Nagy's the Probllem

 

September 27, 2021

The Cleveland Browns are one of the better teams in the NFL. They have a very potent offense and pretty good defense. Then again, every defense looks good facing the Bears. I was excited to see rookie Justin Fields make his first start at quarterback. However, thanks to his coach, the offense showed no life. The Bears defense kept them in the game trailing only 10-3 at halftime.  Ultimately, the Browns got their act together outscoring the Bears 16-3 cruising to an easy 26-6 victory.

The Bears have reached a historic all-time low. While Nagy’s offense rarely scores twenty points, yesterday they managed only two measly field goals. After the game Nagy said he will watch the tape and see what went wrong and why. Echoing the sentiments of Dave Kaplan and crew on the post-game show, if you want to know why things went bad, look in the mirror. The Browns turned the ball over on downs when Browns QB Baker Mayfield was sacked. On the Bears first play David Montgomery ran for 16 yards, setting up a Bear field goal. The Bears would run 43 more plays for a total of 31 yards.

Nagy’s play calling didn’t give Fields a chance to succeed. There were no roll-outs, bootlegs or play action. He never called a screen pass, which if executed properly may have slowed the Browns pass rush. Instead he tried to make Fields execute his offense which hasn’t worked since he got here. It pisses me off that the Bears brought him back after two eight win seasons.

With Fields in the pocket, the Browns had nine sacks. Thirty-nine year old Jason Peters looked like an old man. He was being beaten at the line of scrimmage, allowing Miles Garrett to set a Browns record with 4 ½ sacks. Germain Ifedi was just as bad. Nagy did not make any adjustments. It’s imperative you protect your franchise QB. God forbid Nagy would change his offense to provide Fields some protection. Fields was getting creamed and Nagy did nothing about it.

Even though they might be the worst tackling team, I am going to cut the defense some slack. They played a very good first half. They stopped a very good team from running the ball. They also pressured Mayfield.  Robert Quinn, who is having a bounce back season had two sacks. Khalil Mack, battling injuries, also had two sacks. They stopped the Browns on two fourth down and short yardage situations with sacks. The problem is, with the offense continually going three and out, the defense was on the field for 40 minutes.

The biggest problem with the Bears is Matt Nagy.  He was brought in to rejuvenate the offense and has failed miserably. They average 18 points per game. He failed in developing Mitch Trubisky. Therefore, I am worried he will ruin Fields. I know it is wishful thinking, but Nagy has to be let go before the season is totally lost. Fields will never be the QB they envisioned as long as Nagy is his coach.

Bears Win But Don't Get Too Excited

 

September 20, 2021

Things got a little scary at the end as the Bears held on to edge the Cincinnati Bengals 20-17. The Bears didn’t win this game as much as the Bengals lost it.  However, don’t get too excited. This is one the games the Bears were supposed to win as the Bengals are one of the few teams worse than they are.

The defense was the primary reason for the Bears victory. It seemed they turned back the clock to 2018 forcing four Bengal turnovers. The first was a fumble forced by Eddie Jackson, which Tashaun Gipson recovered. Bengals QB Joe Burrows , had thrown 199 passes without an interception when he was picked off by Bears linebacker Roquan Smith who ran it in for a touchdown. Smith who is one of the best linebackers in the NFL also had one the Bears four sacks. On his next pass Burrows was intercepted by second year cornerback
Jaylon Johnson, one of GM Ryan Pace’s better draft picks. On the next series Alec Ogeltree replacing Eddie Goldman at nose tackle, hit Burrows forcing another interception by backup defensive lineman Angelo Blackson. Khalil Mack also had a strong and got his first sack of the year. Lo and behold, Robert Quinn had a sack.

Bears starting QB Andy Dalton, was on fire to start the game. He completed 6 of 7 passes on a 75 yard touchdown drive, capped by a TD pass to Allen Robinson.  He also had a couple of nice runs. That was about it for offensive guru Matt Nagy’s offense. Dalton looked good on his second drive before injuring himself running out of bounds.

Justin Fields took over and had some rookie struggles that can easily be corrected. He had two false start penalties, recovered his own fumble and threw a costly interception leading to a Cincinnati touchdown.. He showed a strong arm and should have had a touchdown reception that Robinson uncharacteristically dropped in the end zone. The Bear defense was setting up the offense in good position. However, when they got close to the end zone they had to settle for field goals. There are two areas that cause major headaches. Offensive genius Nagy can’t get creative enough to get them into the end zone. He doesn’t even consider a run pass option. Once again the Bears had a third and two and couldn’t get a first down, running he ball twice.

Back to Fields. He did his part to save the day. With a little over two minutes to go the Bears faced a third down and nine. Fields broke two tackles and got a first down.  I don’t know if Fields starts next week but it his time will come sooner rather than later.  With the weak offensive line Nagy will need to call roll-out pass options to avid the rush and keep his quarterbacks healthy.   

Not Ready For Prime Time

 

September 13, 2021

The Chicago Bears made it close, trailing only 13-7 at halftime. The L.A. Rams outscored the Bears 21-7 in the second half and routed the Bears 34-14. I can’t understand why NBC would choose to televise a game between a Super Bowl contender and a really bad Bears team. The Bears’ flaws I envisioned were in full bloom Sunday night.

I’m not used to a Bears defense surrendering 34 points. With no pressure whatsoever, Rams QB Matt Stafford carved up the Bear defense. He completed 20 of 26 for 321 yards and 3 touchdowns. He had an incredible 123 passer rating. The third offensive play by the Rams was a harbinger of things to come. Stafford connected on a 67 yard touchdown to Van Jefferson. Jefferson caught the ball at the 12 yard line. Safeties Tashaun Gipson and Eddie Jackson failed to touch him down and Jefferson got up and ran into the end zone. Stafford then picked apart the Bears secondary, leading to two field goals, putting them ahead 13-0. Among the three Ram touchdowns in the second half was a 56 yard bomb to Cooper Kupp. Eddie Jackson was in a different time zone than the wide open Kupp.  The Bears overvalued Jackson and rewarded him with a 5 year, multi-million dollar deal. Just think, if the Bears offered less and dumped TE Jimmy Graham’s $7 million dollar deal, they could have resigned All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller.

Once again offensive guru Matt Nagy’s offense failed to reach 20 points. Bears QB Andy Dalton completed 27 of 38 for 206 yards.  That averages to a paltry 7.5 yards per completion. The problem is not the quarterbacks, it's Nagy’s system. Running back David Montgomery had a great game gaining 108 yards. However, Nagy only ran him 16 times. His 6.75 yards average per carry were longer than most pass attempts. He also caught a pass out the backfield that gained 13 yards, yet Nagy didn’t call that play for the rest of the night. Rookie QB Justin Fields came in and completed a nine yard pass, something Dalton failed to do. Fields also scored a touchdown. No matter, Dalton probably starts next week.

Some of Nagy’s decisions were mind numbing. The Bears have trouble on fourth down when needing only one yard. Nagy inexplicably went twice on fourth and six, turning the ball over on both occasions. The one time he punted, the Rams were buried inside their ten yard line which led to a Bear touchdown. What’s amazing, the Bears could have cut the lead to ten with a field goal. Instead, Nagy went for a first down on fourth needing 15 yards. This blew up as well. Wait there’s more! With the Bears trailing, they needed the ball. It seemed as if the Rams were going to settle for a field goal. However, Nagy accepts a 10 yard penalty replaying third down, wasting valuable time. On third and 17, the Rams gain a first down. With 7 minutes to go and trailing by 20 points Nagy sends Dalton on the field. This would been an excellent time to put Fields in.

The offense isn’t going to get better with Dalton. Fields should start now. He can be real good especially if he changes Nagy’s play call at the line. The defense is no longer the Bears calling card. They will get beat up by good offensive teams, like next week’s Cincinnati Bengals.

Bear Down and Cover Your Eyes

 

September 6, 2021

L

Last year the Bears backed into the playoffs finishing at 8-8. They lost 21-9 scoring their lone touchdown on the last play of the game.

The asinine decision to bring Matt Nagy back as coach boggles the mind. He was hired to rejuvenate the offense and develop Mitch Trubisky. He has failed miserably on both accounts. He is hung up thinking he is a genius and that his offensive schemes are great. The problem is the Bears don’t score enough points to win. It is time for him install an offense that the players can execute instead of them “adjusting” to his system. He is also not a good game coach, calling plays that make you want to pull your hair out.  I’m just wondering how many times after a loss he will tell the media that “They had a great week of practice.”

With Trubisky gone, Nick Foles was the only quarterback on the roster. Once Carson Wentz was traded to the Colts, the Bears went into fantasy land. The Bears thought they had a shot at Houston’s DeShaun Watson or Seattle’s Russell Wilson. Watson was accused of alleged sexual abuse and Wilson wasn’t on the trading block. In desperation, the Bears acquired Andy Dalton. This would have excited me five years ago, his last winning season. The Bears also drafted a possible franchise QB, Justin Fields who will sit and watch Dalton. I wonder how long it will take Nagy to realize Fields is a better option.

The Bears have one of the best wide receivers, Allen Robinson, as well as Darnell Mooney, who had an outstanding rookie season. They have no other threats. Anthony Miller is gone. Nagy and GM Ryan Pace said he didn’t develop the way they were expecting. This would been hard to do from the bench and not calling plays for him. Tight End Cole Kmet had a nice rookie season and should improve. Nagy has to know he should get the majority of playing time over Jimmy Graham. David Montgomery had 1070 yards rushing which averages out to just under 67 yards per game. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry, which is pretty good. The problem is that Nagy can’t install a running game in his pass happy offense. Montgomery should be getting more touches. He is also great at catching the ball out of the backfield. Nagy continues to make the mistake on running Montgomery into the line in short yardage situations. 

Vic Fangio protégé Sean Desai, replaces the woeful Chuck Pagano as Defensive Coordinator. While the Bears’ calling card has always been their defense, there a myriad of question marks to see if that will still be the case. The front three has Akiem Hicks and Bilal Nichols on the ends. The hope is that nose tackle Eddie Goldman can return to the impact player he was in 2019. Outside linebacker Khalil Mack is still a dominant player and I don’t know if there is a better inside linebacker than Roquan Smith. The questions remain on the other side. Nine year veteran Alec Ogletree replaces the oft-injured Danny Trevathan and the Bears are hoping for a bounce back year for the underachieving Robert Quinn. Jaylon Johnson at cornerback, looked pretty good until he had a season ending injury. He is probably still learning. The other corner, a 2020 fifth round pick, Kindle Vildor has no experience. The Bears gave safety Eddie Jackson a contract extension for his “ball hawking” ability. Last year he had zero interceptions and no fumble recoveries. He is also a terrible tackler. The other safety is veteran Tashaun Gipson.

2019 sixth round pick, Duke Shelley, has the inside track to be the nickel back.

Kicker Cairo Santos may be this team’s MVP. The Bears have to settle for a lot of field goals. He has made people forget Robbie Gould converting on his last 27 kicks. Third string running back, Khalil Herbert will get a chance to replace Cordarrelle Patterson returning kickoffs.

The Bears will probably end up at best 9-8; not good enough to make the playoffs, not bad enough to get a good draft choice. If you’re read this column, let me know what you think about what the Bears’ record will be, post your predictions below.

It's the Best of Times and the Worst of Times

 

August 30 2021

With one month left in the regular season, the White Sox (76-56) still have a stranglehold on the Central Division. They lead the Indians by 10 games.  Now is the time to gain some momentum heading into the playoffs. They also still have chance to catch Houston for home field advantage.

The knock on the Sox is they can’t beat good teams. They just finished a stretch of 14 games against teams with winning records and went 7-7. Four of the losses were games when Tim Anderson was not in the line-up. Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert are back and are tearing the cover off the ball. Yasmani Grandal came back and continued the hot streak he was on before he went on the IL. These additions have also made Jose Abreu better. He got extremely hot in August. He has 27 homers and once again leads the majors with 101 RBI. The Sox now have one of the best offenses in the game. Also on a positive note, Dylan Cease, is learning how to pitch and should only get better.

The moves at the trading deadline are a mixed bag. Ryan Tepera was a good pick up. He throws strikes and has an unhittable slider, especially against right handed batters. New second baseman, Caesar Hernandez has won a gold glove. The problem is he is a weak link in the line-up. He has developed a lot of power with over 20 homers. This coincides with striking out, which he is doing at an alarming rate. Craig Kimbrel was acquired to solidify the bullpen, which is a key to post season success. He has been a mitigating disaster. Dallas Keuchel has also been awful. He has gone from being a number two starter to number five. I am sure he will get more starts to try to turn things around but I feel this is highly unlikely. As of now, Reynaldo Lopez is a better option. Tony LaRussa will probably make the wrong move, letting Keuchel start.

If you are tuning into the Cubs (57-75) to see if they win or lose, you are watching for the wrong reason.   Right now the focus should be on who you want to see on next year’s team. I would think the Cubs will have some September call ups. However, the Cubs farm system ranks in the lower half of baseball and I don’t hear any names of players in the system.

Looking ahead, there are a few things we know. Willson Contreras will be catching. Nico Hoerner and Nick Madrigal will be at shortstop and second base. Due to an albatross contract, Jason Hayward will be in right field. I think you can pencil in Patrick Wisdom at third. He has massive power and should be able to hit 40 homers per year. Right now he has 25 in 254 at bats but also has 111 strikeouts. Since he is only a rookie, maybe he can improve in this area. Wisdom is also exceptionally good defensively. Frank Schwindel at first base is hitting .344, though he has little power, unlike most first basemen. You might have Rafael Ortega in center as he has shown flashes of what he can do. Let there be no mistake, these are all stop gap moves. Schwindel is 29 years old and Wisdom and Ortega are 30 years old.

It’s remarkable that Kyle Hendricks is 14-6 for a team 18 games under .500. He is most likely coming back. It may behoove the Cubs to explore a trade in the off season. You can get some really good prospects for Hendricks. Starters Adbert Alzolay. Jason Steele and Keegan Thompson all need some seasoning. Zach Davies and Alec Mills are other options to round out the rotation.

To placate fans, Jed Hoyer refuses to admit this a rebuild. They do have the money to sign free agents, but next year is not the time. There are too many holes to fill. Therefore, a couple of free agents aren’t going to make you a contender. Judging by recent moves, I don’t think the Cubs will jump into the free agent market this year. Remember, patience is a virtue.

As One Era comes to the End Another One is Beginning

 

August 2, 2021

The baseball world exploded with a flurry of trades before the deadline. Many teams selling impact players to teams pushing to make the playoffs. The Dodgers acquired Cy Young candidate Max Scherzer and all-star shortstop Trae Turner. The Giants countered by signing Kris Bryant. Nelson Cruz is now a Tampa Bay Ray, stud pitcher Jose Berrios is a Blue Jay and the Red Sox traded for slugger Kyle Schwarber. Not to be outdone, the Yankees signed sluggers Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo to take aim at the short right field bleachers at Yankee Stadium. The Cubs were very busy with a plethora of moves, including two trades with the cross-town White Sox.

The White Sox (62-44) have been playing lousy baseball. The Cleveland Indians have played just as bad.  By winning two of three over the Indians the Sox have opened a huge 9 game lead. It would take a slump of epic proportions for the Sox not to win the division.

The Sox positioned themselves for the post season trading for an elite closer former Cub, Craig Kimbrel. This allows them to use the formula of the 2015 world champion Kansa City Royals. The Royals had Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland closing out games. The Sox have a resurgent Aaron Bummer, Craig Kimbrel and Liam Hendriks. In recent years teams that win have great bullpens. The Sox have the best as of right now.

The hitting has to improve. Hopefully it won’t take long for Eloy Jimenez to get in a groove. The same thing goes for Luis Robert and Yasmani Grandal when they return.  They need Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada and Jose Abreu to get going. It is imperative for the Sox to win enough games to get home field advantage in the playoffs. The Sox have been struggling on the road but have a major league best record at home.

The Sox also need to shore their defense. The outfield will get much better when Robert returns. It wouldn’t hurt to give Adam Engel the majority of playing time in right. They have traded for gold glove second baseman Cesar Hernandez. Anderson has improved at shortstop. Yoan Moncada after a bad series in Houston, has been very good at third. They also have to overcome the disastrous managing job by Tony LaRussa.

The woes continue for the Cubs (51-56) as they have dropped to fourth place. What was projected when the season began came to fruition before the trading deadline. While the Sox window will be open for years, it’s the end of an era for the Cubs.

Let’s start with Kimbrel trade. He was not going to be a free- agent at the end of the year however, they wanted to dump his $16 million contract. The club will have a loss of revenue. The seats are sold but will fans show up?  At least the Cubs got something in return. Codi Heuer has terrific stuff and can become a late inning guy if not a closer. Cub fans are going to love second baseman Nick Madrigal. He and Nico Hoerner can be a real good DP combo for years.

Before you mourn for the loss of the three core players from the 2016 world champs, consider this team wasn't going to win with them. So far this season they have all underachieved leaving Jed Hoyer to receive little in return. Anthony Rizzo was dealt to the Yankees. The Cubs received right hander Alexander Vizcaino and minor league outfielder Kevin Alcantara. The only thing positive is the Yankees are pretty good at selecting prospects. Javier Baez and Trevor Williams were traded to the Mets for outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong who may be ready soon. Kris Bryant was traded to San Francisco for prospects right-hander Caleb Kilian and outfielder Alexander Canario.

Most of these prospects won’t be ready for a while and the Cubs farm system is not very good. The Cubs say they are retooling, not rebuilding. Who are they retooling around? Some people tell me they have freed up money and could sign some free agents and contend. As you should know by now, this not their MO.  In my opinion they should shop Kyle Hendricks in the off-season. He can command players who can help sooner rather than later. It’s going a long time before they will be contenders.

White Sox and Cubs Heading in Different Directions

 

July 12, 2021

 

Starting in the month of June, the White Sox (54-35) were not playing particularly well.  However, winning their last 5 games, the Sox remain on top in the Central Division with the best record in the American League. The lead has swelled to 8 games partially due to second place Cleveland having their 3 top pitchers on the IL and the Minnesota Twins. The lead of this size is significant because you might go into a mini-slump or a surge by Cleveland when their pitchers get healthy.

 

The injury bug continued when Yasmani Grandal went on the IL July 5. He was the team’s most productive hitter in June. He stopped waiting for walks and was putting good swings on the ball. This was the hitter I expected when he signed with the team. He is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. Since he needed surgery, it is probably closer to six. However, there is also great news on the injury front. Eloy Jimenez should be back at the end of the month with Luis Robert two weeks later. If these two had been healthy the Sox lead would be in double digits.

 

The all-star break comes at a great time for Yoan Moncada and Jose Abreu to be rejuvenated and get cooking for the remainder of the year. At one point I thought the Sox were going to make a major move acquiring a second baseman at the trade deadline. However, with the exception of the Pirates’ Adam Frazier, no one has been hotter than Leury Garcia. Garcia was hitting .226 entering June. His average is up to .263 and he is tied for second on the team in RBI. The Sox may deal for a catcher but if the price is right I’d love to have Craig Kimbrel to solidify the bullpen.

 

The Cubs (44-46) got off to a very shaky start, especially with hitting woes. They were the hottest team in May and it looked like they could make the playoffs. However, after a combined no-hitter the Cubs lost 11 straight, are in third place 8 games out.

 

The Cubs’ problems were evident at the start of season. Kyle Hendricks leads the league with 11 wins. Adbert Alzolay shows a lot of promise and looks like he can develop into a stud starter. The Cubs, in a salary dump, traded Yu Darvish for Zach Davies. Davies has been good and bad as his 5-6 record and 4.31 ERA attest to. Darvish is an all-star. The Cubs signed Jake Arietta who hasn’t been good and  injury prone for two years. He had some decent starts then became an unmitigated disaster. They had hoped he could eat up innings, but he can’t get past the second, most of the time putting the Cubs in a big hole. They also added Trevor Williams who was awful before getting hurt. The Cubs bullpen has been better than expected and Craig Kimbrel may be the best closer in baseball. The problem is you don’t get many save opportunities if your team is trailing.

 

I’m still perplexed about why this team can’t hit. It all starts with the big three. After a good start, Kris Bryant’s average has dropped to .271 with a decrease in power. Javier Baez power numbers look good but his average is .235. He has struck out 115 times in only 290 at bats. Anthony Rizzo has had a disappointing season hitting only .247 with 10 homers. Their big off-season signing Joc Pedersen, hasn’t added much to the offense. He is hitting .230 with 11 homers.  He replaced Kyle Schwarber, an all-star hitting .253 with 25 homers and 53 RBI. Hind sight is 20/20.

 

With the trade deadline approaching, the Cubs will be open for business.  They can get a lot of good prospects for Kimbrel and there should be many teams interested. For some reason I see the New York Yankees going after the versatile Bryant. So as not to go into full rebuild I think the Cubs keep Baez. Rizzo is a favorite of GM/President Jed Hoyer so they probably keep him as well.