Come To Think Of It Bears Fans: Are We To Blame?

After Sunday's devastating loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, that sent the Chicago Bears to 4 - 6, I got to thinking, how did this happen? I thought back to 2006, the year the Bears did seemingly everything right. How did that team turn into this team in just three seasons?

In recent weeks there's been blame put on Lovie Smith, Jerry Angelo, Ron Turner, Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, the Mccaskeys, and the offensive line. Sure, much of this criticism is warranted. "Lovie has failed to lead the Bears to the playoffs in 3 seasons", "Angelo is too stubborn to make the right moves", "Cutler leads the league in interceptions", "Forte, who was booed mercilessly this past Sunday, cant run like he used to", and "the Mccaskeys and O-Line....Enough said". Does anyone see a pattern here? The management at hallas hall is a bit easier to convince then we thought.

In 2006, the Bears got to the superbowl. Many people claim that in was "despite" Rex Grossman, their starting QB. However, whether you liked him or not, Rex posted huge numbers and got the bears to the big game. But yet, after only 1 full season as a starter, the Fans not only gave up on Rex, but they made it nearly impossible for the Bears to keep him. Exit Rex Grossman.

Then came Cedric Benson, a 4th overall pick. Again, after a couple of seasons that he was plagued by injury, the fans had seen enough, and after a few, questionable at best, run ins with the law, Exit Cedric Benson.

Finally, this off season, Jerry Angelo had seen enough. He decided to pull the trigger on the biggest trade in Chicago Bears history. Enter Jay Cutler. To this point, Jay has started only 10 games, and already, the good old Chicago faithful seem to be jumping ship on him too. Jay Cutler was easily one of the best decisions the Bears have ever made, and it will pan out, if we let it.

My point in this article is this, Out of all 32 teams in the NFL, the fans in Chicago seem to be the most critical of their team. They seem to make decisions now, and think about the consequences later. Did all those years of booing and demanding change bring this on ourselves?

This off season, there are certainly going to be calls for change. Many will call for the removal of Lovie/Angelo. Others may even hope for a change at QB/RB. But although change is certainly necessary, will we make the right changes? 

The ONLY changes that should be made this season are the removal of Turner, the improvement of the offensive line, the addition of some new defensive starters, and the addition of a wide receiver or two. Pulling the plug on Smith, Angelo, Forte, or Cutler, would be far too early, and may even result in disaster for the Bears.

Bears Fans: try to find the positives before the negatives. See the glass as half full, rather than half empty. Give our guys a bit of a break.

Rex Grossman summed it up best when he said, "Some of the home games started to feel like away games". Fans, chose who to criticize wisely, because as the old saying goes,

You dont know what you've got until its gone.