On the Bandwagon, Reluctantly

It would appear the Bears, after their Black-Friday, 24-15 win over the Eagles in Philadelphia, are for real. As a Chicago fan, I root for them, if reluctantly. A year ago on Black Friday, the Bears’ front office screwed up the firing of Matt Eberflus, and 365 days later they have a coach in Ben Johnson who Jon Greenberg in today’s The Athletic says, “Twelve games into his first season, it’s clear that he is underpaid.” At $13 million a year? Yeah, right. Yesterday, the Bears dominated time of possession—39:18 to 20:42—by running the ball. Yesterday was the first time in 40 years that two Bears’ runners—D’Andre Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai—combined for 200+ yards in a game. Holy Payton. That’s just how the McCaskeys like it, turning back the clock to Red Grange as much as circumstances allow. I wonder what quarterback Caleb Williams thinks about that. I guess my real problem with the Bears’ success involves the Chicago media. Everybody seems ready to outdo Greenberg, that or turn reporting into a quarterly financial report. In today’s online Tribune, Brad Biggs wrote, “Philadelphia wants to play in a two-high shell,” to which I say, Huh? Wait, there’s more. Biggs described Williams’ touchdown pass to Cole Kmet as a “boot concept to the non-throwing arm side, a three-level flood.” Huh? Whatever happened to sportswriting a la Red Smith, as a form of writing that verged on literature? Now, back to Poles, who’s never exactly exhibited the Midas Touch as GM. Until this year, his draft picks have been hit-or-miss and his free-agent signings mostly miss. But he’s done everything right since hiring Johnson back in February. Monangai,; receiver Luther Burden III; and tight end Colston Loveland constitute what has to be the best Bears’ draft in at least a decade while the free-agent signings of guard Joe Thuney and center Drew Dalman have helped transform the offensive line; some signings on the other side of the ball have also upgraded the defense. Is it lightning in a bottle like the 2018 Bears were under first-yar coach Matt Nagy, or is yesterday proof of an organizational reset? Time will tell. For now, enjoy. The Packers are up next.