Week 1. Sunday, Sept. 11 vs. 49ers, noon (FOX):This is a sturdy test to start the season since the 49ers were a quarter away from reaching the Super Bowl. But will they be better as they shift from Jimmy Garoppolo to upstart Trey Lance?
Week 2. Sunday, Sept. 18 at Packers, 7:20 p.m. (NBC):Matt Eberflus’ first game at Lambeau Field probably won’t be pretty. History says he might have a chance, though. The Bears have beaten the Packers three times since the start of the 2010 season — and two of those were at Lambeau by first-year head coaches.
Week 3. Sunday, Sept. 25 vs. Texans, noon (FOX):This is probably the easiest game the Bears have all season. The Texans are one of the few teams widely thought to have a thinner roster.
Week 4. Sunday, Oct. 2 at Giants, noon (FOX):Chairman George McCaskey won’t have to introduce himself to either of the Giants’ bosses. The Bears interviewed both Bills executive Joe Schoen and Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll for their general manager and head coaching vacancies. Both wound up taking those jobs with Big Blue.
Week 5. Sunday, Oct. 9 at Vikings, noon (Fox):The Bears are used to doing their Christmas shopping — or gift returns — in Minnesota. This year marks the first time since 2009 that the Bears have played at the Vikings earlier than December. They won’t have to pack their coats this time. We think.
Week 6. Thursday, Oct. 13 vs. Commanders, 7:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime):It should be clear where the Bears stand this season by this game. They’ll have had a good mix of opponents in terms of quality, and the Commanders are mediocre.
Week 7. Monday, Oct. 24 at Patriots, 7:15 p.m. (ESPN):The best thing the Bears have going for them is that they get an extended break going into this game. Otherwise, it’ll almost certainly be the most challenging defense Justin Fields has ever faced.
Week 8. Sunday, Oct. 30 at Cowboys, noon (FOX):Eberflus and Alan Williams better have the defense clicking by this point, because the Cowboys were top-seven in the NFL in points, yards, passer rating and yards per carry.
Week 9. Sunday, Nov. 6 vs. Dolphins, noon (CBS):There’s no telling what the Dolphins will be by November. They could emerge as an AFC contender or slide below .500 depending on how Tua Tagovailoa progresses.
Week 10. Sunday, Nov. 13 vs. Lions, noon (Fox):Even a rebuilding team needs a gimme on their schedule, and maybe this is it. The Bears have won seven out of eight games against the Lions, with the lone exception when they blew a 10-point lead in the final 2:20 two years ago– thanks to Mitch Trubisky’s third-down fumble.
Week 11. Sunday, Nov. 20 at Falcons, noon (FOX):One of the biggest things in the Bears’ favor this season is the list of presumed weak opponents. They have seven games against teams that had seven or fewer wins last season. Here’s another one.
Week 12. Sunday, Nov. 27 at Jets, noon (Fox):This season, Fields will face three of the four quarterbacks picked alongside him in the first round of the 2021 draft. Zach Wilson will be the final one of the three — and, compared to Lance and Mac Jones, the one Fields has the best chance of beating.
Week 13. Sunday, Dec. 4 vs. Packers, noon (Fox):Until the Bears’ collapse last season, Matt Nagy had always been a strong coach in December. The Bears were 9-4 (with one loss coming in overtime) through his first three years before going 1-3 last season.
Week 14. Bye:It’s the last week the NFL holds byes and the latest the Bears have had theirs since 1999.”You look at it and say, ‘OK, there’s certain breaks in the schedule when you have abyeweek that late,'” Eberflus said. “The scheduling of it is very important because you want to [keep] your guys fresh, so you’re certainly looking at that.”
Week 15. Sunday, Dec. 18 vs. Eagles, noon (FOX):The Eagles took a decent step forward last season and made several nice roster upgrades. They’ll likely need this game for the playoff race.
Week 16. Sunday, Dec. 24 vs. Bills, noon (CBS):No one on the schedule looks as formidable as the Bills. They have an MVP-level quarterback in Josh Allen and are the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl.
Week 17. Sunday, Jan. 1 at Lions, noon (Fox):Since the merger in 1970, the Bears have played three games on New Year’s Day — all against the Vikings. Five of the Bears’ last eight trips to Ford Field had been on Thanksgiving; the Lions upgraded to the Bills for 2022.
Week 18. Sunday, Jan. 8 vs. Vikings, time and network TBD:The NFL won’t issue details about the finale until they know what the playoff race looks like. The Vikings will finish the season at Soldier Field for the first time since 1971, the first year the Bears played there.
Breaking down every game on the Bears’ 2022 schedule Read More »
Matt Eberflus has a certain folksy charm.
He spouts more acronyms than the federal government, from his H.I.T.S. principle (Hustle, Intensity, Takeaways and Smarts) to calling a beloved player an ”M&M” guy (Motor and Mean). The first-year Bears head coach tells his players to “put your track shoes on” and reminds them that “there are no houseguests here.”
The Toledo, Ohio, native has a vaguely Midwestern accent, a reminder that, except for six seasons as a Cowboys assistant, he has spent his 52 years living in Ohio, Missouri, Indiana and now Illinois.
Don’t let the cutesy catchphrases fool you, though.
As a coach, Eberflus isn’t for everybody.
The 52-year-old teaches his H.I.T.S. philosophy with the zeal of a preacher in a parking-lot tent. He and his staff track “loafs,” or moments when players fail to live up to the acronym, and post them on a scoreboard.
Players who fall too far down the list won’t be around long.
“The ones it’s not for?” defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad said. “They disappear.”
He has seen it. The 2017 sixth-round pick was waived by the Saints in 2018 before being claimed by the Colts and their first-year defensive coordinator. Muhammad embraced the system and its main catchphrase — ”the standard is the standard” — and eventually started all 17 games for the Colts last year. The Bears gave him a two-year, $8 million deal this offseason.
“The H.I.T.S. principle, it helps you in so many ways,” Muhammad said. “It’s your r?sum?.”
The tape — be it from practice or a game — doesn’t lie.
“Everything is clear,” said linebacker Matt Adams, another former Colt. “Going into practice, you know what they’re looking for. The H.I.T.S. principle is accountability. It’s easy to judge on tape. Are you hustling? Is the intensity there?”
If it’s not, you don’t play.
Eberflus makes those decisions coolly and impersonally, based on H.I.T.S.
“It’s easy –no hard feelings,” Adams said. “He’s always watching. He’s always evaluating.”
o o o
What makes the Bears’ hiring of Eberflus so compelling is what makes Eberflus special: The secret sauce of Eberflus’ coaching style is getting effort out of his players.
“He’s a leader — he shoots you straight, he likes things to be done the right way,” Muhammad said. “If I had to describe him as far as football: maximum effort.”
The Bears are never going to hustle their way to a Super Bowl. This season, they’d be lucky to hustle to the middle. But the Bears hope that Eberflus’ preaching effort this season sets the foundation for a team they infuse with talent in the coming years. The Bears are likely to have the most salary-cap space in the league — and a top-10 draft pick — next season.
Eberflus has X’s and O’s expertise. He ran a top-10 defense, in terms of points allowed, in three of his four seasons in Indianapolis despite never ranking in the top 80% in the league in blitz percentage. He identified the offensive scheme he found hardest to defend against and plucked a young practitioner, Luke Getsy, to run it for the Bears.
That said, maybe scheme is overrated.
“Yeah, you can fall into that trap — you can,”
Eberflus said. “And that’s why we stand on that foundation because we look at that first. You’ve always got to look at where you’re standing. And what is that? The foundational piece of our franchise. Then you look at scheme.
“Then you’ve got to look at, ‘Hey, how does it help this player operate? How does it help our team score or defend?’ And then you look at [scheme] second.”
o o o
The NFL is a multimillion-dollar business that is no more effective in finding successful managers than your local hardware store.
Everyone’s looking for a genius. They rarely find one.
With rare exceptions, they all look in the same places.
Hiring a coach with an offensive background makes sense — teams typically go only as far as their quarterbacks. For every Sean McVay, though, there are a dozen Matt Nagys and Marc Trestmans.
This year’s cycle saw NFL teams hire from the same old profile: young offensive coordinators from playoff teams who have coached an elite quarterback. Half the 10 coaches hired this offseason qualify:
The Giants hired Brian Daboll, Josh Allen’s coordinator with the Bills.
The Broncos got Nathaniel Hackett, Aaron Rodgers’ former coordinator.
Kevin O’Connell, who won a Super Bowl as Matthew Stafford’s offensive coordinator with the Rams, landed the Vikings job.
Mike McDaniel, who ran the 49ers’ offense, went to the Dolphins.
And Josh McDaniels, Tom Brady’s coordinator for 13 years in New England, landed in Las Vegas.
A sixth coach hired this offseason, the Jaguars’ Doug Pederson, won a Super Bowl as the Eagles’ coach and offensive play-caller.
Three sitting defensive coordinators inherited head-coaching jobs from their own teams this offseason: the Saints’ Dennis Allen, the Texans’ Lovie Smith and the Buccaneers’ Todd Bowles.
That leaves Eberflus as the anomaly: the only defensive coordinator hired as a head coach this year whose office wasn’t located down the hall.
That’s either a bold bet by the Bears or a strange one, depending on the way your mind works.
In the four hiring cycles since the Bears hired Nagy, NFL teams have tabbed 37 new head coaches. Only five were defensive coordinators who didn’t take over from their departing bosses: the Chargers’ Brandon Staley, the Jets’ Robert Saleh, the Dolphins’ Brian Flores, the Broncos’ Vic Fangio — and Eberflus. Two already have been fired.
Chairman George McCaskey and his five-person hiring committee interviewed 10 head-coaching candidates during a 12-day span in January, handing a list of three finalists to new general manager Ryan Poles. When Poles chose Eberflus — whom he didn’t know particularly well, but they shared an agent — it surprised many around the league who expected him to go with one of two former head coaches: Dan Quinn or Jim Caldwell.
Poles made his decision in a world in which the participants in the last five Super Bowls featured only one defensive-minded head coach: the superlative Bill Belichick. In an offseason in which the average age of the five offensive coordinators-turned-head coaches was 41, Eberflus was named the Bears’ head coach at 51.
Eberflus’ r?sum? resembles that of Dave Wannstedt, Dick Jauron and Smith — they all began coaching college before coordinating one NFL defense and taking a head-coaching job. In the modern NFL, though, Eberflus’ hire bucked the trend. He’s not an offensive whiz kid.
Given the team’s hiring failures since firing Smith, though, maybe that’s not a bad thing.
o o o
Eberflus’ system, in fact, connects back to Smith.
Tracking “loafs” started with Tony Dungy’s Buccaneers in the late 1990s. When Smith, then Dungy’s linebackers coach, left to become the Rams’ defensive coordinator in 2001, he brought the grading system with him. Bucs defensive line coach Rod Marinelli took it to the Lions when he became their head coach in 2006. When he was fired, Marinelli joined up with Smith for the last four years of his eight-year stint as Bears head coach.
As coordinator, Marinelli would oversee a staff that spent five hours per week studying game tape to identify about 50 “loafs” — when defensive players don’t run hard enough, get up fast enough or get off a block efficiently.
Smith’s firing sent Marinelli to the Cowboys in 2013, where he and Eberflus, the linebackers coach, became fast friends. The next year, Eberflus developed his H.I.T.S. system, which tracked loafs.
“Those principles that have been around for a very long time,” said Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams, who followed Eberflus from Indianapolis. “And I think what Matt has done, he’s refined it. He’s put some nice acronyms to it, which helps us all get to know what to do. And it sounds sexy.”
Sexy? Maybe not. But the H.I.T.S. message is consistent, which, given the way coaches think, might qualify as titillation.
Colts coach Frank Reich said that, “over four years, almost every week,” someone from an opposing team would compliment Eberflus’ troops.
“How hard our team plays — but really how hard our defense plays and how they run to the ball,” he said. “A lot of people talk about how they run to the ball and how we take the ball away. I think that says it more than anything. Just watch the tape, look at the results.”
In Indianapolis, each position room had a loafs chart.
“They put it in front of the guys, and your brothers have to hold you accountable,” Adams said. “If you had 10 loafs, let’s get it down to eight, then to six.”
The Bears looked at practice tape the same way during the offseason. Everyone got dinged — “If someone says they haven’t, they’re lying to y’all,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said — but they know it came with a purpose.
“You’ve got to know your teammate is going to be there,” defensive tackle Justin Jones said. “You got to have that trust in the guys. That’s why it’s so important that they’re holding us accountable. That’s why it’s important that everyone is running to the ball.
“Even if it’s the slightest loaf, that’s why they’re on us so hard. Because if you know that you got the trust and belief in your teammates, then you can play free. You can take more shots knowing that you’re going to have the help of your teammates.”
Eberflus’ H.I.T.S. system worked when he was grading a defense. Now it’s the identity of the NFL’s charter franchise.
It will be fascinating to see whether it works.
“It’s making me a better person,” running back David Montgomery said. “It’s raising my bar and the standard for myself even higher because I know that I need to be better every day I go out there. I’m going into my fourth year. I’m a vet now.
“There’s a standard you have to set for yourself — because everybody is watching you.”
H.I.T.S. or miss? Bears bucked trend when hiring Matt Eberflus Read More »
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle has been dealing with a groin injury this week. His status for Week One against the Chicago Bears had been questionable all week. Kittle, a three-time Pro Bowl tight end, would have been a likely primary target for the inexperienced quarterback Trey Lance.
The Bears have appeared to catch a break. Reports came out Saturday night that Kittle is not expected to play Sunday. Per Adam Schefter, he is listed as questionable.
49ers’ TE George Kittle, listed as questionable for Sunday due to a groin injury, is not expected to play vs. the Bears, per source.
George Kittle was a major part of the 49ers’ offense last season. He had 910 yards receiving and six touchdowns in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense in 2021. Shanahan’s offense has many uses for the tight end position. The 49ers’ offense will feel Kittle’s absence.
Charlie Woerner is listed on the 49ers’ depth chart as the number two tight end. The 2020 sixth-round pick has just 88 total yards receiving in his career.
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Report: 49ers’ TE George Kittle not expected to play against the Bears Read More »
Dedrick Dewalt came to Lane embracing change, and it looks like his players are buying in.
In their second full season under Dewalt, the Champions are 3-0 for the first time in 15 years after Saturday’s 35-0 shutout of visiting Hubbard.
Finn Merrill ran for 148 yards and a touchdown for Lane, which also had productive games from backs Casey Joyce (87 yards, two TDs) and Spiro Memmos (49 yards, two TDs). The Champions’ double-wing attack produced 274 yards on the ground.
“Last year we were able to throw the ball around, we had a bunch of receivers,” said Dewalt, who played at Boston College and had stints as a head coach and assistant at several other Public League schools before coming to Lane. “This year, our strength is our offensive line and our running backs. It’s a ball-control offense that we’re running and it’s helping our defense too.”
Running behind that line anchored by two-way starter Suleiman Butt, Lane’s backs shorten the game by limiting opponents’ possessions and running off big chunks of time on most drives.
Lane quarterback Mark Seward threw only two passes on Saturday, but one was a 31-yarder to Yiannis Katsogridakis that helped to keep the defense for Hubbard (0-3) on its toes.
Changing offensive schemes to fit the personnel isn’t the only new wrinkle Dewalt has brought to a program with a rich history. The field at Lane Stadium was recently renamed Fritz Pollard Field in honor of the Black NFL coaching and playing pioneer who is an alum.
“We’re just changing the culture here at Lane,” Dewalt said. “We’re off to a good start this year and trying to get a state playoff berth. I think it’d be really good for the school and the community as well.”
Despite having the state’s third largest enrollment with more than 4,200 students, Lane has reached the IHSA playoffs only twice since 2008. Its last state playoff win was in 2004.
But players like Butt and Merrill are helping to raise expectations.
“He’s a monster at our [offensive] guard position,” Dewalt said of Butt, a 6-3, 290-pound senior. “And we found out that he could really play defensive tackle last week [when] he had to be thrust into action due to injury. As far as offensive guard, he’s definitely one of the best, if not the best, in the city.”
How has the added workload been for Butt? “A little tiring, I’m dealing with it,” he said. “It’s fun though.”
Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times
That feeling has spread throughout the building, producing both greater roster numbers for a program that had been dressing barely 25 players in recent years and generating more fan interest.
“When we started winning again, people started getting more excited,” Butt said.
Merrill’s running helps stir up the crowd, especially when the diminutive back gets lost behind Lane’s big linemen before squeezing through a hole for a long gain.
“That’s kind of the idea,” Dewalt said of Merrill, who’s also a returning state qualifier in wrestling. “He’s small, but he’s probably the toughest guy that we have.”
“I really like this offense,” Merrill said. “I love the carries and we have a huge line that is very good, that can block for me.”
High school football: Lane beats Hubbard to reach 3-0 for the first time in 15 years Read More »
By Brian Sandalow
For the Sun-Times
The Fire aren’t quite looking to next year already, but they know what they have to address in the offseason.
“I think our ability to put the ball in the back of the net is a big concern,” Fire coach Ezra Hendrickson said Wednesday. “Right now, with 12 shutouts, you’d expect a team with 12 shutouts to be above the playoff line but it’s a team that’s not scoring, with [28] goals on the year, that’s just not good enough.
“We have to make sure that we get better in that area and that we have players who can put the ball in the back of the net when called upon and when the opportunities are there,” Hendrickson added. “Too many times this year we have lost games because of missed opportunities.”
The Fire converted their opportunities Saturday, though that hasn’t been true for most of the year.
Despite their 3-1 win over Inter Miami in Bridgeview, the Fire are last in the league in scoring with 31. Before Jhon Duran’s goal in the 40th minute, the Fire hadn’t scored in 441 minutes since a Chris Mueller strike against Philadelphia on Aug. 13. Xherdan Shaqiri’s goal in the 64th gave the Fire a 2-0 lead, and was the high-priced designated player’s fifth of the year.
Gonzalo Higuain’s 77th-minute goal broke up the Fire’s chances at a 13th shutout, but Duran’s second in the 87th sealed the win and helped them draw within six points of an Eastern Conference playoff spot with four matches left. That the Fire (9-13-8, 35 points) are still a longshot to make the playoffs despite 12 clean sheets is an indication their offense hasn’t done enough.
Crucially, the Fire have only won five of their 12 shutouts, costing them important and attainable points and probably a spot in the postseason.
“A lot of these 0-0 games, if we just score one goal, we win those games and it turns your whole season around,” Hendrickson said. “There’s a lot of times this year we have kept teams to zero but just couldn’t find a way to score just one goal, sometimes on the road, which is not conducive to a winning season. So we definitely have to get better in the final third.”
To get that right, the Fire brass – whether it’s still sporting director Georg Heitz or a potential replacement – will need to bring reinforcements. After last offseason, the Fire were confident they had found the missing ingredients to improve their offense.
That wasn’t the case, and the process of plotting their next moves has already begun for the Fire.
“We do have an idea of what we need to get better at next year and [owner] Joe [Mansueto] is very supportive of what it’s going to take to get the team better because at the end of the day, we’re all on the same page and we all want success for this team but we know we have to continue to get better because everyone around us is getting better,” Hendrickson said. “We have to make sure that we identify the issues and work to rectify them and be better going forward. So there’s a lot of communication about what needs to happen going forward.”
If there were more nights like Saturday, the issue wouldn’t be as pressing. After Saturday’s match, Shaqiri said the Fire need to be more ruthless in front of goal and understand each other better.
“This is the thing, what we need to do better because we need goals and we need three points,” Shaqiri said. “For that, you need to score goals.”
Fire offense awakens in 3-1 victory over Inter Miami Read More »
Depending on where you look the Chicago Bears have been rated anywhere between 26th and 32nd in the NFL power rankings. The Las Vegas odds have the Bears with an over/under win total of 6.5, which is the safest mark for the Chicago Bears to have on the season. However, the level of pessimism associated with the Chicago Bears offense leads one to need to answer how did Las Vegas have the Bears with six wins instead of the predicted two wins that some have the Bears at?
That’s a simple answer, just look at the Chicago Bears schedule and ask yourself who the Bears wi most likely lose to and get a win against.
1Sun, Sep 11
12:00 PML2Sun, Sep 18
7:20 PML3Sun, Sep 25
12:00 PMW4Sun, Oct 2
12:00 PMW5Sun, Oct 9
12:00 PML6Thu, Oct 13
PRIME VIDEO
W7Mon, Oct 24
L8Sun, Oct 30
12:00 PML9Sun, Nov 6
12:00 PMW10Sun, Nov 13
12:00 PMW11Sun, Nov 20
12:00 PMW12Sun, Nov 27
12:00 PMW13Sun, Dec 4
12:00 PML14BYE WEEK15Sun, Dec 18
12:00 PML16Sat, Dec 24
12:00 PML17Sun, Jan 1
12:00 PMW18Sun, Jan 8
L
And just like that, I have the Bears winning eight games. But why eight games? I think the Bears should be favored against the Texans, Falcons, Jets, Giants, and Lions at home. Then I think they can compete with and beat the Commanders, Patriots, Dolphins, and Lions. Although I think the Bears can compete with those teams, those are games that could go either way depending on a lot. But no I’m not impressed with the Commanders, Lions, Patriots, Dolphins, and especially not the Lions.
Until I see more from Justin Fields and the type of quarterback he is, I’m hesitant to mark off more wins for the Bears. But if the Bears can win because of Justin Fields and they’re doing more on defense than most of believe they will be, then they’ll be competitive in the division and that’s what it will take to win more games. Split games in the division with the Packers and the Vikings because the Packers are completely rebuilding their wide receiver core and the Vikings have a new coaching staff and then things could be really fun.
The true success of the Chicago Bears’ season falls on the shoulder of Justin Fields.
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Predicting the Chicago Bears 2022 record Read More »
OAKLAND, Calif. — Twenty hits. Ten runs. Another home run for Elvis Andrus.
The beat goes on for the White Sox, who won their fourth straight game and ninth in their last 11 by routing the struggling Athletics 10-2 Saturday, positioning themselves to complete a four-game sweep Sunday with manager Tony La Russa in the house.
Under bench coach and acting manager Miguel Cairo, the Sox improved to 9-3, including 5-1 on a road trip that began against the playoff-bound Mariners. Andrus homered for the second time in the series, a day after his two-run double broke a tie in the Sox’ five-run ninth inning of a 5-3 victory.
Andrus’ homer against A’s righty Adrian Martinez (4-4) was the Sox’ 21st in the last 12 games, following a dry run of 18 homers over the previous 27 games. Martinez allowed 14 hits in 3 2/3 innings.
The Sox (72-68) had 20 hits or more twice in a three-game for only the second time in history. They also did it June 19 (at Cleveland) and June 21 (at Minnesota) of 1974. AJ Pollock and Andrew Vaughn each had four hits and Eloy Jimenez had three with three RBI. Every Sox starter had at least one hit except for Gavin Sheets, who went 0-for-5.
Vaughn and Yasmani Grandal each drove in two runs.
Right-hander Lance Lynn (6-5) pitched six innings, allowing no earned runs over six innings to lower his ERA to 4.07. He is 4-0 with a 1.19 ERA over his last six starts.
Lynn would have had a much easier time if not for second baseman Josh Harrison’s fielding and throwing errors which put two unearned runs on the board.
Lynn struck out five and walked one. He appeared to tweak his surgically repaired right knee during the first inning running toward first base on a grounder to first baseman Jose Abreu but pitched through it, throwing 107 pitches.
Lynn has struck out 78 batters and walked six over his last 11 starts, the best ratio in the majors during that span.
La Russa will not be in uniform but will be at Sunday’s game to attend the pregame uniform retirement ceremony of former A’s pitcher Dave Stewart. La Russa hasn’t seen his team since Aug. 30, and is awaiting clearance from his doctors to get back on the job.
The Sox trailed the first place Guardians by 1 1/2 games in the AL Central entering play Saturday.
White Sox pound out 20 hits, rout Athletics Read More »
Look, I know what some of you are thinking. If Tony La Russa is going to be at the ballpark in Oakland on Sunday for a ceremony retiring former A’s pitcher Dave Stewart’s number, can’t the White Sox join in the moment by unceremoniously re-retiring La Russa?
It’s easy to kick a guy when he’s down. And that’s what Sox fans have been doing — with gusto — since bench coach Miguel Cairo took over as acting manager with La Russa, 77, experiencing unspecified medical issues.
“Here’s to a full recovery,” they say, “somewhere else.”
When he came out of retirement to manage the Sox for a second time — his first managerial gig in a decade — La Russa was fearful of letting chairman Jerry Reinsdorf down. But it wasn’t what he calls “bad fear,” which could have led him to avoid a daunting task at which he might fail. It was “good fear,” the sort that compelled him to take the leap. That’s how La Russa explained it once he’d gotten his legs under him.
“I would rather have learned [the hard way] by trying than by wondering and regretting it later,” he said.
Presumably, La Russa will be back in the dugout at some point not long after returning to Chicago with the Sox — 9-3 without him — at weekend’s end. That might stir a different, deeper kind of fear in the old skipper, because anything that goes wrong after that — a loss, a base-running blunder, a broken bat, a blown bulb in the outfield lights — will be blamed on him.
Will it be fair? No. Is that going to stop Sox fans from dumping on a Hall-of-Famer because he’s — wait for it — no Miguel Cairo? Not a chance.
After the Sox scored five runs in the ninth inning Friday in what everyone agreed was their win of the year, Cairo credited La Russa for the team’s “never give up” mentality. Is anyone buying that? I’m not sure I do, either. For five months, these same Sox displayed a “never wake up” mentality. But if we’re going to rip La Russa for that, we have to rip the players — sparing only a handful of them — as well. The front office, too.
Or just La Russa. It’s certainly easier.
THREE-DOT DASH
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Someday, you’ll remember where you were when No. 8 Notre Dame lost 26-21 at home to — excuse me while I double-check the name — ah, yes, Marshall.
Unless you didn’t watch it, in which case you missed a real doozy of a disaster. The Irish didn’t just lose. They were outgained. Their defensive front, supposedly the strength of the team, was run at head-on and faltered. Their offense broke down and might not recover. Their coach, Marcus Freeman, already is under enormous pressure. Are we looking at five losses? Six? More?
Other than that, everything’s peachy. …
Forget the nine-overtime game at Penn State last season — Illinois got its biggest win of the Bret Bielema era Saturday in Champaign, a 24-3 manhandling of Virginia. Last season in Charlottesville, the Illini lost by four touchdowns to the Cavaliers. The sting of that one fades forever as a legit Big Ten defense rises downstate. …
Northwestern fell to Duke for the fourth straight time, all in the last six seasons. That Mike Krzyzewski fella sure did build a hell of a program. …
A note to those who struggle to watch games without whining about the officiating, a group that includes, by my estimation, approximately 100% of the human population: There has yet to be a fan base anywhere, in any sport, that claims the refs/umps are biased in favor of their team. …
The weekly “This You Gotta See” column is going on a little vacation. Maybe it’s more of a break. Is it ever coming back? I’m not sure. But …
THIS YOU GOTTA SEE
Buccaneers at Cowboys (Sunday, 7:20 p.m., Ch. 5, Peacock): Dallas is 0-for-6 all-time against Tom Brady. Then again, he’s only 45, so there’s plenty of time to turn it around.
Broncos at Seahawks (Monday, 7:15 p.m., Ch. 7, ESPN): Russell Wilson returns to Seattle, where he won a Super Bowl, was a nine-time Pro Bowler and eventually, it seems, wore out his welcome. Nobody’s perfect.
White Sox at Guardians (Thursday, 12:10 p.m., NBCSCH): The Sox sneak through Cleveland to make up the game postponed on Aug. 21. That was so long ago, South Siders didn’t even want to elect Cairo mayor yet.
ONLY BECAUSE YOU ASKED
From emailer Wally:
“I have to advise you that maybe you should not report on any Cubs or Illini matters since those teams you so fervently hate. So why don’t you just pass on reporting on those two and pick up your beloved White Sox to report on?”
First, I resent the implication that I hate anyone other than the impossibly fit twentysomethings at the gym I just joined. Second, do they even sell black cheerleading skirts in size-XXXL?
Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images
THE BOTTOM FIVE
Big Ten West: Northwestern is one thing, but Wisconsin and Iowa looked beyond awful in defeat. Let’s just go ahead and skip that December game in Indy.
The 49ers: Six out of six Sun-Times scribes picked them to win Sunday. I’m pretty sure that means the Bears are about to be 1-0.
“Success”: That’s really a word owner Tom Ricketts chose to describe these 58-win Cubs? Maybe he thinks they play in the NBA.
College coaches’ contracts: Does Texas A&M really need to pay Jimbo Fisher over $9 million a year to lose to Appalachian State?
Notre Dame: On the other hand, Charlie Weis is available.
Tony La Russa or Miguel Cairo? White Sox fans seem to have made their pick Read More »
Kenwood starting quarterback Nacari McFarland injured his arm in the third quarter of the Broncos’ season opener.
That’s a devastating blow for most teams, but Kenwood was fortunate to have Kevari Thunderbird waiting in the wings.
The junior’s future is in baseball. He’s a pitcher heading to Eastern Kentucky on a scholarship. But he’s been playing football with several of Kenwood’s stars since he was a very young kid and his older brother is star linebacker K’Vion Thunderbird.
“I’ve just had to play my role and step up and be a leader,” Thunderbird said.
He stepped up on the field against Taft on Saturday, throwing a touchdown and running for two to lead the Broncos to a 25-7 win on the road.
“We are kind of used to having scrappy quarterbacks in my tenure here,” Kenwood coach Sinque Turner said. “He’s a big-time baseball star so he’s just helping us out here. We have full trust in him.”
Thunderbird was 9-for-17 passing for 146 yards. He connected with Logan Lester for a 16-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Lester had five catches for 57 yards for Kenwood (2-1).
The Broncos’ defense shut Taft out until the final five minutes of the game.
“We came out and stuck to the game plan,” K’Vion Thunderbird said. “We just wanted to dominate and have fun.”
Taft quarterback Barah Abad was 11-for-24 passing for 11 yards with one touchdown and an interception. He was under constant threat from Kenwood’s defensive line, led by Marquise Lightfoot.
“We have some highly decorated guys on the defensive side,” Turner said. “Lightfoot drawing so much attention helps out tremendously. It makes it easier for the back end when we have that much pressure.”
Kenwood running back Davonte Johnson had his best game of the season, rushing for 100 yards in just 12 carries. He scored a 16-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“I got the ball in my hands and I did what I had to do,” Johnson said. “This will boost our morale and we will come back even better. Everyone keeps doubting us because of that first loss but we are going to show everybody.”
Taft’s touchdown came on a 15-yard pass from Abad to junior Steven Tantchev with 4:28 left to play. The Eagles (0-3) lost close games to Glenbrook North and Grant the first two weeks of the season.
The game was originally scheduled to be played on Friday night but was postponed after 17-year-old Kanye Perkins was shot and killed near Kenwood’s school on Friday afternoon. Perkins was new to the school.
“That was about the safety of us returning later at night [from Taft],” Turner said. “We wouldn’t be back to Kenwood until 10:30 and our principal didn’t think that was an appropriate time to get back with that event just having happened in the neighborhood. It was a safety precaution.”
High school football: Kenwood’s defense locks down Taft Read More »
