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There was life from Patrick Williams on Wednesday.

Maybe not No. 4-overall-draft-pick life, but needless to say it was better than the usual flat-line performance from the Bulls forward.

A 4-for-5 shooting night for a season-high 10 points, as well as some sturdy defense in the first half.

Not that the Bulls needed much heroics for Williams in the 124-109 win over the 1-4 Indiana Pacers, but big picture? A needed positive.

Dissecting the emptiness of Williams’ stat lines has been a far too frequent occurrence through the early part of this season. As has asking coach Billy Donovan just how long he planned on marching Williams out there with the starting lineup.

Hint: Williams is pretty safe.

“I think you’re always going to evaluate what the team looks like,” Donovan said. “I do believe Patrick is an important part of our team. Want to help him get going.

“I think with his athleticism, his size, his strength, his ability, I just think there’s enough there for him to get himself into the game. He’s such a team guy, wants the team to do well and wants to fill his role, but there is a point too where it’s got to come from within him. He’s got to be the one to bring it out. I can talk to him, the assistants can talk to him, his teammates can talk to him, but ultimately I find that as guys get into the league after a period of time it really becomes like this self-driving, motivating thing – and I don’t want to say that Patrick’s not motivated – but the aggressiveness part and what everybody has talked about, some of that has to come from within.”

It didn’t hurt Williams’ cause that while his minutes have been cut down, he did work well with the starters on Wednesday, especially in his first-quarter stint.

He came out aggressive and looking for his shot, and it was contagious, as the Bulls jumped all over the visiting team, outscoring them 38-27 in that opening stanza.

Thanks to Donovan’s new-look bench rotation of Andre Drummond, Derrick Jones Jr, Alex Caruso, Goran Dragic and Zach LaVine, that lead was up to 24 by the second quarter, as the Bulls scored 76 points in the first half.

That marked the most scored by any Bulls team in the first half since they put up 81 back on Apr. 14, 2008, against Milwaukee.

But as good as the Bulls offense looked in the ball-moving department in those first two quarters, it wasn’t sustained. Fault the defense for that.

Indiana’s Buddy Hield shot his team back into the game, and rather than being able to get out and run off of Pacers misses, it was a group that suddenly found itself inbounding the ball after Hield makes and slowing down.

With 2:51 left in the third, the Bulls’ lead was just four.

Then it was as if they remembered this was only the Pacers.

Thanks to Ayo Dosunmu’s aggressiveness at the rim in the last four minutes, a 10-point game once again stretched into a laugher. LaVine finished with a team-high 28, while all five starters scored in double figures.

A strong sign that Williams will be right back with the starters Friday in San Antonio.

“I do think that with it being early in the season, taking four or five games and saying, ‘OK, we’re scrapping this.’ you never get a chance to see and maybe get enough information to make those decisions,” Donovan said. “If it’s a situation where let’s say the first unit is struggling or we need to change rotations, I’m not opposed to doing that. I think everything should be evaluated all the time.”

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Andre Drummond comes from the school of “It ain’t bragging if it’s the truth.”

The Bulls veteran big man dropped some truths on Wednesday.

Discussing the overall improvement his new team has made in the rebounding department so far this season, Drummond said, “You have the best rebounder of the past century on your team, I take rebounding seriously. And I know that’s something this team lacked. Going after every rebound is something I bring to this team. And I think it’s showing.”

Oh, it’s showing.

The Bulls are coming off a 2021-22 campaign in which they often came up small on most nights. Even with Nikola Vucevic averaging 11 rebounds a game last year, he watched his team finish 28th in the league with 42.3 boards per contest.

Only Philadelphia and Houston were worse.

Enter Drummond thanks to free agency, and so far the returns have been almost instant. Sure, it’s only been a handful of games, but the Bulls were currently up to 15th in the league, grabbing 44.8 rebounds per game.

Of course Drummond is doing his part, ripping down 8.5 per game in an average of just 15.3 minutes of work. His per 36 minutes, however, plays out to 20.1 rebounds per game.

But there’s also a Drummond effect.

The guy that has to battle with Drummond almost every day in practice is also seeing his rebounding numbers tick up. Through the first four games, Vucevic was averaging 13 rebounds per game, including a 23-rebound game in the Monday win over Boston.

“I played against him a lot over the years,” Vucevic said of the way the two push each other. “It’s great competition when you go against a guy who has been playing so long and has been an All-Star. It makes you better.

“I think through camp and all our practices, we’ve had good battles when we’re scrimmaged and done different drills. It has helped both of us. He’s definitely a load down there on the boards. I use my quickness. He definitely has a big size advantage, even over more. It makes me have to work extra hard to keep him off.”

It also helps that Drummond feels like he should be a starter, and practices that way.

Last season, the biggest push Vucevic was getting during intrasquad showdowns came from Tony Bradley, and eventually Tristan Thompson later in the year.

Drummond is a four-time league rebounding leader and a two-time All-Star. That means no coasting for Vucevic.

“I think that’s what makes this team very good,” Drummond said. “We both know we’re very good players and that brings the next level out of us. With our second unit, it’s pretty much a starting lineup.”

Billy Ball

Coach Billy Donovan has been speaking to Lonzo Ball (left knee surgery) on a daily basis since he returned to Chicago and started rehabbing at the Advocate Center, but offered up no clear timetable for a possible return.

Ball had the surgery a month ago, and at the time was given a window of four-to-six weeks before being re-evaluated. According to Donovan, however, there was nothing told to him just yet.

“I have not heard anything as of yet with that,” Donovan said. “He’s doing good. He feels like he is progressing, he’s pretty optimistic and positive about everything. I think the biggest thing is through the surgery, the incision healing to continue to progress him, and I just don’t know how far along he is in that process.”

Donovan did say that Ball was expected to stay in town for the re-evaluation.

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The Chicago Blackhawks have basically felt adversity from every aspect of the universe in the hockey world stemming from the off season rebuild that started off in the month of June of 2022.

Not to mention, the trade rumors that had distracted the team’s focus from the game of two of the most commanding players on ice in the team’s history to say.

With all that attention behind us, we can now start to look forward to the team that the general manager had assembled at the beginning of the season, with a couple of subtractions to note. Due to the injury bug or the player being demoted to the farm league for conditioning for the better.

As of today, The Blackhawks sit at a 4-game win streak that has given the team confidence in their game, led by the first-line of the team and notably the third-line.

Evaluating the first line, which consists of Andreas Athanasiou, who is a young speedster that can steel the puck and take off down the ice easily, signed a one-year contract this past off-season with the Blackhawks.

His game has shown that he is an aggressive forward, just like Max Domi, who also likes to aggravate the opposing team’s defense, and score sneaky goals would get the team back into the the game.

With that speed utilized, his defensive presence is unmastered because of his high IQ nature of the both ends of the ice.

Max Domi is an incredibly skilled forward, who has not been given the chance to shine, unlike his time here in Chicago, where he is poised to make an impact on playing long minutes and being part of that core process.

Domi has the ability to create plays with turnovers and help his team get into the game with assists coming that way.

Getting under the skin of the opposition is another trait he has under his belt, and by this he knows how to play the game accordingly to present opportunities for himself and teammates.

On the right wing, we cannot forget Patrick Kane, and with a little history reminder of Patrick’s early years, Kane played aside an older Marion Hossa during the Stanley Cup run. With that experience, we may believe he is sharing that with the two he plays alongside with today.

Patrick Kanes natural ability to score and lead, along with Jonathon Toews, who has the same characteristics is precisely what the Blackhawks need for now with the young guns producing in many ways.

The Chicago Blackhawks forwards are leading the way for the team?

The Blackhawks team overall has been firing on all cylinders which is great news to note, and the reason for that is solely due to the pace the team is playing with under the coaching of new management.

The defense has been impeccable creating shorthanded turnovers and goals from the offensive unit on that end and mainly the speed implemented from staff.

The third-line to say of newly acquired Jason Dickinson, Sam Lafferty, and Philipp Kurashev  is steamrolling due to their brilliant chemistry the trio has adapted that is complimenting the team in general.

Evaluating what direction will the Blackhawks team go next?

The penalty kill has been on fire, along with the scoring the team is producing that is taking away from the opposing team’s game in nature.

The Blackhawks are making a mark at this point of the season and as we go we will see what direction the team will take in this manner of play to improve the outlook in general.

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Less than a year removed from setting the Bears’ single-season record with 18 1/2 sacks, Robert Quinn — and his one sack this year — was shipped off to the undefeated Eagles for a 2023 fourth-round draft pick Wednesday.

The move, agreed to six days before the NFL’s trade deadline, speeds up the Bears’ rebuilding timeline. Quinn, 32, was the Bears’ oldest starter and largest active salary cap hit. That combination did not suit a team years away from Super Bowl contention — and hadn’t since new general manager Ryan Poles began stripping the Bears of pricy veterans in February.

Poles said then — and repeated Thursday evening –that he kept Quinn to “kickstart” the culture of the Bears’ defense. He said there “weren’t many conversations” about dealing him before the season, but that it became possible because of the development of fellow defensive ends Al-Quadin Muhammad, Trevis Gipson and Dominique Robinson.

“It just made too much sense for what we’re trying to do,” Poles said. “It’s going to allow us to continue to build a highly competitive roster.”

That could take years. In the short term, Poles admitted he was taking a risk in “tweaking the fibers of your locker room,” particularly after a 33-14 win against the Patriots that counts as the highlight of the 3-4 Bears’ season.

“I value … the locker room and what it means, and the culture,” said Poles, who didn’t rule out another trade but said other talks were quiet. “And it sucks to mess with that, to be completely honest with you. But again, my job is to do what’s best for this organization not only now, but in the future.

“I felt like that was the best move for us to make.”

That sober look at the roster prompted the Bears to hire Poles in January. And it’s what precipitated Poles making the proper move Wednesday. Regardless of a life-affirming win Monday, Quinn was never going to be on the Bears’ next good team. The fourth-round draft pick might be.

Quinn’s struggles this season lessened the return. The Bears got a fourth-rounder because they agreed to pay down most of the base salary owed Quinn the rest of the season–the same tack that landed the Broncos the Rams’ second- and third-round picks for edge rusher Von Miller last year.

The return for Quinn doesn’t match what the Broncos got, or what Poles himself got for edge rusher Khalil Mack in March: the Chargers’ 2022 second-rounder and 2023 six-rounder. But Poles said he thought the fourth-round pick was “fair” and the result of a strong relationship between his deputy Ian Cunningham and Cunningham’s former Eagles boss, GM Howie Roseman.

Just last week, Patriots coach Bill Belichick called Quinn, who is best-known for how low he bends while rushing around the edge, “one of the great defensive linemen in this era.” His teammates just called him Rob, and marveled at his folksy charm. Quinn said when he signed a five-year, $70 million deal with the Bears in 2020 that he flipped a coin during free agency to choose them over the Falcons.

Even when he skipped offseason activities this year, Quinn reported to Halas Hall to receive the Brian Piccolo Award, the team’s highest honor, in April.

Linebacker Roquan Smith grew emotional Wednesday when asked about Quinn being dealt.

“Sucks,” Smith said, pulling his orange t-shirt over his face for a second. “I have a great deal of respect for that guy. Damn. Crazy.”

Quinn told the Sun-Times last week that he didn’t want to go to another team, in part because of family concerns. Going to the undefeated Eagles, though, gives him a rare postseason opportunity. Despite recording 102 career sacks over 12 seasons, Quinn has played in only two playoff games — both losses.

The Bears host the Eagles on Dec. 18.

“He’s done this,” quarterback Jalen Hurts told Eagles reporters. “I can’t wait to meet him and get it rolling.”

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Bears win. Packers lose.

That’s a glorious weekend for Bears fans at any point of any season. But this time it carried potential long-term implications that provided hope that the joy might not be as fleeting as it normally is.

The Bears’ 33-14 upset of the Patriots at Gillette Stadium was the best indication yet that the Bears are at least headed in the right direction under Matt Eberflus. The Bears scored 33 points against a team that was tied for seventh in scoring defense. They rushed for 243 yards against a team that had shut down Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt the previous week.

They won both sides of the line of scrimmage. They withstood a Bailey Zappe-fueled momentum shift on the road. They shut out the Patriots in the second half — only the eighth time that’s happened to the Patriots at home in the last 20 seasons. (And only the third time in 40 games since Tom Brady left.)

But the Packers’ 23-21 loss to the Commanders at FedEx Field also breathed hope into the Bears’ rebuilding effort under general manager Ryan Poles and Eberflus — the best indication yet that a Packers demise might open a window to contention in the NFC North and the NFC.

Anticipating the Packers’ downfall has been a fool’s errand throughout the Aaron Rodgers era. But the warning signs are a little more significant this time. It was the Packers’ third consecutive loss and dropped them to 3-4 — their worst record after seven games since 2006.

The Packers have lost more regular-games with Rodgers at quarterback already this season (four) than they have in any full season under Matt LaFleur (three). The Packers are averaging 18.3 points a game — their lowest seven-game scoring average since 1993 (12.9).

Rodgers famously told fans to R-E-L-A-X after a 1-2 start in 2014 — and the Packers ended up 12-4. But this time, his admonishments are more like all the struggling teams trying to catch the Packers — chiding Jaire Alexander and other teammates for a negative attitude after losing to the Giants; suggesting that LaFleur “simplify things” for the offense after losing to the Jets; and calling for unproductive players to be bench after losing to the Commanders.

It remains to be seen if the Packers fall is real. Especially with Rodgers, they can be a beneficiary of NFL parity as much as a victim of it.

But don’t discount the role that their demise plays in the Bears’ rebuild. Most of the Bears’ best surges have coincided with the Packers being down — the 1977 and 1979 playoff appearances; the entire Ditka era; the Super Bowl appearance in 2006 under Lovie Smith; Nagy’s 12-4 debut season in 2018.

Timing is everything — when Ryan Pace arrived, Rodgers was 31. When Poles was hired, Rodgers was 38. We’re already seeing the difference. If the Packers indeed are headed for a fall, everyone at Halas Hall just got a little better at his job.

2. Roquan Smith was so overcome with emotion Wednesday when he was asked about the Bears trading Robert Quinn to the Eagles that he literally could not respond — a poignant and fitting tribute to the impact Quinn had as a respected leader on the team in less than three seasons with the Bears.

The soft-spoken Quinn was the consummate pro. Though he is uncomfortable in the spotlight, he never bristled at questions during his disappointing two-sack season in 2020. And he responded with 18.5 sacks last season to break Hall of Fame Richard Dent’s franchise record.

When Quinn won the media “Good Guy” Award last year, it really was recognition of the way he handled the difficult season more than the record-setting one.

But he was ill-fitted for the Bears rebuild — on the field, anyway — and his departure is no surprise. Talk about a win-win –it gives the Bears room to grow and gives Robert Quinn a chance to win the Super Bowl. Even his crestfallen teammates have to be happy about that.

3. The Bears traditionally — or perhaps chronically — have had their most potent offensive performances against weaker defenses. But they scored 33 points against a Patriots defense that came in tied for seventh in points allowed (18.8 per game).

If the Patriots finish in the top 10, it would be the Bears’ highest offensive output against a top-10 scoring defense since they scored 38 against the sixth-ranked Jets in 2010 at Soldier Field.

4. The Bears pitched a second-half shutout against a Patriots offense that came in ranked sixth in the NFL in second-half scoring (13.7 points per game).

The Bears have allowed 35 second-half points (5.0 per game) this season — third-best in the NFL. In the last 80 years, the only seasons when they allowed fewer second-half points through seven games were in 1985 (28) and 1963 (34). Both of those teams won the NFL championship.

5. The Bears’ defense has allowed 474 yards in its last two games (214 vs. the Commanders; 260 vs. the Patriots). That’s the fewest in back-to-back games since 2018 (471) against the Jets (207) and Bills (264).

But the Bears’ defense still has not stopped the two best quarterbacks it has faced — Aaron Rodgers (131.1 rating) and Kirk Cousins (296 yards, 94.7 rating). So the Bears will be tested against the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott (113.2 rating vs. the Lions) and the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa (105.9 rating this season).

6. Two good calls by Eberflus this week: Calling out defensive tackle Mike Pennel for his blindside block on Patriots center David Andrews on Roquan Smith’s interception (“Totally in the wrong. He should not do that. And I told him right afterward. And that’s not what we teach. It’s not good football.”)

And taking a knee at the 2-yard line instead of hanging 40 on Bill Belichick, which Monday Night Football “Manning-cast” analyst Peyton Manning was calling for. (“”Just respect for the game, Eberflus said.)

7. The Gould Standard: Cairo Santos, who won the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week Award after going 4-for-4 on field goals against the Patriots, is 67-of-73 (91.8%) in his second stint with the Bears –including 6-of-8 (75%) on kicks between 50-55 yards.

The turnaround in the Bears’ place-kicking fortunes since they cut Robbie Gould in 2016 has been remarkable. From 2016-18, the Bears were 20 percentage points behind Gould (96.5%-76.0%). Since then — with Eddy Pineiro, Santos and Michael Badgley making 94-of-105 field goal attempt (89.5%), they’ve cut the gap to four points (87.9%-83.9%).

8. Quentin Johnston Watch: The 6-4, 215-pound Texas Christian junior had just four receptions against Kansas State, but still came up big in the clutch. His 55-yard touchdown catch from Max Duggan late in the third quarter gave the Horned Frogs (7-0) a 31-28 lead they would not lose.

Johnston has 38 receptions for 574 yards (15.1 avg.) and three touchdowns in seven games.

9. Josh McCown Ex-Bears Player of the Week: Saints wide receiver Kevin White, the star-crossed former first-round draft pick (seventh overall) had a 64-yard reception from ex-Bear Andy Dalton in a 42-34 loss to the Cardinals.

Special mention to Seahawks wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, who had four receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-23 victory over the Chargers; and Falcons wide receiver Damiere Byrd, who had a 75-yard touchdown reception in a 36-17 loss to the Bengals.

10. Bear-ometer: 7-10 –at Cowboys (L); vs. Dolphins (L); vs. Lions (W); at Falcons (L); at NY Jets (L); vs. Packers (W); vs. Eagles (L); vs. Bills (L); at Lions (W); vs. Vikings (W).

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The Chicago Bears are trading Robert Quinn

According to a breaking report by Adam Schefter with ESPN, the Chicago Bears are trading Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles.

There have been reports circulating that the Bears were looking to shop Quinn. Kansas City and the Dallas Cowboys seemed like possible destinations. But the Eagles also make sense as they put their chips this season for a Super Bowl run. Quinn will join an elite defense in Philadelphia.  According to Schefter, the Bears will receive a fourth-round pick in return.

That’s not bad for a pick that hasn’t played as well as in 2021 when broke the Bears’ single-season sack record. The Bears can use a fourth-round pick more than they can a player who doesn’t seem happy in Chicago.

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