2 hours ago, GoSox05 said:

58 and 60 used to not be that old, but when teams are hiring guys who are 30 years old it makes them seem ancient.

Offensive guy, but Bruce Arians is another guy who got a shot at a later age.

Forgot about Arians. Good call.

4 hours ago, LittleHurt05 said:

If he leaves, he can't take Mack & Hicks with him, so his defense won't be as good, no matter how brilliant his schemes are.

He made it work in SF. If he has a GM  that will work with him, it'll work.

26 minutes ago, Tony said:

Don't worry, only 9.5 years left of Gruden...

Wait to see what he does with the picks before you make a judgement.

Jimmy Johnson turned a team around pretty quick with the Walker trade.

2 hours ago, Tony said:

It would be like watching the Eagles all last season, experiencing them win the Super Bowl and saying "Well, lets see if they can come out strong next year, I'm just starting to believe in them now..." Then, when the Eagles lay an egg this season, he's the first one saying "See, I told you guys, you can't trust them! I was right!" 

Meanwhile, you just missed out in enjoying a Super Bowl season and have 0 to show for it...

How is that any different from how this board acted in 2012 when the Sox were in first place for 114 days and we were all waiting for the wheels to fall off, which they did eventually. I want nothing more than for the Bears to win a damn superbowl. They are the only team I have NOT witnessed a championship season for. 

I have witnessed and personally remember the following: 

1996-98 Bulls

2005 Sox

2010-15 Hawks

The one missing ring from my sports fandom is the Bears. I'd like to know what it is like to watch the Bears win a Super Bowl. 

Also, I like a challenge when playing Madden, and I play on All-Pro and usually I'll play until I win a damn game. I'm persistent like that. 

8 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

How is that any different from how this board acted in 2012 when the Sox were in first place for 114 days and we were all waiting for the wheels to fall off, which they did eventually. I want nothing more than for the Bears to win a damn superbowl. They are the only team I have NOT witnessed a championship season for. 

I have witnessed and personally remember the following: 

1996-98 Bulls

2005 Sox

2010-15 Hawks

The one missing ring from my sports fandom is the Bears. I'd like to know what it is like to watch the Bears win a Super Bowl. 

Also, I like a challenge when playing Madden, and I play on All-Pro and usually I'll play until I win a damn game. I'm persistent like that. 

If you spent the first six months of the season waiting for the team to fail, I can't imagine a more miserable way to have watched that season. 

11 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

How is that any different from how this board acted in 2012 when the Sox were in first place for 114 days and we were all waiting for the wheels to fall off, which they did eventually. I want nothing more than for the Bears to win a damn superbowl. They are the only team I have NOT witnessed a championship season for. 

I have witnessed and personally remember the following: 

1996-98 Bulls

2005 Sox

2010-15 Hawks

The one missing ring from my sports fandom is the Bears. I'd like to know what it is like to watch the Bears win a Super Bowl. 

Also, I like a challenge when playing Madden, and I play on All-Pro and usually I'll play until I win a damn game. I'm persistent like that. 

Whats the highest level in Madden these days? 

And I cant believe this was 9 years ago:

Yeah I know completely unrelated but MEMORIES.

Edited December 10, 20187 yr by Soxbadger

2 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

If you spent the first six months of the season waiting for the team to fail, I can't imagine a more miserable way to have watched that season. 

I expected them to fail, but was hoping they'd pull it off. They didn't pass the eye test. 

3 minutes ago, Soxbadger said:

Whats the highest level in Madden these days? 

And I cant believe this was 9 years ago:

Yeah I know completely unrelated but MEMORIES.

All-Madden is the highest level but it is ridiculous. You can't do anything on offense. I used to play All Madden back on PS2 when I was in HS, since I graduated HS I haven't had enough time to play as much as I did as a teenager. All Pro is the level below All Madden. 

Edited December 10, 20187 yr by Jack Parkman

2 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

I expected them to fail, but was hoping they'd pull it off. They didn't pass the eye test. 

What an epic waste of sports.

8 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

What an epic waste of sports.

I expected the Bears to lose in 2006 too, FWIW. Grossman wasn't good enough to win a SB. I remain convinced to this day the only reason they even made it to the SB that year was because of how crappy the remainder of the NFC was. I feel like Mitch is significantly better than Grossman, but not good enough yet to win. He could be in 2019 or 2020 though. 

I have pretty low expectations of my teams. I realize asking to win a championship every year is too much to ask, so I approach sports a little differently. I use my brain, expect them to fail until they don't, and just enjoy the ride in the process. The Sox and Hawks are incredibly bad, but I still enjoy watching them. My expectations are low, so it doesn't take much for enjoyment. 

Any success whatsoever is good enough for me. If the Bears win one playoff game this year, they've already exceeded my expectations. I'm fine really. 

The bar in Chicago sports has been set so low that anything better than utter incompetence is a pleasant surprise. LOL. 

Edited December 10, 20187 yr by Jack Parkman

4 minutes ago, Tony said:

It's been proven your "eye test" isn't up to snuff. 

Whatever. 

8 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

I expected the Bears to lose in 2006 too, FWIW. Grossman wasn't good enough to win a SB. I remain convinced to this day the only reason they even made it to the SB that year was because of how crappy the remainder of the NFC was. I feel like Mitch is significantly better than Grossman, but not good enough yet to win. He could be in 2019 or 2020 though. 

I have pretty low expectations of my teams. I realize asking to win a championship every year is too much to ask, so I approach sports a little differently. I use my brain, expect them to fail until they don't, and just enjoy the ride in the process. The Sox and Hawks are incredibly bad, but I still enjoy watching them. My expectations are low, so it doesn't take much for enjoyment. 

Any success whatsoever is good enough for me. If the Bears win one playoff game this year, they've already exceeded my expectations. I'm fine really. 

The bar in Chicago sports has been set so low that anything better than utter incompetence is a pleasant surprise. LOL. 

This is what you call "enjoy the ride?"

You must be a favorite at parties. 

1 minute ago, southsider2k5 said:

This is what you call "enjoy the ride?"

You must be a favorite at parties. 

What is a sports message board for? I still enjoy each and every victory during the process, while acknowledging they probably aren't getting past the 2nd round. It's okay. I don't call it pessimism, I call it having realistic expectations. I'd argue there is never a season where expecting your team to win it all is a realistic expectation. Those seasons are special and should be cherished. 

RE: Tony

I expected Mitch to suck this year, and I was not expecting Nagy to be as good as he has been. They have already exceeded my wildest expectations for this season. 

I was pretty confident when I wrote that that the Bears would be trading at least one top 10 pick away. I was actually Ok with the trade because they were spending their 2019 1st on an edge rusher anyway, but that is beside the point. I thought it was one year too early, that is all. I don't expect the Bears to be good, ever. They historically have always found a way to fuck shit up. 

I knew that the addition of Mack was going to make them a top 3 defense. I will link you to a thread I started on our sister site Talkbears.com in August

http://www.talkbears.com/forums/index.php?/topic/12744-trade-the-bears-1r-pick-for-khalil-mack/

Edited December 10, 20187 yr by Jack Parkman

6 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

What is a sports message board for? I still enjoy each and every victory during the process, while acknowledging they probably aren't getting past the 2nd round. It's okay. I don't call it pessimism, I call it having realistic expectations. I'd argue there is never a season where expecting your team to win it all is a realistic expectation. Those seasons are special and should be cherished. 

lol, expecting failure every time is literally the definition of the word. 

Just admit it man, you're a jaded Chicago fan. It's ok, a lot of us are. We haven't had much to root for recently, so you put a guard up and expect to be disappointed. But at this juncture, 13 games in, I don't know how you can't be a little more optimistic. Are they going to the SB? Doubtful. Are they winning a ring? Extremely doubtful. But who cares? They're good. They're fun to watch. They're in every single game until the final seconds. They haven't lost a game in convincing fashion. It's night and day from last season or really any team since 2010.

 

5 minutes ago, Jenksismyhero said:

lol, expecting failure every time is literally the definition of the word. 

Just admit it man, you're a jaded Chicago fan. It's ok, a lot of us are. We haven't had much to root for recently, so you put a guard up and expect to be disappointed. But at this juncture, 13 games in, I don't know how you can't be a little more optimistic. Are they going to the SB? Doubtful. Are they winning a ring? Extremely doubtful. But who cares? They're good. They're fun to watch. They're in every single game until the final seconds. They haven't lost a game in convincing fashion. It's night and day from last season or really any team since 2010.

 

Absolutely man, I've never been shy about that. I told everyone that I'm especially jaded when it comes to the Bears. I used to have a saying that I knew what it was like to be a Cub fan because the fucking Bears are just grown up Cubs. 

I'd actually argue this team is stronger than the 2006 one that lost the Super Bowl. The only difference is that their competition is also much stronger than it was in 2006. This is the best Bears team that I can remember, and I look forward to watching Mitch grow over the next two seasons and hopefully they get that damn title. 

Edited December 10, 20187 yr by Jack Parkman

6 hours ago, Kyyle23 said:

White was supposed to be both the go up and get it guy with his size as well as a burner.  Robinson does both, and they have the option of using Gabriel as the burner.

either way, White is a sunk cost.   The wide receivers they have are way better than anything we had

The point was that the one thing the bears still don't have is the burner to take the top of the defense. White could have filled that role. Robinson does not. He doesn't have the speed/deep threat ability. Gabriel sort 9f does but he doesn't have the height for the go up and get it play. 

36 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

I expected the Bears to lose in 2006 too, FWIW. Grossman wasn't good enough to win a SB. I remain convinced to this day the only reason they even made it to the SB that year was because of how crappy the remainder of the NFC was. I feel like Mitch is significantly better than Grossman, but not good enough yet to win. He could be in 2019 or 2020 though. 

I have pretty low expectations of my teams. I realize asking to win a championship every year is too much to ask, so I approach sports a little differently. I use my brain, expect them to fail until they don't, and just enjoy the ride in the process. The Sox and Hawks are incredibly bad, but I still enjoy watching them. My expectations are low, so it doesn't take much for enjoyment. 

Any success whatsoever is good enough for me. If the Bears win one playoff game this year, they've already exceeded my expectations. I'm fine really. 

The bar in Chicago sports has been set so low that anything better than utter incompetence is a pleasant surprise. LOL. 

Too bad you can't just enjoy sports for the game itself. Personally, I can go to a game and enjoy it for what it is, a game and entertainment.

It's always better when the team you are rooting for wins but there is enjoyment is just experiencing the game.

Maybe I'm old but enjoyment isn't winning, enjoyment is the game.

18 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

RE: Tony

I expected Mitch to suck this year, and I was not expecting Nagy to be as good as he has been. They have already exceeded my wildest expectations for this season. 

I was pretty confident when I wrote that that the Bears would be trading at least one top 10 pick away. I was actually Ok with the trade because they were spending their 2019 1st on an edge rusher anyway, but that is beside the point. I thought it was one year too early, that is all. I don't expect the Bears to be good, ever. They historically have always found a way to fuck shit up. 

I knew that the addition of Mack was going to make them a top 3 defense. I will link you to a thread I started on our sister site Talkbears.com in August

http://www.talkbears.com/forums/index.php?/topic/12744-trade-the-bears-1r-pick-for-khalil-mack/

What was your lesson learned from the bold?

Does this apply to your personal view in real life as well? Do you expect failure in everything you do until you don't? Doesn't it hold you back from trying anything at all, in life? This is just one bizarre way of thinking... Imagine a world where everyone thinks they're going to fuck up something before they try it. Imagine Pace before making the Mack trade and tells his boss, "I think I will fuck this up, because we haven't made the playoffs in years, but what the heck!" Do you see how strange that sounds?

1 minute ago, ptatc said:

Too bad you can't just enjoy sports for the game itself. Personally, I can go to a game and enjoy it for what it is, a game and entertainment.

It's always better when the team you are rooting for wins but there is enjoyment is just experiencing the game.

Maybe I'm old but enjoyment isn't winning, enjoyment is the game.

I do, why do you think I still watch. This is Chicago, W&L really don't matter. I'm still watching a ton of Hawks games this year, and I watched a lot of Sox games this year. I pick and choose my spots. 

For example, in 2018 I really didn't care if the Sox won a game, I just watched and was excited for Moncada/Lopez/Gio starts and watching them grow. 

For the Hawks this year, I just am watching Strome/DeBrincat/Jokiharju/Perlini and hoping they establish themselves as building blocks for the future. 

I really don't have high expectations. 

1 minute ago, Jack Parkman said:

I do, why do you think I still watch. This is Chicago, W&L really don't matter. I'm still watching a ton of Hawks games this year, and I watched a lot of Sox games this year. I pick and choose my spots. 

For example, in 2018 I really didn't care if the Sox won a game, I just watched and was excited for Moncada/Lopez/Gio starts and watching them grow. 

For the Hawks this year, I just am watching Strome/DeBrincat/Jokiharju/Perlini and hoping they establish themselves as building blocks for the future. 

I really don't have high expectations. 

It doesn't sound like it. It sounds like you watch and only expect the worst each time and get more frustrated and angered. 

10 minutes ago, thxfrthmmrs said:

What was your lesson learned from the bold?

Does this apply to your personal view in real life as well? Do you expect failure in everything you do until you don't? Doesn't it hold you back from trying anything at all, in life? This is just one bizarre way of thinking... Imagine a world where everyone thinks they're going to fuck up something before they try it. Imagine Pace before making the Mack trade and tells his boss, "I think I will fuck this up, because we haven't made the playoffs in years, but what the heck!" Do you see how strange that sounds?

Yeah, I'm pretty scarred. You'd have to have lived my life though to understand it. 

Imagine being told from a young age you'll never accomplish shit as an adult, setting out to prove all doubters wrong, graduating from a top tech college and ending up proving those assholes who said you weren't going to amount to shit right anyway. I did everything in my power to prove those assholes wrong and I still failed miserably. It fucks you up in the head. 

Edited December 10, 20187 yr by Jack Parkman

1 minute ago, ptatc said:

It doesn't sound like it. It sounds like you watch and only expect the worst each time and get more frustrated and angered. 

The first part is correct,the second part is opposite of my attitude when watching sports. I do expect the worst each time, and when it happens, meh. When it doesn't I enjoy the hell out of it. 

2 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

Yeah, I'm pretty scarred. You'd have to have lived my life though to understand it. 

Imagine being told from a young age you'll never accomplish shit as an adult, setting out to prove other people wrong, graduating from a top tech college and ending up proving those assholes who said you weren't going to amount to shit right anyway. I did everything in my power to prove those assholes wrong and I still failed miserably. It fucks you up in the head. 

Ok, that's your experience. I get it.

I will just say that it isn't the experience and views shared by others, especially comes to sports and enjoyment of it. Don't be offended when someone don't agree with your generally negative view of it. But I guess you have been around long enough to know it by now.

1 minute ago, Jack Parkman said:

The first part is correct,the second part is opposite of my attitude when watching sports. I do expect the worst each time, and when it happens, meh. When it doesn't I enjoy the hell out of it. 

Still a really odd way to go into a game. You should try approaching it without the expectation either way. You'll have less ulcers that way.