Bulls: Fun to Watch Again

December 22, 2017

Last night the Bulls lost to Lebron James and his merry men. While I fully expected them to lose it was a thrilling game. Even when they went down 10 points and I thought they were going to lose big, they came back. This was when I realized the Bulls have been fun to watch. Before this game they had followed a 10 game losing streak with a 7 game winning streak. I’m not saying they will reach the playoffs, that’s not the plan. However, developing young talent is. Yet, there has to be a reason they are playing well.

When I last posted an article pertaining to the Bulls, I suggested they move Kris Dunn to starting point guard, which they did. He has directed the team extremely well, driving to the basket, dishing out assists and has a very good medium range jumper. He also plays great defense. You can see why he was the fourth overall pick last year. The main things he needs to work on is cutting down turnovers and developing a 3 point shot.

The seventh overall pick, 7-foot Lauri Markkanen started out like gangbusters hitting 3’s. I think that fatigue and back spasms have slowed him down. Plus the other teams are taking notice of what he does and how to defend him. That’s why it was nice to see him score 25 points last night with only one 3 pointer while attacking the basket. He rebounds and plays pretty good defense for a first year player.

Nikola Mirotic has been playing like the Bulls thought he would. Although most of his shots are 3 pointers, I’ve seen him score from close to the basket. His defense and rebounding have also greatly improved. He may be attractive to some teams come trading time. If they do, they will use an improved Bobby Portis off the bench. Please no more Paul Zipser.

As far as the rest of the team. Robin Lopez is serviceable, but probably not in the rebuilding plan. Denzel Valentine can be really good or really bad. His defense is more consistent as it’s always bad. Same goes for Justin Holiday.

The real hope for the future is the third player in the Butler trade, Zach LeVine, whose return is expected in January. You also get a lottery pick. I’m shocked to see how this team has bought into Hoiberg's system. Coaching (e.g Dunn’s shot) and good practices can go a long way.

Or not, last night the Bulls lost to the Boston Celtics 117-92. 

Bad News Bears

December 17, 2017

After a week of excitement for beating a bad Cincinnati Bengals team, reality came back in Detroit. This was one of the most boring games I’ve ever watched. The only exciting play was Tarik Cohen’s 90 yard kick-off return. Alas, it was called back on one of the Bears 13 penalties. Speaking of Cohen, he continues to make bad decisions when coming out of the end zone. In the other three returns he gained only 26 yards. His decision on where and when to field punts is even worse. The final score 20-10 came without lame duck coach John Fox blowing a challenge call.  However, his fingerprints are all over this loss.

Lions quarterback Matt Stafford had a pedestrian outing. He did complete 25-33 passes for 237 yards. That doesn’t sound bad although if you subtract the 4 sacks for losses, the net yardage is only 202. Sort of like net carbs when you subtract the fiber. How did he put up points?  Bear defensive penalties especially on third downs. The defense was good holding them to two field goals in their first three possessions. One of these scoring drives came after another third down penalty. The Bears got the ball back and were at their 45 yard line when the stupidity of John Fox took over. Tell me if you heard this before? Fourth and 1, your team is 4-9 and you punt. You have one of the best running backs and don’t think he can get three feet?  Detroit gets the ball back. Following an 8 yard penalty, on third down of course, creates anther Lions first down. Next they are staring at third down and 18 for a first down. After escaping the rush, Stafford fires downfield. In one of rookie Eddie Jackson’s worst plays this season he allows the reception. It was a remarkable catch but was defensible. The defense did cause a fumble at the end of the half that the Bears converted to a field goal. Halftime Lions 13 Bears 3.

Last time the Bears played the Lions they had 222 yards rushing. Now I agree you want Trubisky to throw more often but not 46 times. The Bears totally abandoned the run which would have benefited the passing game. For the geniuses calling the plays, what about hand offs out of the shotgun? I also didn’t see much play action. Trubisky has had success rolling to his right. The Bears call one roll out all day, albeit to his left, hence,one an interception. Lions go 41 yards for the touchdown, 20-3. Trubisky wasn’t all that bad making some good throws. The one I loved was when Cohen got tackled after two yards inside the bears 7. Two more penalties put them near the goal line where he completes a 22 yard pass for a first down. Penalty after penalty continued to stall the offense. Trubisky completed long conversions for first downs, but as fate would have it he throws a pick in the end zone going up the middle. Where have I seen that before? As usual, some passes that should have been caught weren’t and the receivers had trouble getting open.

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I sound like a broken record. There is not much else left to say; this is just a very bad team with an even worse coach. As a show of solidarity of what is sure to be no shows at next eek's game, I will skip my Bear reports until the firing of John Fox and what needs to be done for next year. Before the year I predicted the Bears would 5-11. This looks spot on.

   

   

Don't Get Excited

December 11, 2017

I can’t remember the last time the Bears had a blowout victory despite committing 10 penalties. Most importantly, they played well enough to keep lame duck coach, John Fox, out of the game. The only problem: the Bears played a bad team on short turn-around and with 5 defensive starters out. This may have had something to do with the result.  Another reason is when the Bengals got down 19-7, it looked like they gave up.

There were some things you can take away from this game. The injury depleted defense held this team to a measly 7 first half points. The secondary was very good. They held one of NFL’s top receivers, A.J. Green to 5 receptions for 64 yards. Rookie Eddie Jackson had another good game with an interception and forced a fumble recovery. Except for a couple of lapse Kyle Fuller has had his best year and looks really good. Being a free agent, will the Bears keep him?

The Bears had 482 yards. This is unbelievable considering how bad it’s been. The running game behind a crippled line, led by Jordan Howard’s 147 yards, had over 200 yards. Tarik Cohen had 80 yards. Each back averaged more than 6 yards per carry. Trubisky had a 4 yard untouched run for a touchdown.

A strong running attack paved the way for Mitch Trubisky to have his best game. Being less conservative than in previous games, the offense opened up, with first down passing attempts, roll outs and play action. Mitch completed 25 out of 32 passes, for 271 yards with 1 touchdown and zero interceptions. Second round pick Adam Shaheen had 4 catches for 44 yards including the touchdown. Receiver, Kendall Wright had a career game with 10 receptions for 107 yards. The Bears still need to acquire a speedy deep threat receiver, either through the draft or more likely free agency.

Let’s hope they get me excited by winning against a beatable Lions team. To have a chance they need to take the reins off Trubisky and see what he can do. Don’t worry Bears fans, no matter what happens in the last 3 games Fox & Co. will be gone.

And I thought it couldn't get any worse

December 4, 2017

In the John Fox era the Bears have been the favorites only seven times. They have lost all seven. I haven’t seen many games where you score two touchdowns and your opponent scores none and lose. However, when your bereft of talent ( I got tired of saying the team sucks) and surrounded by idiocy this is what happens.

You’ve probably heard that former Bear Robbie Gould beat his former team with five field goals. Any kicker whose name isn’t Connor Barth makes those field goals, all within 35 yards. Although the Forty-Niners picked the Bears apart, especially on third and long, they never cashed in with a touchdown.

Tarik Cohen tried to win this game on his own. A spectacular punt return for a touchdown made me think of Devin Hester. The most remarkable thing is that it wasn’t negated by a penalty. Alas, after returning a kick off to the San Francisco 25 yard this play was more Bears-like being called back for a block in the back. The real problem here is when this occurred it was nowhere near the action. Cohen also had a nice first down catch negated on a Charles Leno penalty.

The Bears couldn’t run the ball against one of the worst defensive teams in the league. After a nice first drive when they scored a touchdown they never moved the ball again. On this drive, Trubisky looked good making some nice throws. As usual, the Bears shut him down with the ever predictable running every first and most second downs, putting him in third and long. He made some completions, but unlike Garoppolo, had no protection. Even the best quarterbacks struggle in these circumstances. His only big mistake was on a free play for off sides he didn’t throw deep. Maybe because no Bear receiver can get deep.

What happened to the defense? You can use injuries as an excuse. However, the front three are healthy and couldn’t provide much of a pass rush. Maybe they were gassed with San Francisco owning a 38 to 22 minute edge in time of possession?

 

Now about that dopey lame duck coach. During the game I posted regarding his first 'tear your hair out' move. The way this went down is unbelievable. Sends the punting team on the field. Then he decides to challenge the spot. It is now 4^th and maybe 3- 6 inches. You are not playing for anything, why not go for it? You have no faith that your offense can gain a few inches?

At the end of the game, San Francisco can run out the clock and win with a chip shot field goal. The proper move is let them score and give your offense a chance. With about 1:30 to go, the Bears stop a running back at the 2 yard line. Let him score and you still have 1 timeout with over 1 minute left. Fox showed no faith in the offense, 'I thought we were in a good spot to block a field goal.' Did he have a magic field goal blocking play? This was a 24 yard attempt, all the other four were farther and they didn’t come close blocking those.

Next thing I want to hear from the invisible GM Ryan Pace the Monday after the last game, if not sooner, is John Fox and Dowell Loggains are fired.