Please allow us to brighten this holiday season with the following hideous, paint-by-numbers picture.
One: The Bears beat the heck out of the Jaguars on Sunday. Two: In a turn of events that can only be described as a New Year’s miracle, they beat the Packers next Sunday. Three: Because the world is sick, twisted and occasionally evil, they nevertheless fail to make the playoffs. Four: Draft day comes around and the Bears — no, not again! — miss out on their quarterback of the future.
Look away, people. It’s that bad.
Or is it? In this week’s “Polling Place” — your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter — we asked if you’d rather see the 7-7 Bears win out in vain, or lose out and end up with a higher pick. By a pretty good margin, respondents went the 9-7 route.
Because we’re obligated to by law, we also asked the Trubisky Question: If Mitch looks good the next couple of weeks, should he get another crack at running the offense in 2021? We asked about his coach and general manager, too.
On to the polls:
Poll No. 1: Would you rather see the Bears win out to finish 9-7 — but miss the playoffs — or lose out to finish 7-9 with a higher draft pick?
Time again for our weekly @suntimes "Polling Place" questions. Let us hear from you! Selected comments will appear in Saturday's paper.
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) December 24, 2020
Q1: Would you rather see the Bears win out to finish 9-7 — but miss the playoffs — or lose out to finish 7-9 with a higher draft pick?
Upshot: Is there at least a participation trophy or some other consolation prize the Bears could receive for ending on a four-game winning streak? But, hey, we get it (sort of). No one enjoys seeing their team get kicked around — not even when it just might be the best thing that could happen.
Poll No. 2: If QB Mitch Trubisky finishes strong, would you give him another chance to start next season?
Q2: If Bears QB Mitch Trubisky finishes strong, would you give him another chance to start next season?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) December 24, 2020
Upshot: What happened to all the people who had completely given up on Trubisky before an injury to Nick Foles forced him back into the lineup? This 63% is a real mind bender. “When the fan base is as dumb as the GM, coach and QB,” @mcortinas00 commented. Now there’s that Twitter negativity we’ve come to count on.
Poll No. 3: Which outcome would you pick for Bears general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy?
Q3: Which outcome would you pick for Bears general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) December 24, 2020
Upshot: “I want them both back,” @LiamRohan commented. “Full disclosure, I’m a Packers fan.” We should’ve known there was a catch. “Send ’em both on a Pace bus outta town!” @StraightOuttaHP wrote, capturing the sentiments of many. Nailing a pretty good one-liner, too.
