A surprising declaration regarding the coaching staff emerges from a Chicago Bears beat reporter.
Whenever I drive without my wife and kids, I like to switch between 670 the Score and ESPN Chicago. As someone who commutes to work downtown via Metra, I rarely find myself alone in the car except for the 15-minute drive to and from the train station three days a week. Last night, on my way home, I tuned in to 670 the Score because they were discussing the Chicago Bears. They had Hub Arkush as a guest, someone I used to enjoy listening to when I was younger. However, as I tuned in, I was taken aback by one particularly surprising statement made by Arkush.
Hub Arkush, and I'm paraphrasing since I was driving and couldn't capture the exact quote, expressed his hope that the coaching staff gets another opportunity to turn things around next year. He spoke about their growth and improvement from 2022 to 2023 and their progress over the course of the current season.
"Really, Hub?" I thought to myself. I'll acknowledge that there have been improvements in certain areas. For instance, the defense is currently ranked second in the league in rushing yards allowed per game. This is a significant improvement from the 2022 season when they allowed 157.3 yards per game, ranking second-worst in the NFL. This year, they are only allowing 79.5 yards per game, a remarkable change, partly attributable to the addition of Andrew Billings at defensive tackle. I'll give some credit to Matt Eberflus here. However, when you assess the talent on this roster, it's clear they are underperforming.
They still rank last in sacks and pressure percentage for the season. Yannick Ngakoue, a defensive end who has consistently recorded eight or more sacks per season, currently has only three. Is it possible for him to notch five more sacks before the end of the season? It's possible, but given the performance of the defensive front, it's doubtful. These are just a few of the issues at hand. While everyone tends to focus on Justin Fields' wins and losses, the reality is that wins are not solely a quarterback statistic. However, they are a significant factor when assessing a coaching staff.
How can Hub Arkush advocate for retaining Matt Eberflus and his team for 2024 when the Bears have a record of 6-22 under his leadership? How can he believe that Eberflus should continue as the head coach when the team has yet to defeat a divisional opponent or string together back-to-back wins?
The team, including the coaching staff, may have deserved some leniency in 2022. After all, Ryan Poles had to rebuild the roster from scratch, trading away some of the top talent and still in the process of shaping the roster as needed. However, with the relatively weak schedule the Chicago Bears had this season and the influx of talent�admittedly, the team is still not complete�the Bears should have more than three wins. Matt Eberflus and this roster continue to fall short of expectations, and anyone advocating for another chance for them is simply not thinking clearly.
| POLL | ||
22 NOVEMBRE | 104 ANSWERS A surprising declaration regarding the coaching staff emerges from a Chicago Bears beat reporter. Will the Bears win more than 5 games this season? | ||
| Yes | 24 | 23.1 % |
| No | 80 | 76.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
