The Bears are halfway there. Are they living on a prayer?
When the Bears made that awful trade this week, acquiring defensive lineman Montez Sweat from the Commanders, I was accused by most Bears fans (thankfully not VSIN’s own Bill Adee) of being a Bears hater. For the record, I am not a Bears hater. I love their historic franchise from Papa Bear himself George Halas to Mike Ditka, Walter Payton and many others.
Being an analyst means analyzing, not patronizing, so when the Bears give away a high second-round pick and then overpay a good player, someone needs to make the point. I completely understand the Bears needed to increase their payroll to reach the minimum levels or face the consequences. Still, it doesn’t make the decision correct. They easily could have paid Sweat this deal on the open market and saved their high-value second-round pick. They thought differently. Only time will provide the right answer.
It was well documented I wasn’t a Mitchell Trubisky fan, nor was I a believer in Justin Fields. Now facing the Panthers on Thursday night as we cross into the second half of the season, the Bears will hold two top picks in the draft. These two picks could potentially change their franchise’s fortunes. From Jim Miller, Kordell Stewart, Chad Hutchinson, Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman, Brian Griese and Jay Cutler, Bears fans haven’t had a great passer behind center in the last twenty-plus years. You must go back to the 1979 draft when the Bears almost had a great quarterback—almost, had they listened to Mrs. Tobin.
Bill Tobin was then the general manager of the Bears, and on the morning of the draft, he said goodbye to his wife and promised her that if Joe Montana were available in the third round, they would make him their selection. He was, and for some untold reason that only Mrs. Tobin knows, the Bears passed and selected Willie McClendon, running back from Georgia. Sixteen picks later, the 49ers selected Joe Montana. What could have been then, their history of not picking the right player or not being honest with the evaluation, provides lessons for what should happen now. And with eight games left, Bears president Kevin Warren and the McCaskey family need to make decisions for the future, starting with do they have the right head coach and the right person picking players.