Bears Hit Rock Bottom

 

October 25, 2021

 

Over the years I have witnessed mostly bad Bears teams. Since 1985 they have played in only one Super Bowl and got blown out. Speaking of blowouts, yesterday’s game in Tampa ranks among the Bears all-time worst losses. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers scored 32 first half points leading to a 38-3 victory. The Bucs are probably the best team in the NFL and are poised to win a second straight Super Bowl. While no one expected the Bears to win, they might not have expected it would be this ugly.

Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes in the first half. He probably could have
thrown four more if the Bucs hadn’t decided to carve up the Bear defense running the ball. Without Akiem Hicks and Robert Quinn, Khalil Mack and the pass rush are invisible. Quinn is out with COVID-19. If vaccinated, you are allowed to play if you have you negative tests prior to the game. Unvaccinated players have to sit out. Being unvaccinated, Quinn also put his teammates in danger of contracting the virus.

 Rookie QB Justin Fields had a poor outing with five turnovers. While he made some mistakes, some of these came under extreme duress. Inexplicable, but not surprising, the Bears made no adjustments. The main objective of the offense should be to protect your franchise quarterback at all costs. Coach Matt Nagy just doesn’t get it. If you need a silver lining, running back Khalil Herbert gained 100 yards on 18 carries. He also caught five pas
ses for 33 yards.

 

If you think things couldn’t get worse for Chicago sports fans, you haven’t been following the Blackhawks. The Hawks are 0-5-1. They haven’t had a lead in any of the games. There have been relatively no changes from last year’s low scoring offense. Instead of improving on that end, GM Stan Bowman acquired three defensemen and a goalie. You could have all Norris Trophy winning defensemen, but when you don’t score and rarely have possession of the puck you can’t win. The Blackhawks will probably not make the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.*  I can’t figure out why Bowman is still allowed to run the team.

 If you are looking for a positive, there are the Chicago Bulls. President of Basketball Operations, Arturas Karnisovas, and GM Marc Eversley have completely revamped the Bulls roster.  This is a fun and exciting team to watch. They are currently 3-0, but I will curb my enthusiasm as they have played two of the worst teams in the league. We will know more as they face tougher competition this week.

 *The Hawks made the playoffs when the field expanded to 24 teams in the shortened pandemic season otherwise they would not have qualified.

 

Same Old Story as Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers Beat the Bears

 October 18, 2021

Things started out rosy for the Bears Sunday against Green Bay. Green Bay had the first possession and the Bears disguises on defense had QB Aaron Rodgers befuddled. He was sacked twice and Green Bay punted. The Bears scored a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. They stopped the Packers on their second possession and were driving for a second score. Packers nose tackle Kenny Clark jumped off-sides and Bears QB Justin Fields thought he had a free play. He overthrew Allen Robinson and the ball was intercepted. Problem was no flag was thrown and the momentum switched to the Packers. Rodgers figured things out and made clutch plays when needed, leading the Packers to a 24-14 victory. After scoring a touchdown to give the Packers a fourth quarter 10 point lead, Rodgers screamed at the crowd “I own you” a couple of times. Although this may seem harsh it’s also true. Rodgers is 22-5 against the Bears in his storied career. By the way, Bears coach, Matt Nagy, is 1-6 versus the Packers.

A rookie quarterback is going to have their ups and downs. Justin Fields is no different. However, he has shown that his future is bright.  On the Bears first scoring drive he completed three of three crisp passes for 46 yards. With the Packers up 17-7, Fields engineered another impressive drive. He was five for five for 64 yards. He also had a couple of nice runs. The Bears scored a touchdown that was taken back by a holding penalty. Fields got them back in the end zone with a touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney. Overall Fields was 16-27 for 174 yards, with 43 yards on six carries. Sixth round pick Khalil Herbert, starting due to injuries was also a big contributor. He has great vision and quickness to avoid traffic jams at the line. He had 19 carries for 97 yards, averaging over 5 yards per carry.

The biggest problem with the offense was the play calling. I don’t know if you can criticize Bill Lazor’s play calling because he has Nagy’s playbook. The Packers had three backups in the secondary and instead of attacking the middle, they sent every receiver deep.  They never got into their routes before Fields was being chased. They had no check down receiver underneath. All the offensive coaches have to be whacked before they ruin Fields.

The Bears have a pretty good defense. This would be an elite defense if they knew how to tackle, especially the two safeties. Aaron Rodgers was not having a monster game, so the missed tackles were critical. Tashaun Gipson missed a tackle allowing A.J. Dillon to gain 36 yards that set up a Packers field goal. He also failed to tackle Aaron Jones who caught a pass two yards behind the line of scrimmage for a 12 yard touchdown. Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson
, did a pretty good job covering DaVante Adams, limiting him to four receptions. The one reception on the Packers final scoring drive really hurt. The completion gained 41 yards. This could have been cut in half had Eddie Jackson made the tackle. Instead he tried to bump him out of bounds, rather than wrap him up. And he would have had a touchdown if he hadn’t stepped out of bounds at least 10 yards after the hit. These were the most costly but there was many other instances of bad tackling technique. 

There were a couple other things that irked me. Last week Nagy took undue credit for the offense, stating all the plays ultimately run through him. In the loss there was no accountability. When the camera showed Fields on the sideline, there were no coaches talking to him. I know Khalil Mack is nursing an injury and needs to take plays off. Yet I can’t understand why they rest him on third down passing situations.

Wat Until Next Year

 

October 14, 2021

 

There were many exciting moments for the 2021 White Sox. There seemed to be a
different hero every night. The Field of Dreams game was spectacular. For a team with World Series aspirations, the season ended up a disappointment. The Houston Astros thoroughly dominated the Sox, winning in the first round of the playoffs 3-1. The Sox window is still wide open. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them playing the Astros in future post seasons.

 

The White Sox starting pitchers had the best ERA in the American League. However, no Sox pitcher made it past the fifth inning. The Astros have the best offense in the majors. They scored 31 runs in four games. They also have top notch defense as well. Yet, I still didn’t expect the Sox to be crushed in their three losses.

 

The only thing that may have changed the outcome is home field advantage. The Sox ended up 0-6 in the Astros home park. The Sox would have needed three more wins to have gotten this advantage. I don’t think it would have even been close if not for major injuries. Outfielders Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert were out for most of the season. Tim Anderson, the heart and soul of the team missed 39 games. Pitchers Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn missed a couple of starts, while Carlos Rodon missed several.  Yasmani Grandal injured himself at the end of spring training. He started out batting .138 the first two months and was only getting on base on a walk. When he got healthy, he was the best hitter on the team. He also suffered an injury causing him to miss four weeks.

 

White Sox owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, said the worst that ever happened was letting GM Ken Harrelson fire Tony LaRussa. What was worse was his choice of LaRussa coming back to manage.  No matter how you spin it he was solely responsible for allowing GM Rick Hahn to make the decision. Time has passed LaRussa by. Admitting to not knowing the rules, he used his closer Liam Hendricks as the runner on second base in extra innings. I don’t think he ever
realized you can get any play you want reviewed in the eighth and ninth inning, holding on to his challenges like they were gold. He publicly criticized a player on an issue that should have been handled internally. He used to be a master at handling bullpens, but couldn’t adjust to the new three batter minimum for relief pitchers. I could point out bad moves all year, but you only have to go back to game two of the past series to see an example.

 

The Sox led 4-2 when LaRussa decided to replace Giolito with one out and two men on base in the fourth inning. In the last few weeks of the season he was stretching out Michael Kopech to three innings. Instead he brings in Garrett Crochet. Crochet had thrown 24 pitches in relief in game one. 

 

Previously this season Crochet has struggled in back to back games. He walks the next batter and allows both inherited runners to score. When asked why he didn’t use Kopech, LaRussa said he liked the lefty-lefty match up. Even if Crochet retired the batter, the next three hitters were all right handed. Later in the game with the Sox trailing by one, he pinch hits for Adam Engel. With Gavin Sheets on the bench he sends up weak hitting Cesar Hernandez who strikes out. The move proved even more costly when Leury Garcia misplayed a line drive RBI double off Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel then put the game out of reach, allowing a two run homer. When asked why he keeps bringing in an ineffective Kimbrel, Tony’s response was, “Look at his resume.” Add this all up and you can see why LaRussa is the worst manager in baseball.

 

The Sox went for it all this year. I was all in on the trade for Kimbrel but it turned out to be a disaster. I heard the Sox plan to pick up his option and then trade him. The question is will there be any suitors? Hahn was not as aggressive in pursuit of a second baseman. Acquiring a .231 hitter in Cesar Hernandez. He came with a reputation for power with 18 home runs. In two months, he hit three for the Sox. Once again they’ll be looking for a second baseman next year. Trading Madrigal for Kimbrel looks worse every day.

 

What Were the Odds the Bears Would Beat Las Vegas Raiders

 

October 11, 2021

Not many people predicted the Bears would beat the Las Vegas Raiders, including yours truly. The Raiders opened the scoring with field goal. Thanks in part to Raider penalties, the Bears scored 14 unanswered points and were never really challenged in a 20-9 upset victory. This game showed that there is a glimmer of hope. If Bears QB Justin Fields continues to grow, I may have to revise my win total projection.

The defense this for the most part has been outstanding.  New Defensive Coordinator Sean Desai has been a tremendous upgrade over Chuck Pagano. Once again the Bears defense could be their calling card.  The Raiders offense was flying high in its previous four games. Raiders QB Derek Carr was averaging 329 passing yards per game. The Bears held him to 205 yards and an interception. The Bears continue to thwart offensives on fourth downs.  Khalil Mack is having his best season since 2018.  After the Raiders scored their only touchdown, it was his sack on Carr that prevented a two point conversion that would have cut the lead to a field goal.

The offense is not exactly a juggernaut, but there are a lot of positives. Without running back David Montgomery the Bears still racked up 143 rushing yards. Damien Williams had 64 yards on 16 carries. What was surprising is sixth round draft pick Khalil Herbert, had 75 yards on 18 carries. The Bears were opportunists taking advantage of Raider penalties. The Bears had a first and goal at the ten yard line. Th. Early in the first touchdown drive Raider’s Yannick Ngakoue’s roughing the passer gave the Bears a first down on what would have been a third and 18 The Bears had a first and goal from the 10 yard line. This usually leads to a Bears field goal. After two penalties it was first and goal from the two yard line. Fields fired his first career touchdown pass to tight end Jesper Horsted, giving the Bears the lead. Later in the first Fields left the game with an injury. After missing three plays he completed a 12 yard pass on third and 7 to wide receiver Allen Robinson. Damien Williams completed the drive with a 4 yard touchdown. After the lead had been cut to five, Field’s had his best sequence. He completed a 13 yard pass to Darnell Mooney to convert a third and 12. He the connected with tight end Cole Kmet for 11 yards leading to a Cairo Santos 46 yard field goal. Santos would later connect on another 46 yarder. He has now made 34 in a row. What may be most important is the Bears were turnover free.

What does all this mean?  The Bears defense will keep them in most games. They need an uptick in the offense to make them competitive against upper echelon teams. The schedule gets really tough with a game against Aaron Rodgers Packers followed by a road game against Tom Brady and the Bucs. Although
highly unlikely, winning either of these games would be huge.  

Baseball Playoffs

 

October 6, 2021

The White Sox coasted through the Central Division. Despite this being the weakest division in baseball, 93 wins is nothing to sneeze at. The Baseball Prospectus (BP) had them winning 83 games. The Sox closed the season on a high note, winning 6 of their last seven games.  If healthy, Luis Robert will become one of the best all-around players in the game.

The Sox will face off in Houston against the Astros, who won their division by a comfortable margin. Last time the Sox were in Houston they lost 4 straight. However the Sox were without Robert, Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada was just coming off the IL. The rest of the team was in a funk that they were not in as this season ended, especially Yasmani Grandal. I think this series will be decided by who shows more power.

The Tampa Bay Rays won their division by 8 games. The BP had them winning 86 games. They finished with 100. The real excitement was going into the last day; four teams had a shot to make the playoffs. The Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays were sent home packing setting up a classic, the Boston Red Sox vs. the New York Yankees. The winner will face Tampa in a best of seven series.

In the National League, Atlanta started out slow but came on to win the division. The competition faded as the season progressed. They will face the Milwaukee Brewers, who got really hot midseason and were never really challenged for the Central Division. I think Milwaukee’s pitching will get them to the next round in the post season. The Cardinals rode a 17 game winning streak to claim a wild card spot. They will have a rough go as they face either the Dodgers or Giants.

The two best teams in the National League are in the West Division. Everyone knew the Dodgers would be good. They are loaded with talent and won 106 games. The biggest surprise of the season were the  San Francisco Giants who edged out the Dodgers with 107 wins. BP had them winning 77 games. A Giants-Dodger series renews an old rivalry and could be lots of fun. The biggest disappointment were the San Diego Padres. The Padres spent a lot of money acquiring players to challenge the Dodgers. Yu Darvish was the big prize in the off-season. However, he had the worst season of his career. He went 8-11 with a  4.22 era. Injuries to pitchers made them so desperate that they picked up Jake Arrieta who, by now, is washed up. They won 79 games, BP had the Padres winning 96.

I reference the Baseball Prospectus because they have all the formulas for predicting win totals. Their projected wins for most teams was way out of whack. As a White Sox fan, I was dismayed the Sox total was 83.  In the future I will disregard the predicted wins.

Nagyless Bears Beat Detroit

 

October 4, 2021

 

Believe it or not, the Bears played a team that is lousier than they are. After building a 21 point lead, the Bears coasted to a 24-14 victory over the woebegone Detroit Lions. However, the Bears may not have won without help from the Lions. The Lions failed to score on three straight chances inside the Bears 10 yard line. On the first one, the Lions messed up a snap and the Bears recovered a fumble. The second stop came after first and goal from the five when Alec Ogletree batted down a pass from Lions QB Jared Goff. Next with third and goal from the 3 yard line, Robert Quinn knocked the ball out of Goff’s hands. In the closing minutes the Lions needed a field goal and a touchdown to tie the game. Instead of kicking a short field goal Goff threw an incomplete pass on fourth and one.

 

I had a feeling the offense would have a good day when I saw Coach Matt Nagy without his billboard of plays. The plays were being called by offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. It must have been jarring for Nagy to see the running game dominating the play calling. Nagy would never run the ball two times for every pass. The Bears led by David Montgomery’s 106 yards rushed for 188 yards. Damien Williams had 55 yards on eight carries. It’s too bad that both exited the game with injuries.

 

Justin Fields showed why he may become a great QB. Lazor added two tight ends to protect the franchise QB. Fields responded, completing 11 of 17 passes for 209 yards. Darnell Mooney made a one handed grab for Fields’ first completion. Showing off his great arm strength, Fields consistently hit receivers downfield. What also must been jarring to Nagy, is the Bears averaged 19 yards per completion. Take this all with a grain of salt as the Lions have one of the worst defenses in the NFL.

 

The Bears defense was giving up chunks of yardage to the Lions on the ground and in the air. However, the defense stiffened up when they needed to. Game ball goes to Linebacker Robert Quinn who is having a really good bounce back season. He came up with a two yard tackle for a loss in the second goal line stand and knocked the ball out Goff’s hands in the third. Eddie Goldman returned to the line-up to complete their three down linemen. Things might have looked better had Akiem Hicks not gotten hurt on the first play. Roquan Smith and Khalil Mack also played well.

 

Matt Nagy is always quick to divert attention away from his disastrous coaching. He also seems to like to take credit when it is not due. After praising Lazor, Nagy said, “Ultimately it goes through me. Everything we do, regardless of who’s calling this or who’s calling that, it goes through me.” It wouldn’t surprise me if he starts Andy Dalton start next week. But Fields needs a chance to build on this performance. 

 

Things get much harder with a road game against the Las Vegas Raiders. After that it’s the Green Bay Packers, who are the cream of the crop in the division.  Until number 12 retires or goes to another team, no one else wins this division.