The complete lack of Offensive production isn't entirely down to Loggains imo, although he no doubt is a big part of the problem. The approach of the Offense this last two weeks has Fox's stamp all over it. In fact, this has been the preferred approach all season, on both sides, if we're honest. The only real difference is the Offense isn't turning the ball over now and the D has started getting TO's of their own. But how long is the Defense, and the team as a whole, gonna keep this up? How many wins saves Fox's job and will the Defense get those wins and ultimately save the senile old fuck's job? Gotta admit, i thought there was no way he wasn't done after this season. Now, with the how inconsistent/bad the rest of the league is, coupled with our own D's play..... i think there's a decent shot that Fox survives.
If the bears fight back and go something absurd like 10+ wins, he's here to stay. But I think if Ryan Pace wants him gone, he's got the perfect excuse even with the bears getting 2 straight wins. 7 pass attempts for his rookie quarterback taken #2 overall. The guy Ryan Pace had to trade assets, 3 draft picks, to move up and get. Only got 7 pass attempts yesterday. I think Fox can go 9-7, and if he continues to treat Mitch Trubisky the same way he did Tim Tebow when he was in Denver, Pace has his out. That being said, I also think the bears looked significantly better yesterday because Cam Newton was bad. All kinds of bad. The bears played not to lose and Cam found a way to play worse. Against a competent offense, I think the bears let an opponent back in the game as they sputtered to move the ball and keep the defense off the field. On a side note from topic--Right now I'd call Pittsburgh about Martavius Bryant. He wants out and Pittsburgh has no leverage at the trade table because they stood by him as he was suspended for drugs. Now he's getting no passes, wanted to get traded, then didn't, now wants to again. Trade deadlines in another week, and well--he's better than anything the bears got at WR. And when the bears signed Wheaton, I thought he was the good one that wasn't Antonio Brown. I was wrong. Go get your young quarterback help, Pace.
Also with an additional note, I think even if the team improves, Pace will be given the graces from the McKaskeys to get at least a second HC. And I also can see Pace pulling a Licht in Tampa a few years ago, shitcanning Lovie for Dirk Koetter. Now Fangio =/= Koetter, Fangio kind of defeats the purpose of a quarterback who can throw and is accurate, smart, and aware. Fangio needs to find the perfect coordinator--which he can't. Or if Pace wants out I think he'll throw a presser together at the end of the season saying "even though we improved, we want to go in a different direction" or some half baked, bureaucratic response..... I just hope its Pace calling the shots, I think he is.
We won't win more than 6 games and I think we go winless for the division. This is still bad team in spite of the strides made by the defense. Fox will find a way to lose more games than we should. As far as whether he gets fired or not, I think not. He'll get one more year next year, which will be playoffs or bust to finish out his current deal. This year there's always the excuse of the rookie QB to fall back on. I do have some other random thoughts: - Trubs confidence continues to decline, and I completely blame the playcalling. When your OC doesn't trust you to throw the ball on first and second down, how confident would you be to throw when it's 3rd and long and the D is bringing the house? Fox fully believes Trubs is Tebow. - Had calls gone our way in the Vikings game, the refs clearly taking points off the board on horrible calls, we'd be in first place in the NFC North right now. The NFL is complete shit. Worst state it's ever been in my lifetime.
The choice for me came down to deciding between 6 or 7 wins, which is progress i guess since i had the team winning 5 games before the season. But to get to 8 wins the Bears would have to go 5-4 from here, and sorry, i just don't buy that at all. Too many glaring flaws in this team to go over half a season with a winning record. I look at their schedule and don't know how they don't win at least 3 more, but am very torn about 4 wins. It seems so believable with that schedule and off the back of two wins, but the way they are approaching games, things are prob already going as well as they can and that surely cant last. @Saints Packers Lions @Eagles 49ers @Bengals @Lions Browns @Vikings Thats what they've got left and looking at it, making a case for 5 wins doesn't feel too hard. But something will go wrong along the way. The D puts in a bad game, the O starts turning it over again, Fox bungles a close game by playing not to lose and doing exactly that. Any or all of those things could happen and probably will. I'd like to say they finish with 7 wins, but im no believer yet. As for Fox, good point pat about the ratio of investment v return re Trubisky. It can't be Pace's vision to spend so much on a QB and then use him in this way. That surely can't last beyond this season. But i don't think i believe Pace even has the balls to cut Fox loose early. And i wouldn't even put it past him to use some backa$$ logic to justify keeping Fox, like saying Peyton Manning had the best season of his HOF career under Fox. Its hard to deny the team is making progress, even if it is slow and largely on one side of the ball. They aren't getting blown out like they were the previous 2 years. They're a game below .500. They also could've beaten the Vikings, should've beaten the Falcons. Ultimately my hunch is 6 or 7 wins doesn't matter. I voted 6 wins and Fox survives. Isn't Bryant staring down his 3rd strike? He gets that and he's suspended a long time. And he's started talking down his teammates publicly i see. The Bears are desperate, no doubt, but i don't think Pace goes near this.
This team is going to go 7-9 or better. And if Fox stays he retards the growth of the entire offense. I object to the entire line of questioning and just hope Fox is gone.
I voted 8+ and he keeps his job but I don’t think the defense will be able to save his job. The offense will need to improve. And I think it can. Loggains was able to get some decent production out of Barkley he should be able to do better with Trubisky. Now if that doesn’t happen and Pace is not happy with the way the offense and with that Trubiskys development is going he needs to act. No sane person can make that kind of commitment to a QB and then let people he can not trust develop him.
I will put it here, we lose one of either the 49ers or Browns. This team's MO is to play not to lose, so we will lose one of the gimmies. The 49ers seem like the likely candidate, but how Bears would it be to lose to the Browns, who could well be winless even at that point?
I think Pace is starting to see why, after Fox had success in Denver, John Elway wanted Fox gone. This is all speculation on my part but while I know Pace was involved in Fox's hire, I think he was more of a favorite of "adviser" Ernie Accorsi who helped the Bears in the GM and Coach search that season. Accorsi wanted a veteran HC to go with the young and inexperienced Pace and I think so did the Bears mainly because of the dumpster fire that Emery and Juice Box turned the locker room into. I think Pace this offseason started making this HIS team where in the first few seasons he worked with Fox to build the team. As you remember, their was a lot of "rumors" that Fox was not happy about the Trubisky pick and the move is something he definitely wouldn't have done if it was his choice. I don't think they are on the same page anymore and think Pace wants to bring in "his guy" with no other influences or advisers telling him what to do. Do I think Fox is coming back? No I don't. Unless the Bears somehow go 7-2 or 6-3 the rest of the way, somehow squeak into the playoffs and Trubisky just takes off in this offense. Fox's best asset on his coaching staff is Fangio and if you believe all the rumors and reporting, will not re-sign with the Bears (may be different if Fox is fired?). Loggains and his staff don't move the needle for Fox and I don't think Fox's offensive vision is in line with Pace's. I also think Pace wants an offensive minded HC because his future is basically reliant on the success or failure of Trubisky. Would anyone in their right mind think John Fox is the best HC to develop a young QB? Not a chance in hell. I think Pace will be very aware of who a new offensive minded HC will bring for DC which could be key in who he hires. Time to send Fox and his archaic, stone age philosophy to pasture and while I can't say this for sure, I believe Pace thinks this as well.
Could see them going 4-4 here could also see them going 0-8 or somewhere in between but not better than 4-4. Sure losses would look to be one the Eagles and Vikings but if the Vikings have the division wrapped up, they may be resting players that last game. I would put both the Lions games as coin flips with both teams getting a slight edge at home. 49ers and Browns are obviously in Bears favor at Home, think the defense can easily shut down both of those offenses. Packers are a lean Bears in my opinion because they are extremely mediocre without Rodgers and the Bears will be coming off the bye Bengals don't scare anyone, look at them to be similar to the Raven but they do have a solid defense and better offense Without Rodgers this is an extremely soft schedule but with this offense and Fox's play not to lose mentality, they could lose every game left on the schedule. They are not going to blow anyone out which means Fox could have to make some crucial decisions and the last 2 seasons have shown he sucks at game management. This team will go as far as the defense will take them and you can't rely on defensive TD's every week which have been a big reason for this 2 game win streak.
With the very mediocre state of the league and Rodgers' injury, 8+ wins makes us a playoff team. Until we see something from the passing game this is still pure fantasy. Remember Pace was the guy who didn't want Trubs playing in the first place. So I think he's fine with how Fox is currently handling his development. Another reason why Fox will be back in 2018. I think 4-5 is the most optimistic prognostication for the rest of the season. Again, we're likely going to win a game or two that no one expected, and likely to lose a game or two that we're expected to win. Just because the Browns and 49ers are winless against the rest of the league doesn't mean we can't lose to them. The Vikings are an 8-8 team that now has a great shot at the division thanks to Rodgers injury. They've been overrated for the last 3 years and are now struggling against the Browns, though it's still early. I don't take them seriously at all. For not the horrible penalty calls that took points away from us a couple weeks ago, we'd be on a 3 game winning streak and in first place in the NFC North.
