2024 NFL Postmortem

Well the 2024 NFL season is over and before I jump into the dumpster fire that was the 2024 Chicago Bears I'll give a few thoughts on the regular season that was. 

*Lamar Jackson somehow got better and should be MVP...again.

Last season Lamar was great, but this season? Oh Lamar has been historically great. How so? Oh he just casually threw for over 4,100 yards, 40 touchdown passes, completed 66% of his passes and then added in 915 yards and 4 more touchdowns on the ground. So he literally became impossible to scheme against this season.

*Josh Allen will be named MVP.

Josh Allen has had a good season but let's be real. He has not had the season Lamar Jackson has had. It was incredible, but he's thrown for 400 yards less, 13 less touchdowns, and 350 less rushing yards. We can talk about how his team had more wins but I'd counter with he played in a much worse division so it was an easier road to a division title. Again none of these are shots at Allen but this appears to be "voter fatigue" from voting for Lamar again.

*The Patriots are a joke.

The Patriots fired Jerod Mayo after one year and frankly I don't get it. Yes they had a season that was god awful but look at that roster and tell me who could have won with it. This is the thing that drives me insane especially when it comes to black coaches, they are given one chance, expect perfection with a shit roster and then fired. What has changed in one year that wasn't evident last year? Do I know if Mayo is a good coach? No. Do I think he will get to chance to actually improve and get another opportunity? Nope. Good job NFL and Bob Kraft.

Alright on to the shit show that was the Chicago Bears season. 

The Bad:

*Matt Eberflus was worse than even I thought he would be.

Coming into this season I thought even an average coach would have this team with 10 wins. Matt Eberflus was not that. A talented defensive play caller but literally every other decision made was a head scratcher. From the Fail Mary to the non timeout call in Detroit it was a master class in incompetency. 

*Shane Waldron was wholly incompetent from the get go.

Speaking of incompetent, given one of the most exciting quarterback prospects in recent history, a solid running back duo, talented receivers and tight end, and the play calling was some of the most unimaginative and predictable play calling I'd ever seen and as a Bears fan I have seen my fair share of offensive coordinators.

*Ryan Poles need to be jailed for his inaction in improving the Offensive line.

As a former offensive lineman you would think that Ryan Poles would build the team in the trenches. You would be wrong. He literally made no improvements to a poor offensive line and it somehow got worse. You take a quarterback number one and pay a running back in free agency and you put them behind that offensive line. It was and remains mind boggling.

*Thomas Brown was put in an impossible position.

I felt for Thomas Brown. He started the season as passing game coordinator. By December he was the head coach. It was awful timing as under him the offense actually began to get into a rhythm. However ascending to the top job was just too much too fast. 

The Good:

*You found your franchise quarterback.

As the president of the Justin Fields fan club I was reserved in my opinion of Caleb but then I saw him play. Certainly not a perfect player, he holds the ball too long at times, and has a penchant for trying to do too much. However his highs? Hot damn. You get this guy improvising in the pocket and it's a work of art. I was especially impressed with as the game went on he got better. In the 4th quarter he was 116/180 - 64.4% for 1,108 yards, 10 TD, 2 INT, a 95.3 passer rating and 28 carries for 135 yards. That's damn good for any quarterback, let alone a rookie. When the biggest criticism that can lobbied is he paints his nails then I would say you are in pretty good shape.

*Defense has a few more pieces than I thought.

While Montez Sweat and Jaylon Johnson get the headlines and rightfully so, there are a few bright spots that should make an incoming defensive coordinator very happy. Austin Booker, the rookie end has shown flashes, Gevon Dexter has been a force, and Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards are a solid linebacking corp. With guys like Kyler Gordon, Jack Sanborn and hopefully a healthy Jaquan Brisker it could be quite enticing.

*Thomas Brown deserves a shot at another NFL job.

Given that he should have been allowed to grow as offensive coordinator but ended up as a head coach I think with more experience as a play caller, he could be a very effective head coach. He holds himself accountable, and most importantly his team seems to rally around him. If it was possible to keep him in some capacity I wouldn't be mad but someone should give him a chance. 

Well there we have it, I have grieved for what could have been with the Bears and moved on to lighting a candle and praying to the football gods we choose the correct coach this time. The pieces are there, those putting the puzzle together just need to get their shit together.