Seahawks or Bears?

[otis]

So, which team would you rather be? The Bears and Seahawks are eerily similar in their paths to the superbowl. Two coaches on the way out. Two gms on the verge of being out. No first round picks. Middling cap space for the future. Aging defenses. Poor offensive lines. One okay very expensive qb. One rookie with lots of hope hype. Both about 2-3 years away from maybe actually being real contenders. What say you?

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

I said the hawks.
They have a better recent track record and recent success.

[The Marshall Plan]

I voted any other team.

There's no reason to be attached to either the Seahawks or Bears at this point.

I'm honestly considering not watching any other games this year so long as Fields is out.

Tomorrow is going to be brutal for me because I have to go to my white trash sister-in-law's house. Too cold for fishing. My kid and I just started up Gears Of War again so that's a plus.

[IE]

I'm a Bears fan. Why are you all here?

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

I'm a Bears fan. Why are you all here?

I interpreted the question as “if you were an NFL team which one would you rather be?”.

Of course I’m a bears fan but I don’t think they’re in a great place right now. I also think when your team is struggling you tend to exaggerate it in your mind, which I have probably done.

[IE]

I'm a Bears fan. Why are you all here?

I interpreted the question as “if you were an NFL team which one would you rather be?”.

Of course I’m a bears fan but I don’t think they’re in a great place right now. I also think when your team is struggling you tend to exaggerate it in your mind, which I have probably done.

Yeah I know - just playin'. Personally I think this team is a fired head coach and a veteran FA CB away from being competitive. I consider them unprepared and poorly coached.

[Moriarty]

If you think it's otherwise a tie, Bear ownership loses vs almost any other owner

[o-pus #40 in B major]

I live in the NW and have seen the Bears play in Seattle three times and I felt sorry for the Hawk fans every time. It always felt like the Bear fans were having the most fun.

Around here I feel an instant kinship when I see someone in a Bears hat. On the other hand, the Seahawks merchandise is real common in this area so it just seems like part of the normal background.

Its always been fun for me being a Bear fan - must be a ball for folks who live closer to Chicago.

[otis]

If you think it's otherwise a tie, Bear ownership loses vs almost any other owner

thats a good point. ownership is better with the hawks, or maybe it was with allen alive. idk now. it just seems like the bears and hawks are having similar slow moving car crashes this year. and with us trying to trade for mr fabulous it seemed like a interesting comparison. i'm a bears fan and fields and a few others give me hope but it seems like we will never get all three parts correct at the same time. qb, gm and coach. hell, have we ever?

[dplank]

I would very much take the Bears over the Seahawks. QB is the most important position by a mile, ours is a rookie and theirs is nearing the end of his career. Yes, they have been a far superior franchise over the last 20 years, but GM's and HC's can be replaced. Carroll is like 500 years old, he'll be retiring soon also so that's not an edge either IMO. Schnieder is an excellent GM, we'd be lucky to find one as good as him so advantage Seahawks there. But Fields puts us in a great position IMO, we just need to build around him both in players and scheme.

[IE]

If you ARE the team ... aren't YOU the owner?

[Grizzled]

The Seahawks have had great success under Carroll and John Schneider. Can't stand Carroll, his cheating at USC but he makes guys earn a starting spot, he allows them to compete. Schneider and Pace both have that 'smartest guy in the room' syndrome. Schneider's sold his draft picks for vets, Pace by overdrafting players. Neither has been worth a shit building an OL. Wilson is a superstar, he might have upwards of 8 to 10 good years left, that's up to Mother Nature and the scheme he's in. Fields is potential and much lower paid so the Bears need to use that available cap space to build around him.

[dplank]

The Seahawks have had great success under Carroll and John Schneider. Can't stand Carroll, his cheating at USC but he makes guys earn a starting spot, he allows them to compete. Schneider and Pace both have that 'smartest guy in the room' syndrome. Schneider's sold his draft picks for vets, Pace by overdrafting players. Neither has been worth a shit building an OL. Wilson is a superstar, he might have upwards of 8 to 10 good years left, that's up to Mother Nature and the scheme he's in. Fields is potential and much lower paid so the Bears need to use that available cap space to build around him.

Just going to defend Schneider and Carroll here for a sec. I worked directly with both of those guys for 3 years, multiple trips out to Renton and spent days with them. I didn't catch a whiff of arrogance from either guy, they were very down to earth people who were open to learning about how we could help their team operate a little smoother. Schneider walks around like he just stepped out of the gym all day every day, very matter of fact guy, low key, cool dude. Carroll's personality that you see on TV is actually who that guy is behind closed doors - just a wonderful human being IMO. Quick story - I was meeting with the entire coaching staff walking them through our tech and how to use it - it was my 3rd trip out there after making the sale on the 2nd trip, so I already knew Coach Carroll a little and Schneider a little as they signed off on it all. So I'm in the meeting room, hadn't spoken with Coach Carroll at all since arriving there, and he barges into the meeting all happy. He says, "Hey Randy, great to see you when did you get in! I need to borrow you for a minute can you take a quick break here?" So I go over to his office which is just around the corner from the meeting room, and he hands me a pair of binoculars. He points me to a tree at the far end of their practice field and there's a Bald Eagle sitting on a branch! He says, "I bet you don't see those in DC" (he thought I lived in DC cause I told him the nearest big city when he asked). Then he thanks me for helping their team and back to the meeting I go. I was struck by the fact that he remembered a lowly vendors first name, where I lived, etc from some fairly short meetings we had had over a month prior. We also had lunch together in the lunch room, he introduced me to everyone as "the guy who's going to help us win games next season", and literally walked me out to my car as I left for the airport at the end of the day. I met with roughly 75% of NFL teams during that 3 year stretch, not one behaved that way. Most were aloof, some were outright assholes. Dennis Allen being the worst of the worst, he was the Raiders HC back then.

I have all the respect in the world for that organization. But I'd still choose Chicago because of Fields.

[GSH]

sadly, im Bears until I die

[spudbear]

Like others here, I find it difficult to be dispassionate about the Bears and evaluate them against another team as if I was some schmuck off the street.

I know it's a cliche and some are tired of it, but deep down I'm just another Superfan.

[Grizzled]

The Seahawks have had great success under Carroll and John Schneider. Can't stand Carroll, his cheating at USC but he makes guys earn a starting spot, he allows them to compete. Schneider and Pace both have that 'smartest guy in the room' syndrome. Schneider's sold his draft picks for vets, Pace by overdrafting players. Neither has been worth a shit building an OL. Wilson is a superstar, he might have upwards of 8 to 10 good years left, that's up to Mother Nature and the scheme he's in. Fields is potential and much lower paid so the Bears need to use that available cap space to build around him.

Just going to defend Schneider and Carroll here for a sec. I worked directly with both of those guys for 3 years, multiple trips out to Renton and spent days with them. I didn't catch a whiff of arrogance from either guy, they were very down to earth people who were open to learning about how we could help their team operate a little smoother. Schneider walks around like he just stepped out of the gym all day every day, very matter of fact guy, low key, cool dude. Carroll's personality that you see on TV is actually who that guy is behind closed doors - just a wonderful human being IMO. Quick story - I was meeting with the entire coaching staff walking them through our tech and how to use it - it was my 3rd trip out there after making the sale on the 2nd trip, so I already knew Coach Carroll a little and Schneider a little as they signed off on it all. So I'm in the meeting room, hadn't spoken with Coach Carroll at all since arriving there, and he barges into the meeting all happy. He says, "Hey Randy, great to see you when did you get in! I need to borrow you for a minute can you take a quick break here?" So I go over to his office which is just around the corner from the meeting room, and he hands me a pair of binoculars. He points me to a tree at the far end of their practice field and there's a Bald Eagle sitting on a branch! He says, "I bet you don't see those in DC" (he thought I lived in DC cause I told him the nearest big city when he asked). Then he thanks me for helping their team and back to the meeting I go. I was struck by the fact that he remembered a lowly vendors first name, where I lived, etc from some fairly short meetings we had had over a month prior. We also had lunch together in the lunch room, he introduced me to everyone as "the guy who's going to help us win games next season", and literally walked me out to my car as I left for the airport at the end of the day. I met with roughly 75% of NFL teams during that 3 year stretch, not one behaved that way. Most were aloof, some were outright assholes. Dennis Allen being the worst of the worst, he was the Raiders HC back then.

I have all the respect in the world for that organization. But I'd still choose Chicago because of Fields.

Great stories. Carroll and Schneider are winners, I don't deny that. Carroll was the one who allowed a 3rd round draft pick to compete with highly paid free agent QB in training camp and Russell Wilson won the job. I do think, though, that Schneider's shot himself in the foot with his drafting and team is suffering. I used to live in Renton not too far from the practice facility on Lake Washington, you could have stopped by for some brews.