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Another stellar article from Dagan.
Why thanks for the praise, Claws! Thank God for good resources on the Internet because I was too young to remember any of these things back when they actually happened.
For a guy who was barely out of short pants when all this went on I'd say you did an exceptional job on this narrative Dags. Kudos to you my friend.
Thanks, soulman. I really appreciate the kind words, and believe me, I'm not out searching for them. I really enjoy doing research on this sort of thing since it's going to be what I do in my job after I graduate from college. I would love to be a sports historian, or a historian for a major sports franchise like the Bears or the New York Yankees. Really, I'll take any historian job, because that's the sort of thing I really like to do.
Nice stuff Dags
:drinking61::drinking61:
Let's just hope............. that now that the Bears have that " talented " ( yet at times frustrating ) QB that has been the missing part many times, that a SB win or 2 will follow sometime in the near future ( maybe even THIS year ).... " that's right; I SAID IT " !!!. For Kreutz, Lach, Briggs, Tillman ...... the fans, and the organization. It's been 2 and 1/2 decades. We're due.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blue Horse-shoe
I want the Bears to become the New York Yankees of pro football. To do that, they have to beat the Packers on a regular basis, and they have to keep winning more big games than they lose. They can't afford to put up three lackluster seasons after winning big in one or two years prior to.
The Bears have most of the tools in place to do that. They drafted arguably the most complete LT in the draft in Gabe Carimi, the strongest player in the entire draft and a sure fire 1st Rounder had he not sustained an injury at the Senior Bowl in Stephen Paea, a solid LB prospect to add depth to a currently-depleted linebacking core in J.T. Thomas, a solid S in Chris Conte, and someone to fill Todd Collins' spot on the roster at QB in Nate Enderle. Would I have like to have seen another offensive lineman or a wide receiver taken in the draft? Yeah, but we got the two positions that were of greatest need. We should get some players via free agency hopefully, like an OG and a WR, but at worst, I think Jerry Angelo would consider upgrading RT with someone like Tyson Clabo. I just don't trust Webb there right now with all the sacks that he gave up.
But anyway, enough of my soap box on the upcoming season. I think we should look at building a franchise to have a solid foundation similar to what the Pittsburgh Steelers have, but with a better offensive line. We need to fix it to where our defense is among the best in the NFL every year, because when a team puts its best athletes on defense, that's when the real magic happens. That's why the Bears were competing all last season and not floundering in mediocrity. When we had the three seasons that we were making the playoffs, we weren't defending well. Last year was more like the 2006 Super Bowl season on defense - we bent but didn't break. I have high expectations for the Bears in 2011, and I won't be satisfied if the team isn't competing for the Super Bowl come January.
This team needs to go into this season with a hell-bent " We're going to the Super Bowl !" attitude . Not this sort of half-assed attitude we've seen outta them ( sort of like a well we hope so attitude ). Cuz it always seems to feel like a nagging negative just under the surface like they don't really believe in themselves. This team can compete with anybody, and they need to brush that other stuff off to the side.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dagan81
Exactly. As a fan of the New York Yankees, I expect nothing less than a winning attitude out of my teams that I support. Now, that doesn't mean that I only support teams who win (else I sure as hell wouldn't have adopted Chicago sports teams in football, basketball, and hockey), but it certainly helps that they win so I can have something to look forward to during the regular season, and hopefully, the postseason. I like winners, and I won't lie about that. I like them so much that I expect my teams to at least try to field competitive teams. I would have been fine with the Blackhawks from 1970-1997 because they were in the playoffs every season. I started watching the Bulls because Michael Jordan played for them, and he was my favorite player. And the main reasons I started to watch the Bears were because my dad knew Doug Atkins well while growing up and because of the rich history and tradition that the franchise possesses.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blue Horse-shoe
When I think of the Bears of the past twenty-five years, I think of a franchise that always fails to live up to its billing as a solid football team, with the exception of the teams fielded in the late '90s-early 2000s. It's almost like the franchise is afraid to win, that it doesn't know what to do to put that last piece in place to put it over the top. I have to believe that the only reason the Bears won it all in 1985 is because Jim McMahon played over his head in the games in which he actually played. Walter Payton was the offense on the '85 and '86 teams, but even in the 1986 Divisional Playoff against the Redskins, he faltered due to a fumble that ultimately turned the tide of the game in Washington's favor. You HAVE to have a good quarterback to win championships. We've tried drafting them over the years, and it just hasn't worked out for that any of them, including Jim McMahon, have worked out. We had to trade to get the stud we have now (Jay Cutler), and even he hasn't reached his full potential because his offensive line hasn't given him any time to make throws. Still, he's thrown for over 3,000 yards in back to back seasons, which I think is the first time a Bears quarterback has ever done that. I guess there is something to be said about that.
I think he will have a better offensive line this season than he did last year, but how good it will be remains to be seen until free agency picks back up again. My guess is that if free agency works under 2010 rules, they will make a trade to acquire an offensive guard in the form of someone like Logan Mankins, Davin Joseph, Carl Nicks, Harvey Dahl, etc. The other alternative to me would be to sign Tyson Clabo and shore up the RT sport in the offensive line since it's not a sure thing that J'Marcus Webb will improve over last season since his time working out further kinks in OTAs, mini camps, and potentially training camp may be limited. One way or the other, this offensive line can't be any worse than it was last season, or our season will go down the shitter and Cutler will get killed again. He is the future of this offense.