Martellus Bennett might have been a Pro Bowl-caliber tight end in his NFL heyday, but he’s likely most known for telling it like it is. He’s a man who is never afraid to speak the truth and say what’s on his mind out in the open. That’s why his latest (kind of random?) rant about the Chicago Bears hits particularly close to home.
On Sunday, the Bears might have endured easily the most embarrassing loss of the Matt Eberflus era. Despite a game that they controlled for roughly 57 minutes over the rival Detroit Lions — where they held a 12-point lead with just about three minutes remaining — the Bears lost. Through nine NFC North games, the meat and potatoes of any bog standard NFL schedule, Eberflus’ iteration of the league’s charter franchise remains winless in its division. (Note: The Bears have not won a division game since Thanksgiving 2021, a.k.a. almost two full calendar years.)
It seems this Bears defeat lit a fire under Bennett, who played three seasons in Chicago from 2013 to 2015. He took to Twitter to accuse Bears leadership — namely, owner George McCaskey and any oaf lackey he pays to tell him “yes” — of brazenly selling nostalgia to the Chicago fanbase for years. (Note: The “try-hard-on-defense and hustle” Eberflus is McCaskey’s fourth head-coaching hire since 2013. They are on track to fire him and hire a fifth in January 2024.) Rather than play a brand of modern football that is conducive to winning in the 21st century, Bennett said the Bears are content with mass-marketing a bygone era of when they were great and were the NFL’s gold standard because that would interfere with what they perceive as the organization’s tough guy “brand.”
I highly urge you to read every piece of this rant, of which I will share a few key excerpts. (Note: There are some NSFW language elements.) Indeed, Bennett told not one lie about a franchise that used to own the NFL’s throne every year but is now content with so much less.
Bears ownership lacks futurism. The entire business model is built on selling the past. The 85 bears. They're always trying to recreate that old product instead of buying into and producing a new product.
— Martellus Bennett (@MartysaurusRex) November 19, 2023
Yes, yes, YES.
As a Chicago native, I can’t tell you how often former 1985 Bears are paraded around local media. This is something that I suspect the Bears as an organization appreciate. They seem to believe that a good defense and running game (and nothing else) is how a football team should be built (because that’s what they can sell) despite never having a 4,000-yard passer. And I have no doubt they adore seeing someone like the legendary Dan Hampton pontificate on the late local news any chance he gets.
They never protect their players publicly. You can't trust the organization as a player because you can't relate to the leadership, they can't communicate with the youth.
— Martellus Bennett (@MartysaurusRex) November 19, 2023
I’ve heard Bears coaches criticize their own players on live television so much of late. And that’s just in 2023. There’s something to be said about blaming a lack of execution. That’s fine. That happens. But when that lack of execution happens every week, that’s more on the coaching failing to get its message across than anything. But the next Bears coach to express a modicum of self-awareness will be the first in a long time.
Their audience is a legacy audience and they're afraid of changing because they don't want to lose out on those legacy fans that make them money. Nostalgia is the greatest marketing tool. I'd be interested in seeing fan growth of the bears.
— Martellus Bennett (@MartysaurusRex) November 19, 2023
The new Chicago probably lacks all connection with the bears of today. The youth of Chicago favorite team probably isn’t even the bears.
— Martellus Bennett (@MartysaurusRex) November 19, 2023
These tweets probably speak to me the most from this rant. The idea of the Bears winning with tough defense and a solid running game is essentially a meme among the younger members of the fanbase (like myself). It’s something we joke that only our fathers could genuinely appreciate. I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume that the Bears love selling this brand of football to older people because they think they’re not comfortable getting with the times of a team with a legitimate personality and a vertical passing offense. The Bears don’t want to alienate these fans at the risk of losing the foundational support they provide … that they’ve already lost. Go figure.
And I agree with Bennett. I’d venture to guess that the Chicago Cubs or Chicago Blackhawks are demonstrably more popular with the city’s youth than the always-bumbling Bears. How could you possibly build up loyalty and admiration in a fanbase if all you do is lose in the most uninteresting fashion every week? News flash: kids need positive memories to love their sports teams. Crazy, I know! The modern Bears, as constructed, usually provide none.
So, here the Bears are, at another franchise crossroads.
They will very likely finish in last place in the NFC North for the second straight season. It will be their seventh losing campaign since 2014. They have not won a postseason game since January 2011. And try as Justin Fields might; they are still searching for that mythical franchise quarterback. McCaskey could, of course, elect to blow it up and find a new head coach and general manager to steer the Bears back in the right direction. Heck, he probably will.
But there’s the rub. As Bennett professes, the people who run the Bears have a different idea of the “right direction.” I personally can’t wait until they hire another conservative-minded goober who loves running the ball, playing disciplined defense, and ignoring the most important position in the sport. Paying attention to and helping the quarterback does not align with the Bears’ brand of being overzealous bullies (who never win anything). It never will.
It is that archaic mindset which will inevitably only bring them more failure.