The Day the Season Died

Welp, it’s all over. The rollercoaster that was the 2008 Chicago Bears finally derailed and crashed into a funnel cake stand killing many innocent bystanders and injuring the confidence of many more. Those who survived the ordeal will more than likely make an appearance on “Oprah” and go on to write a book about their horrifying experience.

Anyway, the Bears lost to the Texans on Sunday 31-24 and thus missed out on a playoff spot (they would have won the final wildcard spot had they won). I could write a whole post about the game, but I’ll just try and devote one short paragraph to it so I can talk about other things instead.

The Bears started off hot by going up 10-0 until the major turning point in the game. This came on back-to-back plays thanks to Mr. Danieal Manning. First, Manning let All-Universe wide receiver Andre Johnson get behind him on a play action deep throw for the Texans’ go ahead touchdown (a lead they would never surrender) and then Manning fumbled the ball right back to the Texans on the ensuing kick off. Momentum was gone forever after that. The Bears also shot themselves in the foot by allowing Johnson to basically have his way with the secondary. This Johnson fellow is quite the receiver in case you were wondering, and the Bears seemingly didn’t even try to guard him. He was open all day. But guess what? This guy might be the best receiver in the entire league, SO MAKE SURE YOU COVER HIM! Double cover him, hell, triple cover him if you have to. Just make sure you make Matt Schaub and Steve Slaton beat you…not the best guy on the field.

Okay. Calm down Kyle. It’s going to be okay.

With the Bears now home for the remainder of the winter and Chicago fans everywhere being forced to turn their attention the the Bulls (shudder) and the Blackhawks (double shutter), let the long wait for baseball to begin with months of football discussion.

In the coming weeks, I’m sure there will be enough posts about the 2009 Bears to write a book, but here’s just a quick outline of the points I’ll be arguing for…

1. Fire Babich

This guy is a joke. He took one of the top defenses in the league and just shat all over them. For the first time in a long while, the offense actually outplayed the defense for the Bears. Sure, KO and Forte were nothing spectacular, but they did enough to help the Bears win every game they played (sans the first Green Bay match up). The defense, on the other hand, was a liability. They couldn’t hold fourth quarter leads (think Carolina, Tampa and Atlanta) and they made quarterbacks like Matt Ryan, Gus Frerotte and Matt Scaub look like the second coming of Dan Marino. Pathetic. So why fire Babich? Because it is clearly his fault. This defense is basically the same as it was under Ron Rivera and it got significantly worse in a short period of time. The only change was the switch at defensive coordinator. I’ll go on a freaking hunger strike if they bring this guy back.

2. Draft speed and size

With a record of 9-7, the Bears will have the No. 18 pick in the first round for this upcoming draft. Anywhere in the middle is always a pretty shitty spot in my opinion and the Bears will most likely try to trade the pick for a second and third rounder or the will package the pick to try and move up. Either way, I think their goal should be to draft speed in the secondary and size at wide receiver. The secondary for the Bears looked slow this year trying to keep up with opponents receivers. They had late breaks on the ball and they couldn’t stay in coverage for very young. What they need is someone who is quick and smart, preferably at safety now that Mike Brown is most likely gone. As for wide receiver, the Bears already have plenty of smaller, speedy guys (Hester, Davis and Bennett), but they need a big playmaking receiver who can out jump defensive backs. Right now, that guy is Greg Olsen, but he’s a bit too slow to use on the outside from anywhere 20 yards or deeper. The Bears need to find a tall target for Orton to hook up with.

3. Continue the QB search

Listen to me very, very carefully now. Kyle Orton is not the answer. Is he a nice player who is cheap and gets the job done? Yes, but he is not the future of this team. I like Kyle Orton. I want him to be a starting quarterback, but the Bears need someone with a stronger arm to utilize Hester’s deep threat ability and someone with more big game leadership. This is where the Bears go shopping. Most are going to be calling for Donovan McNabb. I agree. McNabb’s career is dwindling, but I believe the Bears would have a really solid shot at the playoffs next season with him under center as the window of opportunity is quickly closing (aka Key players getting older). Even if the Bears get one good season out of McNabb, I think it’s worth it to go for one last shot at the Super Bowl before going into full rebuilding mold.

These are just some general thoughts. I have a lot more to say about other things (Hester, Forte, Lovie, etc.), but that will come later.

Go Cubs Go.