Chicago Sports

It took David Montgomery two games to become the Bears’ bellcow running back.

Sunday might be the last time it happens.

Then-general manager Ryan Pace traded up in the third round of the 2019 draft to take Montgomery No. 73 overall, even though the Bears had Mike Davis and Tarik Cohen on their roster.

“We envision a scenario where they’re all contributing in different areas,” Pace said then.

In the season opener, a home loss to the Packers, Montgomery ran six times. Davis was the only other running back to carry the ball, and he did so five times. The next week, though, Montgomery took 18 handoffs in a win in Denver. The rest of the running back room totaled seven.

Less than two months later, the Bears cut Davis. Cohen averaged only four carries per game throughout 2019.

Montgomery didn’t look back. From 2019-2021, only five players in the league carried the ball more than he did — the Titans’ Derrick Henry, the Vikings’ Dalvin Cook, the Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott, the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs and the Browns’ Nick Chubb. They have 12 Pro Bowls among them; Montgomery has none.

This year, the Bears began to rotate Montgomery with second-year player Khalil Herbert. Before he hurt his hip, Herbert was by far the more successful side of the Bears’ platoon; he still leads all NFL running backs by averaging six yards per carry. Quarterback Justin Fields leads all rushers with 7.1.

Next week, Herbert is expected to return from injured reserve after missing four games. That leaves Montgomery, whose contract is up at the end of the season, with at least one more game as the Bears’ main running back Sunday against the Eagles. That means one last big chance at showing potential free-agent suitors what he can do.

When Herbert hurt his hip returning a kick toward the end of the loss to the Lions, Montgomery was averaging 12.8 carries per game. In the three games without Herbert, Montgomery has averaged 15.

“Yeah, he’s just a worker,” head coach Matt Eberflus said Friday. “He really is a worker. … He’s used to doing that. He’s a strong kid — strong-minded and strong physically. He’s willing and able to do that.”

On an offense that will be missing receivers Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool as well as Herbert, Montgomery will be needed more than ever. Fields only has so many reliable players left.

Pro Football Focus considers the Eagles the best pass-rush defense in football — and the 11th-best run defense. The Bears figure to keep the ball on the ground — and in Montgomery’s hands — to stay out of obvious passing downs. He’ll need to have better success than he has in a ho-hum season. Despite playing in the league’s best rushing offense, Montgomery’s four yards per carry ranks No. 37 in the NFL.

Montgomery sat out of practice Thursday with an illness but returned Friday as a full participant.

“Didn’t miss a beat,” Eberflus said. “He was running out there and looked powerful, looked strong, got all the plays down. He was good that way.”

The Bears rarely have to worry about him. But that doesn’t necessarily make a contract extension the right move.

Before the season began, Spotrac.com predicted Montgomery would get about $13 million per season over four years on the open market. That number has shrunk to a $9.7 million average annual value over three.

Montgomery has said all year that he’s not worried about his next deal, even as he knows what’s at stake. Flush with money, perhaps the Bears decide to bring him back to share time with Herbert. Even if they do, though, the days of Montgomery having the Bears’ running back position all to himself are over — after Sunday.

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The White Sox addressed their need for an outfielder Friday, signing free agent Andrew Benintendi to a five-year, $75 million contract.

The deal, not yet announced but confirmed to the Sun-Times, surpasses the Sox’ previous high for a player contract. Catcher Yasmani Grandal is entering the fourth season of a $73 million deal.

Benintendi batted .304/.373/.399 with five homers and a .772 OPS between the Royals and Yankees in 2022. He’s a .279.351.431 with a .782 OPS and 73 homers over seven seasons during his career, which includes his first five seasons with the Red Sox.

Benintendi was a Gold Glove outfielder with the Royals in 2021 and an All-Star last season.

Benintendi provides a left-handed bat that will help balance a right-hand heavy Sox lineup, and a defensive upgrade in the outfield. He figures to fit in at left field, with prospect Oscar Colas competing for a starting job in right field next season.

Slugger Eloy Jimenez is expected to get considerable time at designated hitter, where he excelled last season.

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Before he became the architect of the league’s second-best defense, in terms of yards allowed, Eagles coordinator Jonathan Gannon was Matt Eberflus’ defensive backs coach from 2018-2020 with the Colts.

“He’s one of my greatest mentors,” Gannon told reporters this week. “I tell people all the time, working for ‘Flus’ for three years, he has elite leadership qualities, and I took a lot of those with me. I really did. He’s helped me tremendously as a person and a football coach, being detailed out all the time. How to hold players accountable all the time.

“He’ll be a head coach for a long time. I’m not surprised by the success he’s had.”

Success hasn’t found its way into Halas Hall in a long time, though.

When the Bears adjusted their offensive scheme during their “mini-bye” and beat the Patriots 33-14 on Oct. 24, it was seen as an encouraging sign that Eberflus had the creativity to succeed his first-ever head coaching job at any level.

They haven’t won a game since. The Bears have lost six-straight, need two more to tie the franchise record and won’t be favored in any of their final four games.

Even while acknowledging the Bears’ roster limitations — particularly against the one-loss Eagles — Sunday’s game will be a telling one for Eberflus, who spent the bye week trying to find ways for his team to get better.

“I’m looking for improvement, from the individuals, from the units, from the coaches … ” Eberflus said. “It’s a big test. We’re playing some of the best teams in football these last four games.”

There aren’t many easy answers available in terms of lineup construction. They’ll tweak their defensive line rotation and likely play former first-round pick Alex Leatherwood more at right tackle.

The Bears have one of the three worst game-day rosters in the sport. It started off by design — they’re paying $6 million more in salary cap space to players no longer on their team than they are to ones who will suit up Sunday — and was exacerbated by injuries. The Bears spend 11.6 percent of their cap space on injured reserve players, the most of any team in the NFC North.

What’s worse, Sunday will be the Bears’ most challenging schematic test of the season. The Eagles boast the league’s passer rating leader (quarterback Jalen Hurts), sixth-leading receiver (A.J. Brown) and fifth-leading rusher (Miles Sanders). On defense, they have four of the league’s top 25 sack producers. They own the NFL’s best record and point differential.

Eberflus has been willing to adjust this year. Few teams in NFL history have run their quarterback as often as the Bears do. The Bears have begun blitzing more, too, an acknowledgement that their defensive line gets to opposing quarterbacks at a glacial pace. Neither was part of the plan in Week 1.

What’s the next pivot? Eberflus and his staff spent the last two weeks looking for solutions. Even while they acknowledge the rebuild is in Phase 1, coaches bristle at the suggestion they play younger, less-qualified players with an eye on the future. They’re not tanking.

Eberflus, as always, points to execution and growing individual skills as the fastest way up. Before the bye, coaches identified three things they wanted each player to improve. They spent this week focusing on them in individual drills.

“We’re going to have to be on our stuff,” Colts head coach Nick Sirianni said. “Because he’s gonna have them on their stuff.”

Sirianni worked with Eberflus when he ran the Colts’ offense, living a few hundred yards from him in suburban Indianapolis. Then-head coach Frank Reich would leave the two to hammer out practice plans.

“I think he’s a phenomenal coach, I really do,” Sirianni said.

At this point, with this roster, there’s no way to know for sure.

Sunday, though, should offer clues.

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Even the most loyal of Chicago Fire supporters would not have expected their team to win the MLS Cup in 2022. This was a team in transition with a new coach at the helm and last season was all about making progress.

It was, however, a disappointing campaign and there is considerable room for improvement next year. Having had 12 months to settle into the job and to form his own playing roster, can Ezra Hendrickson legitimately target the playoffs next time around?

A Disappointing Campaign

The Fire never looked likely to make it beyond the regular season and they eventually had to settle for 12th place in the Eastern Conference. Their total of 39 goals was the second worst in the entire MLS and this is an obvious area for concern moving forward.

Chicago Fire managed to keep things tighter at the back, conceding 48 goals in their 34 games. Overall, only four teams finished with fewer points in 2022, so where can coach Hendrickson take this side in 2023?

A Damning Verdict

It won’t be a huge surprise to learn that Chicago Fire are not among the favorites to win the MLS Cup next season. Defending champions Los Angeles FC head the outright winner market, while the chasing pack is led by Philadelphia Union, LA Galaxy, New York City FC and Portland Timbers.

Chicago Fire, meanwhile, are way down among the underdogs. 

The odds here are supplied by sportsbooks affiliated with Sbo.net. They will switch to the live sections of each operator once the season starts, and they will remain in place until the winners are confirmed.

Visitors to the website can take as much time as they need to assess the pricing. Supporting information is supplied including news updates and useful betting guides explaining American odds and other industry terminology. 

If any reader is looking to get involved in the markets, each sportsbook is ready to accept new customers. Subject to eligibility and a completed sign up form, it’s likely that there will be a generous welcome promotion waiting on the other side.

A range of deposit providers can undertake the financial transactions and there should be additional benefits moving forward. Fast and effective customer service may be backed by ongoing promotions, mobile app betting and live streaming of certain sports.

To summarize, it’s a perfect partner for any form of soccer betting, but do Chicago Fire have any hope of upsetting those markets?

Reasons for Optimism at Soldier Field?

The club are already addressing some of the issues that held them back in 2022. Chicago Fire have recently confirmed the appointment of former stopper Zach Thornton as their new goalkeeping coach.

We have already seen, however, that the problems are in the attacking department where the Fire were so goal-shy in 2022. Much could depend on veteran Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri in that respect. Signed for a club record fee as a designated player in February, the former Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Stoke City player returned a healthy seven goals from midfield last term.

Shaqiri is a threat from set pieces and he should improve on his goals and assists stats moving forward.

The other DP on the Chicago roster is the young Mexican midfielder Jairo Torres. Fire fans have yet to see the best of him, but he’s only 22 and has time to develop.

The Verdict

Chicago Fire have one more Designated Player purchase to use up and they will need to spend wisely. The key issues lie up front where the leading scorer on the roster in 2022 was Jhon Duran with just eight goals.

Colombian center forward Duran received little support from the rest of the strikeforce. Kacper Przybylko scored just five times in 25 games while Fabian Herbers found the net just once.

The stats are damning, but they make it clear as to what Chicago Fire need to do in 2023. They already have one of the tightest defenses in Major League Soccer and the arrival of Zach Thornton should make the back line even stronger.

The real problem lies up front: 39 goals in 34 games is not going to get any side into the playoffs. A prolific striker trade is the priority as preparations begin for 2023.

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Another Bears offensive weapon was ruled out

The Chicago Bears will be without a lot of starting talent against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bears were already planning to play the best record in the NFC without wide receiver Darnell Mooney and running back Khalil Herbert, who are on injured reserve. The Bears ruled another offensive weapon out Friday.

According to the Bears’ injury report released Friday, Chase Claypool has been ruled out for Week 15.

Claypool missed all three days of practice for the Bears. The status of three other players is unknown Friday. Offensive lineman Larry Borom is doubtful. Wide receiver N’Keal Harry and defensive back Kindle Vildor are questionable. Of interest to Bears fans, Robert Quinn, who was traded by the Bears to the Eagles this season, is on injured reserve for this game.

There is some good news depending on how you feel about the Bears and their potential draft position. Quarterback Justin Fields and running back David Montgomery, who battled illness earlier this week, were full go at Friday’s practice and have no designation for Sunday’s game.

One wonders why the Bears would want to play Fields with the JV offense and no major offensive weapons. With Lucas Patrick on injured reserve and Borom likely out, the Bears have serious gaps on the offensive line before playing the league’s best pass rush.

What exactly is Fields going to learn from dodging Eagles defenders with a bum shoulder to throw to practice squad wide receivers who won’t make the team next year? So he can learn how to manage the situation Aaron Rodgers went through earlier this season and failed at?

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Bears safety Eddie Jackson gets good news on his ankle injury

The Chicago Bears secondary is still a little banged up despite getting Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon back this week. But they will be without their leader, Eddie Jackson, for the rest of the 2022 season.

Jackson suffered an ankle injury in the Week 12 loss to the New York Jets and will miss the final four games here in 2022. However, Jackson did get some good news on his injury and potentially his future with the Bears.

The Bears safety tweeted out on Friday that he will NOT need surgery this offseason. That’s great news in terms of his recovery and quickness to get back on the field for offseason workouts and practices:

No surgery needed God is Good✝️

— Eddie Jackson (@BoJack4) December 16, 2022

Jackson was enjoying a rebound season here in 2022 before suffering the ankle injury. He had 80 total tackles, 4 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles in 12 games. He recorded his first interception since 2019 and was potentially on track for a Pro Bowl nod.

Playing alongside the rookie Brisker, Jackson appeared to be more comfortable. The Bears haven’t had stability at both safety spots since Adrian Amos left and the hope is that this duo can provide that again in 2023.

Jackson’s progress through the offseason will be something to monitor as well.

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Bears wide receiver Chase Claypool will not play against the Eagles on Sunday at Soldier Field because of a knee injury he suffered against the Packers on Dec. 4.

Quarterback Justin Fields, who missed practice Wednesday because of an illness, had full participation in practice Friday and will start against the Eagles.

Rookie cornerback Kyler Gordon and rookie safety Jaquan Brisker, who missed the previous two games while in concussion protocol, had full participation all week and are cleared to play.

Running back David Montgomery, who missed practice Wednesday and Thursday with an illness, also had full participation in practice Friday and has no injury status for the Eagles game and is expected to play.

Elsewhere on the Bears’ injury report, cornerback Kindle Vildor (ankle) and wide receiver N’Keal Harry (back) are questionable. Vildor had full participation in practice all week after missing the Packers game. Harry also had full participation in practice this week.

Tight end Trevon Wesco (calf) is out.

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Surveillance video released Thursday shows a member of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s security detail breaking up a robbery last month in Logan Square, shooting out the window of the getaway car during an exchange of gunfire.

Three robbers pulled up to the 1800 block of North Monticello Avenue on the morning of Nov. 1 and began rifling through a parked car after pulling the sole occupant out at gunpoint, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and the videos released by the agency.

Officers at the Mayor’s Detail and Command Center heard someone yelling for help and saw the robbery, COPA said in a statement. After one of the suspects opened fire, the cops shot back.

Video from city cameras show the robbery victim being tossed to the ground shortly before one of the cops fires five shots that shatter the front passenger window of the fleeing SUV.

COPA noted that one of the suspects fired again as they made their escape, and the officer is seen on video falling to the ground. He suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital.

The oversight agency said it was still unclear whether any of the suspects were shot.

(Note: Shooting begins near 1:35 mark of the video.)

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The big numbers and major awards on Sophie Swanson’s resume seem endless.

Barrington’s program record holder for points in a game (40) and a season (750). Nearly 1,400 career points through three seasons (one of which was shortened due to COVID). Double-digit Division I offers.

Mid-Suburban League Player of the Year. First-team all-state honors from the Associated Press and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. A rare underclass winner of Ms. Basketball.

And plenty of winning: the Fillies went 30-6 and finished runner-up to Stevenson in Class 4A last season.

But for all the obvious evidence of Swanson’s elite status, coach Babbi Barreiro has seen much more quiet proof of Swanson’s leadership qualities.

Last weekend, Barrington had back-to-back losses to Fremd on Friday and Lake Zurich on Saturday.

“That [Saturday] night everybody goes home, kind of hanging their heads kind of thing,” Barreiro said. “She sends a text out later in the evening, saying, ‘Hey, we’re 8-4, we’re OK. Just everybody take a beat and understand it’s early in the season. It’s not where we are right at this minute, it’s that we’re getting better. … So just everyone relax, we’re going to be fine.'”

Swanson said she was thinking about the Lake Zurich loss before deciding to share those thoughts.

“I knew I was down about it and I know a couple of other players were [too],” she said. “I thought, I would like to receive that text, so I thought sending it out would be a good idea just to get us all on the same page. Just to not dwell on the losses and move forward to the next game.”

It wasn’t the first time Swanson took ownership of her leadership role. Earlier in the season, the Fillies lost to Libertyville on a foul and free throws in the final second.

Barreiro said Swanson’s first reaction was to console her teammate charged with the foul. “[Swanson] goes right out there, grabs her, puts her arm around her, walks her off the floor and says, ‘Hey, listen, this is part of the game. There’s good moments and bad moments.'”

And Swanson reminded the teammate of the steal she made to help tie the game.

And again, all that leadership is backed up by an exceptional skill set. Swanson is a guard with the height (5-10) to help defend the post. And she can score from anywhere on the court.

But ask Swanson how her game has grown from when she jumped right into the starting lineup as a freshman and now, and it’s the inner point guard that comes out.

“Definitely finding my teammates,” she said. “Growing up, becoming more mature, just becoming a more consistent all-around player.”

Swanson will take her game to Purdue next season, joining several other Big Ten recruits from lllinois: Carmel’s Jordan Wood (Michigan State), Hersey’s Katy Eidle (Michigan), Libertyville’s Emily Fisher (Maryland) and Benet’s Lenee Beaumont (Indiana).

“The rivalry, it’s fun because most of us played AAU together,” Swanson ssid. “It’s always fun to play against them because AAU is over and this will be our last time playing each other in high school [But] we’ll see each other in the Big Ten.”

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Searching for something to create a spark, the Blackhawks switched back to their five-forward power-play set-up Thursday.

But just like all other experiments lately, it only backfired in a 4-1 loss to the Golden Knights, the Hawks’ ninth straight at home.

“Did we generate enough? Probably not,” coach Luke Richardson said. “But the way we played is in the right direction, and we’ve got to stick with that. If we stray from it, it will get ugly.”

On the Hawks’ second power-play opportunity, Tyler Johnson turned the puck over in the offensive zone and Knights forward William Karlsson beat Patrick Kane — who has assumed Seth Jones’ usual spot as the point man — down the ice for a semi-breakaway.

Karlsson failed to convert that chance but found fellow penalty-killer Reilly Smith wide open seconds later. The Hawks’ ensemble of forwards (Kane, Johnson, Max Domi, Jonathan Toews and Taylor Raddysh) were caught egregiously puck-watching and ignoring Smith completely, and Smith buried his one-timer.

It marked the third shorthanded goal the Hawks have allowed in their last 17 games — a span in which they’ve won just twice. To literally add injury to insult, Johnson later re-aggravated his ankle injury and missed the third period.

Coincidentally, Richardson had downplayed on Thursday morning the risk of the defenseman-lacking unit getting exposed defensively, believing there to be “less likelihood of a turnover” when the “best players on the team [are] handling the puck.” Those words didn’t age well.

“We have to be leery,” Richardson said postgame. “We won the faceoff and we turned it over right away. Every team is going to attack us on that, no matter who’s on the ice… We just have to be more responsible with the puck, no matter if it’s Seth out there or Caleb [Jones] or five forwards. There’s a reason why you’re out there — you’re supposed to have high hockey intelligence — and we have to make sure we don’t turn pucks over.”

One failure isn’t necessarily reason to abandon the idea, but the Hawks have to be dismayed by the constant failures of every attempted innovation.

Raddysh’s hardness

Consistency has been an issue for most Blackhawks this season. But it really hasn’t been — at least not as much — for Raddysh.

Regardless of the team performance, he seems to always bring the same effort, play the same style and make the same impact. As a 24-year-old forward who just passed the 100-NHL-games milestone, that’s impressive. And coach Luke Richardson has noticed it, as he mentioned after Raddysh scored the Hawks’ lone goal last week against the Jets.

“Raddysh, to his credit, has really played hard this year,” Richardson said. “He has been harder on his stick as of late, and he’s getting rewarded. So that’s got to be infectious through our whole team. We’ve got to see that and start to duplicate that.”

Raddysh again scored the Hawks’ lone goal Thursday — his ninth of the season, moving into a tie for second on the team. He has averaged about 16 minutes per game, ice time he “didn’t have in Tampa” last year.

Beyond the score sheet, though, the hardness in his game that Richardson referred to also makes a difference. It’s not comparable to Jarred Tinordi’s bruising hits or Reese Johnson’s full-fledged fights, but he uses it to force turnovers and reclaim the puck with regularity.

“That’s the type of player I want to be,” Raddysh said. “I’m not going to be the flashiest guy, but I can contribute every night.”

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