Bears Lose Games … and Sense of Class

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2009 hasn’t exactly panned out the way the Chicago Bears had originally envisioned. The trade for golden boy QB Jay Cutler has yielded 14 touchdowns to an astounding 17 interceptions. Injuries to defensive players such as Brian Urlacher, among others, have humbled a once-mighty unit. And a 4-5 record, third place in the NFC North, haven’t completely satisfied Super Bowl predictions of the preseason.

Alright, let’s not sugarcoat this any longer: 2009 has been an abject failure. And the three stooges above — GM Jerry Angelo, Cutler, and Head Coach Lovie Smith — have, to paraphrase R-I-C-K-Y Ricardo, a whole lot of explaining to do.

But W’s and L’s are one thing. In retrospect, we probably expected too much from Cutler and the Bears, especially with Mr. Favre’s return to the Midwest and noticeable personnel weaknesses on both sides of the ball.

Yet these recent disappointments have led to gross contradictions of the class previously embodied by the Bears organization. Two weeks ago, DT Tommie Harris got ejected for a sucker punch only minutes into the first quarter. This week, the Bears refused an interview request from NBC, who is producing a pregame report detailing the team’s struggles.

I’ll be the first to admit these interviews are largely worthless exercises in time-wasting and sports cliches. And that the Bears are under no legal or contractual obligation to sit through 15 minutes of Bob Costas (who, as a pretty decent sports journalist, deserves better treatment).

But as far as Smith’s excuses for skipping the chit-chat — focus on the upcoming game, its their fourth prime time slate, ect — they’re plain baloney. NBC pays millions of dollars to broadcast NFL games … which help pay for the luxuries of playing, coaching, and working in the League. The Bears owe it to their ticket-and-merchandise-buying fans to show face, at the very least. This all reeks of sour grapes, especially since Chicago’s last game featured five interceptions by Cutler.

Dick Jauron became the first coach to be fired in 2009 this week. The former Bears coach, though not immensely successful on the field, is widely respected for his humility and class off it. If the Smith regime continues its stunning lack of courtesy, I’d gladly take Jauron back into the fold.

The Bears won’t win the 2010 Super Bowl anyway; let’s hope they don’t lose the goodwill of fans and media members as well.