Fire Ryan Poles | Fire Ben Johnson

The Bears had eight draft picks this year after some trades were made. While I would have preferred the first two picks to be on offensive linemen, Ryan Poles drafted two of them out of the eight. And let’s have some prayer that the cornerback they took in Zah Frazier will replace that douche Tyrique Stevenson.

As I’ve said many times over the years, the purpose of a draft is to have these players contribute immediately. However, the history of this franchise has proven that a vast majority of these picks become busts. Let’s see if that changes this time around.

Round 1: No. 10 – Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
Round 2: No. 39 (from CAR) – Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri
Round 2: No. 56 (from MIN via HOU & BUF) – Ozzy Trapilo, T, Boston College
Round 2: No. 62 (from BUF) – Shemar Turner, DT, Texas A&M
Round 4: No. 132 (from BUF) – Ruben Hyppolite II, LB, Maryland
Round 5: No. 169 (Compensatory, from BUF) – Zah Frazier, CB, Texas-San Antonio
Round 6: No. 195 (from PIT via LAR) – Luke Newman, G, Michigan State
Round 7: No. 233 (from CIN) – Kyle Monangai, RB, Rutgers

It’s been a rough couple of years for this franchise. While this was expected, it still sucks. “Mongo” toughed this disease out and probably lasted much longer than others would have. The guy is forever is a legend. I’m sure as time goes on, I’ll still play Tecmo Super Bowl and get 30 sacks a season with him. I am very happy he got to see himself get inducted into the Hall of Fame last year.

I just don’t understand this signing. Yes, Case Keenum has had much more success than Nathan Peterwhacker, Trevor Semen and P.J. Walker. And I know our friend Dave mentioned that he would be more of a mentor to Williams and Bagent. But still, leave the quarterback room alone. Call me a Tyson Bagent fantatic all you want. I get that the Bears have had plenty of money to spend in free agency. But this money could be used elsewhere. The history this franchise has had with signing free agent quarterbacks goes way before Poles got here. It’s never really been successful. “At first you don’t succeed…”

Three weeks until the draft.

*Note: Most of this article was written before the news of his firing.*

I do not have any social media. I never had Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or even Instacart. Social media is disgusting, a waste of time and detrimental to our society. These are facts.

So when I heard that Dan Bernstein was suspended from 670 The Score for the second time in a decade due to comments made online, I wasn’t surprised.

I just don’t know what happened to this guy. Did the world just pass him by? Or is the current society we currently live in force him to be a completely different person compared to 20 years ago?

“Boers and Bernstein” was one of the best shows not only on The Score. But in Chicago. I started listening to The Score in high school and much more frequently in college (mid-2000’s). Boers and Bernstein was the show of choice.

During that time, Dan Bernstein was great. Always bashing callers who said stupid shit. When Terry Boers would add onto it, it was the best radio out there. And yes, there were plenty of instances where he would talk about a certain woman’s physical appearance that gave me a chuckle. I am not here to get into a “political correctness” discussion. But he would have been “cancelled” if those comments were made today compared to 15 years ago. Same with all of those sound bytes they use to play to make everyone laugh. But all of those times, it was entertaining.

Ever since his first suspension a decade ago, he seem to have changed. It seemed he was more “cookie-cutter” with his style and what he said. I get that people may change as years go on. But I felt he was faking it on the radio. This isn’t the Dan Bernstein I listened to for all those years. Again, I get that he had to be careful with what was said in order to not get “cancelled.” But this was over-the-top.

So here is another suspension. This one was warranted. I don’t care who I offend saying this next point. But if you’re an adult and take a picture of yourself holding up a fish, you’re a douchebag. There is no way around it. Bernstein did this. Someone online said he killed it. He then proceeded to do what most people on social media do: Act like a child. Then he acted some more like a child.

I don’t care what the other person’s beliefs were. I’ve heard of others who block people. He could have done that. Or just simply ignored him. Instead, he made some really insane comments at this person. And now, it cost him his job.

The Score has had plenty of issues over the years. Management has changed a time or two and because of that, great hosts were either let go or limited in their jobs. My own rant: Brian Hanley was great with Mike Mulligan. For many years, I listened to them in the middays and when Mike North left, the mornings. Then some douchebag by the name of Jimmy DeCastro got rid of Hanley and brought in David Huh?. And let me tell you something, to be replaced by someone who didn’t want John Fox fired a decade ago shows that the one making that decision is a fucking idiot. And let’s not get started on bringing Dan McNeil back. But that’s not why I called.

It’s time for The Score to get better and I feel it should. Not to put words/thoughts in Laurence Holmes, but even I think he was getting tired of Bernstein. Steve Rosenbloom is out there. He would be a great replacement for Bernstein. Not sure he would want the gig of doing it five days a week. I am going to assume that Leila Rahimi will be a front-runner to take over. We will see what happens.

In closing, it was time for Dan Bernstein to go. I am sure he will end up somewhere else in the not-to-distant future.

I know. I am such a pessimist. As I’ve argued in the past, it’s actually me being a realist. The Bears put a ton of bandages on these open wounds when more is needed.

Once again, all of these free agent signings point to Ryan Poles silently admitting he is an abject failure at scouting and drafting players who can take these positions and for cheaper.

Again, Joe Thuney may only give the Bears one decent season. Drew Dalman could be a bust. Jonah Jackson could be hurt all year and rarely see the field. None of this is encouraging because all of this can be a reality.

For the love of God, someone find a general manager that can actually draft franchise players. The last I checked, Ryan Poles has had three drafts already and only one franchise player. Poles drafts Austin Booker as an edge rusher and he barely sees the field. Then, they are in a hurry to sign not one, but two edge rushers in Dayo Odeyingbo and Grady Jarrett. So with Booker, it’s one of two things: He either sucks ass or it’s shitty coaching. Maybe don’t draft someone who sucks? Or maybe find an actualy coordinator who can fix whatever the problem is?

And let’s be honest, he got Caleb Williams as that franchise player because the Panthers stupidly gave away the draft picks and happened to be the worst team in football that year.

Discuss.

I find it absolutely obnoxious when I’ve heard on the radio constantly these last couple weeks that the Bears are interested in signing or training for an edge rusher. Even Khalil Mack’s name came up again. We’ve been through this shit already.

THEY DRAFTED AUSTIN BOOKER LAST YEAR. WASN’T HE SUPPOSED TO BE THE GUY TO TAKE THAT SPOT?

Oh, and what about Montez Sweat who they just gave a ton of money to with an extension?

Again, this is the problem. Ryan Poles does not know how to draft players. Making a trade for a 32-year old offensive lineman in Joe Thuney reeks of desparation. It screams “abject failure” with Poles. I am sorry. Thuney may still be good. But 32 is at the tail end of a career for a lineman these days. So they made a trade for a guy who may only play a year or two more?

They also traded a pick for Jonah Jackson. As our friend Dave mentioned in the previous thread, this guy was hurt most of last year. This also isn’t good news despite him being “healthy” now.

I saw enough of Ryan Poles and his chin pubes years ago. I don’t give a shit if Ben Johnson is the coach. The general manager needs to give his coach the best players possible to succeed. It won’t matter because the players who have a history of being hurt are hurt again.

The Eagles have been to two Super Bowls in three years and won this last one. Why? Most of their offensive line was drafted. Their playmakers on both sides of the ball were drafted. Yes, they made a free agent signing here and there that made a big difference. But the majority of their success was in the draft. That’s how teams win.

Not by signing a bunch of free agents and/or trading for veterans past their primes.

This will be the thread for the forseeable future as we are in a down time for this website. Of course, if any news occurs, I will be here when I can to give my thoughts.

Free agency in the NFL is about a month away. Of course, I would say the Bears should just build through the draft like Super Bowl-winning teams do. But I am sure Ryan Poles will spend a ridiculous amount of money on free agents that become busts.

Your thoughts below.

This one stings for me. That 2001 season under Dick Jauron was insane. Some unfortuate circumstances including an injury to Jim Miller in that playoff game against the Eagles messed up any chance they had. But the season that led up to it was crazy.

I was a sophomore in high school. The Bears lost the first game of the season against the Ravens. So it only seemed like the team was set up for another season of abysmal failure. But then some crazy shit happened. Mike Brown had two straight pick-six walk-off games in overtime after miracoulous comebacks just to tie it. They had two winning streaks that resulted in all 13 wins. And yes, sadly, two of three losses were against the Packers.

We all can say what we want about the seasons before or after when Jauron was coaching. But it was incredible to see that turnaround. And to this day, it still seems like the Bears get a season like that every five or six years. Of course, it ends in a horrible way. My only other memory before that of the Bears in the playoffs was ’95 when Dave Wannstedt was coaching.

Dick Jauron was known as one of the real good guys in the game. Well-respected anywhere he went.

And yes, the infamous t-shirt I remember fans wearing of “Hey. That’s my Dick Jauron!” I need to find a shirt like that to wear at games.

I am not going to comment on how Virginia ran the team. So with that, it becomes a simple question of “will this team ever be sold?” With Virginia no longer here, I don’t know how the team board of directors finds the next owner. Maybe George is appointed? And if so, will he want to sell the team?

Let’s be real: The Bears still don’t give me any confidence. The reincarnation of Ted Phillips and Ryan Poles are still here. A sale to someone who knows what they are doing will put this team in a better position to contend. The new owner will do what we all have been wanting for years: To clean house completely.

There has never been a better time to finally sell this team.

I do find it rather annoying that guys like Matt Nagy are on teams that succeed despite not having anything to do with it. Now, we shall see what Eberf-LOSE does with the Cowboys as their defensive coordinator.

With the Bears filling out their coaching staff as our loyal friend Dave posted in the previous thread, what are the thoughts so far? For me, I still have every right to be pessimistic until proven otherwise. And apparently, the reincarnation of Ted Phillips had to sit George McCaskey down to convince him to spend a fortune on Ben Johnson. As I’ve said before, I don’t think Geroge is a cheap ass. I think he looks at it from a financial standpoint since he seems to be okay with giving out three-five year deals on coaches. So when they’re fired after two seasons, they are still on the hook for the remaining contract.

The businessman in myself sees this as stupidity. If I buy a new product for my business, I only buy little at the start. Why? Because there is a chance that product could suck and I wouldn’t be stuck with overstock. If it doesn’t sell, I didn’t lose as much.

Maybe give a coach one or two years at the most. That’s more than enough time to figure shit out. That way, when you fire the next incompetent head coach, you may only pay for one year after they are fired rather than two or three.

But what do I know? I’m just a fan.