Chicago Sports

Bill Belichick eats young quarterbacks for breakfast.

In his 22 years as the Patriots head coach — during which he became an icon of the sport — Belichick has faced a first- or second-year starting quarterback 88 times. He’s 70-18.

About a third of the time, those quarterbacks threw two or more interceptions in the game. Almost two-thirds of the time, they had passer ratings under 80.

Only two quarterbacks, Tua Tagovailoa and Mark Sanchez, beat Belichick more than once during their first two years in the league.

Look away, Justin Fields.

It’s no shock that Belichick, one of the great defensive minds of his or any era, has dominated young quarterbacks. The six-time Super Bowl champion usually had better players than opponents who were so early in their rebuild that they felt the need to start a rookie.

More impressive than the talent gap, though, is the approach Belichick uses to baffle young quarterbacks. Belichick has specific sub packages for any occasion.

Per Pro Football Focus, the Patriots were in base defense 5 percent of the time in 2020. Last year, only two teams ran a base defense less often than the Patriots, who were in it only 11 percent of the time. In 2021, they used dime defense about a quarter of the time and nickel on two-thirds of their downs, adding extra defensive backs and predominantly playing man defense.

Through six games this season, the Patriots have run nickel 71.4 percent of the time, dime 18 percent and base defense about 10 percent, per TruMedia.

“They get real specific with putting the people in the game that they feel do the task the best,” Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said. “So … you’re going to get a certain type of guys on the field on run downs. And if it’s an obvious passing down you’re getting certain guys on the field. So you’re getting their better personnel.”

That’s a challenge for Fields — and for Getsy, who is in his first year as an offensive coordinator. He’s about to play a chess match with a grandmaster.

The matchup has already begun. Bears coaches and players have been preparing for the different specialized packages the Patriots run. Getsy gave an example: if the Bears are in “21 personnel” –with two running backs and one tight end on the field — there might be three different sets of defensive personnel the Patriots could run onto the field. The Bears have to prepare for all three, and make their play calls — or audibles — in real time, based on where they think they have an advantage.

“That’s more work for you during the week as far as getting the guys prepared,” Getsy said.

Fields, more than anyone, has to be ready. At the line of scrimmage, he needs to know what he’s looking at — and what to change.

“It all depends on the play,” quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko said. “It all depends on the situation, the scenario that we’re in at that time. We ask him to identify some things. We also try to give him as much information as possible when the personnel changes do happen.”

Lucas Patrick has spent all week studying. If he moves from left guard to center, as expected, he would be responsible for quarterbacking the offensive line and making blocking calls at the line of scrimmage.

The biggest part of preparation, he said, was understanding which Patriots personnel grouping he expects to be on the field in certain situations.

“[Belichick] is very good at making things seem different –but they’re really the same,” Patrick said. “It’s a very complex defense and personnel usage that he has in where guys play. But you have to understand what each player might be trying to do in that defense and attack him that way.

“All weeks you need to study, but this is a week you really have to understand numbers, personnel. What is typically their base position? But they can flex a bunch of guys in different positions. It’s really studying personnel and understanding which package is out there for defense.”

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This college football Saturday 10/22 closes out with some great games in primetime and here are the best bets.

College football gambling can be a grind especially when we get to the late window. The best games for 10/22 are below and so are the best bets.

Mississippi State vs. Alabama

If you watched the instant college football classic last week with Tennessee and Alabama you’ll notice Josh Heupel is legit and so is Hendon Hooker. But the main thing that stood out to me was Bryce Young. We knew he was good and had plenty of composure but I have never seen a QB ever show the toughness and the skill that Bryce Young showed just to make a game close. He did everything. His receivers stink including Jermaine Burton who transferred from Georgia who also hits a Tennessee woman on his way off the field. Bryce also got rocked a couple times that I was sure it was targeting or roughing but no targeting was called and Bryce got right back up and kept slinging. I could clearly talk all day about Bryce being the best in college football but I’ll do that another time. Jahmyr Gibbs is a superstar running back per usual from Alabama. Will Anderson did not play well last week and this is a week he needs to get to the QB as Mississippi State runs Air Raid offense.

Mississippi State is doing their thing like usual. They win some solid games and lose some stinkers. They lost to LSU away that LSU had to win or Brian Kelly might have already been fired and they just lost to Kentucky away when Kentucky last week got back their possible first round QB Will Levis. So to be fair they could be undefeated but i doubt Leach even wants to be undefeated. He just wants to run his air raid offense and throw for a billion yards a game. Will Rogers is a solid QB and while I’ve seen him throw plenty of dumb passes I’ve also seen him quarterback some brilliant football games. He is asked a lot from Mike Leach and of this offense. He’s asked to throw 60 times a game and he’s asked to get absolutely drilled by defensive lineman each game because the offensive line isn’t great. Will is a tough kid he’s been around for a while but unfortunately the heavy hits are going to continue on Saturday.

The Bet: Saban and the players need a big one as everyone is expecting. Alabama doesn’t let teams score much in Tuscaloosa. Mississippi State is in a tough spot and it’s unfortunate. I think they will show some fight and score a little but I have a feeling Alabama will score more. Alabama -21.

Minnesota vs. Penn State

Minnesota isn’t bad and I don’t mind Minnesota as a college football team whatsoever. The issue is PJ Fleck. I get Minnesota may not get a better recruiting coach than Fleck but Minnesota have to understand that’s all he is. He can recruit a few guys to the school but he can’t coach them to a successful season. A successful season by the way would be to win the Big Ten West that they were firmly in the drivers seat for considering Wisconsin stinks and Northwestern can’t compete and they’ve absolutely bottled the Big Ten West. Seasons not over but PJ Fleck is not they guy to bring a team success on the big stage. Also Tanner Morgan has been the QB there forever and its kind of crazy because he just is not good and never was good. Minnesota has lost two straight and make it three Saturday night.

Penn State isn’t much better. James Franklin isn’t the answer and he never was it seems kind of insane to extend him as much as they did just to be third every year in the Big Ten. How does a team ever compete with Michigan or Ohio State when your QB has been Sean Clifford for the last what 6 years? Is he better than Tanner Morgan? Sure. But not by much.

Last two years Penn State starts hot and undefeated but when the big boy schedule comes around they get smoked and rely on Sean Clifford which is a mistake. Penn State does recruit good running backs per usual as Nick Singleton has stepped in as a Freshman and has been really good and looks to stay really good for another two years. Finally prior to last weeks loss to Michigan, Penn State had a top 5 defense in run defense in the country. Obviously Michigan is bigger and better than Penn State but Minnesota is not bigger and better than Penn State. Minnesota relies heavily on Mohamed Ibrahim their running back so its key to stop him and force Tanner Morgan to throw.

The Bet: If Minnesota can’t run the ball which I don’t think they will effectively then Penn State covers -4.5.

Kansas State vs. TCU

Adrian Martinez and the Wildcats are off a bye that they needed badly because after watching that game against Iowa State I was disgusted with football just like after the Colts Broncos game. Besides a complete blunder to Tulane earlier in the year Kansas State has been good. Tulane also has a really good defense this year out of nowhere which is pretty cool in college football to see but still poor from Kansas State nonetheless.

While Kansas State is not a great throwing team they are so good at running with Martinez and Deuce Vaughn that when they do throw it is normally single coverage with not much safety help due to the box being stacked. The issue is Martinez isn’t the greatest thrower nor does he have great receivers. The plus side is everything could work for them this week. TCU is beat up after a comeback win vs. Ok St. last week and Kansas State is fresh and prepped for two weeks on TCU.

TCU like I mentioned is tired. If you watched last week the comeback was cool. Sort of. Having the over the comeback was perfect. Spencer Sanders and Max Duggan were playing a game of spike because the throws in the second half were so short and inaccurate they had to have been challenging each other or they were exhausted/hurt.

Duggan took a pretty big hit in the second half and was really clutching his shoulder. He is another QB that has incredible toughness especially after his heart condition and being benched to start the year. For TCU to have success against Kansas State they have to feed the ball to Quentin Johnston. He is their star wide receiver and climbing in draft stock. He’s 6’4″ and watching TCU games I’m not sure why they don’t throw him the ball every single time even if he is doubled. He’s that good. TCU playing at home will be a boost for them but Kansas State coming off a bye might be an issue.

The Bet: Kansas State +3.5 looks to be the right side here coming off the bye and the running attack they threaten with. TCU will put up points in my opinion so the over 54.5 looks like a great bet as well.

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This college football Saturday 10/22 closes out with some great games in primetime and here are the best bets.

College football gambling can be a grind especially when we get to the late window. The best games for 10/22 are below and so are the best bets.

Mississippi State vs. Alabama

If you watched the instant college football classic last week with Tennessee and Alabama you’ll notice Josh Heupel is legit and so is Hendon Hooker. But the main thing that stood out to me was Bryce Young. We knew he was good and had plenty of composure but I have never seen a QB ever show the toughness and the skill that Bryce Young showed just to make a game close. He did everything. His receivers stink including Jermaine Burton who transferred from Georgia who also hits a Tennessee woman on his way off the field. Bryce also got rocked a couple times that I was sure it was targeting or roughing but no targeting was called and Bryce got right back up and kept slinging. I could clearly talk all day about Bryce being the best in college football but I’ll do that another time. Jahmyr Gibbs is a superstar running back per usual from Alabama. Will Anderson did not play well last week and this is a week he needs to get to the QB as Mississippi State runs Air Raid offense.

Mississippi State is doing their thing like usual. They win some solid games and lose some stinkers. They lost to LSU away that LSU had to win or Brian Kelly might have already been fired and they just lost to Kentucky away when Kentucky last week got back their possible first round QB Will Levis. So to be fair they could be undefeated but i doubt Leach even wants to be undefeated. He just wants to run his air raid offense and throw for a billion yards a game. Will Rogers is a solid QB and while I’ve seen him throw plenty of dumb passes I’ve also seen him quarterback some brilliant football games. He is asked a lot from Mike Leach and of this offense. He’s asked to throw 60 times a game and he’s asked to get absolutely drilled by defensive lineman each game because the offensive line isn’t great. Will is a tough kid he’s been around for a while but unfortunately the heavy hits are going to continue on Saturday.

The Bet: Saban and the players need a big one as everyone is expecting. Alabama doesn’t let teams score much in Tuscaloosa. Mississippi State is in a tough spot and it’s unfortunate. I think they will show some fight and score a little but I have a feeling Alabama will score more. Alabama -21.

Minnesota vs. Penn State

Minnesota isn’t bad and I don’t mind Minnesota as a college football team whatsoever. The issue is PJ Fleck. I get Minnesota may not get a better recruiting coach than Fleck but Minnesota have to understand that’s all he is. He can recruit a few guys to the school but he can’t coach them to a successful season. A successful season by the way would be to win the Big Ten West that they were firmly in the drivers seat for considering Wisconsin stinks and Northwestern can’t compete and they’ve absolutely bottled the Big Ten West. Seasons not over but PJ Fleck is not they guy to bring a team success on the big stage. Also Tanner Morgan has been the QB there forever and its kind of crazy because he just is not good and never was good. Minnesota has lost two straight and make it three Saturday night.

Penn State isn’t much better. James Franklin isn’t the answer and he never was it seems kind of insane to extend him as much as they did just to be third every year in the Big Ten. How does a team ever compete with Michigan or Ohio State when your QB has been Sean Clifford for the last what 6 years? Is he better than Tanner Morgan? Sure. But not by much.

Last two years Penn State starts hot and undefeated but when the big boy schedule comes around they get smoked and rely on Sean Clifford which is a mistake. Penn State does recruit good running backs per usual as Nick Singleton has stepped in as a Freshman and has been really good and looks to stay really good for another two years. Finally prior to last weeks loss to Michigan, Penn State had a top 5 defense in run defense in the country. Obviously Michigan is bigger and better than Penn State but Minnesota is not bigger and better than Penn State. Minnesota relies heavily on Mohamed Ibrahim their running back so its key to stop him and force Tanner Morgan to throw.

The Bet: If Minnesota can’t run the ball which I don’t think they will effectively then Penn State covers -4.5.

Kansas State vs. TCU

Adrian Martinez and the Wildcats are off a bye that they needed badly because after watching that game against Iowa State I was disgusted with football just like after the Colts Broncos game. Besides a complete blunder to Tulane earlier in the year Kansas State has been good. Tulane also has a really good defense this year out of nowhere which is pretty cool in college football to see but still poor from Kansas State nonetheless.

While Kansas State is not a great throwing team they are so good at running with Martinez and Deuce Vaughn that when they do throw it is normally single coverage with not much safety help due to the box being stacked. The issue is Martinez isn’t the greatest thrower nor does he have great receivers. The plus side is everything could work for them this week. TCU is beat up after a comeback win vs. Ok St. last week and Kansas State is fresh and prepped for two weeks on TCU.

TCU like I mentioned is tired. If you watched last week the comeback was cool. Sort of. Having the over the comeback was perfect. Spencer Sanders and Max Duggan were playing a game of spike because the throws in the second half were so short and inaccurate they had to have been challenging each other or they were exhausted/hurt.

Duggan took a pretty big hit in the second half and was really clutching his shoulder. He is another QB that has incredible toughness especially after his heart condition and being benched to start the year. For TCU to have success against Kansas State they have to feed the ball to Quentin Johnston. He is their star wide receiver and climbing in draft stock. He’s 6’4″ and watching TCU games I’m not sure why they don’t throw him the ball every single time even if he is doubled. He’s that good. TCU playing at home will be a boost for them but Kansas State coming off a bye might be an issue.

The Bet: Kansas State +3.5 looks to be the right side here coming off the bye and the running attack they threaten with. TCU will put up points in my opinion so the over 54.5 looks like a great bet as well.

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The Chicago Bears (2-4) travel to Foxborough to play the Patriots (3-3) on Monday Night Football.

While the Bears only have one less win than the Patriots, it seems like Patriots are trending in a positive direction while the Bears are going the opposite way. Let’s take a look at Patriots position by position group:

Quarterback: Mac Jones was the starter for the first three games until he sustained an injury to his ankle during a week 3 loss to the Ravens. The next week, Brain Hoyer was the starter but sustained a head injury and was knocked out of the game. The Patriots then turned the quarterback position over to rookie Bailey Zappe. Zappe has won his first two starts at quarterback and is the only rookie quarterback in the Super Bowl Era to post a 100+ QB rating and win his first two starts.

His first two starts were against the Browns who are 21st in DVOA and the Lions who are 25th in DVOA. The Bears currently rank 31st in DVOA so they may not be a challenge for the young quarterback making his third start. Zappe does a great job of protecting the ball (only one interception) and is completing 72% of his passes.

The Bears have faced more decorated quarterbacks this season but Zappe will still present a challenge on Monday Night.

Running Back: Rhamondre Stevenson has taken over the starting role after splitting carries with Damian Harris who is questionable for the game vs the Bears. Stevenson has rushed for 448 yards which is good for seventh in the league and has been the focal point of the offense since Zappe has been the starter.

If the Bears want to win the game they will have to shut down Stevenson, but the Bears are currently ranked 31st in rushing yards allowed. The Patriots will be running early and often at the Bears front seven and Stevenson will be ready to continue to his breakout season on Monday.

Offensive Line: The offensive line of the Patriots has only allowed 11 sacks in six games which is ninth lowest in the league. The Patriots offensive line since Zappe has started has only allowed 2 sacks and 2 quarterback hits. The standout on the offensive line this year has been guard Michael Onwenu. Onwenu ranked 4th in pass block win rate as a guard this week and has not allowed any sacks this season.

The other outstanding player on this offensive line has been center Dave Andrews. Andrews has only allowed one sack this year and this week had 99 percent pass block rate as a center last week vs the Browns. The Patriots offensive line has done a great job of help this inexperienced quarterback and the other skill positions put up points.

Wide Receivers: The Patriots do not have a traditional number one wide receiver who will receive a plethora of targets or receiving touchdowns. Jakobi Myers has led the team in yards the last two years but has yet to have a 1,000 yards receiving season in his career and only has three career receiving touchdowns. Currently, the Patriots ranked 17th in passing offense which is slight improvement from where they were through six games last year. The deep threat for the Patriots has been Devante Parker who is averaging 21.1 yards per reception which is 3rd in the league.

The Bears have allowed a reception for over 40 yards in four out of the six games they have played this year and the Patriots will try to exploit those weaknesses in the Bears secondary.

Tight Ends: Starting Tight End Hunter Henry is third on team in targets this season and is coming off a season-high in targets in the game vs the Browns. He has gotten off to a slow start in terms of receiving touchdowns after having a career high nine receiving touchdowns last year for the Patriots and this year only having one.

Zappe has seemed to find a connection with Henry last week and the Bears linebackers will need to be aware of Henry who is one of the better tight ends in the league.

Defensive Line: The Patriots have allowed 119 rushing yards per game this season but have been much better against the run in the last two weeks. After giving up 199 yards to the Packers in week 4 the Patriots have only given up 171 yards rushing total in the last two weeks. The Patriots just held the leading rusher in the league Nick Chubb to 56 yards rushing on 12 carries. The Bears offense is one-dimensional with running the ball that has kept the chains moving and this defensive line will be ready for the Bears rushing attack.

The standout player on the defensive line is Deatrich Wise Jr. Wise has five sacks in six games this season which is a career high and he has been great against the run. The Bears offensive line will need to be aware with Wise is at all times on Monday.

Linebackers: This group has been great at pressuring the quarterback and the best linebacker for the Patriots who has done that this year has been Matt Judon. Judon is tied for second in the league in sacks with six and is tied for fifth for quarterback hits. Judon, who has the made the Pro Bowl the last three years is flourishing in this Patriots defense.

Luke Getsy, the Bears offensive coordinator needs to be aware with Judon is at all times because he will be trying to cause chaos every time the Bears offense in on the field.

Secondary: Coming into this season, many experts wrote off this secondary after losing J.C. Jackson in free agency to the Chargers. Jackson was the best corner for this team last season and the Patriots signed Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler to add some experience to the secondary but he was cut before the end of the preseason.

The secondary for the Patriots has been a huge surprise is how they have played this secondary. Cornerback Jack Jones has had a standout rookie season and is third among cornerbacks less than 25 years old in allowed passer rating. Jones is also in the top 20 in completion percentage allowed as well. The most passing yards this secondary has given up was in week 1 vs the Dolphins when they allowed 270 yards.

The secondary does a great job of limiting long passing plays and Darnell Mooney and the rest of the wide receivers may have a difficult time getting open on Monday night.

Kicking: Nick Folk has made ten out of twelve field goals this year including a field goal from 50 yards this season. Folk has always been one of the most reliable kickers in the league and this season he has been much the same from his entire career.

Punter Jake Bailey ranks 31st in average punt yards this year which is a dramatic drop from 2021 when he ranked in the top 10 in average punt yards.

For the game on Monday, there is a 56% chance of rain and thunderstorms so the kickers and punters in the game will have to possibly battle the weather.

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The Chicago Bears (2-4) travel to Foxborough to play the Patriots (3-3) on Monday Night Football.

While the Bears only have one less win than the Patriots, it seems like Patriots are trending in a positive direction while the Bears are going the opposite way. Let’s take a look at Patriots position by position group:

Quarterback: Mac Jones was the starter for the first three games until he sustained an injury to his ankle during a week 3 loss to the Ravens. The next week, Brain Hoyer was the starter but sustained a head injury and was knocked out of the game. The Patriots then turned the quarterback position over to rookie Bailey Zappe. Zappe has won his first two starts at quarterback and is the only rookie quarterback in the Super Bowl Era to post a 100+ QB rating and win his first two starts.

His first two starts were against the Browns who are 21st in DVOA and the Lions who are 25th in DVOA. The Bears currently rank 31st in DVOA so they may not be a challenge for the young quarterback making his third start. Zappe does a great job of protecting the ball (only one interception) and is completing 72% of his passes.

The Bears have faced more decorated quarterbacks this season but Zappe will still present a challenge on Monday Night.

Running Back: Rhamondre Stevenson has taken over the starting role after splitting carries with Damian Harris who is questionable for the game vs the Bears. Stevenson has rushed for 448 yards which is good for seventh in the league and has been the focal point of the offense since Zappe has been the starter.

If the Bears want to win the game they will have to shut down Stevenson, but the Bears are currently ranked 31st in rushing yards allowed. The Patriots will be running early and often at the Bears front seven and Stevenson will be ready to continue to his breakout season on Monday.

Offensive Line: The offensive line of the Patriots has only allowed 11 sacks in six games which is ninth lowest in the league. The Patriots offensive line since Zappe has started has only allowed 2 sacks and 2 quarterback hits. The standout on the offensive line this year has been guard Michael Onwenu. Onwenu ranked 4th in pass block win rate as a guard this week and has not allowed any sacks this season.

The other outstanding player on this offensive line has been center Dave Andrews. Andrews has only allowed one sack this year and this week had 99 percent pass block rate as a center last week vs the Browns. The Patriots offensive line has done a great job of help this inexperienced quarterback and the other skill positions put up points.

Wide Receivers: The Patriots do not have a traditional number one wide receiver who will receive a plethora of targets or receiving touchdowns. Jakobi Myers has led the team in yards the last two years but has yet to have a 1,000 yards receiving season in his career and only has three career receiving touchdowns. Currently, the Patriots ranked 17th in passing offense which is slight improvement from where they were through six games last year. The deep threat for the Patriots has been Devante Parker who is averaging 21.1 yards per reception which is 3rd in the league.

The Bears have allowed a reception for over 40 yards in four out of the six games they have played this year and the Patriots will try to exploit those weaknesses in the Bears secondary.

Tight Ends: Starting Tight End Hunter Henry is third on team in targets this season and is coming off a season-high in targets in the game vs the Browns. He has gotten off to a slow start in terms of receiving touchdowns after having a career high nine receiving touchdowns last year for the Patriots and this year only having one.

Zappe has seemed to find a connection with Henry last week and the Bears linebackers will need to be aware of Henry who is one of the better tight ends in the league.

Defensive Line: The Patriots have allowed 119 rushing yards per game this season but have been much better against the run in the last two weeks. After giving up 199 yards to the Packers in week 4 the Patriots have only given up 171 yards rushing total in the last two weeks. The Patriots just held the leading rusher in the league Nick Chubb to 56 yards rushing on 12 carries. The Bears offense is one-dimensional with running the ball that has kept the chains moving and this defensive line will be ready for the Bears rushing attack.

The standout player on the defensive line is Deatrich Wise Jr. Wise has five sacks in six games this season which is a career high and he has been great against the run. The Bears offensive line will need to be aware with Wise is at all times on Monday.

Linebackers: This group has been great at pressuring the quarterback and the best linebacker for the Patriots who has done that this year has been Matt Judon. Judon is tied for second in the league in sacks with six and is tied for fifth for quarterback hits. Judon, who has the made the Pro Bowl the last three years is flourishing in this Patriots defense.

Luke Getsy, the Bears offensive coordinator needs to be aware with Judon is at all times because he will be trying to cause chaos every time the Bears offense in on the field.

Secondary: Coming into this season, many experts wrote off this secondary after losing J.C. Jackson in free agency to the Chargers. Jackson was the best corner for this team last season and the Patriots signed Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler to add some experience to the secondary but he was cut before the end of the preseason.

The secondary for the Patriots has been a huge surprise is how they have played this secondary. Cornerback Jack Jones has had a standout rookie season and is third among cornerbacks less than 25 years old in allowed passer rating. Jones is also in the top 20 in completion percentage allowed as well. The most passing yards this secondary has given up was in week 1 vs the Dolphins when they allowed 270 yards.

The secondary does a great job of limiting long passing plays and Darnell Mooney and the rest of the wide receivers may have a difficult time getting open on Monday night.

Kicking: Nick Folk has made ten out of twelve field goals this year including a field goal from 50 yards this season. Folk has always been one of the most reliable kickers in the league and this season he has been much the same from his entire career.

Punter Jake Bailey ranks 31st in average punt yards this year which is a dramatic drop from 2021 when he ranked in the top 10 in average punt yards.

For the game on Monday, there is a 56% chance of rain and thunderstorms so the kickers and punters in the game will have to possibly battle the weather.

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The Bears are still confident in kick returner Velus Jones after the rookie muffed his second punt in three games last week. But the punt returning job is wide open heading into Monday night’s game against the Patriots.

Special teams coach Richard Hightower said Jones is in a competition with Eddie Jackson, Josh Blackwell and Dante Pettis among others for kick returning duties against the Patriots.

“I don’t worry too much about his confidence because he is a confident guy,” Hightower said. “He just wants to do well for his team. Obviously he had a couple struggles. He’s a rookie. All rookies struggle. But I think he’ll be fine.”

Asked if that meant Jones would return kicks against the Patriots, Hightower said, “I wish I could tell you. We’ll find out Monday night. They’re all in competition and they’re working hard.”

Jones, a third-round pick from Tennessee, is eager to get back and prove himself, but he’s also prepared to have to wait for another chance.

“Coach is going to do what’s best for the team,” Jones said. “[My attitude is], let’s keep practicing and keep getting better every week and when my number’s called, I’ll go back there and do what I’ve been doing for awhile.”

But whenever he’s back there again, the previous mishaps won’t be on his mind. Getting return opportunities in practice this week has helped.

“It’s about moving forward,” Jones said. “If you focus on the past, it’ll affect the future. It can cause anxiety and all types of things. But it’s all about me staying up on myself and not staying down on myself, and putting it behind me. It’s a new day. A new opportunity. ‘What can I do to get better?’ So I feel like getting reps over and over helped that.”

Injury report

The Bear again had full participation at practice Friday and expect to go into Monday night’s game with no injuries — a rarity at any time in the NFL.

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones, who has missed the last three games with a high ankle sprain, had limited participation in practice again Friday. Rookie Bailey Zappe, who has a 111.4 passer rating in three games (two starts) since Jones was injured, could start against the Bears whether or not Jones is healthy.

The Fifth Captain

Veteran safety DeAndre Houston-Carson, a four-phase special teams player, will be the Bears’ honorary captain against the Patriots — a timely honor against a Bill Belichick team that annually is among the best in special teams play.

Houston-Carson, a 2016 sixth-round draft pick, has started three games at safety (all in 2021), but has carved a notable niche as a reliable special teams ace, following former teammate Sherrick McManis.

“DHC is phenomenal. You want to put a helmet on a guy and said, ‘This is a Bear’? That’s DHC. His work ethic is phenomenal. He’s smart. Does a very nice job helping guys in meetings — not only with his position but other people’s positions and on the other side of the ball. He’s like having an extra coach.”

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Who is next for Bielama and Illinois football? The bye week. But the Fighting Illini will stay ranked another week!

There have been plenty of pleasant surprises this year in college football. Illinois football is ranked, Kansas ranked, Syracuse ranked and UCLA ranked just to name some of these surprises. Safe to say its good for the sport. No matter what we like the big teams being in contention even if you hate them like Bama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, Michigan, LSU and more. Those teams being good is normal and they have awesome stadium environments that are enjoyable to watch week to week. Obviously some of those teams are having a tough year but normally they’re exciting and good. What is always fun to see no matter what are the upsets and “smaller school” teams playing harder and smarter and who finally get rewarded by being ranked for their stellar play.

Before this year Illinois had not been ranked since 2011 and it is exciting to see them back in the polls at #18 currently. Importantly there will finally be a switch up in the Big Ten West where we won’t see Wisconsin just roll into the Big Ten Championship because everyone else is just plain bad. Illinois football under Bielama is ready to take center stage in the Big Ten West and take them to their first Big Ten title game since 2001. It must be a little painful for Wisconsin fans to watch Bielama their old coach who led them to multiple Big Ten titles go and turn a program around and no be in the driver seat to play at Lucas Oil Stadium in December.

Illinois play Nebraska next week. We all know what’s going on with Nebraska currently but don’t take any game lightly especially when Illinois is so close to finally getting back to the title game. Bielama would love to play for the Big Ten title especially in the year that Wisconsin fires their coach and Illinois are in the same side of the conference that Wisconsin has basically owned for years.

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The White Sox announced Friday that SoxFest, the team’s annual fan convention, won’t be staged this winter.

The event was postponed the last two years due to COVID-19 concerns, and the team said Friday it won’t be held in January “due to several factors.”

“We recognize our fans may be disappointed the event will not take place,” the team said in a statement. “Please check back throughout the 2023 baseball season for updates regarding future plans.”

The 2019 event was the first staged at McCormick Place.

The Cubs are holding Cubs Convention at the Sheraton Grand Chicago January 13-15.

The Sox are coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory, going 81-81 and finishing 13 games behind the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central after making the postseason two consecutive years and entering 2022 with its highest payroll ever and World Series aspirations.

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The Big Ten season rolls along Saturday with ten teams in action, including two games with huge Big Ten West standing implications.

Big Ten football continues on Saturday, and while many in the Chicagoland area and state of Illinois are feening for more Illinois football, viewers will have to wait another week to watch the Illini. For those of you that are interested in the Big Ten West division race, at least two games on Saturday’s slate will be worth watching, and could setup bigger and better matchups down the road. We’ve got two plays to give out this week, and after a successful first half of the year, we have no plans on slowing down the winners anytime soon! Best of luck this weekend and thank you for following along!!

2022 Big Ten Betting Record: 11-6-1

Iowa at Ohio State (-30): O/U 49.5 (11:00am CST)

To kick things off for us we head to the Big Noon Kickoff, a spot that has certainly seen more enticing games than this one these last few weeks. If you’ve been betting against Ohio State to this point in the season, you probably haven’t made too much money, and you certainly haven’t been making money if you’re betting Ohio State team total unders.

Following their lackluster performance to start the season against Notre Dame, the Buckeyes have gone over their team total each and every week, with their lowest output coming in a 45-12 win over Arkansas State. I am going to pass on this one Saturday because Ohio State could be peaking ahead to next week’s huge battle on the road at Penn State, but I have no interest in backing this Iowa team on the road.

RMags’ Pick: Pass

Indiana at Rutgers (-3.5): O/U 47.5 (11:00am CST)

I will assume most people will have little to no interest in betting this game, so I will keep things short and sweet. This Indiana defense has been abysmal all season long, and is currently on a five game stretch of allowing at least 30 points, covering the spread twice during that span. Rutgers offense has not been good this season by any measure, but it would not shock me if their offense is able to move the ball on an Indiana defense that is 108th in total yards allowed.

Rutgers defense should be the biggest edge in this game, but Indiana’s passing game has shown flashes, and if Connor Bazelak is playing well, could reasonably have success. I am throwing my hands up on this one, but gun to my head, I think Rutgers gets it done.

RMags’ Pick: Pass

Northwestern at Maryland (-14): O/U 51.5 (2:30pm CST)

This will be another game that probably won’t have too many eyes on it, but could at least have some offensive fireworks on one side, if not both.

Maryland’s offense has been very strong this season, scoring at least 27 points in all seven of their games and the case could actually be made that if a few bounces had gone their way, may be 6-1 or even 7-0. Their loss at Michigan opened with a botched kick return, followed by an immediate Wolverine touchdown, they would go on to lose that game by seven and gave Michigan their biggest test to date.

I completely expect Maryland to win this game, but their own defense has been shaky at times, and you could reasonably expect a Northwestern team off of a bye to have some relative offensive success as well. I will pass on this, but do lean toward the over, however anyone that is trying to play this game will have to keep an eye out for the quarterback injury report for both teams with both starters currently listed as questionable.

RMags’ Pick: Pass

Purdue at Wisconsin (-2.5): O/U 51 (2:30pm CST)

Now it’s time to get into the good stuff. I will be honest, I am genuinely concerned and puzzled to see this 5-2 Purdue team listed as an underdog to a vastly underachieving Wisconsin team. Normally this would trigger my radars for a trap spot as the public rushes to the team with the superior public perception, but in this rare case, I am calling hot BS on this line and am riding with my strong feelings that I have had towards this Boilermaker squad.

The concerns would be a Wisconsin team in a bounce back spot, heading home for what you would maybe consider a bit of a last stand on the season, in addition to a giant win streak over this Purdue program, dating back nearly 20 years. That twenty year stretch saw a lot of bad Purdue teams, along with a great stretch from Wisconsin, and I firmly believe that streak dies this weekend.

Offensively, Wisconsin has looked better these past two weeks overall, but I am truly not impressed after digging in deeper. The Badgers scored only 21 regulation points last week against a brutal Michigan State pass defense, and beat the doors off of a bad Northwestern team in the game prior.

Something that had been largely absent for Wisconsin’s offense was their rushing attack across the first five games of the season, but that was drastically improved in both of the two recent games against Northwestern and Michigan State with solid outings in both from Braelon Allen. This seems to be a reason for any positive belief in the Badgers, but this Purdue rush defense does not get enough respect and is head and shoulders better than those two previous opponents. The Boilermakers rank 28th in yards per carry allowed, and if that holds up on the road tomorrow, Purdue should have no problem outscoring this mediocre Badgers offense.

I am taking a stance and believing in this Purdue team on Saturday. If they win this, they will potentially setup a November 12th matchup at Illinois to be a winner take all for the Big Ten West. I do not see the Boilermakers faltering this week. Give me a 23-17 victory.

RMags’ Pick: Purdue ML

Minnesota at Penn State (-5): O/U 44.5 (6:30pm CST)

The nightcap out of the Big Ten pits two winning programs against each other, both looking for a bounce back in what stands as a massive setup for the rest of the season for either of these teams if they were to win. A win for Penn State sets up a massive game next week with Ohio State, and an upset win for Minnesota keeps their Big Ten West hopes alive with five unranked matchups remaining on the schedule.

I should mention that Penn State will be hosting their annual “White Out” in the stadium for this game, and if that’s all you need to back the Nittany Lions, then by all means take your swing. I for one, am at least very interested in taking the points with the underdog in this game, as I think this could be a really close and hard fought slugfest.

While Minnesota is currently reeling a bit, I do feel strongly that we will see a much more consistent performance from this offense, and I also have faith in their defense to keep the Gophers within range throughout this game. Of course, Penn State is looking to jump back into the win column after last week’s loss, but their is something to be said for college teams facing a bit of a hangover following an emotional loss in a massive game like last week.

I am not suggesting that Minnesota’s rush game has their way with Penn State to the degree that Michigan’s duo did last week, but it was an eye opening showing from that defense that could bleed into this matchup.

Looking back through Penn State’s schedule this season, up until last week’s Michigan game, this Nittany Lion rush defense really had not been tested, whether that’s because they faced weak rushing attacks, or because the team jumped out to a big lead over a small school, there really had not been any opportunities for exposure.

Entering this game, Penn State ranks 76th in yards per carry allowed and was dominated by Michigan’s now 7th ranking in that category offensively. Minnesota doesn’t have the two-headed monster like Michigan does, but Minnesota has a legitimate stud in Mohamed Ibrahim, who after an mid-season injury, appears to be getting healthier and healthier by the week. In last week’s loss to Illinois, the lone bright spot was Ibrahim who ran for 127 yards on 15 carries, including one touchdown scored. That Illinois rush defense now ranks fifth in the nation, allowing less than three yards per carry.

I really do not see any scenario where this Nittany Lion defense slows down Ibrahim, and that should cause this game to be a really tight contest. Give me the Golden Gophers and the points this time around, and don’t be surprised if we see an upset when it’s all said and done.

RMags’ Pick: Minnesota +5

Big Ten Week 8 Picks:Purdue MLMinnesota +5

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The college football slate on Saturday is amazing so here are the best games to bet during the 3:30pm primetime slate and why.

This awesome Saturday of college football continues during the 3:30 pm slate. Here are the best games and best bets.

Ole Miss vs. LSU

Exciting game for sure but to be honest it is receiving way too much hype for LSU being actually bad. It’s still one of the best games during the 3:30 college football slate because Tiger stadium is electric but if you have ever watched Jayden Daniels play then you know what I mean about LSU being bad. I’ve seen him enough at Arizona State to tell you he is not LSU caliber and he’ll probably tuck and run Saturday upwards of 20 times like always. Daniels has two amazing receivers in Malik Nabers and Kayshon Boutte but continues to struggle to get them the ball.

On the other side Jaxson Dart isn’t very good either. He throws plenty of picks and if you’ve watched Ole Miss this year Dart should have double the picks he’s thrown but the defensive drops have saved him from a worse stat line. With that being said Ole Miss doesn’t rely on QB play like they did last year with Matt Corral because they have an elite running game led by Quinshon Judkins. Dart will have to make some throws but I think with the balanced approach this year and the no huddle offense from Kiffin Ole Miss has the upper hand.

The Bet: Lane Kiffin has a better coached team currently than Brian Kelly and while LSU environment may be tough to start I think the no huddle offense from Ole Miss will eventually overpower LSU just like Tennessee did. Ole Miss Moneyline or take the points +2.5.

UCLA vs. Oregon

Highly anticipated matchup that most were not thinking would be highly anticipated to start the year. UCLA is undefeated in large part to the two headed attack of Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Zach Charbonnet. These two have been together for a while but they have finally figured things out under Chip Kelly. To me I’m still not sold on Dorian Thompson-Robinson (DTR). Like with Jayden Daniels watching DTR in years passed he just wasn’t sharp when he needed to be. He would have crazy games like he did against Washington this year but he would go missing like he did against South Alabama. They have faced Utah at home and Washington at home. This is the first true test on the road for UCLA and the old DTR is still in my mind where he goes missing.

Oregon since getting blown up by Georgia has been better. Bo Nix is almost the same thing to me as DTR is. They’ll go crazy in certain games like Bo did last year against LSU where he just wouldn’t let a play die and couldn’t be tackled but he also looked like a high school QB against Georgia. The BYU game this year showed Oregon is good at home and Bo looked like a college football QB only two weeks out from the Georgia fiasco. Dan Lanning is in his first year at Oregon and he’s known for being a great defensive coordinator with Georgia years prior. He will have to put together a great plan to slow down DTR and Charbonnet and that’s what I’m thinking he’ll do.

The Bet: The spread is very high and it will go down as people are and will pepper UCLA plus the points. I would also wait for the spread to go down and check Friday night or Saturday morning. As of now the spread is Oregon -6. I would take Oregon spread as Oregon needs this to have a shot at the Pac-12 championship and they have been a juggernaut at home.

Texas vs. Oklahoma State

Since the return of Quinn Ewers things have been easier for Texas to say the least. The Iowa State game is tough to sample into the return of Ewers considering Iowa State genuinely can only play defense. Ewers is good but its still early in his career to label him great as many are anxious to do. Bijan Robinson is a beast and as long as Steve Sarkisian uses him in both the passing game and run game often Texas is in good shape for this one. Ever since that collapse against Texas Tech the defense for the Longhorns has improved because they’ll need timely stops in Stillwater where this Ok St. puts up points somehow.

Oklahoma State before losing last week in brutal fashion was the worst undefeated team in college football. Spencer Sanders has been at Ok St. for years and he just doesn’t get better. Not sure yet if he’ll even play Saturday as Gundy won’t say anything about it but I have a feeling he will. One thing I can’t take away is his toughness cause he gets smoked a lot. In large part to him just tucking and running whenever the first look isn’t there. Ok St. lost Jaylen Warren their running back who was great and lost their star linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez. As of yet we have not seen someone step up to replace these two effectively and I think the downfall of Ok St. continues this week.

The Bet: Texas is going to continue moving to hopefully have a shot at the Big 12 and I don’t trust Spencer Sanders. Texas -6.5 and I would go with the over 61 but it depends on if Sanders plays or not. If he plays over if not under.

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