NFL Playoffs: The Thrill is Gone

January 15, 2019

There is nothing better in professional sports than the post-season playoffs. You don’t need a rooting interest to enjoy these games. In hockey, there is nothing more exhilarating than an overtime game. The tension mounts when every rush up the ice could result in the winning goal. This is real hockey. No three-on-three or shootouts.

Basketball has had its share of dynasties. The Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls. The current dynasty is the Golden State Warriors, by far the team of the decade. Although they did lose a championship series to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, they have won two in a row and three of the last four titles. Last year the Houston Rockets got close, extending their series to seven games. The Warriors are a lot of fun to watch.

  

In baseball, a great Boston Red Sox team was the major story of the past season, coasting to a World Series victory. However, the Milwaukee Brewers played a seven-game series before succumbing to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2016, the Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians in seven games. In 2017, the Astros defeated the Dodgers in seven games. These games are my personal favorites.

Amidst all the excitement, the real reason for this post is I’m watching the NFL playoffs with a heavy heart.  There are no Chicago Bears to watch. Cody Parkey has ruined my season. I was watching what turned out to be a weekend of football mismatches. The Kansas City Chiefs scored early and often in crushing the Indianapolis Colts. The Chiefs have probably the best offense in football and in this game the defense was particularly good, or maybe it was the Colt offense play calling. The L. A. Chargers hadn’t lost a road game all year. However, they got annihilated by the New England Patriots, who don’t lose on their home field.  I can’t predict a winner of what should be a close game.Another non-competitive and boring game was the L. A. Rams beating the Dallas Cowboys.  The game was not as close as the final score. The best game of the weekend saw the New Orleans Saints overcome a 14-point deficit to beat the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Dream is Over

January 7, 2019

The Chicago Bears had an excellent season, finishing 12-4. This was the third-best record in the conference, netting them home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. But a heart-breaking, gut- wrenching and mind-numbing 16-15 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles put a pall on the entire season. General Manager Ryan Pace has done a great job putting this team together with one exception. After unceremoniously dumping Robbie Gould, last year’s kicker Connor Barth was let go before the season ended. Spending big money, Pace signed Cody Parkey, who ranked among the worst kickers this season. His missed a 43-yard attempt for a field goal to win the game hitting the left upright, then the crossbar before bouncing back onto the playing field, knocking the Bears out of the playoffs. I thought they would make a run to the Super Bowl, but my worst nightmare came true when I saw Parkey coming out to try and kick the winning field goal.

Although Parkey was the main culprit, he is not the only reason why the Bears lost. The defense was great all year. On their first possession, the Eagles marched down the field deep into Bears’ territory.  Doing what they had done all year, the defense forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal. With two interceptions, one in the end zone, those were the only three points the Eagles could muster in the first half. However, things changed after the intermission. Trailing 9-3, the Eagles were trying to mount a comeback. On a third down incomplete pass, safety Adrian Amos was penalized for a helmet-to- helmet hit, so the Eagles retained possession. On the next play the Bears committed another penalty for too many men on the field. Two plays later, cornerback Prince Amukamara was penalized for pass interference at the Bears’ 10-yard line. Eagles’ quarterback Nick Foles threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide-open backup tight end Dallas Goedert. Maybe he was wide open because the Bears only had 10 men on the field. With about six minutes remaining, the Bears had the ball at their 22-yard line. On a three-and-out, which consisted of a two-yard loss and quarterback sack, punter Pat O’Donnell got off a terrible kick, giving the Eagles a short field to attempt a game-winning touchdown drive. People have been talking about how great the Bears were in stopping the Eagles three consecutive times on a first- and-goal at the Bears’ two-yard line. That means absolutely nothing when your opponent scores on fourth down. The crux of the matter is the Bears couldn’t get enough pressure on Foles to keep the Eagles from getting to the two-yard line. They did stop the two-point conversion, giving them a chance to win

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Before you give Matt Nagy the coach of the year award, consider this: The Bears scored 15 points. Two weeks earlier in San Francisco the Bears scored 14 points. If you take away defensive scores, you’ll notice in many games the offense didn’t score 20 points. This is your offensive genius?  Against the Eagles, the Bears had good field possession for 2½ quarters and came away with three field goals. If you are close enough to be in Cody Parkey’s range you need to score some touchdowns. To Nagy’s credit, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is getting better. On a go-ahead scoring drive, he completed a 34-yard pass to wide receiver Josh Bellamy and a 22-yard touchdown to wide receiver Allen Robinson (10 receptions, 143 yards). In the closing minutes to put the Bears in field goal range he made two big throws to Robinson. The reason he only needed two throws was a terrific kickoff return by Tarik Cohen. Question to Matt Nagy: In the biggest game of the year, why wasn’t Cohen in on all the other kickoffs?

The Bears are a young team that should get better. Hopefully the offense improves and everyone stays healthy. Who knows if it might have been different with safety Eddie Jackson and nickel back Bryce Callahan helping in the coverage of Eagle receivers? With a tougher first place schedule can the Bears get back to the playoffs? Here’s hoping the Bears get another chance to compete for the Super Bowl. The outstanding 1985 Super Bowl champs never appeared in another.

About The Chicago Bears...

January 1, 2019

The Chicago Bears capped a spectacular season with an impressive 24-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. A Vikings, win would have earned them a spot in the playoffs with the first game against the Bears. The Bears’ win ensured them that they wouldn’t have to play a third game against the Vikings this season right after losing to them.

I don’t think anyone predicted the Bears would win 12 games this year. After hiring Coach Matt Nagy, he and General Manager Ryan Pace said to temper expectations. Nagy was brought in to develop quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Pace signed free agents on offense to assist Nagy’s efforts to revitalize the offense. Toward the end of the exhibition season, they traded for All-Pro defenseman Khalil Mack. . All of a sudden, expectations were raised, although still most thought they wouldn’t go 12-4. Adding Mack to a good defense made this an elite defense, which is the biggest reason for the Bear’s turnaround from worst to first.

The defense had another great game against the Vikings. While the Bears’ offense was clicking, the Vikings went three-and- out on their first five possessions. The defense would give up only 10 points. The defensive line caused Viking’s quarterback Kirk Cousins to have a terrible afternoon. The defensive pressure on the quarterback is part of the reason the Bears lead the league in interceptions.

In a hostile environment against one of the league’s premiere defenses, Mitch Trubisky had one of his best performances. His numbers may look pedestrian (18-26 163 yards); however, he was error- free and good when he needed to be. The Vikings are the best team in preventing opponents’ third-down conversions at 28 percent. Yet, the Bears were 8 for 14. Trubisky completed seven passes for first downs and ran for another. On the ground, the Bears had their best rushing game of the year. Running back Jordan Howard looks like he has regained his old form with 21 carries for 109 yards, including two first-half barreling touchdowns. This accounted for 13 points as woeful kicker Cody Parkey, who barely made his first extra point, kicked his second attempt off the goal post. After the Vikings cut the lead to 13-10, the Bears took nine minutes off the clock and Tarik Cohen ran it in for a 3- yard touchdown. Instead of sending Parkey in for the extra point, Nagy decided to go for two. He is excellent in these situations as the Bears converted on a pass to reserve linebacker Nick Kwiatktski.

 The Vikings’ offense floundered the rest of the game, causing heated conversations between Cousins and his receivers on the sidelines. The Bears tacked on a field goal for good measure. The focus of the offense has been the progress of Trubisky, but kudos go to the offensive line for giving him the protection he needs. The offensive performance bodes well for the playoffs.

When the Bears beat Minnesota on a Sunday night in a game for first place, I started to think playoffs. After beating the L.A. Rams on a Sunday night, I was thinking maybe they could make a run in the playoffs. The Bears open up at home, where they are 7-1, against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. Under backup quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, the Eagles have a three- game winning streak that propelled them into the playoffs. Not to worry: the Bears are 9-1 in their last 10 games. The Eagles have not faced a defense like the Bears. The Bears who, won’t need Trubisky to be great, but just efficient. I think the Eagles don’t score more than 13 points

Thank you Ryan Pace, Matt Nagy, and Vic Fangio

December 17, 2018

A recent trend in the National Football League is one team goes from worst to first.  In 2017 it was the LA. Rams. After three moribund years with Coach John Fox, the Chicago Bears go from worst to first under rookie coach Matt Nagy. The Bears clinched the NFC North Division with a 24-17 win over the Green Bay Packers. For the first time in 10 years the Bears are going to the playoffs!

At the start of the season I was going off on General Manager Ryan Pace. I’m ready to eat my words. He has made some very astute moves, putting the pieces in place for the great Bears’ defense. Free agent signings of linebacker Danny Trevathan and safety Prince Amukamara are now a big fixture on defense. Linebacker Leonard Floyd has been fantastic. Playing like a No. 1 pick, he has made Pace’s moving up in the draft to get him a very good move. This year’s first-round linebacker, Roquan Smith, has turned out to be an outstanding choice; He has 107 tackles thus far.  I’m sure there are even veteran players who would like that stat. A great find in the fourth round was safety Eddie Jackson, who has six interceptions, two of which resulted in touchdowns. At this juncture this is a very good defense. However, the shrewdest move was trading for one of the premier defensive players in the league, pass rusher extraordinaire Khalil Mack. What was a good defense became a great defense.

The defense once again was mainly responsible for the Bears’ victory over the Packers. Any time you hold the league’s best quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, to 17 points, that’s a good game. The Packers only scored one touchdown. It seemed every time the Packers were moving the ball the Bears would come up with a big play and make them settle for field goals. The pass coverage was outstanding. Not able to find open receivers, Rodger was frantically running around and was sacked five times. Rodgers had thrown 402 passes without being intercepted. With the Bears leading 24-14, his pass in the end zone was tipped by Smith into the hands of Jackson, ending the streak

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People have been praising Nagy for changing the Bears’ culture. I don’t how much credit he deserves when the defense is responsible for winning games. You can give Nagy credit for the development of quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Prior to his injury you could see he was improving. After his three- interception performance against the Rams, he looked great against the Packers, completing 20 of 28 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. If he comes just close to this performance, the Bears will be formidable in the playoffs.

I could go into Nagy blunders but why spoil a good feeling? Just hope that the defense keeps playing at a high level, making sure the Bears don’t have play catch-up in the fourth quarter.  The Bears are still in the hunt for a playoff bye if the Rams stumble again after losing to the Eagles. Otherwise, look forward to a home game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Awesome! Best Defense in the NFL

December 10, 2018

Many prognosticators thought this would be a high-scoring game with the Los Angeles Rams coming out on top. This couldn’t have been further from the truth. The Bears beat the Rams and their juggernaut offense 15-6. Before a national TV audience, the Bears showed that they are legit Super Bowl contenders.

The defense put together by defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was the reason the Bears won .This was a true team effort as the Bears bottled up one the most explosive offensive teams in the league. The numbers tell the story.

The Rams average 34.9 points per game and were held to six, three coming after an interception returned deep into Bear territory. Rams quarterback Jared Goff completes about 60 percent of his passes and had only thrown seven interceptions coming into Sunday’s game. Under relentless Bear pressure and good coverage, Goff went 20-44 with four interceptions, each by a different player. The Bears lead the league with 25 interceptions. Leading rusher and MVP candidate Todd Gurley had one of the worst game of his career. He carried the ball 11 times for a measly 28 yards. The Rams are unlikely to face a better defense this year than the Bears.

There were many key plays on defense.  After trading field goals, sensational rookie linebacker Roquan Smith got his first interception with  a nice return, setting up a field goal that put the Bears ahead 6-3. The Rams would tie the game going into the second half at 6-6.

I was expecting the Rams to get in sync, reeling off first downs and scoring multiple points The Rams had the ball to start the second half. After a penalty on the kickoff the Rams were backed up to their ten yard line] On the first play of the second half, Leonard Floyd tackled Gurley for a seven-yard loss. On the ensuing play, nose tackle Eddie Goldman crashed through the Rams’ offensive line and sacked Goff for a safety, giving the Bears an 8-6 lead.

On the punt after the safety the Bears were at their 19 yard line. Behind the tandem of running back Jordan Howard and wide receiver Allen Robinson, the Bears moved the ball to the Rams’ two-yard line.  I have criticized Coach Matt Nagy all year. However, he is very good on goal line calls. He puts in four defensive players in what looks to be a power run by Hicks. However, quarterback Mitch Trubisky rolled out and completed a touchdown pass to reserve offensive tackle Bradley Sowell. I don’t know if many Bears fans have heard of him. Bears 15, Rams 6.

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Although that was the final score, there was still more drama left.

That’s all the offense. Trubisky was off-target and was intercepted  three times. The Rams did have a chance to cut it to a one-possession game. Kicker Greg Zuerlein attempted a 40-yard field goal that hit the upright. At this point you knew the stars were aligned for a Chicago victory. However, the game wasn’t over. An interception of another Trubisky bad pass gave the Rams the ball at midfield. On the very next play, Kyle Fuller intercepted Goff. The Rams got the ball back and with a little more than four minutes remaining, had a fourth down with four yards needed for a first down, Hicks sacked Goff and the Bears had the ball at the Rams’ 26 yard line.  Cody Parkey missed a field goal, giving the ball back go the Rams. But with just over two minutes remaining, safety Prince Amukamara sealed the victory with Goff’s fourth interception.

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I think this was Nagy’s best-coached game. The pass-happy coach stuck with the run and his forgotten running back Jordan Howard rewarded him with 101 yards on only 19 carries. Trubisky will get better, they have a running game and with this defense the Bears can make a deep run in the playoffs.

Finally, I was sorry to see that Chicago Tribune sportswriter Steve Rosenbloom wrote his last column Sunday. His analyses were spot-on and he always made me laugh. In his report of this game, he might have written “Vic Fangio your table is ready.”

Bears Hiccup

December 4, 2018

In what was their worst performance of the season, the Bears lost to the lowly New York Giants 30-27. The Bears did make a furious comeback, scoring 10 points in the last two minutes to tie the game, forcing overtime. It shouldn’t have been that close.  Suffice it to say, this was a bad loss. Chicago could have put a stranglehold on the division as the Minnesota Vikings lost 24-10 to the New England Patriots. The Bears hope they can maintain their 1 1/2-game lead. They don’t want to play the last regular-schedule game of the season against Minnesota with the division championship on the line.

The game started out poorly. Taquan Mizzell subbing for the injured Benny Cunningham fumbled the kickoff.  The Bears started out at their 15-yard line, and on the second play of the game Giants linebacker Alec Ogletree picked off Chase Daniel’s pass and returned it for a touchdown. This and other plays later showed why Daniel has hardly played since coming out of college in 2009.

The Bears tied the game mostly using running back Jordan Howard on a scoring drive capped by a nifty two-yard pass to tight end Adam Shaheen. A Kyle Fuller interception gave the Bears good field position. However, Chase Daniel was intercepted again by Ogletree. The defense kept getting the ball back. Once again Jordan Howard gained chunks of yardage and an acrobatic catch by wide receiver Allen Robinson set the Bears up at the one-yard line. On a fourth down defensive lineman Aikeem Hicks powered into the end zone and the Bears led 14-7.

Coach Matt Nagy has been getting accolades for the Bears’ 8-4 start. If it were not for the defense, the Bears would be 4-8. The offensive genius can’t find a way to score in most second halves. He has made a really good running back, Jordan Howard, a non-factor. In the first half, Howard had 68 yards on 13 carries. The rest of the game, Howard got only three more touches. Nagy said the run wasn’t working. How does he know? On the other side, the Giants’ Saquon Barkley kept getting the ball and eventually produced big gains. Many running backs get better as the game goes on. Howard didn’t get the ball even in short-yardage situations. Nagy seems to have clueless moments, especially underscored in his calling a timeout with 17 seconds left in the half. The Giants were content to run the clock out.  Instead they got another play and Barkley gained 22 yards.  A 9-yard completion to the sideline set up Giants’ kicker Aldrick Rosas for a 57-yard field goal. The Giants are back in the game. Nagy’s  initial explanation is a doozy. Maybe we go after them with a punt-block team. Huh?  What about the six previous punts? Seeing as the Bears haven’t blocked a punt this year, maybe Nagy should change the personnel  on his punt-block team.

The defense was playing well, giving up only the three silly points in the first half. But two major gaffes contributed the 12. to the loss.  On a trick play, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. took a handoff and threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to wide-open fellow receiver Russell Shepard.  The Bears said there was some miscommunication on this play. You would think that might be cleaned up after 11 games. Later, after three goal-line stops, Beckham gets wide open in the corner of the end zone for a one-yard touchdown. Cody Parkey kicked a field goal slicing the lead to 24-17. After a Bear hold, a Giants pun t pinned the Bears at their one yard line. Nagy came out passing. Wide Receiver Taylor Gabriel fumbled at the 12 yard line. The Bear defense came up big holding the Giants to a field goal for a 27-17 lead.

After being dormant for the entire second half  the Bears turned to running back Tarik Cohen. With less than two minutes remaining he got open for a long gain deep in Giants territory. The offense stalls at the 5-yard line and Parkey kicked  a field goal. The Bears need a touchdown to tie and lo and behold they recover an onside kick. After another long pass to Cohen and an interference penalty against New York in the end zone puts the Bears at the 1-yard line with three seconds left If Nagy does one thing good, it is the playing calling at the goal line. Hand off to tight end Trey Burton , flip back to Cohen , touchdown to wide receiver Anthony Miller.

It was exciting but there are no moral victories. Slice it any way you want: it was an excruciating loss. After two interceptions and four Chase Daniel fumbles, the Bears need quarterback Mitch Trubisky back.  They now face possibly the best team, the Los Angeles Rams. I’ll be watching Monday’s game to see if the Seattle Seahawks can help by beating the Vikings.

What's the Blackhawks One Goal?

November 27, 2018

It wasn’t too long ago when the Chicago Bears and Bulls were both lousy but Chicagoans always had a good Chicago Blackhawks team to enjoy during the winter. The Bulls are still bad while the Bears are the feel-good story of the year. The Blackhawks will most likely miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

With fans jumping off the bandwagon, General Manager Stan Bowman sits in his office negotiating the salary cap. His tenure includes three Stanley Cup championships. The core for these teams was put together by former General Manager Dale Tallon. Bowman did add minor pieces to the last two Stanley Cup winners who then were salary cap victims. Since 2009, Bowman has signed only one marque player, Alex DeBrincat. Other draft picks have been busts, showing a lack in talent evaluation.

Two years ago when the Hawks got swept out of the playoffs by the Nashville Predators, Bowman was not pleased and said changes had to be made. He then engineered two bad trades.

Artemi Panarin for former Blackhawk Brandon Saad, who Bowman had let get away (would you believe it had something to do with the salary cap)? On paper this didn’t look bad. On the ice it did. Bowman let go a 30-goal scorer and depleted one of the best lines in hockey with Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov. Saad was placed on a line in hopes of rejuvenating Jonathan Toews. This didn’t work and Saad just recently returned from the fourth line.

The second trade had to be the worst since Phil Esposito was traded to the Bruins for Pit Martin.*  It was another move related to the salary cap. The Hawks sent their best defenseman, Niklas Hjalmarsson, to the Phoenix Coyotes for Connor Murphy, who wasn’t good enough to avoid being a heathy scratch multiple times.

The loss of Marion Hossa and goalie Corey Crawford contributed to the down 2017-2018 season. Stan Bowman’s answer this time was to stand pat. The only new face is 19-year-old defenseman Henri Kokharju, who may turn out to be very good. He [a1] fired a great coach, Joel Quenville, for no apparent reason. He was not the cause of them being bad. The Hawks are stuck with the albatrosses Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, whose skills have diminished. They have forwards who can’t score and have puck possession issues, which puts more pressure on the defense. The best way to beat this team is to play short-handed. The Hawks have the the worst power play I have ever seen.

New coach Jeremy Colliton has his work cut out for him. So far he has made the mistake of reuniting Keith and Seabrook.  Neither can push someone out of the crease and they give away the puck way too often. Playing Saad, Kane and Toews together leaves the Hawks with no other line that can score.  Alex DeBrincat, the only other goal scorer, has no one to pass him the puck. This doesn’t look like it’s going to get better any time soon.

*Phil Esposito had a five-year stretch where he scored 336 goals. That’s an average of 67 per year.