March 18, 2021: Emptier

It was quite the Thursday for us Bears fans. We had already secured our starting QB for 2021 when we signed Andy Dalton, so we were due for some bad news… wink, wink. But instead, we were greeted with some more good news, the official end of the era when Trubisky signed with the Bills to be their BACK UP QB. Does that not tell you anything? He is a back up QB! That being said, I’d still rather have him instead of the red headed rifle heading into next year; what a fricking mess. But we’re used to that, on offense that is. Our QB typically sucks; our offense is usually middle of the road if we’re lucky. The whole QB situation stinks, but we’ve been here done that. We’re grizzled veterans when it comes to this level of QB play.

But yes, we were finally hit with bad news on the defensive side of the ball when the Bears released Kyle Fuller. I liked Kyle; I think he is a really good CB. Supposedly he wouldn’t take a salary cut, so he was given his walking papers. I understand that players come and go; I’m not going to have a complete meltdown about this. Yet, if the Bears management was smart, we would have gotten something for our #1 corner, no? If the writing was on the wall, and he was not going to come back, then get something for him… a draft pick, a low one, something; we got zippo. This pisses me off more than Kyle leaving. And now we’re telling Hicks it’s OK to pursue trade opportunities? Is that really the player’s responsibility? I thought the GMs were responsible for that category? Anyways, it sure feels like Akiem will be gone too. He was another big piece of that defense. When he was out of the game, which unfortunately due to injuries, has been pretty common, our run defense struggled severely. Of course the absence of Eddie Goldman hurt last year too. Oh yeah, I guess he’s coming back next year, so that makes Akiem expendable? I don’t completely get it, but it sure feels like we’ll be emptier on defense this year.

But what if… we’re seeing a shift in philosophy, and the Bears are going to invest more money in the offense, including the QB position hopefully, vs paying the big bucks on the defense. If that’s what’s really going on, then I expect to see much more before the Bears take the field next year. If that’s what’s really going on, how can we be mad? I love Fuller and Hicks, I really do, but… what have the Bears won lately? Jack shit. Sure, it’s not their fault per se; our defense has been the one thing we can hang our hat on most of the time. So… if we need the offense to catch up, we need to pay for it, right? You get what you pay for? So if all the money has been invested in the defense, and that hasn’t translated to a championship, then maybe we actually do have to try something different. But Pace isn’t that smart is he?

Hey, I said he should have been gone the day after the season was over. With his swing and miss at the QB position, which happens, I get it, but the fact that he didn’t do his due diligence AND he didn’t draft another one his entire tenure… that’s enough for me to give him the boot. But he’s still here, and he’s drawing the ire of Bears Nation with these latest moves, as people equate the latest transactions as a Dalton for Fuller “trade”. And now Hicks? Hey, look on the bright side: ARob agreed to his franchise tag… I was really worried.

I’m not liking what’s going on, but I also haven’t liked only seeing one Super Bowl title in my lifetime, which is one more than anybody under the age of 35. So, something’s got to give. When the dust settles and the roster is set, then we can truly make our judgements. Until then, we need to buckle up and hold on; it’s going to be a rough ride. Remember to breathe and relax though, because we can really trust Pace to make the right moves… Bear Down?