Chicago Bears: 10 Things About This Team That Infuriate Fans

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As a lifelong Bears fan, there are several things that the team has done in the past that have made me and other Bears fans upset.  There are many examples of things that the Bears have done in the past that make fans wonder.  Drafting players in the second or third round that never make the roster is one good one.  Keeping head coaches on staff when they don’t win on a consistent basis is another. 

How about passing up some good talent in free agency?  Do any of those things make you mad at the Bears?

Looking at the team and management as a whole, I have come up with 10 things about the Bears that may make fans a little upset when it comes to the Bears and the people that make the decisions.

Why Not Play Stephen Paea?

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Remember that the Bears drafted Paea with their second-round pick this past draft and haven’t gotten a ton of production out of him yet. And when they did put him in, he worked out pretty well. Then, they took him out. 

Taking him with a second-round pick means that he should at the least be working his way into the lineup, and he’s not even being allowed to do that. It doesn’t seem like it's Paea’s problem, but instead, it’s the coaching staff’s issue.

Drafting

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Fans from coast to coast and beyond will criticize the Bears draft philosophy.  The have failed consistently on some of their key middle round picks over the Jerry Angelo era (remember guys like Michael Okwo, Dan Bazuin and Jarron Gilbert?).  Angelo has torn the team down by not getting good play out of those middle round draft picks and this frustrates many fans.

The Red Flag

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As a Bears fan, I get really frustrated with the challenged calls that Lovie Smith has attempted from time to time.  Nine times out of 10 when Smith challenges a call he loses it and a timeout.  (timeouts use will be covered later on).  Smith must be getting some bad advice from his replay guy upstairs because the calls hardly ever go his way.

The Use of Timeouts

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Do you ever get the least little bit mad when the Bears call a timeout in the first quarter?  Perhaps you don’t like the fact that by the time the game ends and the Bears have no timeouts. 

The Bears seem to have trouble with clock management as well as getting the plays in on time so they use their timeouts in a way that would make you think they had an unlimited supply.  It brings a lot of frustration to this Bears fan to see them waste timeouts like that.

Not Paying Forte

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You know he deserves the money.  This guy is one of the top running backs in the league and a big reason why the Bears have won the games that they have.  He deserves a raise but the Bears continue to hold off on giving him big money. 

Perhaps one of the reasons why they are doing this is that they could franchise him for a couple of seasons (the maximum number of years that a team can franchise someone is two) and then see how he’s doing after that.  It’s a cost saving measure for a team that typically is tight with the purse strings.  Pay the man!

Lance Briggs Antics

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When Lance Briggs demanded to get paid or traded a few seasons back I felt that the Bears did the right thing and paid him making him what we hoped would be a Bear for life.  Then, just before the first game of this season, Briggs demanded the same thing saying that he had outplayed his contract and if he wasn’t going to get paid then he wanted to be traded.  Well neither has happened and Briggs is playing at a very high level.  Will the Bears give in to his demands?

The Safety Position

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Perhaps this year has been the worst year for the safety position to start the season.  We saw the Bears go out and grab Brandon Merriweather and most everyone thought that he would be the answer at one of the two spots. 

Chris Harris had been playing well to start and it appeared as if the Bears were set at the position.  Then the bottom dropped out.  Harris is now gone and Merriweather can’t seem to find his way back onto the field.  Will this all important cover two defensive position ever get fixed?

No Quality Offensive Linemen

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We have yet to see what Gabe Carimi can do but the rest of the players on the offensive line (except perhaps maybe Roberto Garza) aren’t really what some would consider being quality starting linemen. 

And with Angelo seemingly inept at drafting good offensive linemen this problem compounds itself.  If the Bears could ever get over this and draft some good offensive linemen, as well as possibly get some in free agency, the problem would be solved.

Jay Cutler Getting Sacked

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This kind of goes back to their problems with the offensive line but every time a Bears fan sees quarterback Jay Cutler gets sacked they cringe. 

Perhaps it’s because it happens so often or the way that Cutler looks after he gets sacked (there are some times when you wonder if he is OK because he makes faces that resemble someone in pain or someone who is dying).  Hopefully the Bears have found the formula to keep Cutler off of his back and upright but you can bet that when he gets sacked fans get nervous.

Lovie Smith Being Nice

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There is a saying that says that nice guys finish last and I know that there are fans out there that want to see Smith show a little more emotion than he does.  Smith has the same expressionless look on the sidelines whether or not the play is good or bad and that bothers some people. 

When a player makes a mistake (like Forte did with his two fumbles on Monday night) Smith should get in the face of that player and let him have it.  Perhaps he should start to hold players accountable for their actions.  Smith’s being so nice has give fans a bad feeling and make them want him to show at least a little emotion.