Chicago Bears Week 5 Milk Carton

When a player or coach doesn’t really show up during a Bear’s game, they get put on the Milk Carton. As most of you know, people’s pictures used to be put at the back of milk cartons when they went missing. So the Milk Carton for the Bears is more about who went missing or played terribly during the game.

Losing to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday was tough. It was game that had a fair share of costly mistakes and penalties. In the first half especially, the offense looked pitiful at times. In the second half, the defense was tired out. Nevertheless, the beloved Bears were still able to keep the game close for a fairly long time.

This game reminds me of a certain game in 2001 between the St. Louis Rams and the New England Patriots. It was a Super Bowl preview of “The Greatest Show on Turf” coming to Foxboro to play Tom Brady’s surprisingly successful New England Patriots. The Rams were beating them pretty well, but the Patriots were able to hold on and keep things interesting. St. Louis ended up winning 24-17. The Rams came in as the team everyone expected to roll over everyone and win the Super Bowl, but this game showed that the Patriots weren’t that much worse.

Everyone knows that season ended up with Brady beating Kurt Warner’s Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI (Thanks in large part to an obscure section of the NFL Rulebook). Then came the dynasty. The point I’m trying to make with this anecdote is that on Sunday, arguably the best team in the NFC came into Chicago to face the Bears. If it wasn’t for a few missed tackles, drops, and fumbles, the Bears could have won.

As far as I’m concerned, the Bears are who we thought they were; a highly competitive team on the rise. I’ve always wanted to have a valid reason to say that line. Though no one is happy with the final score, I still think that the Bears are a pretty good team that will keep improving every week. N0w for the dreaded carton…