If you haven't figured it out by now, Michael Lombardi has been and always will be against the Chicago Bears. I'm honestly not sure why. Maybe it is the last name even though he's not related to Packers' great, Vince Lombardi. I won't call him a troll, but he is at least an antagonist of this franchise. Maybe he knows that speaking poorly about the Chicago Bears will generate views and clicks. We have an angry-mob mentality when it comes to defending this franchise, even though we all know how bad it has been for the last couple of decades.
Well, today on the Pat McAfee show, Michael Lombardi was back at it again. He has drawn out the Chicago Bears fandom by saying that the fan base has too high of expectations. I'm not sure who Lombardi has been listening to or what social media sites he's been scrolling through, but the majority of the Bears' fan base does not have high expectations.
"Look, I think we have a hard time in this world going from understanding what good is to what really great is. We tend to jump right away into greatness. If Matt Eberflus is honest and he wins seven games from three, he's really showing tremendous progress.Michael Lombardi
My concern about the Bears is when you raise these expectations that they are gonna go from three wins to 10 wins — they are not quite equipped for that yet. It takes time. It isn't going to happen instantaneously."
"My concern with the Bears is that the expectations are too high..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 7, 2023
You've gotta get good before you get great"@mlombardiNFL #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Ry3v1SERFB
Here is what's funny. What Michael Lombardi said about the Chicago Bears is exactly how most of the fan base and local analysts feel about this team. No one is calling this team a Super Bowl contender. Most of us understand that it takes time and that this year is all about progress. Progress from Justin Fields. Progress from the defense. Progress from the team as a whole. If we see that, then wins will come with it. Personally, I expect them to hit somewhere around eight wins and be in contention for the playoffs late into the season. At best, this team is a one-and-done team in the playoffs though.
Michael Lombardi goes on to trash Justin Fields again. He speaks facts but doesn't take context into anything he says. He says the team is on step 0. He said the quarterback doesn't throw the football. Lombardi uses 22 passes per game as his reasoning for that but doesn't talk about the fact that Fields was running for his life on many occasions when passing plays were called.
He also doesn't speak to the fact that the team had one of the worst wide receiver corps. in the NFL, but have since greatly improved that area. He plays the martyr often, making it seem like he's not against the Chicago Bears, but his track record says otherwise. To ignore what Ryan Poles has done this offseason is also crazy. The amount of young talent added is fantastic for year two of a rebuild. Next season is when we can truly set expectations higher as long as Justin Fields continues to show progress.
Lombardi claims he is trying to lower expectations, but he's citing something that doesn't exist rather than just giving his opinion about where the team will finish. He stirs the pot without needing to because that's just what he does. Remember, Lombardi is the one who continues to say Justin Fields is the same as Davis Mills — not a good enough quarterback.
Where do you think this Chicago Bears team finishes in 2023?