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With Please Have a Seat, Nnamdï discovers the unexpected delights and anxieties of staying still

Nnamdï’s sixth and latest album, Please Have a Seat (Secretly Canadian/Sooper), begins and ends with versions of the same refrain: “Some days I wake up ready to run.” Sure enough, since moving to Chicago from the suburbs a decade ago, the inexhaustible artist has essentially operated at a dead sprint. He records prolifically. He co-owns Sooper Records (with Sen Morimoto and Glenn Curran). He sings, he raps, and he plays guitar, bass, and drums, contributing nearly all the instrumental parts to his albums.

That said, Please Have a Seat sounds like the work of someone who’s stepped off the hamster wheel, however briefly, to wonder why he spent so much time running in the first place. Nnamdï dials down the goofy wordplay and madcap energy of albums past, though they’re far from gone—and another Nnamdï calling card, wholesale stylistic shifts within a song, continue to abound throughout. He’s at his blithe, bounceable best on “I Don’t Wanna Be Famous,” divulging quarter-life anxieties in the process. However, a line in the earlier song “Armoire” (barely snatchable in its galloping bars) might be the album’s most telling: “I used to dream I could have everything / I can finally see / That I already did.”

As a nod to those early days, his Please Have a Seat release show on October 7 turned the House of Vans into “Nnamdï’s Pancake Haus,” a big-boy version of the DIY venue he and his brother Alfred ran out of their suburban family home. (Meanwhile, his sister Kenechi is cited as a sampled voice on “Grounded.”) This headlining show at Metro is part of a fall tour with back-to-back legs in North America and Europe; Nnamdï will be supported by rapper Joshua Virtue, part of the Why? Records creative constellation.

Nnamdï Joshua Virtue and Moontype open. Sat 10/22, 9 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, $25, $22 in advance, 18+

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With Please Have a Seat, Nnamdï discovers the unexpected delights and anxieties of staying stillHannah Edgaron October 14, 2022 at 11:00 am

Nnamdï’s sixth and latest album, Please Have a Seat (Secretly Canadian/Sooper), begins and ends with versions of the same refrain: “Some days I wake up ready to run.” Sure enough, since moving to Chicago from the suburbs a decade ago, the inexhaustible artist has essentially operated at a dead sprint. He records prolifically. He co-owns Sooper Records (with Sen Morimoto and Glenn Curran). He sings, he raps, and he plays guitar, bass, and drums, contributing nearly all the instrumental parts to his albums.

That said, Please Have a Seat sounds like the work of someone who’s stepped off the hamster wheel, however briefly, to wonder why he spent so much time running in the first place. Nnamdï dials down the goofy wordplay and madcap energy of albums past, though they’re far from gone—and another Nnamdï calling card, wholesale stylistic shifts within a song, continue to abound throughout. He’s at his blithe, bounceable best on “I Don’t Wanna Be Famous,” divulging quarter-life anxieties in the process. However, a line in the earlier song “Armoire” (barely snatchable in its galloping bars) might be the album’s most telling: “I used to dream I could have everything / I can finally see / That I already did.”

As a nod to those early days, his Please Have a Seat release show on October 7 turned the House of Vans into “Nnamdï’s Pancake Haus,” a big-boy version of the DIY venue he and his brother Alfred ran out of their suburban family home. (Meanwhile, his sister Kenechi is cited as a sampled voice on “Grounded.”) This headlining show at Metro is part of a fall tour with back-to-back legs in North America and Europe; Nnamdï will be supported by rapper Joshua Virtue, part of the Why? Records creative constellation.

Nnamdï Joshua Virtue and Moontype open. Sat 10/22, 9 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, $25, $22 in advance, 18+

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With Please Have a Seat, Nnamdï discovers the unexpected delights and anxieties of staying stillHannah Edgaron October 14, 2022 at 11:00 am Read More »

Blackhawks expand hockey analytics department with new hirings

LAS VEGAS — Long behind the NHL curve in terms of investment in analytics, the Blackhawks are now catching up — at least in terms of staffing.

The Hawks hired five new employees this summer to work in their Hockey Strategy and Analytics department — increasing the department to six total members — according to an update of their front office directory.

The hirings match up with general manager Kyle Davidson’s messaging last spring, particularly after former Cubs executive Jeff Greenberg was hired as assistant GM. With the Cubs, Greenberg helped build and implement an analytics system called “Ivy” to centralize information gathering and processing, and he was brought to the Hawks to oversee a comparable project.

“We want to get to a point where all of our information…[is] housed in one system, and that’s a big build,” Davidson said in May. “It’s the heartbeat of the operation, so you know what’s going on in every area.”

Notably, two of the Hawks’ five new analytics staffers once directly worked on “Ivy” for the Cubs.

Ryan Kruse, the Hawks’ new director of hockey systems and technology, was previously a “creator and architect” of Ivy during nearly seven years with the Cubs, according to his LinkedIn page. He spent last year as the Los Angeles Kings’ vice president of research and development, building “valuation and projection models.”

Albert Lyu, now the Hawks’ hockey systems architect, also worked in the Cubs’ baseball systems department from 2015 to 2019.

The other three new additions to the Hawks’ analytics department are Chris McCorkle as senior analyst of hockey strategy and Sam Forstner and Mark Weinstein as senior data scientists. Forstner and Weinstein previously worked for the Islanders and Reds, respectively.

Andrew Contis, the Hawks’ manager of hockey analytics, is the one holdover in the department, having held that position since 2015. Mary DeBartolo, previously the department’s only other member, now works in player and alumni relations, per her LinkedIn page.

Elsewhere in hockey operations department, the Hawks’ coaching staff has one new addition: former Rockford video coach Adam Gill is now the Hawks’ assistant video coach beneath Matt Meacham.

Murphy dodges bullets

Connor Murphy’s injury luck hasn’t been favorable in 2022. A brutal-looking concussion resulting from a hit by Senators forward Parker Kelly on March 12 ended his 2021-22 season almost two months early. He also missed most of this season’s training camp with a back injury.

This week, pucks deflecting into his face became a new pattern. It happened to Murphy both during practice Tuesday and again during pregame warmups Thursday against the Golden Knights.

Fortunately, Murphy finally caught some breaks: Everything turned out to be fine — he needed only a few stitches –and he was able to play Wednesday and Thursday.

“The timing is always nice to not miss regular-season games,” he said Wednesday. “Injuries just are frustrating to miss any time. Usually you feel like you have yourself on a plan with the team, and any time you have to sit out days…it’s not fun or easy.”

Even the back injury might’ve been tolerable to play through had it sprung up during the regular season. His absence during camp was partially just precautionary.

“It’s hard to say what would’ve happened day-to-day…or how long the symptoms would’ve been,” he said. “But I do feel like I would’ve played a little bit more.”

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The Chicago Blackhawks lost despite a fantastic goaltending effortVincent Pariseon October 14, 2022 at 11:00 am

The Chicago Blackhawks are now 0-2-0 on the 2022-23 season after dropping their first two games of the season. Now, we all knew they were going to be bad. They are openly trying to tank so that they can rebuild the long slow way.

They also opened with the Colorado Avalanche who are the defending Stanley Cup Champions with most of their team back. In this loss, they were facing the Vegas Golden Knights who might give the Avs a run for their money this year when it comes to the playoffs.

Despite being outclassed in almost every way by Vegas, they only lost 1-0. Vegas’s goaltender Logan Thompson played excellent as he earned the shutout victory with 27 saves on 27 shots. There were some high-danger chances for Chicago in this one.

The Blackhawks also got magnificent goaltending as well. In fact, you can argue that Alex Stalock’s performance was even better as he is playing on a worse team that allows better chances to better players.

Alex Stalock was incredible in the Chicago Blackhawks’ loss on Thursday night.

He made 36 saves on 37 shots. The one goal, the only tally for either team, was a goal scored by Paul Cotter (assisted by Zach Whitecloud). It wasn’t exactly Jack Eichel or Mark Stone that got the best of Stalock. Those guys had their chances but Stalock said no.

This isn’t your traditional NHL goaltender. He isn’t really steady in the net so watching him play is a wild ride. He is very active in the blue paint which isn’t very common amongst goalies anymore but it works for him from time to time.

He will have his stinkers but he might be better than some people realize. The Hawks don’t plan to win much this season which is why they are fine with the Petr Mrazek/Alex Stalock duo but some nights will see him play like this.

It is nice that the Hawks had someone play well on a night that they still ended up losing. They certainly want to (deep down inside) lose as many games as they can for the best draft odds. But nights like this might make Stalock attractive to contending teams that need a solid backup goalie.

Going forward, the Hawks need their offense to produce some offense to at least be a respectable last-place team. They didn’t get it in this one which is why Stalock’s effort was all for not when it comes to the win column.

Their next chance to get that first win will come on Saturday night when they visit the San Jose Sharks which will end their road trip to begin the season.

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The Chicago Blackhawks lost despite a fantastic goaltending effortVincent Pariseon October 14, 2022 at 11:00 am Read More »

High school football scores: Week 8

Please send scores and corrections to [email protected].

Thursday, October 13

RED CENTRAL

Catalyst-Maria 32, Hansberry 6

Rowe-Clark at Speer

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Lake View 12, Steinmetz 8

Schurz 38, Mather 20

RED SOUTH

Brooks vs. Hubbard at Gately

Kenwood vs. Curie at Lane

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Perspectives 22, Ag. Science 0

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Antioch 56, Grayslake Central 28

Grayslake North 70, Round Lake 0

Lakes 21, Grant 18

WEST SUBURBAN GOLD

Leyden 35, Addison Trail 28

NONCONFERENCE

Fenger 36, Tilden 6

DuSable at Back of the Yards

Friday, October 14

RED CENTRAL

Rauner vs. Pritzker at Lane, 4:15

RED NORTH

Taft vs. Young at Lane, 7:15

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Dunbar vs. UP-Bronzeville at Hales, 5

RED SOUTHEAST

Dyett vs. Corliss at Gately, 4:15

Goode vs. Carver at Gately, 7:15

Vocational vs. South Shore at Eckersall, 3:45

RED WEST

Crane vs. Kennedy at Stagg, 3:45

Little Village vs. Bulls Prep at Winnemac, 3:45

CENTRAL SUBURBAN NORTH

Deerfield at Maine East, 6

Niles North at Maine West, 6:30

Vernon Hills at Highland Park, 6:30

CENTRAL SUBURBAN SOUTH

Glenbrook North at Glenbrook South, 7

Maine South at Evanston, 7:30

New Trier at Niles West, 7

DUKANE

Batavia at St. Charles East, 7

Lake Park at Wheaton-Warrenville South, 7

St. Charles North at Glenbard North, 7

Wheaton North at Geneva, 7

DUPAGE VALLEY

Naperville Central at Metea Valley, 7

Naperville North at Waubonsie Valley, 7

Neuqua Valley at DeKalb, 7

FOX VALLEY

Cary-Grove at Burlington Central, 7

Huntley at Dundee-Crown, 7

Jacobs at Hampshire, 7

McHenry at Crystal Lake Central, 7

Prairie Ridge at Crystal Lake South, 7

ILLINOIS CENTRAL EIGHT

Manteno at Lisle, 7

Peotone at Herscher, 7

Reed-Custer at Coal City, 7

Wilmington at Streator, 7

KISHWAUKEE BLUE

Richmond-Burton at Harvard, 7

Rochelle at Plano, 7

KISHWAUKEE WHITE

Kaneland at Woodstock North, 7

Ottawa at Morris, 7

Sycamore at LaSalle-Peru, 7

METRO SUBURBAN BLUE

Elmwood Park at Wheaton Academy, 7:30

IC Catholic at Bishop McNamara, 7:15

Ridgewood at Aurora Central, 7

METRO SUBURBAN RED

St. Edward at Aurora Christian, 7:15

St. Francis at Riverside-Brookfield, 7:15

MID-SUBURBAN EAST

Hersey at Elk Grove, 7:30

Prospect at Wheeling, 7:30

Rolling Meadows at Buffalo Grove, 7

MID-SUBURBAN WEST

Conant at Barrington, 7

Hoffman Estates at Fremd, 7

Palatine at Schaumburg, 7

NORTH SUBURBAN

Mundelein at Lake Zurich, 7

Warren at Lake Forest, 7

Waukegan at Stevenson, 7

Zion-Benton at Libertyville, 7

SOUTH SUBURBAN BLUE

Bremen at Oak Forest, 6

Lemont at Hillcrest, 6

Tinley Park at TF South, 7

SOUTH SUBURBAN RED

Argo at Shepard, 7

Eisenhower at Evergreen Park, 7

Oak Lawn at Richards, 6:30

SOUTHLAND

Thornridge at Rich Township, 6

Thornton at Kankakee, 6

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE EAST

Plainfield Central at Romeoville, 7

Plainfield South at Plainfield East, 7

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE WEST

Minooka at Yorkville, 7

Oswego at Oswego East, 7

West Aurora at Plainfield North, 7

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN BLUE

Lockport at Lincoln-Way East, 7

Sandburg at Homewood-Flossmoor, 7

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN RED

Bradley-Bourbonnais at Stagg, 6

Lincoln-Way West at Andrew, 7

UPSTATE EIGHT

Bartlett at South Elgin, 7

East Aurora at West Chicago, 7

Elgin at Larkin, 7

Glenbard East at Glenbard South, 7

Streamwood at Fenton, 7:30

VERMILION VALLEY NORTH

Iroquois West at Dwight, 7

Momence at Watseka, 7

Seneca at Clifton Central, 7

WEST SUBURBAN GOLD

Downers Grove South at Morton, 7:30

Proviso East at Hinsdale South, 7:30

WEST SUBURBAN SILVER

Hinsdale Central at Proviso West, 7:30

Oak Park-River Forest at Downers Grove North, 7:30

NONCONFERENCE

Benet at Joliet Catholic, 7:30

Carmel at Marist, 6:30

Christ the King at Ottawa Marquette, 7

DePaul Prep at St. Ignatius, 7:30

Harlan at Solorio, 6

Hope Academy at De La Salle, 6

Leo at Marmion, 7

Lincoln-Way Central at Bolingbrook, 6

Marian Catholic at Brother Rice, 7

Nazareth at Montini, 7:30

Notre Dame at St. Laurence, 7:30

Reavis at TF North, 7

St. Rita at Providence, 7:30

St. Viator at Mount Carmel, 7:30

Willowbrook at York, 7:30

Woodstock at Johnsburg, 7

Saturday, October 15

RED NORTH

Clark vs. Phillips at Gately, 4

Lane at Westinghouse, noon

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Sullivan vs. Senn at Winnemac, 12:45

Von Steuben vs. Amundsen at Winnemac, 3:45

RED SOUTH

Morgan Park vs. Simeon at Gately, 1

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Hyde Park vs. King at Eckersall, 1

RED SOUTHEAST

Comer vs. Julian at Gately, 7

RED WEST

North Lawndale vs. Lincoln Park at Lane, 1

Payton vs. Raby at Winnemac, 9:45 a.m.

BLUE CENTRAL

Golder vs. Longwood at Stagg, 12:45

Muchin vs. Butler at Gately, 10 a.m.

Noble Academy vs. Johnson at Stagg, 9:45 a.m.

SOUTHLAND

Crete-Monee at Bloom, noon

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE EAST

Joliet West at Joliet Central, 11 a.m.

WEST SUBURBAN SILVER

Lyons at Glenbard West, 1:30

NONCONFERENCE

Chicago Academy at Englewood STEM, 3

Chicago Christian at Indianapolis Phalen, Ind., 2

Chicago Military vs. Collins at Lane, 10 a.m.

Foreman at Kelly, 11 a.m.

Gage Park vs. Bowen at Eckersall, 9:45 a.m.

Marengo at Peoria Manual, 1

Marian Central at Mt. Carmel, Ill., 1

Marshall vs. Marine at Orr, 9:45 a.m.

Phoenix vs. Clemente at Orr, 12:45

Princeville at Walther Christian, 1

Prosser at Orr, 3:45

St. Louis De Smet, Mo. at Thornwood, 1

St. Patrick at Loyola, 1

Washington vs. Lindblom at Stagg 3:45

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Blackhawks can’t find net in narrow loss to Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS — For the second consecutive game to start the season, the Blackhawks put forth a respectable effort and took some valid positives from a difficult road matchup.

But for the second consecutive game, they lost nonetheless –this time 1-0 to the Golden Knights on Thursday.

Given the inherent dichotomy between the organization’s big-picture objective to earn as high a draft pick as possible next summer and day-to-day objective to play as hard as possible and develop its players as much as possible, that’s not a bad pattern. But it certainly isn’t satisfying, either.

“It’s a loss, right? It’s still tough,” coach Luke Richardson said. “But the compete level was really high tonight from everybody, [from] the goaltender out. We’re pretty happy with a lot of things we saw on the ice. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get it across that line.”

That goaltender, Alex Stalock, made his wildly aggressive style work all night long while making just his second NHL start in three years. He stopped 36 of 37 shots in a borderline heroic, if extremely chaotic, outing.

“You’ve got to go all out in the NHL,” Stalock said. “I can’t show up and give it half-effort, that’s for sure. But [I’m] not a huge guy, so I’ve got to use my body in a way that’s effective. Sometimes, if it’s coming out and playing more aggressive,it works. Sometimes, it’s sitting back if you see the play. But tonight, obviously, you saw a few instances where it got [scrambled] but kept the puck out in the end.”

The Hawks’ penalty kill also improved, squashing all three Knights power plays in their home opener after conceding four ‘PP’ goals to the Avalanche on Wednesday.

The second period proved to be a challenge yet again, though, as the Knights recorded 13 scoring chances to the Hawks’ three. (Chances favored the Knights only 16-13 during the first and third periods combined.) One of those chances turned into the game’s only goal, a two-on-one snipe by Paul Cotter.

And the Hawks’ offense never incited much confidence they could dent stellar Knights goalie Logan Thompson, who stopped all 25 shots he faced. They’ve yet to score an even-strength goal so far this season.

“Defensively, [we were] much better,” Richardson said. “And we can only work on one thing at a time. Because if we work on everything, I don’t think we’re going to get better at everything at the same time. So if we can chip away at that and continue to get a little bit better every game with our sticks defensively, that’s just going to add to more possession time, which hopefully adds to more offense.”

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QB Fields: Tired of Bears being ‘almost there’on October 14, 2022 at 7:11 am

play

Commanders prevail after Mooney’s catch ruled short of a TD (0:41)The Commanders walk out with a close win on the road after Darnell Mooney bobbles the ball just short of the end zone. (0:41)

CHICAGO — Standing at the dais postgame still partially in uniform with grass stains all over his white pants — a sign of how many hits he took in a 12-7 loss to the Washington Commanders on Thursday night — Bears quarterback Justin Fields voiced frustration over what has resulted in Chicago dropping three straight games while stumbling to a 2-4 start.

“We always get told that ‘we’re almost there, we’re almost there,'” Fields said. “Me, personally, I’m tired of being almost there. I’m tired of being just this close. I feel like I’ve been hearing it for so long now. At the end of the day, all you can do is get back to work. That’s the only reaction you have. You live and you learn. Just get back next week and keep going, keep getting better.”

The catalyst of the loss to the Commanders was Chicago’s inability to score on three trips inside the red zone, the second time that’s happened in its past three games. The Bears also went 0-for-3 in the red zone during a 20-12 loss at the New York Giants in Week 4.

NFL RankComp pct54.8%WorstCPOE<<-10.7%2nd worstInt pct4.3%2nd worstOff-target pct24.4%WorstSack pct13.5%WorstPressure pct46.2%Worst>>Comp Pct Over Expectation (Next Gen)

Fields threw an interception at Washington’s 5-yard line on Chicago’s second drive of the game, which was the first red zone pick of his career. On their following drive, the Bears got down to the Commanders’ 1-yard line, thanks in part to a 64-yard run from Khalil Herbert on the first play from scrimmage. Herbert could not punch the ball in on a fourth-down run.

Chicago’s final trip inside the red zone came on its last drive after Fields scrambled for 39 yards, the longest run of his career. Facing fourth-and-4 inside the 5-yard line, Fields threw a pass to Darnell Mooney, which hit the receiver in the chest as his body crossed the plane of the goal line. Mooney bobbled the ball and did not secure it until coming down just shy of the end zone.

The repeated red zone issues produced a blunt answer from the quarterback.

“When the play is there, make it,” Fields said. “Plain and simple. There is no logistics. It’s not complicated. It’s when you have that opportunity, finish. It’s that simple. We just didn’t do that tonight. You don’t have to make it harder than it is, pitch and catch.”

But one play ate at Fields postgame. On the Bears’ second red zone drive, Fields and Ryan Griffin failed to connect on second-and-3 from the Washington 3-yard line when the veteran tight end had 4.05 yards of separation, according to Next Gen Stats.

“The one that’s making me mad is the one to Griff in the end zone,” Fields said. “He probably could have ran a little bit more, but he’s wide open. I got to hit that. I’m an NFL quarterback. I got to hit that.”

According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Bears are the second team this season to accumulate at least 390 yards of offense and less than 10 points in a game. Fields finished 14-of-27 for 190 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Mooney led the Bears in targets (12) and receptions (7) and finished second in receiving yards with 68.

Fields and the offense failed to follow up on a strong second-half performance from a Week 5 loss at the Minnesota Vikings, where the quarterback had the Bears in position late after scoring 19 unanswered points.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus didn’t believe Fields’ outing four days after losing to the Vikings was a step back.

“I think he took a step forward,” Eberflus said. “I really do.

“Because, the toughness. For me, the ability to take the ball and drive it down at the very end to give us a chance to win it, that’s to me what was the improvement. OK? Was there other moments that we need to clean up and offense needs to clean up? Sure. But we had the drives down there and if we punch those in, the game’s a different game. That’s 21 points. So for me, that was really inspiring to watch him do that at the very end, to take us down to win it at the very end. And again, we came up short. We’ve got to do a better job next time.”

Statistically, Fields remains at the bottom of the NFL, ranking last in completion percentage (54.8%), off-target percentage (24.4%), sack percentage (13.5%) and pressure percentage (46.2%). His completion percentage over expectation (-10.7%) and interception percentage (4.3%) ranks 31st.

As a whole, the Bears have thrown 115 passes this season, the fewest by any team through six games since the 1982 Patriots.

Fields took several heavy hits Thursday that left him slow to get up in between plays. The quarterback said postgame that he reaggravated an injury to his left shoulder but did not specify whether the initial injury happened against the Commanders or in a previous game.

Fields was pressured 18 times by Washington, which ties a career high. The Bears quarterback has been pressured on 46% of his dropbacks this season, which is the highest rate of pressure a quarterback has faced in the first six games of a season since ESPN began tracking pressures in 2009.

The Bears dealt with injuries up front to left guard Lucas Patrick and right guard Teven Jenkins, both of whom missed time in the third quarter but later returned.

Asked whether the Bears would need to reevaluate the offensive line during their mini-bye week, Eberflus pointed to potential changes across the board.

“We’re going to reassess everything,” Eberflus said. “Everything from scheme to players to everything. We’re going to do a good job of that here coming up. And we’re going to do a good job of really getting it to the players.

“If it might be a lineup change or might be technique, fundamentals, all that, scheme, how we’re running certain plays, who we’re getting ball to, what we’re doing well, what we need to improve on.”

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QB Fields: Tired of Bears being ‘almost there’on October 14, 2022 at 7:11 am Read More »

Bears podcast: What went wrong vs. the Commanders?

Patrick Finley, Jason Lieser and Mark Potash break down Justin Fields’ play and what went wrong in the loss to the Commanders.

New episodes of “Halas Intrigue” will be published regularly with accompanying stories collected on the podcast’s hub page. You can also listen to “Halas Intrigue” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Luminary, Spotify, and Stitcher.

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Chicago Bears fall inches short of a Thursday night victoryVincent Pariseon October 14, 2022 at 4:53 am

The Chicago Bears came into their Thursday Night Football game with a feeling that they could win. They were 2-3 but every game except one was close. That meant that the 1-4 Washington Commanders should be more of the same for them.

It was. Unfortunately, it was a close game that went against them. They had lots of offensive production in the game but it only led to one touchdown as they were defeated by a final score of 12-7.

It is strange that their defense only allowed 12 to a bad Commanders team and they still lost. It is even more strange when you look at it and see that the defense was surrounded by an offense that had 428 yards total.

190 of those yards came from the arm of Justin Fields. That isn’t elite or anything like that but it is very good for him as he continues to develop. He had some bad misses but he also made some throws that were really good.

His connection to Dante Pettis in the endzone was one of the best throws he has made in his career. It was a free play because of the 12 men on the field penalty that the Commanders were taking and Fields didn’t miss on it.

The Chicago Bears are a team that has a lot of work to do this season.

The biggest problem for him right now is some of his reads. Sure, he struggles with accuracy from time to time but that can be corrected. The thing that needs to be taken care of first and foremost is the adjustments that he makes mid-play.

He seems to lock in on one receiver and that leaves others wide open without him even taking a look at them. Similar to his overthrowing issue, this is something that can be corrected with more development.

Both of these things were fine in college so he needs to adjust to the NHL more. The fact that the offense had that many total yards is encouraging but they just need to start capitalizing. If they capitalized on literally one more red zone opportunity, they would have won the game.

After going down 12-7, the Bears had a chance to win the game late thanks to a nice drive by Justin Fields. They got to the red zone but failed to convert on fourth and goal.

Darnell Mooney went out of bounds before securing the ball on what would have been a game-winning score. It was a tough way for them to end but the way they drove the ball was something to be encouraged by. Again, they just need to work on conversion.

There was one big problem in the game and that was the fact that Fields was on his back a lot. The offensive line was horrible but this kid is tough. If they ever did build a good line, you can’t help but wonder how great he can be.

It is good news that they seem to be progressing offensively but still have a lot of work to do. It is also nice that the defense only allowed 12 points. Yes, it’s Carson Wentz and the Commanders but it is still an NFL team with great players.

Every week seems to bring more positives than the one before. Only time will tell if they are able to ever win big with this budding core but this game had some good signs.

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Chicago Bears fall inches short of a Thursday night victoryVincent Pariseon October 14, 2022 at 4:53 am Read More »

Bears bristle at non-call as WR Dante Pettis loses would-be game winner in end zone

As the Bears went for the game-winning touchdown in the final minute Thursday against the Commanders, they thought they had it.

They were at the Commanders’ 4-yard line, down 12-7 with 42 seconds left, quarterback Justin Fields hit receiver Dante Pettis in the back right corner of the end zone. Pettis had it in his hands, but safety Darrick Forrest took him down and the ball came loose for an incomplete pass.

The Bears came up inches short on the next play, fourth down, and lost 12-7.

Pettis didn’t see the replay when it was shown on the big screen at Soldier Field, but said it felt like pass interference by Forrest. In slow motion, it showed that, at minimum, Forrest made contact early and was pulling down Pettis’ right arm before the ball arrived.

As he watched the replay for the first time on a reporter’s phone, Pettis shook his head.

“If anyone makes that catch they’re … That’s a tough catch to make,” he said. “The dude is on my arm. Guess I’ve gotta get a little stronger, fight through that. But Justin gave me an opportunity. That’s all you can really ask for.”

He added, “There’s pass interference and holding on pretty much every play. They didn’t call it, so I guess it wasn’t pass interference.”

Fields and coach Matt Eberflus both said they believed it should have been called pass interference.

Pettis’ frustration was exacerbated by the fact that Bears cornerbacks Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Johnson were flagged for pass interference late in the first half as the Commanders went in for a field goal.

“You feel like you’re getting held or whatever it is, and then you see our defense get pass interference called on them,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Alright, we’ve gotta call it both ways.’ But yeah, that’s football. That’s sports. That’s what happens when you’re playing a physical game, and refs can’t make every call.”

Pettis led the Bears with four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.

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