Like Tom Petty Bears Free Falling Farther down in Playoff Chase

 

 November 30, 2020

Before yet another national television audience, the Bears were abysmal losing to the Green Bay Packers 41-25. This wasn’t as close as the final score may indicate. At one point in the first half, the Bears were losing 27-3. In the fourth quarter, GB ahead 41-10, the Bears were able to put 15 points against a soft Packer defense.  A bad Nagy decision came before the game started by deciding to kick-off rather than receive.. This sometimes is a good decision, however, against a high flying offense you try to score some points before they get the ball. So like in most games the Packers score a touchdown to open the game. They missed the extra point. The Packers would get two more possessions and score touchdowns on each. On the Bears first possession, David Montgomery had a 57 yard run inside the 10 yard line. A touchdown puts the Bears ahead and they can take the lead. Instead, the Bears have one of the worst red zone offenses and come away with only three points. The Packers then put up 21 unanswered points. A Bear touchdown made it  27-10 at halftime.

The Bears got the kick-off to open the second half and went nowhere. The Packers would score touchdowns on their first two possessions in the  third quarter. It was at this point, even the bettors went to sleep as the Bears' offense continued to sputter.

Mitchell Trubisky started in place of injured Nick Foles .Apparently the time watching from the bench didn’t help. He was simply atrocious. He has been around for four years showing no improvement. He threw two interceptions, one in the Packers' end zone. He fumbled twice, one being returned for a touchdown. He still doesn’t recognize what defenses are scheming. He still locks down on one receiver and throws into multiple coverage. He doesn’t know how to step up in the pocket to avoid sacks. He has no touch and is inaccurate on most of his passes. In other words, he sucks.

Without Akiem Hicks the defense had many problems. The Packers ran for 187 yards, attacking the spot where Hicks would normally occupy. The Packers game plan may have been altered if they weren’t getting 8 yards per carry. The Bears also didn’t have any pass rush. Aaron Rodgers is probably the best quarterback in football. With no pressure, he’s doubly deadly and will pick your defense apart. He threw for over 300 yards with 4 touchdowns.

Bear fans, if the offense doesn't improve, this will turn into a much longer season than it already is. This is a big if

Chicago Sports Bits & Pieces

 November 19, 2020

Recent changes in the Bulls organization have the arrow pointing up. John Paxson is now in an advisory position. His confidant, Gar Forman, was let go. The Bulls then went outside the organization to hire Arturas Karnisovas as V.P. of basketball operations. Make no mistake, he is the lead decision maker of this team. His first move was hiring former Senior V.P. of Player Personnel of the 76ers, Marc Eversley, as his general manager. The second order of business was getting rid of the coach, Jim Boylen. He was probably the worst coach in the Bulls' history. The new hierarchy also hired their first head coach with previous experience, Billy Donovan.

I’m hoping that Patrick Williams can turn into another Scottie Pippen. I have to have faith in Karnisovas' eye for talent. However, as he was projected to be a middle first round pick, they might have been able to trade down to obtain him along with a better number two pick. Aside from Williams' development, Donovan’s main focus is unlocking the key to Laurie Markkanan‘s talent. This is a young team with tons of potential. They won’t win a championship but should be vastly improved.

With offensive coordinator Bill Lazor calling the plays, the Bears had their worst offensive game of the year. Therefore, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that coach Matt Nagy announced he’ll be calling plays in their next game against the Packers. Lazor’s biggest problem is he has Nagy’s playbook of bad schemes and plays that don’t work (think wide receiver screen). I think this is Nagy’s way of deflecting criticism for the job he is doing. Last year’s bad offense was not his fault-it was the coaches. With the exception of Dave Ragone, he fired everyone else.

Tony LaRussa is the new White Sox manager. Many fans are upset with a choice which should have been made by GM Rick Hahn, not Reinsdorf. However don’t fret, his DUIs won’t impair his decisions on the field. The Sox have the American League MVP and Silver Slugger Award winner Jose Abreu. Eloy Jimenez and Tim Anderson were also Silver Slugger Award winners. Luis Robert won the Gold Glove and will be a star in the near future. A couple good moves by Hahn and they could be in the World Series.

It was bound to happen sooner or later, Theo Epstein resigned. Cub fans should always have a soft spot in their hearts for a man who built a World Series Championship team. He will pass the reins to his long-time assistant, Jed Hoyer. Hoyer has the unenviable task of dealing with impending free agency of the team’s core. He also has to acquire players to bolster the Cubs starting rotation. He will be under severe scrutiny to keep the Cubs competitive and have success in the postseason. 

Bears Playoff Hopes Vanish

 November 17, 2020

I guess it doesn’t really matter who’s calling the plays. The Bears death spiral continued with a 19-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. They have now lost four in a row. Unbelievably, the Bears continue to reach new
lows as the season progresses. The offense gained a total of only 150 yards, running 50 plays to Minnesota’s 70. The Bears reached the Vikings' red zone twice (one was a first and goal from the seven yard line) and came away with two field goals. This was another embarrassing performance in front of a national television audience. With a bye week, instead of recapping the game, let’s talk sports about why the Bears are where they are.

The problem starts at the top with GM Ryan Pace. With the exception of Roquan Smith, Pace has missed on all his other first round picks. Although he has drafted some good players in later rounds, it’s the first round where you find playmakers. His biggest blunder was trading up from the number three pick to number two to select Mitch Trubisky. Prior to this, he bid against himself to sign QB Mike Glennon. The plan was for Trubisky to be mentored and learn by watching. However, Glennon was so bad that former coach John Fox started Trubisky in game four. He had typical rookie struggles. In his second year, he didn’t show much improvement. He regressed in year three and lost his job this year. Instead of Trubisky, Pace should have made a pick to fill a need. In the next draft there were five quarterbacks picked in the first round.

This past year, instead of trying to improve the running game, the mistakes continued. He signed Robert Quinn to replace former first round pick Leonard Floyd. Floyd was picked up by the Rams and had two sacks against the Bears. This is more than Quinn has all year. Ted Ginn Jr. was signed as a receiver. He spent most of his career as a kick-off returner, where the Bears are covered. He couldn’t crack the receiver rotation so they gave him a job as a punt returner. After many critical mistakes, he is no longer with the team. They signed over-the-hill tight end Jimmy Graham. When he is in the game, opposing defenses can take running the ball out of the equation. Then they used their first pick in the draft on another tight end. They paid a lot of money to sign QB Nick Foles. He replaced Trubisky in game 3 and led the Bears to a victory. As a starter, he is 2-4. When at his best he is erratic and as mobile as the Willis Tower.

Pace' other colossal mistake was hiring Matt Nagy as coach. He must have bowled the Bears brass over with visions of a high flying passing attack. His other major responsibility was to develop Trubisky. He failed on both accounts. When the Bears won the division in 2018, an elite defense overshadowed Nagy’s offense deficiencies. He continues to make baffling play calls. He has had problems with clock management. The offense is at the bottom of the league in all statistical categories. They are wasting a very good defense by
not being able to score 20 points.

The defense is and has always been the Bears' calling card. However, I have questions about defensive coach Chuck Pagano. The personnel is not much different than the group he inherited from Vic Fangio, yet it doesn’t compare. The turnovers and sacks are down. He couldn’t even figure out a scheme to stop Vikings QB, Kirk Cousins.

Sorry Bear fans, this isn’t going to get any better. There are no sure wins left on the schedule, but there are many sure losses. If Foles and Trubisky can’t play, who starts against Green Bay? Tyler Bray is next up unless the Bears find another QB on the scrap heap. 

Bad News Bears

 November 9, 2020

While watching the Bears game, my mind wandered to one of my favorite movies, Animal House. The analogy to this game is the scene where Katie asks Boone, "How was your party?" His response was, "We reached a new low." This summed up my feelings after Tennessee Titans cornerback, Desmond King scored a 63 yard touchdown after a David Montgomery fumble. The flip side of this was the mysterious play call of Coach Matt Nagy. The Bears were only a few yards from moving into field goal range. It was third down and 13 yards for a first. The Bears didn’t need a first down, they just needed to gain a few yards. Inexplicably, the play was a short sideline pass to Montgomery. Even if he doesn’t fumble, the play is a three yard loss. The Bears did end up scoring in what is typically known, as garbage time. Titans 24 Bears 17. Maybe you can take solace in Pat O’Donnell having a great day punting the football.

Against one of the worst defenses in the NFL, Nagy’s offense once again fell short of twenty points. With the fumble they gave away seven. The depletion of the offensive line negated the downfield passing game. On their first possession, with quick short throws, the Bears moved the ball to the Titans 41 yard line.  On fourth and 1, instead of a quarterback sneak, Nagy couldn’t resist running David Montgomery up the middle. The play lost two yards and the Bears turned the ball over on downs. Will Nagy ever learn? This play never works.

Statistically, Nick Foles had his best game. He completed 26 of 52 passes for 335 yards and two touchdowns. However, most of this was against the soft prevent defense of the Titans after they took a 17-0 lead. His only problem was getting sacked. In his defense, few QBs can avoid rushers who are in the backfield in less than 3 seconds. The Titans are the worst team allowing third down conversions. The Bears were 2 of 15. The running game continued to be non-existent. The Bears longest running play was linebacker Barkevioyus Mingo’s 11 yards on a fake punt. Montgomery had 14 carries for only 30 yards before leaving the game with a concussion. When it comes to installing a running game, I think Nagy is concussed. The only time I’ve seen Montgomery have a modicum of success is in the I-Formation, where he can follow the lead block by his backfield partner. This is especially prudent when the offensive line isn’t getting the job done. Unfortunately, Nagy rarely uses this formation.

On their first possession in the third quarter the Bears encountered a fourth down with inches to go for a first down. In their version of the Keystone Kops, they committed back to back illegal motion penalties to make it fourth and 10, forcing a punt. Another one of my favorite moments was first and goal from the Titans 5 yard line. The first play was what looked like a failed college option. Second down was obligatory Montgomery up the middle for two yards. The next was a batted down pass. None of these plays would have resulted in a touchdown. This is all on Nagy’s play calling.

The only bright spot was the defense, surrendering only17 points. They held Derrick Henry, the league's rushing leader to 68 yards on 21 carries. Take away his 25-yard run and he barely averages over two yards per carry. Titans QB Ryan Tannehill was ordinary.  He made a couple of big plays when needed. The Bears had tackling issues on some big Titan gains. However, the biggest problem is if the Bear defense doesn’t force takeaways, they lose. They have gone two games in a row without one.

Earlier I predicted the Bears would be lucky to win four games. I was wrong, as they have won five. I had hopes that they would have a good year. However, the playoffs are now a long shot and I see only two possible wins left on the schedule. By the way, the Cincinnati Bengals were without four starting offensive linemen and scored 31 points last week against the Titans.

Bears Miss Chance at Another Upset

 November 2, 2020

Last year the New Orleans Saints came to Soldier Field. The Bears were coming off a bye week. The Saints were playing without Hall-of Fame quarterback Drew Brees and elite running back Alvin Kamara. For all intents and purposes the game was over by halftime. The Saints crushed the Bears in what may have been the most devastating loss in the 2019 season. Therefore, when the Saints returned with Brees and Kamara, I thought there was no way the Bears would make it a competitive game. However, the Bears got off to a quick start. But they blew a ten point lead. The Bears made a valiant comeback from ten points down in the fourth quarter. A Cairo Santos 51 yard field goal sent the game into overtime. The Saints finally prevailed 26-23.

I’m not going to come down too hard on the offense. After all, the Bears scored more than 20 points and gained more than 300 yards, which they don’t often do. What makes this somewhat more impressive is that they did this with a decimated offensive line. The Bears had six scoring drives not aided with an assist from the defense.  With the score tied at three, Nick Foles directed the first Bears touchdown drive. This included a 50 yard bomb to Darnell Mooney, who has become Foles' favorite receiver behind Allen Robinson. He then connected with the aforementioned Robinson for a 24 yard touchdown. A Santos field goal upped the lead to10. With three seconds left, the Saints scored a touchdown, making it 13-10. I believe coach Matt Nagy called a timeout, thinking the Bears could get the ball back and try to add to their lead. What it did lead to was giving Brees more time to work with.

The Bears continued their trend of not scoring in the third period.  This quarter included one of the dumbest pays in Bear history, and I have seen a multitude of them. After a completed pass to Robinson, back-up receiver Javon Wims threw punches at the Saints' C.J. Gardner. Instead of second down and five for a first down it became second and twenty. Also in the quarter, Mitch Trubisky’s name was being floated around. Foles then went 12- 15 on a long drive ending with a pass interference in the end zone. This put the Bears in a precarious situation, first and goal from the one yard line. After much mind numbing play calling all game, Nagy calls Montgomery up the middle and he loses 2 yards. Foles follows with a nifty 3 yard touchdown pass to Mooney. Montgomery had a 39 yard run and ended with 89 yards .This caused Nagy to call more plays than usual for Montgomery. To put things in perspective, if you take away that 39 yard run, he gained only 50 yards on twenty carries. That’s just pathetic.

The defense was pretty good. They held the Saints out of the end zone on four of six drives in the red zone. The biggest mistake was at the end of the first half, when Jarod Cook was wide open on a 16 yard touchdown to make the score 13-10. They also came up with numerous stops. However, you’re not going to constrain Kamara for a whole game. He got yards in chunks and made key plays when the Saints needed them. His long run set up a short field goal that won the game.