Justin Fields followed up a pathetic performance against the Houston Texans with another questionable performance in a loss to the New York Giants.

Justin Fields is not the quarterback of the long-term future for the Chicago Bears and it’s becoming more apparent with each passing game.  Justin Fields may be the quarterback of the Chicago Bears for the rest of this season and perhaps all of next season if Ryan Poles doesn’t see that he can draft his QB of the future.

However, it’s becoming obvious that Justin Fields is going to be another failure at the QB position as his career progresses.

Fields had another nauseating performance against the Giants finishing 11 out of 22 for 174 yards and zero touchdowns.  Take away his lone long completion to Darnell Mooney for 56 yards and his stat line was even worse.

Yes the Chicago Bears have protection problems along the offensive line, and yes they lack overall talent at the wide receiver position, but so do the Giants who were without three receivers and were down to a gimpy Daniel Jones at QB.  There are other reasons for Fields’ struggles, but the overall truth is Justin Fields is not playing well enough for the Bears to easily win games they should be winning.

Last week the Bears were fortunate that Roquan Smith intercepted a pass inside Texans territory which allowed them to kick a game-winning field goal.  This week the Bears didn’t get a touchdown on offense and it cost them in a 20-12 loss.

The reality is simple, Justin Fields needs to make enough plays against bad teams to win games for the Bears.  When Justin Fields doesn’t make enough plays against bad teams it shows that he’s a bad QB that isn’t the future of the franchise.  When the Bears become a better team at wide receiver, and along the offensive line, they’ll face teams that are equally as talented but will have a better QB who will then lead them to the win over Fields and the Bears.

Justin Fields is not the future of the franchise and no amount of hope for his development will change that.  Ryan Poles may very well develop enough talent on the roster so that the Bears can beat bad teams or teams that aren’t as talented as the Bears will likely be in the future.  Poles may develop a better WR core and offensive line and an above-average offense, but when the Bears face playoff-caliber teams, they will lose every time because the Fields won’t be able to match the talent of the QB across the field.

A QB has to make enough plays in the game consistently enough so that you can win the game based on how well he played.  Because the Bears were in field goal range enough to kick four field goals, Justin Fields should have done enough to get a touchdown that would have potentially made the difference in the game.

Bill Walsh said it best, and it will be the hill I die on when he said “he’s good enough to get you beat.”  Because if you have a mediocre QB he’ll be good to lose a close game.  Justin Fields may have played better than he did last week, but he only played well enough to get the Bears beat by an equally bad team.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Little has gone according to the Bears’ plan on the offensive line this season, and that’s a problem when the plan was shaky from the start.

The latest snag was one that will be difficult to overcome. Left guard Cody Whitehair, who has started all but two games in his seven seasons with the team, left with a knee injury in the second quarter of the Bears’ 20-12 loss to the Giants on Sunday.

That left the Bears to shift right guard Lucas Patrick, who is supposed to be their center, to Whitehair’s spot. It appeared that Patrick had finally wrestled the starting right guard job from Teven Jenkins after a prolonged in-season competition in which they were rotating.

Jenkins hopped back in at right guard.

At no point have the Bears had their original starting lineup from the first day of training camp.

Patrick broke his right thumb in the second practice of camp and is still recovering as he plays. The Bears’ main concern is whether he can snap the ball, which they’ve had him doing in practice but not during a game.

Whitehair, 30, is the team’s second-longest-tenured veteran and highest paid offensive player with a salary-cap hit of $12.3 million this season. He’s under contarct through 2024.

Whitehair made the Pro Bowl in 2018 and has made 99 starts for the Bears.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — With both their quarterbacks injured, the Giants brought starter Daniel Jones into the game in the fourth quarter and lined him up at receiver for three straight plays so they could snap the ball directly to star running back Saquon Barkley.

Their coaches were seemingly thumbing their noses at football convention, as if to say “Who needs a quarterback?”

The Bears have spent all season doing the same. Sunday’s 20-12 loss at MetLife Stadium was the continuation of a season-long devaluing of the forward pass.

As was the case in the Bears’ first three games, quarterback Justin Fields was electric with his legs and nearly a non-factor with his throwing arm against the Giants. He completed 11-of-22 passes for 174 yards. He surpassed his season high of 121 passing yards — a bar so limbo-low as to escape praise altogether. In the same vein: After posting a 27.7 passer rating in last week’s win against the Texans, Fields finished with a below-average 76.7 passer rating.

They went three-and-out three times in the second half and ran four plays on another drive. In the game’s final five drives, the Bears gained 32 yards on 13 plays.

The Giants, meanwhile, spent most of the fourth quarter without a functioning quarterback. Jones left because of an ankle injury; his replacement, Tyrod Taylor, was later removed so he could be evaluated for a concussion. Without a third-string quarterback, the Giants brought back Jones but never asked him to throw a pass.

The Bears’ points all came on field goals booted by Michael Badgley, whom they signed Saturday to replace Cairo Santos. He missed Sunday’s game for personal reasons.

The Giants kicked two field goals, but Graham Gano hit the left upright on a 37-yarder with a chance to go up 11 with 21 seconds to play.

Fields’ longest plays were a 56-yard deep ball to Darnell Mooney in the first quarter; when Mooney caught the ball, it more than doubled his season receiving yards total.

Fields was sacked five times, all in the first half. With about 10 minutes left in the first half, Fields was hit by defensive end Azeez Ojulari as he threw. The ball fluttered forward and to the ground in front of Cody Whitehair and other Bears. None of them thought to dive for it. Giants rookie edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux did. Jones marched the Giants for a 75-yard touchdown rive, capping it with his second rushing score of the game.

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SAN DIEGO — The writing has been on the wall for some time. But the White Sox will make it official Monday at a 4 p.m. press conference announcing the end of manager Tony La Russa’s tenure on the South Side.

Heart problems have sidelined La Russa, who turns 78 on Tuesday, and he hasn’t managed since Aug. 29. His doctors are recommending he doesn’t fulfill the third year of his contract next season.

It’s probably the best thing for both the Hall of Fame manager and the organization, which dragged itself through one of hits most disappointing seasons in memory after La Russa managed the Sox to a 93-win season and AL Central Division championship in his first season.

“My thoughts are making sure he’s doing what is the best possible for his health,” closer Liam Hendriks said before the Sox played the Padres in their final road game of the season Sunday at Petco Park. “We play a game for a living. Certain things are bigger than the game and health is one of those things.”

With four games to play, the Sox are 78-80, arguably the biggest disappointment in baseball.

“Obviously health is No. 1,” relief pitcher Joe Kelly said. “As much as he probably wants to be here day in and day out, the stress and the edge and the anxiety that this team probably gave him probably wasn’t good for health.”

La Russa was set in his ways as you’d expect one his age and with his resume to be, and coexisting with the front office and his staff did not always go without hitches and glitches. What’s more, he made decisions and lineups that drew criticism, became a lightning rod for disappointing fans and was booed at home games. “Fire Tony” chants became a thing.

Shortly before the Sox played the Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field on Aug. 29, La Russa was instructed by his doctors to go home and go for testing the next day. The next day he underwent a procedure to repair his pacemaker.

La Russa was hoping to return as manager and was in Oakland on Sept. 10 to attend Dave Stewart’s jersey retirement ceremony. He looked healthier and relaxed and visited players in the clubhouse and watched the next two games at home from a suite.

“So, he’s going to have a good retirement,” Kelly said. “It would be different if he was 50. He’s not in the beginning part of his career. He’s had a great career, Hall of Famer. Ultimately we fell short as players and we didn’t perform as well as we should have.”

Acting manager Miguel Cairo, who guided the Sox to a 13-6 run that kept their postseason hopes flickering before an eight-game losing streak dashed them, would like to be considered and deserves consideration, although it seems more likely the Sox will look outside the organization this time.

In any event, more accountability from all corners of the organization will be a must, Cairo said.

“Whoever is going to manage or whoever they’re going to hire or whoever is going to be there, I know they’re going to be expecting something a little different,” Cairo said. “It’s going to be more people accountable for doing their job. I think it’s going to change. It’s going to be a little different.

“It happened because you go to the playoffs two years in a row and all of a sudden you felt like you didn’t make it this year, you can see what went wrong. It’s going to be some people accountable for the job that they’re going to do. I hope there is.”

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Alabama reclaimed No. 1 from Georgia in The Associated Press college football poll in one of the closest votes in the recent years, and six teams — including Kansas — made their season debut on Sunday.

The Crimson Tide received 25 first-place votes and 1,523 points in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank, two points more than the Bulldogs. Georgia received 28 first-place votes to become the first team since Alabama in November 2019 to have the most first-place votes but not be No. 1.

The Tide was No. 2 behind LSU that year, with 21 first-place votes to the Tigers’ 17.

The last time there was a two-point margin between Nos. 1 and 2 was Nov. 1, 2020, when Clemson was ahead of Alabama. There have been three other polls with a two-point margin at the top since 2007.

Ohio State remained third, but the Buckeyes also gained some ground on the top two, getting 10 first-place votes.

The Crimson Tide started the season at No. 1, but the defending national champion Bulldogs took the top spot away from their Southeastern Conference rivals after Week 2 when Alabama needed a late field goal to beat Texas.

The Bulldogs remain unbeaten but needed a fourth-quarter rally to beat four-touchdown underdog Missouri on Saturday night. Earlier in the day, the Tide managed to pull away from Arkansas in the second half without Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young.

Young sprained his throwing shoulder in the first half and missed most of the game in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Clemson and No. 6 Southern California all won and held their places this week, though the Wolverines and Tigers are now separated by just three points.

No. 7 Oklahoma State, followed by Tennessee, Mississippi and Penn State, round out the top 10.

The rest of the AP Top 25 got a major overhaul after 10 ranked teams lost, five to unranked opponents. That cleared the way for seven teams to move into the rankings this week, most notably No. 19 Kansas.

The Jayhawks are ranked for the first time since Oct. 18, 2009, which was the longest drought for a team currently in a Power Five conference.

POLL POINTS

The closest margin between Nos. 1 and 2 in AP poll history is zero. Oklahoma and Miami tied for No. 1 in the 2002 preseason poll, and Miami and Washington shared the top spot in mid-October 1992.

The last time there was a one-point margin between the top two teams was 1992, when the Hurricanes and Huskies were separated by a point in the weeks before and after they were tied.

With Kansas back in the rankings, the longest poll appearance drought belongs to Illinois, which was last ranked in 2011. And the Illini have positioned themselves to make the leap with a 4-1 start heading into their home game against Iowa next week.

Next up on the list is Rutgers (2012), Oregon State (preseason 2013) and Vanderbilt (final 2013).

IN

The voters generally decided to start from scratch at the back half of the rankings, flipping seven teams.

— No. 17 TCU is in the rankings for the first time since a brief stay in 2019 at 25th.

— No. 18 UCLA is off to its first 5-0 start since 2013.

— No. 19 Kansas stayed unbeaten by knocking off Iowa State. The Jayhawks last started 5-0 in that 2009 season, then proceeded to drop their next six games and fall to the bottom of major college football for more than a decade.

Both Kansas schools are ranked for the first time since Oct. 14, 2007.

— No. 22 Syracuse improved to 5-0 with an easy victory against Wagner and finally cracked the rankings. The Orange are ranked for the first time since early in the 2019 season.

— No. 23 Mississippi State has been ranked for only one week (after the first regular-season game of 2020) since the end of 2018 season.

Both Mississippi SEC schools are ranked for the first time since Nov. 11, 2015.

— No. 24 Cincinnati. The Bearcats are the one team to enter the rankings this week that already had been in this season. Cincinnati fell out after a Week 1 loss at Arkansas and has won four straight since.

— No. 25 LSU has its first ranking under coach Brian Kelly. The Tigers have won four straight, including two SEC games, since losing a heartbreaker to Florida State on Labor Day weekend.

OUT

Among the seven teams to drop out of the AP Top 25, five of them will be unranked for the first time this season: Oklahoma, Baylor, Arkansas, Texas A&M and Pittsburgh.

Florida State and Minnesota had brief stays in the AP Top 25. The Seminoles and Gophers were teams on the rise for a week and then both lost at home.

CONFERENCE CALL

SEC — 7 (Nos. 1, 2, 8, 9, 13, 23, 25).

Pac-12 — 5 (Nos. 6, 11, 12, 18, 21).

ACC — 4 (Nos. 5, 15, 16, 22).

Big 12 — 4 (Nos. 7, 17, 19, 20).

Big Ten — 3 (Nos. 3, 4, 10).

American — 1 (No. 24).

Independent — 1 (No. 16).

RANKED vs. RANKED

No 25 LSU at No. 8 Tennessee.

No. 17 TCU at No. 19 Kansas.

No. 11 Utah at No. 18 UCLA.

The Top 25

1. Alabama (25 first-place votes) 5-0

2. Georgia (28) 5-0

3. Ohio St. (10) 5-0

4. Michigan 5-0

5. Clemson 5-0

6. Southern Cal 5-0

7. Oklahoma St. 4-0

8. Tennessee 4-0

9. Mississippi 5-0

10. Penn St. 5-0

11. Utah 4-1

12. Oregon 4-1

13. Kentucky 4-1

14. NC State 4-1

15. Wake Forest 4-1

16. BYU 4-1

17. TCU 4-0

18. UCLA 5-0

19. Kansas 5-0

20. Kansas St. 4-1

21. Washington 4-1

22. Syracuse 5-0

23. Mississippi St. 4-1

24. Cincinnati 4-1

25. LSU 4-1

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A 7-year-old boy was shot Sunday in Roseland on the Far South Side, according to Chicago Fire Department officials.

Sometime before 1:30 p.m., the boy was shot in the 10800 block of South State Street, fire officials said.

He went to Comer Children’s Hospital, where his condition wasn’t immediately known.

Chicago police haven’t immediately released details on the shooting.

On Friday night, 3-year-old Mateo Zastro was killed in a shooting the police said was sparked by road rage on the Southwest Side as he sat in the back seat of his mother’s sport-utility vehicle in West Lawn.

At least 285 minors have been shot in Chicago this year, according to a Chicago Sun-Times tally. Forty-three of those victims who were killed were 17 or younger . There have been 33 gunshot victims 12 or younger, and six of them died.

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York has been one of the football season’s best stories. The Dukes are undefeated and have knocked off Lyons and Glenbard West in the past two weeks. The West Suburban Conference appears to be undergoing a change at the top.

Mike Fitzgerald’s squad was 8-2 last season and has defeated the Hilltoppers, the longtime kings of the conference, the past two years.

York quarterback Matt Vezza’s first career start was in the win against Glenbard West last season and Hilltoppers coach Chad Hetlet is an admirer.

“Vezza plays with no fear,” Hetlet said after the game on Friday. “He makes the plays he’s got to make. He takes care of the ball.”

Vezza had 10 carries for 38 yards against Glenbard West. He was 11-for-16 passing with one interception and a crucial 43-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Specht in the fourth quarter that provided the winning margin in the Dukes’ 17-13 win.

“Matt’s a special kid,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s a winner. He wants the ball in those critical situations and everybody feeds off of him because he’s calm and composed and he’s not gonna get rattled.”

Fitzgerald says Vezza’s only scholarship offer is from Drake. But he’s picking up interest from several Ivy League schools, including Dartmouth.

“He’s a quarterback that happens to be a really good athlete,” Fitzgerald said. “Yeah, he’s 5-11 or 6-0 but he’s confident, brings all the intangibles, can make all the throws and brings that extra guy into the run game too.”

Comet sighting

The biggest result of Week 6 may have been Reed-Custer’s 50-5 thrashing of Wilmington. The Wildcats headed into the game with a 24-game winning streak and the top spot in the Associated Press Class 2A state rankings.

The Comets are expected to be a Class 3A team. They’ve demolished their opponents this season, winning by a combined score of 345-18

Reed-Custer’s standouts include quarterback Jace McPherson and receiver Lucas Foote. The Comets’ defense has been completely dominant, allowing fewer than 50 total yards all season.

Record breaker

Bishop McNamara’s Jaydon Wright had a Friday for the record books. He had 447 yards and eight touchdowns in the Fighting Irish’s 58-19 win against Aurora Central, both school records. ‘

Wright, a 5-10, 220-pound running back, has 11 college offers including Minnesota, Purdue, and Syracuse.

McNamara is (3-3) this season and faces a tough matchup at St. Francis in Week 7.

Player of the Year?

The halfway point of the season is nearly here and the Player of the Year race is wide open.

The best players I’ve covered so far this season are Simeon’s Malik Elzy, Mount Carmel’s Blainey Dowling, Kenwood’s Marquise Lightfoot, Brad Vierneisel of Prospect and Loyola’s Jake Stearney.

Prairie Ridge quarterback Tyler Vasy continues to put up big numbers. The senior had 317 rushing yards and five touchdowns in a win against Hampshire in Week 6.

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