Every organization has a varied history at the quarterback position. However, some have had more success than others. It isn’t hard to pinpoint the best. Green Bay, San Francisco, Indianapolis, and Dallas come to mind. The Chicago Bears? Well, they’ve become the butt of many jokes over the years for their incredible inability to land even an above-average quarterback over the past 70 years. An interesting question is where they rank all-time. People might be surprised by the answer.
The NFL decided to list every team on their Throwback YouTube channel from 32nd to 1st. The good news is the Bears weren’t dead last. Sadly, they weren’t that far from the bottom, and virtually every team behind them on the rankings is younger than they are.
It shouldn’t be a surprise they’re this low. Sid Luckman carried the torch during their golden age of the 1940s. Sadly, things took a serious dip after that. There were brief periods of success from guys like Billy Wade, Jim McMahon, Erik Kramer, and Jay Cutler. Sadly, it never lasted long.
The Chicago Bears haven’t found consistency.
There are many issues that go into this ineptitude. A big part is consistently drafting or signing the wrong guys. Most of their choices were never that good to begin with. Then again, the fault must be directed at team management too. They’ve routinely failed at building proper infrastructures for a quarterback to thrive. That starts with the head coaches and moves down to the offensive lines and wide receivers. Mike Ditka and Lovie Smith had success. Neither could be considered qualified to develop quarterbacks the right way.
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Matt Eberflus hopes to be different. He seems to have the right idea. He hired Luke Getsy, a wide receiver and QB specialist from Green Bay. His wide-zone offensive system is notorious for elevating quarterbacks to success. The Chicago Bears have invested heavily in the supporting cast this off-season, trading for D.J. Moore and drafting Darnell Wright in the 1st round. It isn’t clear yet if Justin Fields can break the curse for this team. What is clear is he has the best shot of anybody in years.
Halas alway regretted trading away Bobby Layne in favor of Johnny Lujack. I would too.
At least Jimmy Mac would sacrifice himself for the better of his team. He had more heart than talent. Cutler had no heart and he was a slob. But Cutler had real talent. Maybe if the team was serious about running a real offense Cutler would have bought in. Probably not though. Bears have come up short way too many years.
If Cutler had more than Devin Hester for a couple years… and didn’t have Frank Omiyale blocking for him. We talk a lot about Fields lack of talent. Cutler was an elite passer on a garbage team until 2010… when he had a quality offense and a porous defense.
Once again, your analysis of football is impeccable, Glora. Who am I to argue?
Great