Chicago Bears 2018

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Well. Here we are at the end of another season. But thankfully it just doesn't feel the same as the last 10 previous. There isn't the morose tone of waiting for another losing season yet to come. Or maybe wondering "who in holy hell is Marc Trestman?" There is hope and anticipation for training camp. There is an air of confidence that maybe, just maybe, this is our time. That the Chicago Bears will once again be kings of the North. That a Super Bowl appearance, and possibly a victory is within our grasp. For the first time in over a decade, the Bears were relevant again.

But how did we get here?

Just one short year ago, on January 8th Ryan Pace found his man. Matt Nagy, former budding real estate mogul, turned offensive quality control assistant in Philadelphia, promoted to OC in Kansas City. For some of us, he was our guy, others disagreed. But didn't matter, Nagy was now the Head Coach of the Chicago Bears.

Once free agency opened, Ryan Pace wasted no time in announcing that the Bears had their coach and were ready to compete. Signing free agents Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Trey Burton. Re-signing key defensive players like Kyle, Prince, Akiem and Eddie Goldman. Pace was pushing all of his chips in and was ready to do battle in the NFC North. Little did we know, he still had one more ace up his sleeve. On September 1st, 2018 Ryan Pace played his card, and signed the best defensive pass rusher in the league, Khalil Mack. We were all stunned, and shocked. Confused. This is the Bears? Right? They just went out and spent $141M and two 1st round draft picks on one of the best players in the league...wait, what?

Bears season predictions started pouring in. They were a 5-11 team in 2017, but with all of the FA signings on the offense, maybe 8-8. Wait Khalil Mack? OK, 10-6 then. But that was full meatball right? This was a first year coach. A first year offense. A near rookie QB. A record of 10-6 was a pipe dream. A wild card playoff berth was a hope and a prayer...right? Week one was upon us. Bears fans sitting in disbelief, the Packer faithful looking around stunned as the Chicago Bears marched into Lambeau and wrecked Green Bay in the first half, and were up 17-0. Did we win the game? No. But then we beat Seattle and Arizona. No way we could beat the high flying Buccaneers though. They had put up more points in the first three weeks than any team in the league. This was going to be a real test. Truly, 2-2 was a good start for this team. Then it happened. We all got to see what this Nagy offense was capable of. Mitch threw FIVE TD's in the first half, and the Bears defense reduced Tampa Bay to a quivering shell of who they had been the previous three weeks. This would be the Bears coming out party. It was time to let the league know that Chicago just might be different this year.

The second quarter started slow. Losing to Miami in the Oven Bowl. Then giving up two ST TD's to the Pats. We were back to .500. Was this our true reality? I guess the Bears were actually an 8-8 team...? Not so fast. The beloved beat the Jets. The defense showed up at Ralph Wilson stadium, and DESTROYED the Bills. Now we were 5-3, but this wasn't the hope of past seasons. This felt different. This felt like...like...momentum? The Bears had momentum.

The third quarter started out like the end of the 2nd. Another ass whooping placed on a division rival. Beating the Lions so badly in Soldier Field felt right. But the real test for the Bears was looming one week later. Another division rival. The Super Bowl darlings at the beginning of the year. A real test for the Bears. The Vikings...<shudder>. Nope. They were dispatched as well, with a 25-20 score that never felt that close. The Vikings couldn't get anything going against this blossoming defense, with their $84M QB. Two division wins in a row. It felt weird. BUT Biscuits was injured and we had to play four days later in Detroit. No way we could pull off three division wins in 12 days right? Wrong. Done. The final game of the 3rd stanza was a heartbreaking loss to the Giants. A team we were beating. We should have beaten, if not for the inconsistent leg of "he who should not be named."

The last quarter of the season was an epic display of who the Bears were aspiring to be. Dumbstruck meatballs on BFO were claiming that we could win out. Go 4-0, and finish the season 12-4. LOL! Please...this is the Bears. This is Chicago. We were going to lose the last four, end up 8-8, and out of the playoffs. That's how it works here, right? I mean we had to play the 10-2 Rams, the Packers, and the Vikings in MN. No way that happens. Jared Goff and the high flying Rams marched into Soldier Field, on a cold Sunday night. Looking to put the Bears back in their place. From the first snap, the Bears punched the Rams in the mouth repeatedly, until the clock said 0:00, and the Bears had won. They broke McVey's juggernaut. The Packers came into Soldier Field, with the division on the line, and were roundly abused as well. Now this felt different. WE BEAT THE PACKERS! The hated rivals of the North. Now it felt real. It felt like the Bears were marching toward a special season, and they were. The Bears beat the 49'ers in Frisco, and went to Minneapolis and in front of a hostile crowd, beat up on the Vikings...again. It was real. 12-4. NFC North Champions. Just let that wash over you for a moment. However it may have ended. This was a FUN ASS season to be a Bears fan.

It was a hell of ride this year gents. It was great season. But even better because this really feels like the start of something sustainable. Something new and exciting. This isn't a Bears team at its peak. It's one that has just started it's ascent to the top, and ready to place a firm grip on the Vince Lombardi trophy at the end of the 2019 season.

BEAR DOWN!
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wab
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This was the most fun I've had in a season since 2006. 2010 was fun, but it felt...different. I think it was because a lot of us knew that the window was closing.

This window has just cracked open.
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Mikefive
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wab wrote:This was the most fun I've had in a season since 2006. 2010 was fun, but it felt...different. I think it was because a lot of us knew that the window was closing.

This window has just cracked open.
2006 was such a double edged sword, because we had that great defense, but we also had bad Rex in his 4th year.

This year, nobody expected us to be this good. I certainly didn't. What a stunning blossoming with new coach, new defensive superstar(s) and emerging young QB.

It's been 30+ years since I can remember going into an offseason with as much hope and optimism as I have right now. :cheer:
Mikefive's theory: The only time you KNOW that a sports team player, coach or management member is being 100% honest is when they're NOT reciting "the company line".

Go back to leather helmets, NFL.
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Otis Day
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1984 would be the year. Seeing them crush the Skins in the playoffs but losing to the 9ers the next week was rough, but you saw what was brewing. Then every year after 86 was just disappointing as hell. How they did not win more than one SB, who knows. Well, I think we all know now (too many commercials, talk shows, beers.......)
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wab
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Mikefive wrote:
wab wrote:This was the most fun I've had in a season since 2006. 2010 was fun, but it felt...different. I think it was because a lot of us knew that the window was closing.

This window has just cracked open.
2006 was such a double edged sword, because we had that great defense, but we also had bad Rex in his 4th year.

This year, nobody expected us to be this good. I certainly didn't. What a stunning blossoming with new coach, new defensive superstar(s) and emerging young QB.

It's been 30+ years since I can remember going into an offseason with as much hope and optimism as I have right now. :cheer:
I mean really we didn't know what Rex was at that point because he'd only played like 7 or 8 games the three years prior. I think that's why it was exciting (aside from his nearly 1:1 TD to INT ratio). It was also the only season that he played a full 16 games.

The problem with that team and why they didn't sustain success was giving Lovie more power than he could handle after that season - leading to him jettisoning Rivera and having input on personnel moves and influence over draft picks. Angelo, for all his faults had built a pretty good team (with some key holdovers from the Hatley era).

Giving that guy final control over the roster was the reason the Bears didn't sustain success for basically the rest of the decade. 2010 was pretty much the last hurrah.

I'm more hopeful now because there's a legitimate sense of working together with Pace/Nagy and a desire to achieve a common goal. I didn't always get that with Jerry/Lovie, and it bared out at the end.
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wab wrote:
Mikefive wrote:
wab wrote:This was the most fun I've had in a season since 2006. 2010 was fun, but it felt...different. I think it was because a lot of us knew that the window was closing.

This window has just cracked open.
2006 was such a double edged sword, because we had that great defense, but we also had bad Rex in his 4th year.

This year, nobody expected us to be this good. I certainly didn't. What a stunning blossoming with new coach, new defensive superstar(s) and emerging young QB.

It's been 30+ years since I can remember going into an offseason with as much hope and optimism as I have right now. :cheer:
I mean really we didn't know what Rex was at that point because he'd only played like 7 or 8 games the three years prior. I think that's why it was exciting (aside from his nearly 1:1 TD to INT ratio). It was also the only season that he played a full 16 games.

The problem with that team and why they didn't sustain success was giving Lovie more power than he could handle after that season - leading to him jettisoning Rivera and having input on personnel moves and influence over draft picks. Angelo, for all his faults had built a pretty good team (with some key holdovers from the Hatley era).

Giving that guy final control over the roster was the reason the Bears didn't sustain success for basically the rest of the decade. 2010 was pretty much the last hurrah.

I'm more hopeful now because there's a legitimate sense of working together with Pace/Nagy and a desire to achieve a common goal. I didn't always get that with Jerry/Lovie, and it bared out at the end.
To me. Nagy and Pace are like two college buddies that would go out and have a beer together, and oh by the way...rebuild the Bears in the process. That's why I wanted a HC generationally close to Pace. Someone that could sit down with his GM and work through issues and problems on equal footing. Not a 60 year old retread HC with a, "well I've been in this league forever kid and you don't know what you're talking about" attitude. Like they are beginning this journey together. It makes a difference. It gives me a sense of confidence.
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They're actually lovable. I'm not just rooting for the C on the helmet, I really love this team and I'm excited to see them build and grow together.
xyt in the discord chats
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wab
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crueltyabc wrote:They're actually lovable. I'm not just rooting for the C on the helmet, I really love this team and I'm excited to see them build and grow together.
Yeah, this is genuinely a FUN team to root for, from top to bottom (save for one dude right now).
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