This post does not aim to irritate, nor does it aim instigate. It is not meant to place blame or ridicule. It is simply an attempt to make to make sense of what happened yesterday. After much mediation and self-reflection, I have come to a conclusion, and with that conclusion a sense of closure that seems to elude most fans on this Monday morning.
Are you ready?
Here it is.
The Bears are not, and were at no point this year, a great team.
That’s it.
Pretty simple huh?
Thaaat's right, Dude. The beauty of this is its simplicity. If the plan gets too complex something always goes wrong. If there's one thing I learned in Nam--
I digress.
The fact remains, the Bears were not an elite team deserving of a chance to go to the Super Bowl. The evidence:
Since week 1, when Calvin Johnson failed to convince the refs that he had made a clean reception, lady luck has been on Chicago’s side. The Bears lucked out again when they played the leagues best worst team, The Bills, in Toronto instead of Buffalo. How about traveling to Minnesota to play a game in conditions that favored our style of play; bitter, cold ground instead of turf? Those are two road games that played more like home games than road ones. We also benefited from playing in a division where two favorites, Green Bay and Minnesota, had trouble getting going. And who did we draw in our first playoff game after a bye? A sub-500 Seattle team. Do you see where I’m going with this? There’s a saying in sports, “Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.” Unfortunately, luck runs out, and when it does, your talent and proficiency get tested. Uh-oh.
The Bears benefited from a soft regular season schedule. They played a decent helping of mediocre to bad teams (Detroit twice, Carolina, Washington, Buffalo, Miami, Seattle) and caught some talented teams when they were playing poorly (Dallas, Minnesota twice). They finished with a respectable 11-5 record, a far cry from the 6-10 outlook predicted by most “experts”. That was a deceiving figure, however; it inflated our perception of who the Bears were. We got a true sense of what kind of team they were when they matched up with some of the leagues better teams (New York Giants, New England, Green Bay) and they were exposed. Big time.
Did you really think we were going to make it? Let’s look at the final four teams battling for a trip to Dallas; the Bears, Packers, Steelers, and Jets. Sing it with me, “One of these things is not like the other...” Those four are all historic franchises, true, in big football markets, but as far as teams go they are not equal. The Packers, Steelers, and Jets were all projected Super Bowl contenders. The Bears were supposed to finish well under 500.
Take all of this into consideration as you sulk over the next couple of weeks. I know it feels good to lash out, and there are plenty of targets of which deserve your ire, but, as you count the days until the Steelers defeat the Pack, keep this in mind: The better team won.
Are you ready?
Here it is.
The Bears are not, and were at no point this year, a great team.
That’s it.
Pretty simple huh?
Thaaat's right, Dude. The beauty of this is its simplicity. If the plan gets too complex something always goes wrong. If there's one thing I learned in Nam--
I digress.
The fact remains, the Bears were not an elite team deserving of a chance to go to the Super Bowl. The evidence:
The Bears Were Lucky
Since week 1, when Calvin Johnson failed to convince the refs that he had made a clean reception, lady luck has been on Chicago’s side. The Bears lucked out again when they played the leagues best worst team, The Bills, in Toronto instead of Buffalo. How about traveling to Minnesota to play a game in conditions that favored our style of play; bitter, cold ground instead of turf? Those are two road games that played more like home games than road ones. We also benefited from playing in a division where two favorites, Green Bay and Minnesota, had trouble getting going. And who did we draw in our first playoff game after a bye? A sub-500 Seattle team. Do you see where I’m going with this? There’s a saying in sports, “Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.” Unfortunately, luck runs out, and when it does, your talent and proficiency get tested. Uh-oh.
The Bears Weren’t Good
The Bears benefited from a soft regular season schedule. They played a decent helping of mediocre to bad teams (Detroit twice, Carolina, Washington, Buffalo, Miami, Seattle) and caught some talented teams when they were playing poorly (Dallas, Minnesota twice). They finished with a respectable 11-5 record, a far cry from the 6-10 outlook predicted by most “experts”. That was a deceiving figure, however; it inflated our perception of who the Bears were. We got a true sense of what kind of team they were when they matched up with some of the leagues better teams (New York Giants, New England, Green Bay) and they were exposed. Big time.
Come on, the Superbowl?
Did you really think we were going to make it? Let’s look at the final four teams battling for a trip to Dallas; the Bears, Packers, Steelers, and Jets. Sing it with me, “One of these things is not like the other...” Those four are all historic franchises, true, in big football markets, but as far as teams go they are not equal. The Packers, Steelers, and Jets were all projected Super Bowl contenders. The Bears were supposed to finish well under 500.
Take all of this into consideration as you sulk over the next couple of weeks. I know it feels good to lash out, and there are plenty of targets of which deserve your ire, but, as you count the days until the Steelers defeat the Pack, keep this in mind: The better team won.
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