Loss Ends Bears Season, Starts Look to Future

December 30, 2013 @ admin → No Comments

And so it ends, not with a bang but with an interception. Which is pretty much the football equivalent of a whimper, I suppose. The Chicago Bears lost to the Green Bay Packers 33-28 Sunday at Soldier Field. Which means the Packer go home to Lambeau Field as NFC North champs for the first round of the playoffs, and the Bears merely go home. Or on vacation. Osr wherever.

Hoping this image of one of our favorite models and Chicago sports enthusiast, Stephy C, will provide some consolation for distraught Bears fans.

The Bears (8-8) had injuries that perhaps made them a lesser team than they were in 2012 when they went 10-6 in Lovie Smith’s final season as coach. The Packers (8-7-1) had injuries, too.

As disappointed as Bears fans might be (and the guess here is that a fair number of them might be more than slightly disappointed), they always can wonder: What if.

What if Julius Peppers had been able to lay a hand on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Green Bay’s final offensive play, a 48-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb on a fourth-and-eight in the final minute.

What if the Bears had been able to stop any of the Packers’ fourth-down plays. … What if this play … What if…

More like WTF.

What if Henry Melton hadn’t been injured. Maybe the defensive line would have been better. What is cornerback Charles Tillman hadn’t been injured. Maybe the defensive secondary might have been better. What if Lance Briggs, who did make it back to the field to play, hadn’t been injured. Maybe the linebacking would have been better. Maybe the defense might have been better.

What if quarterback Jay Cutler hadn’t been injured during the season. Maybe no one would have found out how effective Josh McCown was as QB.

Cutler played well in what well could have been his final game with the Bears. He is a free agent. The team might be better off not paying big bucks to him and rather use some of that sum to bring in players to boldster the defense.

“I think we’ll deal with that later in the week,” Cutler said after completing 15-of-24 passes for 226 yards. “Right now, I’m kind of living in the moment. I’m a little upset about the game and how it went. This locker room is never going to be the same. [We’ll] miss some guys. Some guys are going to leave. Some guys are going to stay. It’s part of the business.”

Brandon Marshall: “Jay will be back. So all the stories for the offseason you guys can just put that at the bottom. Write everything you have to say and just say, ‘Brandon said Jay will be back.’Just like I said Jay would be back from the groin injury, Jay’s gonna be back in a contract year. I don’t have any inside information. That’s my quarterback.”

So we can addd general manager to Marshall’s resume to go with wide receiver.

There is no certainty in the NFL. Long-term contracts mean very little in terms of length.

There is no certainty in life. The NFL does a better job of re-enforcing that concept than we do in our daily lives. But life — whether it be the Bears or otherwise — goes on. And we would be wise to enjoy the moments. Even when sometimes those moments seem incredibly painful.

Today is Monday. A new week. Almost a new year. The Bears won’t be playing games again for many months. Take a deep breath or two. Or more. Think of a fortuitous future rather than a painful past. It won’t change anything about the 2013 season. But it just might change your attitude for a better today and a better tomorrow.

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