Bears linebacker Nick Morrow has faced Aaron Rodgers only once his NFL career, but he got the full Rodgers experience when his Raiders lost to the Packers 42-24 at Lambeau Field in 2019: A little bravado, a lot of touchdown passes and a perfect 158.3 passer rating.

“He said on the sideline, ‘I’m gonna score five, and he did it,” Morrow said. “That was a tough game for us. Aaron got one on me — Aaron Jones ran a seven route of the backfield and [Rodgers] threw a great ball back shoulder. It was hard to defend.”

Rodgers was statistically at his best that day — completing 25-of-31 passes for 429 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions for the only perfect passer rating of his career.

“He’s a great quarterback,” Morrow said. “He knew what we were in. He called all our blitzes, and for whatever reason we tried to play man against him and blitz him.

“I think we underestimated him. Davante Adams was down [with turf toe]. We were keying on Jimmy [Graham] and the running backs and I think we underestimated Aaron because he came out and threw it around the yard and got us.”

The Bears of course have been feeling that pain for years — Rodgers is 22-5 with a 109.2 passer rating in 27 carer regular-season starts against the Bears in his career. Linebacker Roquan Smith is 1-6 against Rodgers. Safety Eddie Jackson is 1-9 against him. The only time he beat him, he intercepted Rodgers in the end zone to clinch a 24-17 victory in 2018 at Soldier Field — but sprained his ankle on the return and missed the Bears’ playoff loss to the Eagles.

Defensive end Robert Quinn is 0-4 against Rodgers with the Bears, but 0-9 against Rodgers in his career. This is an age-old story for him. Asked which is worse — playing Rodgers or being asked about playing Rodgers, he emphatically and quickly said, “Both!”

Quinn has 6.5 sacks in those nine games against Rodgers. He sacked Rodgers twice in the first half for losses of 11 and nine yards as the Bears took a 24-10 lead at Lambeau Field. The Bears lost 45-30.

That’s kind of how it goes for the Bears against Rodgers. Leonard Floyd sacked Rodgers twice in 2016 at Lambeau — including a strip-sack he recovered for a touchdown to give the Bears a 10-6 lead — and the Bears lost 26-10. It’s been a frustrating experience for any Bear.

“His hard count. Him and all the guys being on the same page when he somehow causes the d-line or whoever to jump offsides — everyone on the same page,” Quinn said. “He has all the tricks of the trade to the game.”

The Bears are taking another shot at changing their fortune against Rodgers with a new defense under coach Matt Eberflus and Alan Williams that includes several new players. Defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad is 1-0 against Rodgers — winning 34-31 in overtime at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2020.

With the kind of luck the Bears have had against Rodgers, that Colts victory might be a smidgen of hope. Though Rodgers finished with typical numbers — 27-of-38 for 311 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and a 110.07 passer rating — the Packers were held to three points in the second half against Eberflus’ defense.

Making adjustments is a key for any defense and it could be a strength under Eberflus. Last week the Bears held the 49ers to three points in the second half in a 19-10 upset in the season opener.

But that was against Trey Lance. This is Aaron Rodgers. It’ll be a true test — to some Bears fans, the ultimate test — of just how much of a difference Eberflus is making.

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DES MOINES, Iowa – Outfielder Jackson Frazier describes the Cubs’ decision to designate him for assignment the last time they were in New York as “cold.”

In less than a year, Frazier – who professionally went by his first name, Clint, until a few months ago – went from signing with the Cubs for the promise of a fresh start, to telling the Sun-Times on Wednesday that he doesn’t see a future with the Cubs after this season, and that was clear to him as soon as the Cubs DFA’d him.

He accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A Iowa after being DFA’d in mid-June because rejecting it would have meant forfeiting the remaining guaranteed money on his contract.

“Things happen, and I’m not really holding on to too much of what I’ve gone through already,” he said. “But, definitely, it was pretty clear whenever it happened what I was gonna do.”

Frazier plans to play in the Dominican Winter League this offseason, looking to boost his value in free agency.

“I’m gonna go down there with the hope of ending the season on a better note,” he said, “trying to give myself a better opportunity to have a shot next year at whatever it is that’s going to be offered to me and go from there. Because certainly, it’s been ugly down here since the second half started.

“I’d like to prove to people that this is not the player that I’ve become; it’s just something that I’ve been going through.”

Since a 12-game hitting streak in July, Frazier has been batting .100 in Triple-A. The Cubs identified swing adjustments for Frazier earlier in the year, but his work has yet to produce consistent results at the plate. He said he’s even reached out to outside hitting coaches who he’s worked with before for additional input.

Frazier has always had a bit of a hitch in his swing, his barrel tipping forward before he throws his hands to the ball. But the hitch has grown more dramatic.

“I don’t know how it happened,” he said. “Something that was so natural to me finally isn’t natural. And I don’t know how to get out of it.”

The issue compounded an rollercoaster of a season for Frazier. After a strong start to spring training, he started slumping. Between outfield platoons and a month-long IL stint for an appendectomy, he only got 45 major-league plate appearances before the Cubs DFA’d him.

The place and time had added to the sting. Frazier had started his major-league career in New York, but the relationship turned sour, and the Yankees released him after the 2021 season.

He’d signed with the Cubs just before the lockout. The one-year, $1.5 million deal set up the potential for Frazier to be a long-term piece for the rebuilding club. Frazier was arbitration-eligible for two more years after 2022. He was also reuniting with Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins, who was part of Cleveland’s player development department when they drafted Frazier in 2013.

“The biggest thing for me was, why did they sign me?” he said. “I had other chances to potentially go other places.”

On June 10 he found himself back in New York, in the Yankee Stadium visitors’ clubhouse with Cubs manager David Ross and on the phone with Hawkins, learning that he’d been DFA’d. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer hadn’t yet arrived in New York for the series. Hawkins knew Frazier better anyways.

“We had an off day the day before, and to DFA me in the locker room, and then do it over the phone as well, it was not the easiest,” Frazier said.

It’s standard for clubs to wait until the last minute to officially make roster moves, especially ones that can be career-altering, in case of changing circumstances. In this case, it meant that reporters were waiting in the hallway outside of the clubhouse hoping to catch Frazier on his way out. They were asked to give him space to process the news.

Frazier still had a minor-league option remaining, but DFAing him opened a 40-man roster spot to reinstate reliever Chris Martin from the restricted list.

“We haven’t been able to give him real opportunities to watch him succeed right now,” manager David Ross said of Frazier at the time. “Some tough decisions.”

The club didn’t think of the move as a “goodbye,” but in effect, it was everything but.

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Aaron Rodgers doesn’t want to face a second-team All-Pro linebacker

Aaron Rodgers had made easy work of the Chicago Bears in recent history. The Green Bay Packers quarterback has led the team to six straight wins against the Bears. The back-to-back MVP is also 22-5 all-time against the Bears. But that doesn’t mean Rodgers isn’t concerned about the Bears defense he’ll be facing in Week 2.

The Packers had a poor showing in their Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Rodgers and the offense were out of sync. The Packers’ offense finished the game with only seven points on the board. The wide receiver play for the Packers was dreadful. Their offensive line sustained injuries on a unit that was missing two starting tackles. The lack of talent on the Packers’ offense seems to be unsettling Rodgers recently.

Per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, Rodgers hinted to the media Wednesday that he wanted a different outcome in the Roquan Smith holdout during training camp.

Rodgers would probably rest a little easier this week if a trade had happened.

Smith’s style of play impresses opponents

Since Smith was drafted onto the team, Aaron Rodgers has thrown 19 touchdowns against the Bears defense. But it appears that Rodgers deeply appreciates Smith’s reputation as an elite linebacker in the league. Smith recently made comments praising the Packers’ future Hall of Fame quarterback. Per Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune, Smith said Rodgers is one the best football players of all time.

Aaron Rodgers and Smith appear to have respect for each other’s game. So far, Rodgers has had the better of the two in games. This Packers team had some cosmic holes in their roster and strategic approach exposed in their Week 1 loss to the Vikings. Hopefully, Smith’s experience and presence can help the defense shut down this Packers offense. It might be the Bears’ best crack to beat the Packers in years.

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My optimism over the Bears opener against San Francisco was less about a loyal fan’s Pollyannaish view of the Chicago Bears and more attributable to me being a natural contrarian. Everyone was talking about how bad the Bears would be. Not just that a mediocre team would continue to struggle, but that they would be one of the worst teams in the NFL, predicted to finish near the very bottom of the league by most experts. I didn’t understand this. There was already clear evidence that the new leadership team was more professional, more disciplined and has improved the culture.

The biggest criticism was that the new regime didn’t surround Justin Fields with more offensive talent. Well, the Bears had many holes to fill and Ryan Poles went about filling them in a disciplined manner. The clear priority was building the offensive line and though they did not address it in the early rounds, Poles signed multiple players, aggressively drafted lineman in the mid and later rounds and continued to work the waiver wires. He picked up former first round pick Alex Leatherwood after being cut by the Las Vegas Raiders.

While some see these ongoing additions as a sign the Bears were unsatisfied with their current starting five, I see it more as an indication of Poles’ priorities. He made it clear that the offensive line was a priority—he is a former offensive lineman—and you may recall that his biggest professional disappointment was probably the Kansas City Chiefs losing Super Bowl LV as a heavy favorite to the wildcard Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While folks like to attribute the Bucs win to the greatness of Tom Brady, the real star was the Tampa Bay defense that exploited injuries to the Chiefs offensive line. The Chiefs lack of depth on their offensive line arguably was the biggest factor in the loss. Poles remembers this.

Bears Win Proof of Poles’ Approach

I would compare Poles approach to taking an adult attitude to building a team. Sure, it would be sexier to go after expensive free agent receivers and big names, but building a line is akin to making sure you eat your vegetables before gouging out on candy.

I made the point in my previous post that playing smart error free football would lead to victories in games that would have produced losses under the previous regime. This was especially true Sunday. While some analysts will point out just how bad the Bears offense was in the first half, they seem to miss the point. Yes, the Bears offense is a work in progress. But the San Francisco 49ers have one of the best defenses in the league. The fact that the Bears were patient, didn’t make the big mistake that would have put the game out of reach early is a testament to this discipline. Their strong defensive play and the lack of major mistakes kept it a one score game.

What is also annoying in lieu of the victory is those experts who got it wrong, dismissing those who got it right. I listened to a pregame radio show where everyone picked the 49ers. The same group on the same radio station pointed out how the Bears defied the national experts but failed to mention that he picked the 49ers by 10 a few hours earlier. His partner, David Haugh, wrote after the game “…a Week 1 outcome only those with blind optimism saw coming.” He and his colleagues got it wrong and instead of acknowledging that they got it wrong, he dismissed everyone who got it right. Those who picked the Bears to win where suffering from blind optimism.

I got it right and made money. Not only taking the Bears and the points but betting the Bears on the money line and collecting 2.5-1 odds in the process. As a side note, I have written about markets for multiple decades and many experts have set up futures markets on sports and politics to prove that when people put money on the line, their predictions tended to be more accurate.  While I will not be taking a vacation with my winnings, it is the third straight week I collected better than even money odds with a Bears moneyline bet.

This brings up a depressingly true view of predictions. If you are wrong with the crowd, you rarely face any consequences; whereas when you are wrong alone you may get fired.  This tendency has proven true in much more serious environments. I learned this as a financial journalist. As many large institutions invested with Bernie Madoff even while Harry Markopolos called out Madoff’s fund as either illegally front running the market or being a giant ponzi scheme. Few of those institutional advisors who invested with Madoff lost their jobs. This was depressing as Markopolos laid out the facts pretty clearly. Even the Securities and Exchange Commission was complicit.

It is bad form to get it wrong and then dismiss those who got it right. Bears beat a team many view as a Super Bowl winner while the Green Bay Packers lost convincingly to a team, the Vikings, that are viewed as a possible wild card team but not a serious Super Bowl contender. Yet the Packers were installed as 9.5-point favorites.  A Bears moneyline bet is paying roughly 3.5-1!

I won’t be talked off of it by someone who has been wrong and does not have the humility to acknowledge they were wrong.

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Someone in Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark’s security details opened fire while responding to a possible robbery in Old Town Wednesday afternoon, but it was unclear whether anyone by hit by gunfire.

The incident happened around 1:55 p.m. in the 700 block of West North Avenue, according to a police spokeswoman who couldn’t provide additional information.

A law enforcement source said Clark’s security detail saw a person being robbed and tried to intervene. Someone in Clark’s detail fired shots, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the alleged robbers also opened fire or whether anyone was hurt.

No ambulance was called for the incident, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

No one was reported in custody.

A spokesman for Clark’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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Instead of saving Dylan Cease for the first place Guardians Thursday, the White Sox called on their Cy Young contender to take care of the 62-81 Colorado Rockies Wednesday.

“We’re trying to be our best [Wednesday] and we can be and we worry about tomorrow later,” acting manager Miguel Cairo said.

Using Cease felt like overkill but it was nothing but. Cease gave up three runs in five innings in what felt like a must-win game while the Guardians were streaking to their sixth consecutive game. What had been a rejuvenated Sox offense had eighth hits but nothing to show for them in a 3-0 loss that dropped the Sox (73-70) four games behind the lead.

The Sox were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

As buzzkills go, this one stung for a team that has won 10 of 15 games under acting manager Miguel Cairo. And now it’s on to Cleveland for one game against the Guardians, who are call ingup rookie right-hander Hunter Gaddis from Triple-A to start a makeup game Thursday afternoon.

While Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie was pushed ahead to start Cleveland’s series opener against the Twins on Friday, the Sox moved Lucas Giolito to face the Tigers Friday to allow Lance Lynn to face the Guardians Thursday.

Every game is crucial for Sox, who trail Cleveland by five games in the loss column, but especially games against the Guardians, who visit the Sox for three games next week and have the advantage of closing the season with six games at home against the Royals.

Cease needed 107 pitches to trudge through five innings, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out eight.

Cairo was asked about saving Cease for Cleveland, “but I think today’s what counts. We cannot be waiting for tomorrow,” he said before the game.

And “Lance is one of our horses and has been pitching really well. I think that’s the best matchup for them.”

Cairo is sticking to the one day at a time approach.

“Today, we go about our business,” he said.

Tomorrow is Cleveland, which has won six in a row. The youngest team in the majors was considered the third or fourth best team in the division entering the season.

“Those kids, they know how to play the game,” Cairo said. “They play good defense, they pitch, they put the barrel on the ball. They don’t strike out that much so they’re going to be a pain in the butt. They play the game the right way. That’s what we’ve been doing.

“And look at the results,” Cairo said. “We’ve just to keep doing what we’re doing. We cannot be worried about how they’ve played or what did they do. We’ve got to worry about how we play the game.”

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Bears rookie wide receiver Velus Jones was back at practice Wednesday, though still limited by a hamstring injury. He was hopeful to make his NFL debut Sunday night against the Packers — “That’s the plan,” he said — but uncertain.

Jones, a third-rounder who was the Bears’ highest draft pick on offense, has been in and out since arriving at Halas Hall. He had repeated issues with his hamstring in the preseason and was out all last week leading into the opener.

“I’m making sure it heals all the way so that I won’t keep having these issues, just trying to stay on top of it,” Jones said. “And when I do get on top of it, trying to make sure it never comes back.”

Jones struggled to establish himself in the offense during the preseason, but made a strong case to be their punt and kick returner. While the Bears are ultimately expecting much more than that from a player they chose No. 71 overall, special teams presents a clear way for him to contribute immediately.

The Bears’ rookie class excelled in the season-opening win over the 49ers with left tackle Braxton Jones, safety Jaquan Brisker and cornerback Kyler Gordon playing every snap, and backup defensive end Dominique Robinson getting 1 1/2 sacks. While Jones was inactive, he was upbeat about what that collective performance signified.

“It’s just amazing to be in the situation I am in; I know a lot of people would kill to be in this situation,” Jones said. “I’m just looking at all the positive things, being grateful, hyping my teammates up, being involved in the game mentally, just visualizing making plays.”

When he finally debuts, he’s envisioning big things.

“I’m looking to score every time the ball hits my hands,” he said. “I’m really good with yards after catch and especially with yards after contact. That’s why I’m pushing to make sure I’m as healthy as possible, so I can be that dynamic player I know I can be.”

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