It’s been a week, hasn’t it? Check that, it’s been only 72 hours.
We had Sunday’s collapse, Justin Fields’ injury, Andy Dalton returning to the starting role, a report about player frustration, then a report about Matt Nagy’s job status, and ensuing questions and confusion at Halas Hall.
The Bears found a way to squeeze a lot in a short week.
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Maybe it’s good that they get to play a game so quickly and try to shift the narrative briefly, and allow the holiday weekend to quash some of the outside noise.
Or maybe it’s ripe for disaster, as maybe the Bears will be that much more unprepared for a winless Lions team.
Happy Thanksgiving, and on to this week’s mailbag and our game picks …
(Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length)
How can Bears management truly justify keeping Ryan Pace? Seven years, no playoff wins. He was ringmaster of the Nagy circus. Picked him to run the offense — last in the league. Kept him in that role, allowed him to relegate Fields to the scout team, collaborated with Nagy at every step. Not to mention he invested in Mike Glennon, Mitch Trubisky, Nick Foles, Brian Hoyer, Matt Barkley, Chase Daniel, Tyler Bray. His top investments currently are generating no ROI (except Robert Quinn). How can he be allowed to stay? — Annie P.
Any question about Pace and his future with the franchise has to begin with this — there are seven weeks to go. Anything can happen. But at this juncture, while Nagy’s fate may seem sealed, there’s a sense from league sources outside Halas Hall that Pace could return.
And it wouldn’t be unprecedented. There are three teams whose GMs are on their third head coach, and things are going well for them — Tom Telesco and the Chargers, Steve Keim and the Cardinals and Jason Licht and the Buccaneers.
It comes down to this ultimate question — does the “good” (strong drafting in the middle to late rounds, a solid young core, the decision to take Fields, if he is the “guy,” the Halas Hall renovation) outweigh the fact that the Bears have zero playoff wins in Pace’s seven seasons as general manager.
If he’s in charge of football operations, blame can be traced to him for everything that has gone wrong with the on-field product, from the hiring of Nagy to the draft picks who haven’t panned out to the salary-cap situation, one that has been hindered by throwing money at aging players to make up for prior mistakes at certain positions.
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Could I see an ownership group that we know values stability (and admires Pace) find a way to keep their GM and give him a third chance to hire a head coach? Sure. So, yes, they could find a way and they’ll have their justifications, but I doubt many (any?) fans would agree based on how things have gone.
My question is, what’s the downside of firing Nagy during the season and then alternatively what’s the upside of keeping him until the season is over? I’m struggling to understand what the potential benefits are with keeping Nagy around other than a sales pitch to a new head coaching candidate that, “we never fire coaches during the season.” — Daniel B.
If the front office knows right now it’ll be entering the head coaching search, the Bears could get a head start by making a move now, and starting this season, there could be an added benefit to moving on in-season. A new rule allows teams to interview a candidate for head coach during the final two weeks of the regular season.
If you’re of the belief that being first in line, while also getting to start interviews early in 2021, will be an advantage, it’s hard to argue that any upside of keeping a coach outweighs that. But being the first to enter the coaching search doesn’t always mean that team will land the best candidate.
Even still, any good front office should always have a list of names. Theoretically, George McCaskey could have a running document that he can keep tabs on, even while Nagy is still on staff. It’s not something an owner or team president would admit to, but there’s nothing stopping him from doing his own research.
I don’t think the we-don’t-fire-coaches-midseason would be part of any sales pitch. The team simply prefers stability. McCaskey also might want to wait until the season ends out of respect for Nagy. But with what’s gone on this past week, the past three seasons and what could still occur, nothing is out of the realm of possibility at this point.
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The coaching staff has emphasized the importance of tight ends yet we don’t utilize them week in and week out. How do Cole Kmet, Jimmy Graham and Jesse James not get the ball more? I feel they can take a lot of pressure off Fields when he drops back to pass. — Mike S.
This is one of the biggest indictments of Nagy’s offense since 2019. What’s odd is that in 2018, Trey Burton was quite productive. It’s easy to forget that, considering how Burton’s career with the Bears ended, but he did have 569 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Then again, a lot worked with the ’18 offense that hasn’t been replicated.
Fortunately for the Bears, Kmet is only 22, because otherwise they’d be wasting a season from someone who I do think is a talented player by not finding a way to better use him. The Graham thing continues to confound, especially seeing how much he was used with Dalton compared with Fields against the Ravens. The 49ers game was Fields’ best from start to finish, and it was also James’ most productive game. I don’t think that’s a coincidence, so why hasn’t he been targeted more?
You’re right. A tight end can be a quarterback’s best friend, especially a rookie, and it’s supposed to be a focal point of this offense. However, when a passing game ranks as poorly as the Bears’ does, little is going to work consistently, and that includes the tight ends.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all, however, to see an uptick in production from the tight ends with Dalton in at quarterback, which to me just speaks to the struggles this staff has had with the offense when Fields is at the helm.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! My question is, why did the Bears’ talent evaluators feel it was OK to go into the season with the cornerbacks on this roster? I cannot stand to watch Kindle Vildor and company continue to make the same mistakes, we are heading into Week 12. Have you or other media colleagues heard smaller trades were discussed to improve the cornerback room? — Michael A.
Why isn’t Artie Burns being given a shot to start at the LCB position? I’m not buying the argument that Vildor is a better choice. — Rory W.
It wasn’t a surprise to get a lot of questions about Vildor this week. To the first question, from the moment the Bears let go of Kyle Fuller — and didn’t replace him past signing Desmond Trufant — it was clear that corner would be one of the thinnest positions on the team. The same can be said about the nickel spot. The only add in the draft, Thomas Graham Jr., hasn’t shown enough to warrant a look. That can be counted as a disappointment, but he’s also a sixth-round pick.
While I never heard about potential trades, we know this front office is aggressive and I’m sure they considered ways to upgrade at corner, but they also have had a lot of confidence in Vildor from the beginning. He has had a couple of nice games this season. Overall, though, entering the season I think there was too much reliance on Vildor and Duke Shelley ascending and, combined with the scheme and pass rush, that all would be well. Injuries have struck in the front seven, and we’ve seen how things have gone in the secondary.
As far as Burns goes, he could still be an option down the line, but apparently he’s not showing enough in practice to give coaches the confidence he’d be a better option than Vildor. Maybe we’ll see a change against Detroit or down the line.
Bears-Lions fun facts
• The Bears lead the all-time series 103-75-5, including a 24-14 win at Soldier Field in Week 4.
• Nagy is 6-1 against the Lions and 2-0 on Thanksgiving.
• The Bears didn’t play on Thanksgiving from 2005 to 2013, but this is their fifth Thanksgiving game in the post-Lovie Smith era. They’ve won three in a row, beating the Packers in 2015 and the Lions in ’18 and ’19.
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• The Bears are 19-15-2 all time on Thanksgiving and 13-13-0 on the road. Their first Thanksgiving Day game came on Nov. 25, 1920, a 6-0 win against the Chicago Tigers.
• There’s been only one overtime game for the Bears on Thanksgiving — 1980 in Detroit, which they won on a 95-yard kickoff return by Dave Williams.
• In the first Bears-Lions Thanksgiving game in 1934, Bronko Nagurski threw a touchdown pass to Bill Hewitt in a 19-16 Bears win.
Beller’s fantasy corner
Every week, The Athletic’s Michael Beller — a Chicago native and host of The Athletic’s “Fantasy Football Podcast” and “Best on the Board” — will provide fantasy football analysis for the Bears game. Check out all of our fantasy football coverage here.
Everyone has their favorite Thanksgiving Day traditions. I wouldn’t call the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade one of my “favorites,” but it certainly has been a familiar backdrop to Thanksgiving morning for my entire life. My mom loves the parade. My wife loves the parade. My wife’s family loves the parade. No matter where I’ve done Thanksgiving in 37 years of life, the parade has been on the TV in the morning. The parade, of course, is on NBC, which bookends its Thanksgiving Day programming with the night game, this year Bills at Saints. Now I’m not saying that the execs at NBC found a way to manufacture a game between the 3-7 Bears and 0-9-1 Lions on a competitor’s network to maximize their two big offerings of the day. I’m not a conspiracy theorist. Let’s just say that ignoring Bears-Lions is probably one of their favorite traditions. Anyway, how about 16 targets for Darnell Mooney last week? If Allen Robinson is out again on Thursday, Mooney is a relatively easy guy to like as a fantasy starter. Even if Robinson does return, Mooney would warrant attention as a top-40 option at the position. And to play into the Thanksgiving theme even further, I’ll be adding on a heaping scoop of Mooney props as a nice side dish if Robinson has to miss another game with his hamstring injury. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Game picks: Bears (-3) at Lions, 11:30 a.m. CT on Fox
Kevin Fishbain: Bears 15, Lions 13
(Season record: 7-3 straight up, 5-5 against the spread)
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Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn will be the best players on the field Thursday, and that should make a difference even with everything going on behind the scenes. The offense might even look efficient with Dalton, but more so because of David Montgomery. However, that doesn’t mean it’ll translate to a lot of points.
Adam Jahns: Bears 16, Lions 14
(Season record: 8-2, 4-6)
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! (Also, Dalton plays well enough in an important game for Nagy to beat the Lions, who are bad at everything.)
Dan Pompei: Bears 26, Lions 23
(Season record: 8-2, 3-7)
If the Bears put the ball in the hands of Montgomery, they should be able to control the clock, the Lions, and the game. The Lions will fight hard, but the Bears’ most dangerous opponent in this game is the Bears. In order to win, the Bears will need to play intelligently and with purpose, and not be affected by recent losses and the craziness of the week.
Jon Greenberg: Bears 17, Lions 9
(Season record: 7-3, 5-5)
A top source told me this will be the final score. And as we know, they’re never wrong.
Chris Burke (Lions beat writer): Bears 17, Lions 13
So, here’s the thing: I really think the Lions might win this one — they’re due, still playing really hard and the Bears appear to be in turmoil. But I also picked Detroit to win last time these teams played and … uh … well. Just get me to the turkey.
Nick Baumgardner (Detroit columnist): Bears 12, Lions 9
I, too, was wrong the last time, and Bears Twitter came at me with a lot more fury than I was probably ready for. Which is my fault. Until Dan Campbell proves he’s ready to trust a QB to throw the ball down the field (or finds one who can?) it’s hard to pick anything with this Detroit offense.
(Photo of David Montgomery: Jamie Sabau / Getty Images)
