures in the draft. Signed ARob because White failed. Signed Quinn because Floyd failed. The trade up for 10 may be a little different, but it was a fail. So trading up, possibly, for another QB, losing valuable picks (probably) will be because the other QB (10) failed.

I just can't see Pace and Nagy turning this around, just can't. Hope and pray I am wrong, but expecting another unsatisfying year, 2021.

I mean I really hope it's not that basic/reactionary. Flops happen and the first goal is always to fill holes first, so there's some relation, but holes don't have to be filled as such 1:1 corrections.

One way hopefully around this is to primarily to draft for BPA and with 3-4 year outlook as important as 1-2 year outlook. Otherwise you're constantly just plugging holes.

[dplank]

I realize how I wrote that made it sound like I was directing that point at wab but I wasn't, it was a more general thought. Sloppy writing on my part. There's this very general sentiment that everyone wants to see Mitch succeed for some other franchise that just doesn't make any sense to me as that would literally be a bad thing for the Bears.

I don't hate the kid or anything, but he sucked for us and cost our franchise dearly. I have no interest in seeing that mistake further magnified by him doing well for some OTHER franchise. Generally speaking, I want good things for the Bears franchise and bad things for other franchises. It's not personal, I feel like many here make it personal because they like Mitch as a person.

There's no reason to feel bad for Mitch. He was given EVERY CHANCE here, he just isn't very good. He made a fuck ton of money being a bad quarterback. I cannot wrap my head around the thinking that we somehow owe him anything or screwed him in some way - he made MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PLAYING BAD FOOTBALL. Give me that chance pls...lol

I think it's clear we saw where Mitch's ceiling was and he most likely will end up bouncing around the league as a backup quarterback. He's not exactly someone who I think we have to fear. And I don't feel bad for him in any way or think we owe him anything. Feel free to quote me if you can find where I said that.

And I don't get how you wish that you had the chance to earn millions of dollars playing bad football. By your logic, Mitch should be tarred and feathered for doing the same thing.

Look at it this way, you go to college to be a plumber, graduate with good grades and a company looks at your resume and makes you an offer of a million dollars per year to work for them. After a few years working for the company, it's apparent that you are not advancing in any way and because of this, the company fires you.

Because you apparently sucked at being a plumber in the professional space, should the company hate you for "hurting" their company? I don't see how that makes sense at all. It was either you excelled in college but couldn't continue that in the professional arena (which you couldn't possibly know in college) or the company made huge mistakes in evaluating your potential.

The only way I can see "hating" Mitch was if he pulled a Jamarcus Russell and just completely phoned it in every game and obviously had no interest in actually playing, practicing, staying in shape, etc. Then you could argue he was actively hurting your team.

You may have that opinion, but I don't. I think Mitch tried his best but, like I said before, his best wasn't good enough to be a starter so the Bears showed him the door. That's how it goes for the majority of players who are drafted; very few are going to be playing until they retire.

Well, this time my writing was more clear and you simply didn't read it or just generally struggle with reading comprehension skills. I clearly said I don't hate the kid, like, super super clearly said that - so no, I don't have that opinion. And again, maybe folks should stop taking a 'general sentiment' comment as an attack on them personally? I believe it was wab who leveled this criticism at me just last week when Burly made a Vikings/Mitch Vikings/Foles argument and I said something about it being a terrible comp?

More than a few folks here have said, at various times in the past, that they genuinely felt bad for Mitch. I honestly can't even remember who nor do I care, I was simply making a general observation. Moving on...it's eggshells around here today yeesh. I'm still basking in the glow of Pagano's departure, happy day for me.

[donkeykong]

Thanks for the summaries @UOK. I got the idea the way Mitch was talking his last couple press conferences he knew he wasn't coming back; he seemed a lot less hesitant to point fingers and came pretty close to calling out Nagy directly. Hope he goes on to have a decent career in the NFL.

I've never understood the "I hope he has a great career elsewhere" logic. I mean, that would be bad for the Bears in a few different ways, no? Loyalty is to the uniform. Mitch is a good kid, got it, and agree - but once he wears another uniform he's the enemy and whichever team he's playing for I hope loses (unless they are playing the Packers).
[/quo@UOK

Are you serious with this?! “He’s the enemy”?! I think most of us have other teams we like and root for. I have my favorite AFC teams for instance, I definitely like other teams in the NFC. When the Bears play any of those other teams, it’s default for the Bears obviously. Wishing the other teams would go 0-16 each and every season and the Bears go undefeated is nice and all...but it’s not realistic. I do hope VERY much that Mitch goes on to be successful in the NFL. I hope it’s the exact same trajectory as Tannehill. My hope is that people outside of Chicago can see what a loser Nagy is.

Mitch is a good kid, he works hard, he tries even harder. I can’t wish anything bad for him, he doesn’t deserve that, and he’s certainly not my enemy. At the very least he will be a terrific backup for years to come.

[dplank]

Yea, you're taking it way too literally. Not a single NFL player is my 'enemy' in the sense that you just portrayed it, and I've said repeatedly that I like Mitch as a person. Not sure what axe you all have to grind here. When the uniforms are on, I'll root for guys wearing Navy and Burnt Orange and I'll root against guys in other colors - whether they are nice people, hard workers, or not. Any further extension of that simple thought is not my POV.

[thunderspirit]

I don't consider any player in another uniform my enemy. Opposition, sure. But I generally don't wish bad things on other team's players.*

*Except Ben Roethlisberger and Tyreek Hill. Fuck those guys.

[Otis Day]

Yea, you're taking it way too literally. Not a single NFL player is my 'enemy' in the sense that you just portrayed it, and I've said repeatedly that I like Mitch as a person. Not sure what axe you all have to grind here. When the uniforms are on, I'll root for guys wearing Navy and Burnt Orange and I'll root against guys in other colors - whether they are nice people, hard workers, or not. Any further extension of that simple thought is not my POV.

I will root for guys from my alma mater (few in NFL at the moment for there) even when playing the Bears. I will always root for the Bears to win though. Could care less what ex Bears do on another team. I will say, I would like 10 to be successful so it can be rubbed in Nagy's face. Little childish, but fuck it, Nags didn't do 10 any favors.

[Xee]

Moving on...it's eggshells around here today yeesh.

Says the guy jumping on others for essentially just saying "Good luck" to someone as they go on to an uncertain future. Apparently the only appropriate response is to hope they fail miserably in their career.

[dplank]

@donkeykong

I'm struggling to understand something here. Why is it ok for you to root for Nagy's failure but it's not ok for me to root for Mitch's failure? Especially when Nagy is going to be a Bear next year and Mitch is not?

@xee I apologize if you can't understand my perspective, I'll just say that you are dramatically misinterpreting what I'm saying.