After an embarrassment on national television in Green Bay, followed by a heartbreaking meltdown at home against Detroit, the Chicago Bears roared back against Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans last Sunday. The 36-7 beatdown in the Ryan Pace Bowl 2.0 kept their playoff hopes alive, at least for another week.
A few extra thoughts on Texans-Bears…
1a. The best part about Mitch Trubisky's game yesterday was that he did nothing special and nothing blatantly bad. He was perfectly just fine the whole way through. The Bears would've been 10-3 with that kind of QB play the whole year.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 14, 2020
As the Bears get set to head to Minneapolis this Sunday to take on the Vikings in a de facto playoff game, I couldn’t help but notice the parallels to last season.
This is the third straight year the Bears are playing meaningful football in December.
Say what you want about the offense, losing streaks, opponents, whatever. But if you're a Bears fan, relevance and meaningful football is a LUXURY.
Why choose to be miserable?
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 14, 2020
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Thankfully for Bears fans, Chicago is playing meaningful football in December yet again. If someone told you before the season that the game at Minnesota before Christmas week would be vital to the Bears’ playoff hopes, wouldn’t you have taken it?
With that, I reach into this week’s Bears Mailbag. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. Follow me on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
Bears Mailbag
How do you hope the Bears handle the off-season? Are you in favor of them retaining Pace and/or Nagy? Or are you ready to see what 2 new people can do?
— Hank Pym (@BearJewNerd) December 15, 2020
It really depends on how they finish this year. You can say what you want about Matt Nagy and his commitment to Nick Foles and *his* scheme. There’s a fair argument there. But you know what? He gave up play-calling, which seemed impossible earlier this year. They went into the bye week, took an honest look, and recommitted to the Mitch Trubisky offense. They’ve had solid results on offense for three straight games now. There’s a chance this can turn into something bigger. And if it does, perhaps Nagy has learned significant lessons that he can apply as head coach, either here or somewhere else.
I don’t trust Ryan Pace to pick the Bears’ next QB, and for good reason. But his latest draft class is looking like a home run. He’s shifted his draft philosophy in recent years and it’s produced better players. There’s a chance Pace has learned his lesson.
My point is, I am not out for blood. Both guys have made mistakes, and if I *had* to choose a direction where changes are made, I’d fire Pace and let the new person evaluate Nagy. And maybe by season’s end, the team is 6-10 and a house cleaning is in deserved order. Or, maybe they’ve truly turned a corner.
We won’t know until the end of the year, now that there is a tangible direction that this team is currently going — one that I’m interested in seeing through.
Why do you want the bears to keep winning when that means Nagy and Pace might save their jobs?
— Alan Krumwiede (@Nightwing_0923) December 15, 2020
Winning is important for building an organizational culture. Losing cannot, and never should be, acceptable for a franchise. Draft position doesn’t matter in the long run, and the hope of a rebuild doesn’t matter. If a team is losing games because they are bad, organizational change will come naturally.
I said it above — the Bears are playing meaningful football in December for the third straight year. Despite a six-game losing streak (six games!!!) this year, they are relevant in the playoff race. Is it due to a weak NFC? Sure. But they did beat Tampa Bay and they probably should’ve beaten New Orleans. On January 1, 2018, if I had told you that the Bears would be relevant every season since then and would have the opportunity to make the playoffs for the second time in 2020 in three years, you’d have taken it.
Are these guys perfect? No. I don’t want Ryan Pace picking another QB. Matt Nagy probably hurt this team by sticking with Nick Foles for so long. But you know what? People do learn from mistakes. Nagy has finally committed to an offense that suits Mitch Trubisky. Pace has drafted well the last two years, with his 2020 class looking like a home run despite first round picks.
Maybe they lose out, finish 6-10, and clean house anyway. At that point, it’d be deserved. But if the Bears *can* make the playoffs, there is no way rooting against that makes sense for Bears fans.
I think there is a possibility Pagano could be out, even if Nagy returns as HC. It's clear that Pagano hasn't been able to get what Vic Fangio could out of this talent.
A few names to potentially keep an eye on: Wade Phillips, Rex Ryan, James Bettcher, Dan Quinn, Jim Schwartz.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 15, 2020
Very meaningful. If Nagy proves his commitment to finally alter the scheme (even if it might be late) leads to a more successful and consistent offense, there's reason to believe he will adopt a similar philosophy with the next QB.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 16, 2020
Giving a one-year deal to Mitch? I doubt it, and Trubisky may not want to return, either, especially if he gets a better offer elsewhere. The new GM/HC combo will have significant decisions to make this offseason regarding how they want to attack the roster in general.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 16, 2020
The next steps would be evaluated after the season, depending on how it ends. *If* (and it's a big one) the Bears win out and make the playoffs, while looking as competent offensively as they have the last two weeks, how do you fire Matt Nagy?
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 16, 2020
If the cap stays flat, that will certainly help the Bears. However, if they go down the route of firing Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy, the new folks who come in to run the show will have that decision to make themselves. They could choose to blow it up anyway.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 16, 2020
I sincerely think that win bought Matt Nagy at least an open mind through the final three games, if not more time. An emphatic performance like that is eye-opening, and it matters.
Ryan Pace's fate might be more sealed right now, but three more wins *could* change that, too.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 15, 2020
I'm going to take Phillips out of this and assume he is out no matter what (reassigned, retired, etc.). Here are my other predictions:
6-10: Both out.
7-9: Pace out, Nagy TBD.
8-8: Pace out, Nagy TBD.
9-7 (in general): Both back.— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 16, 2020
Sam Mustipher is legit at C, and that's strengthened the interior of the Bears' OL significantly. Cody Whitehair got to move back to this OG spot at LG, Alex Bars has been sufficient at RG, and RT has improved with Germain Ifedi playing relatively well there.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 16, 2020
It's possible they only choose to cut one, but this is a deep OT class. The Bears will likely land one starter at tackle via the draft. They may be content with bringing in an Ifedi-type to serve at the other spot in case a more obvious answer isn't available.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 16, 2020
From various reports, indicating that Phillips is either a) on the hot seat, or b) contemplating retirement, it seems this is quite possible.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 16, 2020
Mitch sticking around is not likely. He isn't going to get a franchise deal in Chicago, and he may not even want to return.
Nagy sticking around is probably likely at that point.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 16, 2020
TE is not an easy position for rookies. By all accounts, though, Kmet was doing everything asked of him earlier in the year, even if he was getting limited snaps. He's shown he can handle the dominant workload, and he's finally getting the ball in games now, too.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 16, 2020
He's the head coach and runs the whole football team. While he may not be involved much when it comes to scheme, he has input in game planning, especially when it comes to in-game situations.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 15, 2020
It depends on what the salary cap situation is. If it drops to $175M or so, the Bears have *significant* changes they need to make to comply, and that's before replenishing the roster. We'll have to wait and see.
(Also, it depends on how this team looks finishing the year.)
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) December 16, 2020
