Chicago Sports

The Sun-Times’ Patrick Finley analyzes the Bears at the end of their 3-14 season:

Rank the Bears’ biggest offseason needs.

In order: dominant edge rusher; disruptive “three-technique” defensive tackle; play-making weak-side linebacker; a reliable wide receiver and the best two starting offensive linemen they can find.

Their needs exceed even that list, though. There are maybe three position groups where they seem set with starters: quarterback, tight end and safety.

What specifically would you do with the No. 1 overall pick?

Trade it to the Colts for No. 4, their second-rounder this year and a 2024 first-rounder. (Also, I’d ask if the Colts want to send any veteran defenders over in the trade). Then I’d draft who’s left between Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson and Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter. In terms of landing a high pick next year, there’s no team I’d rather bet against, institutionally, than the Colts. That 2024 pick gives the Bears an insurance policy, too — if Fields struggles in 2023, they’d have the ability to draft a quarterback.

How would you assess Justin Fields’ season?

His runs were the most exciting thing I’ve covered on this beat in 10 seasons. For the Bears to win consistently, the pass game must improve.

What grade would you give Matt Eberflus?

D+. Objectively, he just had the worst season in Bears history, becoming their first coach to lose 10 straight and to finish with 14 losses. Over the last month, his defense gave up the most points in the NFL. Many of the Bears’ struggles were by design. Still, the Bears had rookies play over 1,000 more snaps than the NFL’s next-closest team, but few young players emerged as sure-fire keepers.

Which of GM Ryan Poles’ decisions thus far will look the best?

Drafting safety Jaquan Brisker in Round 2. I quibble with whom he could have drafted instead (the Steelers took George Pickens four picks later) but I believe Brisker, despite run-support struggles toward the end of the season, will be a multi-time Pro Bowl player.

Which decision will Poles regret most?

Trading Roquan Smith doesn’t get the same criticism as Poles dealing for Chase Claypool a day later. Since the trade, though, the Ravens have given up 132 points — just two short of the league-leading 49ers. The Ravens paid Smith what the Bears wouldn’t, but Poles shouldn’t have been in the business of trading a 25-year-old standout when he could have given him the franchise tag twice.

The Bears’ hiring of Kevin Warren as CEO/president signifies …

That they’re willing to do something new — a great idea after they won three playoff games in Ted Phillips’ 24 years.

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The little boy walked onto the stage in his freshly starched shirt and pants bunched at the ankles.

The look on his face wasn’t quite fear as much as astonishment that so many people were there to see him play.

The grand piano at his back dwarfed him. He tucked the tiny violin under his chin, raised his bow and began to play.

The sound that emerged brought to mind a rusty, warped screen door closing.

But to me, his father, it was as beautiful as a Mozart symphony.

The performance lasted not even two minutes. My only disappointment? That I couldn’t applaud and record a video at the same time.

This was seven years ago. Lucca, a Suzuki music student, was only 4 then, and it was his first recital.

For many of the intervening years, violin, especially practicing violin, was painful drudgery — for Lucca, his mother and me, his home practice partner.

“I hate violin,” he’d say after I’d asked him for maybe the 15th time to take his instrument out of its case to practice. “Why are you making me do this?”

“For one, we’re paying a lot of money for your lessons, and, two, you’ll thank me later,” I’d snap back.

When he’d finally put bow to strings, he’d just race through the music.

I’d try reasoning: “You never hear anyone say, ‘I wish I’d never gone to college.’ It’s the same thing with learning an instrument.”

“I don’t want to do this any more.”

Bribes sometimes worked: Do a good practice, and you get 30 minutes of computer games.

At some point, though, you realize the struggle is as much about you, the parent, as it is about your kid. Did I ever think that little boy on stage back then might one day be playing in a professional orchestra? Sometimes, sure. And did I like to just oh so casually mention to other parents that my child was now playing Bach? Guilty.

Still, I didn’t want to be that parent — the one trying to mold his child into a little me, the me I might have been.

We thought about letting Lucca quit violin, saying goodbye to the screechy muddling through his latest piece, the “gold” medals for practicing 100 days straight, the end-of-year concerts at which dozens of young violinists would cram together onstage.

Then, Lucca got a new teacher. It wasn’t that we didn’t love all of the teachers who came before. But something was different about Vannia Phillips. She offers deserved praise but doesn’t hand out gold stars, stickers or M&Ms when Lucca holds the bow the right way.

She treats Lucca like a musician — a grownup musician.

He likes that — even if he’s not at all impressed that she has accompanied some legendary figures in pop music, too: Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Barry Manilow.

And he’s improved. One day, Lucca played a Brahms waltz with his teacher, and it brought tears to my eyes. I thought back to that little boy in the starched shirt and rolled-up pants whose bow scraped and skidded against the strings.

When Ms. Vannia wants Lucca to do something extra — say, a two-day workshop — she says she’d like him to do it, though it’s clear he doesn’t really have a choice.

OK, practices sometimes are still a chore. But often that’s because Lucca now wants to race ahead and maybe play a piece from Book Three even though he’s only halfway through Book Two.

Lucca’s little brother Matteo, 5, has just started playing the cello.

Lucca, now 11, is at an age he usually tolerates his brother as a playmate only if he can’t find anyone else. But the other day I found them in our bedroom, each holding his instrument. Lucca offered to let Matteo accompany him. If we get this done, Lucca whispered, Dad will let us play on the computer.

Lucca raised his bow and told his brother: “So when I go like this” — at which point he sniffed — “that’s a cue. So ready? Three, two, one, go.”

I pulled out my phone. And I started to record.

FATHERHOOD: AN OCCASIONAL SERIES

This is one of an occasional series on fatherhood by Sun-Times staff reporter Stefano Esposito, the dad of two young sons.

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Ten minutes or so after every other Blackhawk had left the ice Wednesday, center -Jason Dickinson was still there — all by himself — at the far end of Fifth Third Arena.

Mired in a 16-game point drought and 26-game goal drought entering the Hawks’ matchup Thursday against the Avalanche, Dickinson shot puck after puck after puck. He had set up a couple of tripod obstacles between himself and the net to make things harder and simulate shooting through traffic.

“[I was] just trying to work on changing the angles, seeing the gaps, getting it through,” Dickinson said. “That’s all I was thinking. A lot of times, there’s traffic, there’s feet and sticks, and you have to find the lane. Rather than just pick your spot in the net, you have to pick your spot through the defenders.”

In general, Dickinson — despite his self-critical nature — has been satisfied with his overall play.

The Hawks’ consecutive wins last weekend helped boost morale, and other than a tough minus-3 performance on New Year’s Day, he considers the last 10 games or so his best in a while. His frustration and lagging confidence in early December — a period in which he had “let certain areas slide” — have been largely resolved.

He just hasn’t been able to score “for the life of me.”

“I feel like I should be doing more, so that sucks,” he said. “We lose some close games, and it feels like, ‘Maybe I could’ve contributed something. It could’ve been different if this happened.’ It’s easy to look back on things and say, ‘What should’ve, could’ve, would’ve.’

“I felt really good about my game. I just wasn’t getting on the scoresheet. I felt like I was playing really good hockey, and it just wasn’t happening. That is more encouraging than it is discouraging that I’m not getting the points.”

Dickinson’s defense-first playing style also used to feature some offensive spark. He surpassed the 20-point threshold in his first two full NHL seasons (2018-19, 2019-20) with the Stars. But he had only 15 and 11 points the last two seasons and has been stuck on 10 for a while this season.

Annoyingly for him, he’s shooting more than ever before, setting a career-high pace of 11.0 shots per 60 minutes at five-on-five. He has been less accurate, though, with 53.2% of his attempts making it on goal (down from 59.5% his first two seasons) compared to 29.1% getting blocked (up from 20.2% his first two seasons).

He hopes his extra individual practice Wednesday — and throughout the season — will eventually aid him in that regard. How so? Visually identifying a shooting lane is obviously important, but . . .

“It’s more so with your hands and your stick, creating the deception so the defender moves in a way that you want him to move, so it opens up the lane you want to open up,” he said. “Your eyes can help with that by looking in the wrong direction for him, but it’s a lot in the hands — pushing away or pulling back. A lot of the top goal-scorers are able to change the angle every time they shoot.”

Simply shooting faster might help, too, because doing so gives the defender less time to anticipate what’s coming and reposition himself in the lane. Coach Luke Richardson has recently harped on that to the entire forward group.

“Sometimes a guy is just overthinking and taking that extra step looking for the perfect shot, so just a quicker twitch and getting those off a little quicker [can help],” Richardson said. “Teams are so quick to close now, it gets frustrating when you don’t get a good shot off. I like him working on it.”

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This is a pivotal offseason for the Bears. The cleanup is complete, and now general manager Ryan Poles has massive resources available to build through free agency and the draft. Here’s a look at the biggest questions facing the organization:

Rank the Bears’ biggest offseason needs.

They have a million of them, but the line of scrimmage tops the list. This was the feeblest pass rush and most porous pass protection in the NFL. Let’s start with the offensive line for two reasons: First, it’ll lead to immediate improvement from Justin Fields and, second, it’s supposed to be Poles’ specialty.

What specifically would you do with the No. 1 overall pick?

The more times the Bears can trade back, the better. If they can get the Colts to give them two first-round picks to swap Nos. 1 and 4, that’s a great start. If they can trade back from there to No. 8 in a trade with the Raiders and get another first-rounder, that’s perfect. Then they could take TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston. That’s a dream scenario.

How would you assess Justin Fields’ season?

It was better, and the Bears should be optimistic about where he’s headed. He established himself as the best running quarterback in the game and was moderately more efficient as a passer — all with an offensive line and skill players that were woefully deficient.

Would you consider drafting a QB?

Certainly not in the first three rounds, but finding a viable backup for Fields is essential. The two games this season in which Fields didn’t play were a waste. The Bears started Trevor Siemian and Nathan Peterman — neither is a promising young talent nor gifted with Fields’ running ability. The Bears need to follow the Ravens’ model and develop quarterbacks who play the same style.

The Bears’ hiring of Kevin Warren as CEO/president signifies …

More pressure on general manager Ryan Poles. Warren knows that Poles has everything he needs to start building the roster and he’ll be eager to see results.

What grade would you give Matt Eberflus?

C. He got exactly what was expected out of this roster — nothing more or less than any league-average replacement would’ve done. He would call it a successful season because he established the foundation of “championship habits,” but it’s unlikely most of these players will be part of their next good team. The real test will be whether new free agents adopt his principles.

Which of GM Ryan Poles’ decisions will look the best?

Drafting and developing Braxton Jones. The Bears should be looking for an upgrade at left tackle in free agency and the draft, but Jones could still have a future with them at right tackle. Anytime a general manager finds a multi-year starter out of Southern Utah late in the fifth round, that’s a win.

Which decision will Poles regret most?

Remember the parade everybody threw for the Chase Claypool trade? Knowing now that the pick he gave the Steelers is No. 32 overall, it’s hard to believe Poles looks back on that as a good deal. And any player in Claypool’s position, going into the final season of his rookie contract, would want an extension this offseason. The Bears, though, haven’t seen enough to be sure about doing that. Poles could end up in another standoff.

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The Blackhawks’ penalty-killing struggles most of this season have been “really frustrating” for defenseman Connor Murphy.

But in a 3-2 upset win Thursday over the Avalanche, Murphy and the Hawks’ penalty kill made the difference in a positive way.

The defending Stanley Cup champions found no space to maneuver on the power play, failing to convert on any of their five opportunities — including three straight in the first period. The short-handed Hawks generated just as many scoring chances (three) as the Avalanche’s power play did.

“With all the weapons [the Avalanche] have, they can make you pay at any point,” forward Taylor Raddysh said. “Our PK was in sync all night. They just stayed on them and forced them to make some tough plays. It was a big, gutsy effort.”

The Hawks had allowed 19 goals on their previous 60 penalty kills — a putrid 68.3% kill rate — but settled into a comfortable blue-line trap against the Avs.

“At times, with different guys in and out of the lineup, I don’t think it was fully comfortable,” coach Luke Richardson said. “It has been coming, just like everything else. Tonight, it really showed. Even sometimes when we misread . . . [Nathan] MacKinnon or [Cale] Makar coming up the ice, we still put pressure on them, and it puts them under the gun to make a play.

“We turned over a lot of pucks, and we did a great job in-zone. [Assistant coach Kevin Dean] spent some more time on the video this morning to get the guys prepared. We had a good plan, and we really executed.”

Raddysh scored the go-ahead goal in the third period after two perfectly placed seam passes by Tyler Johnson and Jonathan Toews, and Richardson made it the game-winner with a brazen but ultimately fruitful goaltender-interference challenge in the final five minutes.

Goaltender Petr Mrazek earned a win for only the second time since Oct. 15 by making 31 saves on 33 shots.

“I felt good personally, especially early on when they came hard and had some chances,” Mrazek said.

With Patrick Kane’s lower-body injury feeling much better, putting him on track to return Saturday against the Kraken, the Hawks will finish with a rather shocking 3-0-0 record during his absence.

Their first winning streak since late October has bumped them up to 26 points in 40 games, ahead of the Blue Jackets (26 points in 41 games) and no longer in last place in the NHL.

Injury report

Although Kane is expected to return against Seattle, the Hawks retroactively put him on injured reserve so they could activate forward MacKenzie Entwistle, who played well in his return after missing six games with a wrist injury.

Forward Jujhar Khaira’s situation is more concerning. He hasn’t played since Dec. 23 with a lower-back injury — less than a year after undergoing back surgery. Richardson said there’s no timeline for Khaira’s return while they wait for his back to “settle down.”

Defenseman Jarred Tinordi, who had facial surgery Dec. 19, has resumed practicing in a full cage, but he still has some screws in his jaw that won’t be removed for several weeks. He won’t return until around or after the All-Star break in early February.

“Structurally, it’s going to take time for the bones and plates to heal,” Richardson said. “He’s allowed to start ramping up his push level, fitness-wise, but [not allowed to start] banging around and going into a full game.”

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The final buzzer never sounded in Kenwood’s 73-70 overtime win against visiting Curie on Thursday.

There were still 0.7 seconds left on the clock when Condors coach Mike Oliver signaled that he had seen enough and gave in to defeat.

No. 11 Curie and No. 3 Kenwood are two of the state’s best teams. Both are contenders for the Class 4A state title. The players deserved better than what transpired over the course of a nearly two-and-a-half-hour high school basketball game. The officials were confused throughout, constantly discussing things amongst themselves and then explaining decisions to enraged coaches. And then discussing things again. There was more of that drama than actual basketball.

The key snafu came early in the overtime. Kenwood star guard Dai Dai Ames picked up his fifth foul but wasn’t removed from the game. He scored a basket on a breakaway layup before the officials noticed the error. The points counted and gave the Broncos a 67-65 lead with 2:01 left in overtime.

“We told [the officials] he fouled out,” Curie coach Mike Oliver said. “[Ames] started walking towards the bench. [Kenwood coach Mike Irvin] told Ames to stay on the court. The table told [the officials] he was out. They let him sneak down the court and stand in the corner. A disqualified player can’t score a bucket. How can a disqualified player play? How can you mess that up?”

Ames said he was unaware how many fouls he had so he stayed on the court.

“I thought I had three or four fouls,” Ames said. “That’s the ref’s fault. They tried to call a technical on me and I didn’t know I fouled out.”

There were numerous other arguments and incidents throughout the second half and overtime. Kenwood (15-2, 5-0) had the ball and the lead with 0.7 seconds left when Oliver decided to stop arguing and move on.

“At some point you just accept that they are cheating,” Oliver said. “The officials are scared to go tell Kenwood they are wrong. They are cheating the kids, not me.”

Irvin said he was confused about the foul situation throughout the game.

“I was mainly wondering why Curie shot 16 free throws in the first half,” Irvin said. “I’ve never seen that in my life. Throughout all the officiating we showed we were the better team.”

The win puts Kenwood in the driver’s seat for the Red-South/Central title. The Broncos have settled on an intriguing starting lineup that leaves three of the state’s most talented juniors, Calvin Robins Jr., Isaiah Green and Chris Riddle, as contributors off the bench.

Robins had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Riddle was 4 for 4 from the free-throw line in the final 22 seconds to seal the win.

“I’m totally good with accepting my role and coming off the bench,” Robins said. “And having Riddle back [from injury] has been huge for us. He’s winning us games.”

Ames led Kenwood with 25 points.

“This is a special group,” Irvin said. “They don’t get rattled during games like this and some of the best players in the state have accepted coming off the bench. If you want to go down in history as a great team everyone has to buy in. It started with Robins coming to me and telling me he’d be ok with not starting. That shows the type of kid he is.”

Jeremy Harrington scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Condors (12-5, 3-1). His three pointer at the regulation buzzer sent the game to overtime.

Shawn Brown scored 15 points for Curie and Chikasi Ofoma added nine points and eight rebounds. The Condors played without star junior guard Carlos Harris, who is expected to be back soon from an injury.

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As a firearm instructor — like, say, Ald. Derrick Curtis (18th) — you’re doing something wrong if you manage to shoot yourself, and then have someone in your class get shot a few months later, experts told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Yet in the fall, Curtis managed to shoot himself while cleaning someone else’s gun, and last week his 25-year-old daughter was shot in the leg as someone — either her father or her brother, according to a police source — handed her a gun during a firearm training session Curtis was leading at a South Side church.

“There are three basic rules: keep the gun unloaded until you’re ready to use it, never point the gun at anything you don’t want to shoot, and keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot,” said Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association and a licensed firearm instructor. “He would’ve had to break all three of those for somebody to get shot.”

Other gun instructors, who asked not to be identified by name, concurred with Pearson.

“It would be like lightning striking twice. Actually, it should never happen,” said a south suburban instructor.

“There is definitely some carelessness or negligence going on,” said another instructor.

The accidental shootings — which resulted in minor hand surgery for the City Council member and a hospital trip for his daughter — have gotten attention this week after Curtis told a reporter his previously enthusiastic support for Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s reelection campaign was wavering because the mayor had not reached out to express her concern after his self-inflicted wound.

State law does not mandate an instructor’s license be revoked unless the instructor has committed a felony, is subject to a protective order, or violates training requirements. Pearson said training violations that the Illinois State Police typically find are related to the length of training courses.

Pearson said multiple training accidents involving the same instructor are exceptionally rare.

Instructors are not required to report accidental discharges during training sessions, a state police spokeswoman said.

ISP, which has the authority to issue and revoke firearm licenses, is notified of issues with instructors when someone files a complaint. State police did not immediately respond when asked whether any complaints had been filed against Curtis, a former Chicago Housing Authority police officer who has held an instructor’s license since 1993, according to state records.

While Chicago Police responded to both incidents involving Curtis, Pearson said an accidental discharge of a firearm during a training session would likely only draw police attention if someone was injured. Chicago Police did not respond when asked if the department would automatically report an accidental shooting involving a licensed instructor to ISP.

Accounts of the incidents in the press include other details that struck Pearson as problematic. Curtis told police he shot himself while cleaning someone else’s weapon, but Pearson said a gun should never be cleaned while loaded.

And the fact that Curtis’s daughter was shot during training at a church also stuck out, Pearson said. A church wouldn’t have the ventilation or “backstop” behind targets necessary to safely operate as a firing range, and firearms should never have live ammunition for classroom training.

“All instructors who do this job hate people who don’t do it right, because it makes us all look bad,” Pearson said.

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Northwestern Offensive Tackle Peter Skoronski 2023 NFL draft scouting report

Peter Skoronski finished his junior year for the Wildcats as the number one rated tackle in college football. Incredible given the fact Northwestern had one win this year and that was in Ireland during week 0. Peter played 9 games his freshman year, 12 in his sophomore year and another full 12 games this past season.

Skoronski has played 2,381 snaps for Northwestern on the offensive line and has only let up 5 sacks in that time. Northwestern is a Big 10 school and the Big 10 produces some of the best defensive lineman year in and year out. Specifically last season he was close to 900 snaps and only one sack was allowed by Skoronski.

Peter Skoronski was also nominated for the Outland Trophy this season. That award is given to the best interior lineman in the country. Skoronski did not win the award but he was nominated with only two other players in the country. Skoronski was also voted AP First Team Preseason All American the past season which is a high honor for any college player.

The Chicago Bears could certainly use another lineman to help protect Justin Fields which was truly a struggle throughout the season. Braxton Jones was selected by the Bears last year and ended up becoming the starter where he has shown promise but has also struggled in pass protection. While Jones has the NFL experience already at left tackle, Skoronski could be a fit at right tackle as aging veteran Riley Reiff currently holds that spot.

Let’s getting into the scouting report for Skoronski where we will look at strengths, weaknesses and if he is a fit for the Chicago Bears in 2023.

Position: Left Tackle

Height/Weight: 6 foot 4, 315 pounds

Career Stats: 33 starts at left tackle, two consecutive 12 games seasons, 2,381 snaps played, 26 total QB hurries, 13 total QB hits and 5 sacks allowed.

Via NFL Draft Buzz:

“Skoronski is a great all-around offensive lineman with the potential to become a very good starter in the NFL. He has an impressive three years of college experience, having started for Northwestern since his freshman year. He’s an experienced, technician, whose feet balance and hand usage are all already elite, giving him an edge over other players in this draft class.”

Strengths:

Exceptional athleticismHigh football intelligenceNatural leader with high work ethicCrisp hand technique and pass setsFirm anchor and dynamic base in protection

Weaknesses:

Limited lengthStruggles with wingspan and getting hands attachedPlay strength not strong enough to be seen as a tackleAs an outside chance to stick at left tackle, but he might actually fit better on the right side or kicking in to a guard spot

Above is Peter Skoronski lined up against former 5 Star defensive end Zach Harrison from Ohio State.

How does Peter Skoronski fit with the Chicago Bears?

The Chicago Bears need a lot of things during this rebuild. One major thing that the Bears need and any team needs for success is offensive lineman. As of now Justin Fields is the QB and it is hard to truly evaluate him as a passer when he’s always running around as the pocket breaks down quickly.

While Skoronski is 6 foot 4 and Braxton Jones has more prototypical size at left tackle make no mistake that Skoronski is the type of player who could adjust and player on the right. While it may be more difficult considering Skoronski played tackle his whole career, he could slip into a guard spot.

Plenty of mock drafts have Peter Skoronski in the top ten because teams view him as flexible across the offensive line. It certainly would be a head scratcher if the Bears took Skoronski number one overall but it wouldn’t be a bad look if he was taken in the top ten after the Bears trade the pick.

Projected round:

CBS Mock Draft (No. 7)

Pro Football Focus (No. 13)

Sports Illustrated Mock (No. 11) 

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Thursday, January 12, 2023

CHICAGO PREP

Cristo Rey at Walther Christian, 7:00

ILLINOIS CENTRAL EIGHT

Streator at Reed-Custer, 6:45

INDEPENDENT SCHOOL

Morgan Park Academy at Northridge, 6:00

KISHWAUKEE RIVER

Harvard at Woodstock, 7:00

Johnsburg at Marengo, 7:00

Woodstock North at Richmond-Burton, 7:00

NOBLE LEAGUE – BLUE

Muchin at UIC Prep, 7:00

NOBLE LEAGUE – GOLD

Bulls Prep at Rowe-Clark, 7:00

ITW-Speer at Comer, 7:00

Johnson at Butler, 7:00

NORTH SUBURBAN

Lake Forest at Mundelein, 7:00

Lake Zurich at Waukegan, 7:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE RED-SOUTH / CENTRAL

Curie at Kenwood, 5:00

Morgan Park at Longwood, 6:30

Perspectives-Lead at Brooks, 5:00

Phillips at Lindblom, 6:30

Simeon at Hyde Park, 6:30

PUBLIC LEAGUE WHITE-CENTRAL

Bogan at Dunbar, 5:00

Catalyst-Maria at King, 5:00

DuSable at Englewood STEM, 5:00

Richards (Chgo) at Hubbard, 5:00

Urban Prep-Englewood at Kennedy, 7:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE WHITE-SOUTH

Agricultural Science at Urban Prep-Bronzeville, 5:0

Harlan at Corliss, 5:00

South Shore at Dyett, 5:00

UC-Woodlawn at Fenger, 5:00

Vocational at ACE Amandla, 5:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE BLUE-CENTRAL

Back of the Yards at Kelly, 5:00

Excel-Englewood at ACERO-Soto, 5:00

Gage Park at Solorio, 5:00

Hancock at Instituto Health, 5:00

Horizon-Southwest at Tilden, 5:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE BLUE-SOUTH

Air Force at Julian, 5:00

Chicago Military at Carver, 5:00

EPIC at Excel-South Shore, 5:00

Goode at Washington, 5:00

Hirsch at Bowen, 5:00

SOUTH SUBURBAN – BLUE

Thornton Fr. North at Bremen, 6:00

SOUTH SUBURBAN – CROSSOVER

Oak Forest at Eisenhower, 6:30

Reavis at Hillcrest, 6:30

WEST SUBURBAN – SILVER

Lyons at Oak Park-River Forest, 6:30

NON CONFERENCE

Durand at Christian Life, 7:00

Illinois Lutheran at Grace Christian, 7:00

Latin at Carmel, 7:00

MCC Academy at ASPIRA-Bus&Fin, 5:00

Oregon at Warren (IL), 7:00

Raby at Little Village, 5:00

Rockford Lutheran at Winnebago, 7:00

Westminster Christian at Yorkville Christian, 7:00

SPRINGFIELD (MO) – MISSOURI STATE

St. Rita vs. Link Academy, 6:00

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Bears general manager Ryan Poles said he’s not “gonna go crazy” with the $118 million in salary-cap space he has. But maybe a little crazy? Like DeAndre Hopkins crazy?

It’s a long shot, given Hopkins’ age (31 in June) and recent injury history (nine missed games the past two seasons), but the availability of a legit No. 1 receiver — reportedly on the trading block in Arizona — has to be at least a little intriguing for Poles after seeing the impact top-flight receivers had with young quarterbacks this season.

Jalen Hurts became an MVP candidate in 2022, with his passer rating improving from 87.2 to 101.5, after the Eagles traded for A.J. Brown (88 receptions, 1,496 yards, 11 touchdowns).

Tua Tagovailoa led the NFL in passer rating this season (105.5, up from 90.1 in 2021) after the Dolphins traded for Tyreek Hill (119-1,710, seven touchdowns).

And Trevor Lawrence took the kind of step that Justin Fields’ needs to make — from a 71.9 rating in 2021 to 95.2 in 2022 — after the Jaguars seemingly overpaid for free agent wide receiver Christian Kirk (84-1,108, eight touchdowns)

Hopkins has a history of excelling with young quarterbacks. He made the All-Pro team in Deshaun Watson’s first three seasons with the Texans (2017-19). And Kyler Murray blossomed into an MVP candidate after the Cardinals acquired Hopkins from the Texans.

Hill (28), Brown (25) and Kirk (26) are younger, but Hopkins still has it at 30. After serving a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing drugs, Hopkins averaged 96.3 yards a game, with three touchdowns in four games with Murray this season and 89.1 yards in eight games with Murray and Colt McCoy.

But Hopkins has a no-trade clause in his contract that has two years remaining — and will have cap numbers of $19.5 million in 2023 and $14.9 million in 2024.

Poles doesn’t seem prone to making that kind of move and taking that kind of chance. When he was asked about offseason priorities Tuesday, he notably ignored wide receiver (“pass rushers, offensive linemen, corners.”). Unless it was one of those public feints to throw everyone off the scent, he seems content to ride with 24-year-old Chase Claypool as his best option to develop a No. 1, go-to receiver.

Poles doesn’t want to go crazy with his salary-cap bonanza. But DeAndre Hopkins reported availability — even if Poles isn’t interested — is a reminder to keep your eyes open and be ready to pounce. Three of the top four receivers in the NFL this season were traded last year (Hill, Davante Adams, Brown) and No. 5 Stefon Diggs was traded in 2020. When you have the opportunity — and wherewithal — to splurge on a proven difference-maker, you’d be crazy not to.

2. Just how far do the Bears have to go? Three-win teams historically struggle to get back on their feet. But for three-win teams in the Bears’ situation — with a first-year head coach who gets a second year — the prospect of improvement not as daunting.

The last six three-win teams in that category have made progress the following season: The 2021 Lions (9-8); 2011 Vikings (10-6 and the playoffs); 2009 Buccaneers (10-6), 2006 Lions (7-9); 2001 Bills (8-8); and 1998 Colts (13-3 and the playoffs).

3. Fields is significantly ahead of Mitch Trubisky’s standing heading into 2019, but even the most well-meaning compliments — like about his leadership, competitiveness and wanting to own the city — are null and void until he proves it on the field.

For as much as coaches and teammates love and respect him, Fields didn’t show much of the “it” factor as a quarterback in 2022. He didn’t finish. He didn’t compel his team to finish. He didn’t make players better. Most of the plays that made opponents fear him were accomplished with his legs. Trubisky hated to lose, too.

Fields can be an elite quarterback, but from what we’ve seen so far, it’s more than just a matter of time. He’s got to not only refine, but improve.

4. A lot of questions at Tuesday’s media availability were left on the cutting-room floor because Bears media relations curiously (and oddly) limited the question-and-answer session to 21 minutes — with a general manager who had not spoken to the entire media corps since prior to the season opener. (Maybe new president Kevin Warren can fix that.)

Poles wasn’t able to address the aftermath of the Roquan Smith trade. In effect, he traded the 25-year-old Smith and at least 23 spots in the second round (pending the Ravens’ playoff results) for Claypool and a fifth-round draft pick.

Clearly, Smith is more valuable to the Ravens’ defense than he was to the Bears’ — the Ravens signed him to a five-year, $100 million contract Poles refused to agree to. It’s true Smith didn’t provide the takeaways the Bears were looking for. Then again, they only gave him eight games in a new defense with an underwhelming defensive line to prove it. If their minds were made up that early, it might have been better to trade Smith in the offseason.

5. Heading into this season, the Bears had the eighth-easiest 2022 schedule in the NFL (based on 2021 records of their 17 opponents). But as it turned out, the Bears had the most difficult schedule in the league. Their opponents had a combined record of 149-119-3, a .555 winning percentage (excluding games against the Bears).

6. The Bears were arguably a play away from winning four games they lost this season — the Commanders (a 12-7 loss), Dolphins (35-32), Lions at Soldier Field (31-30) and Falcons (27-24).

If they had won those games, they’d have finished 7-10 and with the accomplishment of finishing close games against quality competition. But they’d also have the 13th overall pick. Instead, they were 3-14 with the first overall pick. Which is better?

7. Colts general manager Chris Ballard’s vow to do “whatever it takes” could be a good omen for the Bears. “Whatever It Takes” was the Bears’ slogan in 1977, when they almost miraculously won their final six games to finish 9-5 and end a 14-year postseason drought.

A trade with the Colts that would give the Bears the No. 4 overall pick (and other picks) and likely get either Alabama’s Will Anderson or Georgia’s Jalen Carter would be close to a best-case scenario for the Bears.

8. The List: The 3-14 (.176) season was the Bears worst winning percentage since they went 1-13 (.071) in 1969. But the Bears have had many more difficult seasons to watch since they won Super Bowl XX, including just about any post-Ditka season following a playoff year: 1. 2007; 2. 1989; 3. 2014; 4. 2011; 5. 2019; 6. 2021; 7, 2002; 8. 2009; 9. 2017; 10. 2020.

9. Josh McCown Ex-Bears Player of the Year: Saints quarterback Andy Dalton started the final 14 games in relief of Jameis Winston and had a 95.2 passer rating (66.7% completions, 18 touchdowns, nine interceptions) — ninth best in the NFL and his highest passer rating since 2015 with the Bengals.

10. Bear-ometer: 7-10 — at Lions (L); at Packers (L); at Vikings (L); at Chiefs (L); at Chargers (L); at Saints (L); at Buccaneers (W); at Commanders (L); at Browns (L); vs. Lions (W); vs. Packers (W); vs. Vikings (L); vs. Falcons (W); vs. Panthers (W); vs. Broncos (L); vs. Raiders (W); vs. Cardinals (W).

(The order of the schedule will be announced in April).

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