That Other Chicago Team...

I love my Beloved Bears. So, it is with a sad heart that I must say: things are not right in Halas Hall.

Now, this is probably the most unoriginal observation floating around the blogosphere. There is a distinct putrid smell coming from the teams HQ, and isn't from Olin Kreutz's jock. The Bears are just playing like crap.

Before opening this post up for an open discussion in the comments section about the state of Our Beloved, let me give my two cents:

First, Matt Forte is the best thing to happen to the Bears since we drafted Brian Urlacher. He is the foundation of whatever this team is going to become: whether that is a reincarnation of the '85 Bears, or something more similar to the crappy pre-Ditka teams Sweetness made tolerable for a television audience. Second, I think that Kyle Orton as emerged as a steady, serviceable quarterback. The Bears can dick around all they want trying to find the next Peyton or Eli Manning. That's fine. Until then, I am very comfortable with Kyle Orton guiding the ship, and not doing anything stupid--as in, what Rex Grossman constantly did--to sabotage an otherwise good game. I like G-Reg and Desmond at Tight End.

Patrick Mannely should stay with the Bears until retirement. I'm talking about our long-snapper, in case you aren't as well versed in Bears arcana as others. Maynard and Gould will receive no scorn.

The Bears' defensive unit, however, is now only living off of reputation. Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher--despite the crap I hear on talk radio--are worthy of keeping around. I cannot allow myself to speak ill of Mike Brown, who (along with Tony Parish) manned my favorite Bears secondary.

Everyone else should be fired. Everyone. I'm talking about a firesale--a complete abandonment of the Lovie Smith Era. This is a team that is now longer headed forward toward some happy future. It is adrift.

McCaskey--excuse my spelling, but the prick doesn't warrant my time for a proper spellcheck--long ago made clear that he has no dignity or self-respect. But, I'd like to think that the players do. After all, they are men, playing in a manly game. Well Santa Claus isn't real, and the Bears sense of pride is equally fictional. Losing 37-3 against the Packers made that clear.

And, what about Lovie? I know he has coached the Bears to the second highest win total, or whatever, in the past whatever years. But, I'm sick of his lack of intensity. I like the guy, I really do. But, he is the coach of the Chicago Bears, not the Tennessee Titans. We have history, which means tradition, which means minimal standards of performance. That means you can't lose to the Packers like that. More importantly, you can't lose against the Packers like that and look calm, cool, and collected. It should hurt. It should piss you off. It should make you so uncomfortable you just can't live. It should humiliate you. It should, at the very least, make you feel like the rest of the Bear fans in the City--disgusted.

The lack of all those appropriate emotions is strike two for Lovie. Strike one came before the Super Bowl appearance. A year before, in 2005 when he decided to bench his starters for two games or something like that. It showed he didn't have killer instinct, that he wasn't ready to put his food on opponents throats. And, as Ditka astutely observed at the time, it would make the Bears soft. His prediction was confirmed when the Bears lost to Carolina.

Strike three will come if a more game performance isn't delivered against Green Bay later this month.

To recap: This Bears team is going nowhere. What to do? Keep a handful of players, fire everyone else. Start fresh. This should include Lovie Smith, if he does not manage to get his team to play with at least an iota of pride in the next game against Green Bay.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.