Chicago -
By Andrew Reilly
He wants to walk? Here’s an idea: Let him walk. Let him leave. Wish him well in Florida or New York or Lakeview or wherever he ends up and move on.
Not because it’s easy to find a guy who overestimates the value of the Mark Kotsays of the world. It is, but that’s not the point.
Posted on September 27, 2010
By Mike Luce
The Week Four Obligatory Heisman Discussion
In the wake of the explosion by Denard “Shoelaces” Robinson in the early going of this season, we will now engage in the mandatory Heisman speculation. The Michigan QB has gone crazy in the first three games, with over 500 yards rushing, 4 TDs and a very un-QB-like 7.6 yards per attempt. Oh, and he has thrown the ball a little bit too – to the tune of 671 yards, a 70% completion percentage and a ridiculous 158.64 QB rating. If you don’t know anything about QB ratings, don’t worry. We don’t either. But we do know that’s a good number. And don’t forget the decimals – that’s the difference between #20 (Robinson) and #21 (Clemson QB Kyle Parker, at 158.4). To top things off, some guy at The Michigan Daily snapped a photo of Robinson that bears a striking resemblance to a certain famous trophy.
Posted on September 25, 2010
By Dan O’Shea
I haven’t participated in all that many fantasy leagues that use team defenses, though I’ve gotten the sense the majority of them go by team stats rather than individual defensive player (IDP – seriously, it’s an increasingly used acronym) stats.
I like the IDP system because those three for four IDP positions can really mess with projections and perception about who has the best team. It makes things more unpredictable and sends manager running every which way trying to figure who’s most likely to force fumbles while also collecting double-digit tackles. Having said that, I’m now in two leagues with team defense, and I’m starting to be won over.
Posted on September 22, 2010
By Nikki Golden and Carl Mohrbacher
Blue: For the second week in a row, the Bears managed a narrow victory over a handicapped opponent, though this week it seemed that the opposition’s weakness lay squarely between their ears.
Frolicking in the springtime of a love affair with the pass, Dallas head coach Wade Phillips called for 51 aerial plays, despite a roster that boasts three starting-caliber running backs. Ignoring repeated visual evidence to the contrary, Fox analyst and former Cowboy great Troy Aikman, alongside St. Louis Cardinals announcer Joe Buck, continued to relay nationally broadcasted reassurances to the Cowboys that passing behind Jason Witten and over the head of Miles Austin was in fact, exemplary quarterbacking.
As a result, Big D managed only a single offensive touchdown for the second time in two games, with the other trip to the end zone provided by a first quarter Dez Bryant punt return.
Opting to erase all doubt of their collective incompetence, the Cowboys’ coaching staff ordered an end to the aggressive and effective defensive game plan that held the Bears to eight total yards in their first three offensive series.
Sensing an opportunity to mystify the opposition, coordinator Mike Martz dialed up a series of elegant and complex plays certain to baffle the now relaxed Dallas defense. However, as evidenced by Devin Hester’s completion-negating “illegal formation” penalty in the second quarter, it seems the Bears skill players are often equally baffled by Martz’s wizardry.
Credit Jay Cutler’s ability to work within the limitations of his personnel, as he wisely called two consecutive hot routes for confused receivers Devin Hester and Greg Olsen (“Run a slant . . . No the other way!” and “Go over there for a while!” respectively) during Chicago’s first touchdown drive.
Posted on September 21, 2010
By Marty Gangler
Did anyone notice that the Cubs went 6-0 for the week? Anyone? Anyone?
Maybe they should have made a managerial change when it still mattered. The Cubs are 17-7 with Mike Quade at the helm. And yet, Quade doesn’t seem to stand a chance to get the job permanently, what with Joe Girardi, Ryne Sandberg and Eric Wedge in the mix. What does the guy have to do to prove he belongs?
* Win every game by slaughter rule.
* Play second base for these last few games at a Hall of Fame level to get the fans to think that you are a better manager because you know what it’s like to be a Cub.
* Change last name to Quenneville.
* Change full name to Mark DeRosa.
* Wear silly glasses and manage from the bleachers with a beer in your hand to prove to the new owners that you are all about the Cubbie experience.
Posted on September 21, 2010
By Jim Coffman
Let’s hear it for the optimists!
There must be a few of you out there, feeling vindicated. Actually it turns out I do know one legitimate fan who genuinely believed the Bears would be good this year. My friend Jon Davis refused to allow the local squad’s record of failure the previous three years and all sorts of mysterious personnel moves in the off- and preseason diminish the optimism that had set in primarily when the Bears announced the hiring of Mike Martz.
So Jon and his fellow positive thinkers (at least the ones who honestly held out hope all the way until the very start of the season – and even after last week’s game – as evidence this team would be terrible seemed to pile up sky-high) should take a big ol’ bow. A few weeks ago, I wrote I was sure the Bears wouldn’t post more than six victories this season, let alone the wins necessary to make the playoffs.
Posted on September 20, 2010
By Andrew Reilly
So.
They lost in spectacular fashion to a superior team, which we all kind of knew would happen so, you know, no big deal.
They then lost in equally spectacular fashion to a supposedly inferior team – one now closing in on second place, mind you – but no one cared so, again, no big deal.
But heading into the last road trip of the wretched season we all knew it would be (and don’t let an inflated win total fool you, this will go down as one of the greats, at least where lost seasons go) we should probably look for what rays of sunshine we can.
Posted on September 20, 2010
By Mike Luce
When teams from the Big Ten and SEC need to pad their win total, someone has to take the fall. Not surprisingly, given the predilection for starting the season against Directional Creampuffs, many schools outside the Big Six conferences have had a tough start to the season. But even among some of the traditional powers, some surprising names enter Week Three still seeking a win.
Looking at the little guys, we feel some sympathy for the likes of Arkansas State (0-2), Western Kentucky (0-2) and North Texas (0-2) in the Sun Belt. Many in the MAC have not fared much better – the conference has only one team (Temple) at 2-0 – while Akron (0-2), Bowling Green (0-2) and Eastern Michigan (0-2) have suffered at the hands of bigger programs with at least one more week to go before the end of Creampuff season.
The first two weeks have not been kind to teams along the fringes of the major conferences either. Conference USA standings show three teams at 0-2 (Marshall, Memphis and UAB) and another three (Colorado State, New Mexico and UNLV) have stumbled out of the gate for the Mountain West. In the WAC, only San Jose State (0-2) sits at the bottom of the standings awaiting the first W of the young season.
Posted on September 17, 2010
Blue Report:
Regardless of the Monday morning quarterbacking from everyone starting with the experts and ending with my grandfather, a win is a win is a win is a win, naysayers be damned. Being that the NFL season is only 16 games long, I’ll take every win our Bears can get, even if that means we’re going to need at least one play of especially stupid proportions to maintain a lead in the final moments. Don’t fault the Bears for Calvin “Megatron” Johnson not knowing the rules as well as this writer, just accept the gift and say, “Thank you.”
But, if one were to look past the last couple minutes of the game and closer to the numbers, you might see some interesting stats:
Posted on September 15, 2010
By Andrew Reilly
So it’s come to this. Sweep a superior team or all is lost. Or is it?
No, it is.
Now, there are a lot of ways to look at this week.
Posted on September 14, 2010
