By Jim Coffman

Are we sure Marc Trestman actually has an offensive system?
Because so far the Bear offense is uneven except for when it’s downright choppy. And that is the case whether the team is moving the football or not.
Of course it is still early. Of course the team has won three of four featuring two victories at home and one on the road (let me be the millionth analyst to point out that a general rule for sports success is win at home and split on the road). Yesterday’s 40-32 loss in Detroit was frustrating but into each football season at least a few losses must fall, except for maybe this year’s Broncos.

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Posted on September 30, 2013

By Roger Wallenstein

When my pal Tom suggested we get a 14-game package for the 2013 White Sox, I agreed that we should get in on the action right from the start.
After all, the team had come within a week of winning the division a year ago, and these guys appeared capable. On the basis of Chris Sale outdueling (Big Game) James Shields 1-0 on Opening Day on the strength of Tyler Flowers’ solo home run – this is a true story – and a 4-2 record on the first homestand, we basked in our good judgment, having another 13 tickets in hand.
No jumping on the bandwagon at the beginning of September. Not us. We were in it from the get-go.
Of course, that’s not quite how things turned out.

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Posted on September 30, 2013

By Mike Luce

To date, the 2013 college football season has produced only seven Top 25 match-ups, such as the blockbuster #1 Alabama vs. #6 Texas A&M rematch in Week Three, and #23 Arizona State vs. #5 Stanford, the lone game featuring two of the Top 25 last week.
With so few big games in the first four weeks, the story this year hasn’t revolved around high-profile teams, but instead on the woebegone Directional Creampuffs, i.e., schools from the FCS.
Three results last week exemplify the issue: Florida A&M, Florida International and Savannah State lost by a collective margin of 218 points. By comparison, the 54-6 drubbing #8 Florida State administered to Bethune-Cookman looks restrained.
Louisville coach Charlie Strong struggled to explain the #7 Cardinals’ lopsided (72-0) box score over Florida International: “I know this: They had a lot of injuries over on that side of the football, and we weren’t trying to embarrass them.”
But a glance at the play-by-play tells a different story. In the fourth quarter, Louisville took the ball leading 58-0 and proceeded to call five passing plays, scoring again to extend the lead to . . . 65 points. After a series by FIU that netted -6 yards, U of L ran the ball exclusively on the ensuing possession but still saw fit to call a timeout to regroup prior to punching in the game’s final touchdown.

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Posted on September 27, 2013

By Carl Mohrbacher

I’m beginning to think that Marc Trestman is still under the impression that the Bears are playing some kind of Canadian-style football in which there are three quarters, moose wearing flannel shirts roam the sidelines, the orange coolers are full of either Labatt Blue or maple syrup, everybody is polite yet gainfully employed and Rush performs the national anthem every night.
I’m glad that the Bears are so confident in their offense that they believe that every single rushing play in the third quarter should be a “shit run,” or “draw” as they’re more conventionally known, but at least in the first 3/16ths of the season (is that a metric quarter? Damn you, Canada!) the truth of the matter is the defense either produces a turnover or does not stop anyone.

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Posted on September 26, 2013

By Dan O’Shea

Trades don’t happen in the NFL with the regularity they occur in pro baseball or even the NBA, so when one does happen, and early in the season, it becomes just about the only thing anyone can talk about.
Just about a week ago, RB Trent Richardson, a consensus first-round fantasy draft pick, was traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Indianapolis Colts for two draft picks (the real kind). Assessments of fantasy experts have varied a bit, but almost everyone sees this move as at least a cautious positive for Richardson’s fantasy owners, since he has moved to a better team with a more prolific offense that will give him more chances to score on goal- line rushes (which he did on his very first play with IND).
I agree with all that in theory, but I find myself a little bit down on the fantasy implications of The Trade. In Cleveland, Richardson was the offense. In Indianapolis, he’s just another piece of an offense with one great WR in Reggie Wayne, a couple more talented young receivers, a good young TE, and another multi-talented, if injury-prone RB in Ahmad Bradshaw. And QB Andrew Luck was not hired to hand off the ball to someone else, or dump off safe, five-yard passes all game long.

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Posted on September 25, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

It is more fun to be a Pirates fan today than it is to be a Cubs fan. Just let that soak in.
Dusty Baker is also returning to the playoffs.
So are the St. Louis Cardinals.
Meanwhile, the Cubs are apparently thinking about firing their manager.
And you know what? He deserves firing.

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Posted on September 24, 2013

By Roger Wallenstein

It’s time to think pleasant thoughts as the baseball season winds down to a merciful – at least here in Chicago – ending this Sunday.
No reason to bemoan Saturday night’s jaw-dropping loss to the Tigers as our fellas blew a 6-0 ninth-inning lead in Detroit and robbed the brilliant Chris Sale of a chance to be a .500 pitcher this season.
The first cool, crisp, clear days of autumn are upon us. Soon the landscape will be ablaze with its fall majesty. The Bears are 3-0. The more astute among us stopped gnashing their teeth over this forgettable baseball season long ago. Complaining about the White Sox has become as passé as getting pissed off about the gaggle of cyclists who make driving in this city seem like a daily driver’s test at the DMV. It’s just the way it is.

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Posted on September 23, 2013

By Jim Coffman

Even the best teams watch big leads leak away.
No one in the NFL has perfected sitting on advantages. I’ve watched for years as my wife’s team, the Patriots, has gone in front by two, three, even four touchdowns and then struggled to hang on. If a team with a big lead runs too much, it becomes predictable and easily defended. If it passes too much, it is predictable and easily defended and it keeps stopping the clock with incompletions. A delightful mixture is of course preferable, but far easier said than done.
The Bears tried both last night and it wasn’t pretty for a while. Fortunately, some big offensive plays late and yet another defensive touchdown prevented extreme discomfort on the way to a 40-23 win and a lovely 3-0 record.

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Posted on September 23, 2013

By Mike Luce

The NCAA will not be paying college football players any time soon. That said, NCAA president Mark Emmert is open to the idea of players bypassing college football altogether on their way to the pros. “If you are a ballerina, or a ballet dancer, you don’t go to college,” Emmert says. “You go straight to a ballet troupe. But you don’t have to make this artificial juncture. Go dance.”
Emmert seems to believe that the size of the college football stage renders the pay-for-play concept unnecessary. “The reality is, they are playing in front of 100,000 people. And so it would seem the exploitation is they have a big audience watching them. So I suppose if they played in front of just 5,000 people they wouldn’t be exploited.”
So the solution seems to be two-fold: college football players should take up ballet or play in smaller stadiums.

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Posted on September 20, 2013

By Carl Mohrbacher

The Bears somehow managed to leave the door open for a Viking upset, despite limiting Adrian Peterson’s effectiveness and watching Christian Ponder’s level of play inspire little boys everywhere to become long snappers.
And yes, if giving up three runs in six innings is a “Quality Start” in baseball, then giving up 100 yards and no touchdowns to AP is “limiting” him.
I assume those dastardly bartenders at Buffalo Wild Wings were behind the tight finish to Sunday’s game. The only explanation for that throw on 1st and goal was that Jay Cutler’s eyes were getting blasted by delicious condiments as he released the ball.

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Posted on September 19, 2013