The Paw Print

By Kieran Blake, Sports Staff Writer

“You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em. Know when to fold ‘em. Know when to walk away. And know when to run.” – Kenny Rogers, “The Gambler”

Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles didn’t know when to hold them, and he didn’t know when to fold them. He bet it all on Justin Fields, and he lost. The future of this franchise just went right down the drain. They had one of the best defenses in all of the NFL, and they threw it all away. In 2018, the Chicago Bears allowed the fewest points and the third-fewest yards out of all 32 NFL teams. In 2022, they allowed the most points and the fourth-most yards. The only player still left from that 2018 defense now is safety Eddie Jackson.

As junior Matthew Ortiz put it, “Poles has been hit or miss. I feel his free agent decisions have been alright, and his late round drafting has been good, but his round 2-4 drafting has been atrocious, and he didn’t pick Jalen Carter or George Pickens, and we all know about Claypool. I feel like he also needs to go, but if he stays I wouldn’t be too upset either.”

To put what he was talking about into perspective, the Chicago Bears, a team in desperate need of a pass rusher, could have selected Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, possibly the best prospect in all of the NFL draft, with the ninth pick, but opted instead to trade down to the tenth pick and select Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright. Now, granted, the Bears did also need an offensive tackle, and Jalen Carter did have some legal troubles prior to the draft, but that’s not the point. If the best prospect in the draft plays a position you need and is available for your selection, YOU TAKE HIM!!!

As for the Chase Claypool situation, they traded a second-round pick to the Steelers for him last season (Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams, one of the best in the NFL, was acquired from the Packers for a first and a second), and they recently flipped him and a seventh-rounder to Miami for a sixth-rounder this season. Ryan Poles basically just traded a second-rounder and a seventh-rounder for a sixth-rounder. He just got swindled out of a second-round pick like Kevin Costner swindled the Seahawks out of three first-rounders in Draft Day. Ryan Poles is quite frankly not good at his job.

Another major problem is in the coaching category. As Ortiz stated, “[Matt] Eberflus is so bad. The defense is one of the worst in NFL history and he’s a defensive coach so I feel that’s enough said. He has brought a lot of high draft picks so there’s that.”

Sophomore Keenan Davis showed his dismay at Eberflus’ performance as well, expressing that he thinks “the players are good” but “he hasn’t done enough of his job as a coach.”

One freshman (who wished to remain anonymous) believed, “[The Bears] need to put it all together and [Eberflus’] clock management has been bad.”

Bears fans all over the world are frustrated with this organization and the various things Matt Eberflus has done as a part of it. Eberflus brings nothing special to the table on either side of the ball, and he has struggled in terms of clock management and playcalling. Until their recent victory over the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football, the Bears had gone 346 days without winning a game. It took Barbie 17 days to reach $1 billion dollars at the box office and the WGA strike 148 days to end, but it took the Bears almost a year to win a football game. Bears fans are like Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire– screaming in anguish with their hands on their head.

Another glaring issue for this Chicago Bears team is its lack of roster depth. D.J. Moore and Justin Fields are the only players who are actually stars on this Bears offense, and the only player on their team last year who made the pro-bowl was linebacker Roquan Smith, who they traded to the Ravens midway through the 2022 season because they couldn’t afford him anymore. They did add linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, a two-time pro-bowler who is one of the best linebackers in the NFL, but they lost pro-bowlers Kyle Fuller, Akiem Hicks, and Khalil Mack in recent years as well, plus other key players like linebacker Leonard Floyd as well. Their offense has been decimated as well, not that it was anything special to begin with, but they lost wide receiver Allen Robinson II and running back David Montgomery over past offseasons, and they never really found concrete replacements for them. When none of your current players besides a wide receiver and possibly a quarterback are considered impact players, it’s not a good sign.

Payton students did not show optimism about the Bears’ season either, with the most optimistic prediction being a 5-12 record. Many students believed that the Bears were the worst team in the league and called for them to tank for the number one pick in the draft. When it came to quarterback Justin Fields, the general consensus was that he was more of a running back than a quarterback. As senior Evan Musial put it, “Justin Fields isn’t a quarterback, he’s a running back who can throw a football.”

Still, many found that he is still who the Bears should go with as their quarterback until a better option presents itself. Chicago needs a whole roster overhaul and needs to go into full rebuild mode, as they don’t have a sustainable passing game, running game, offensive line, or defense. Their coach doesn’t make good decisions in the game, and their general manager doesn’t make good decisions out of it. The Bears won’t make the playoffs with their current team, and if nothing changes soon, they won’t make the playoffs with any teams in the near future. We bet it all, and we lost. It’s that simple. Now it’s time to go back to the drawing board.