Chicago Week in Beer, September 13-16on September 12, 2021 at 4:21 am

For now, at least, coach Matt Nagy is trying to thread the needle. After spending all preseason declaring Dalton the starter, he’s trying to get Fields comfortable with the NFL — and opposing teams reason to feel uncomfortable.

Fields played five snaps in Sunday night’s 34-14 loss to the Rams, with three in the red zone. He scored his first touchdown of the season before Dalton did, running for three yards midway through the third quarter. He might have played more, too, Nagy said, had the Bears not fallen behind late in the third quarter.

Even in short bursts, Fields playing is compelling — particularly when the alternative is watching the Bears lose by 20 behind a defense that refused to tackle and an offensive line that had trouble blocking the NFL’s best defense.

The question, though, is how useful it is for either player, long-term.

And the question for Nagy is, how will he play Fields going forward?

“You gotta have a ‘why’ as to how you do it,” he said.

The Bears knew when they wanted to play Fields: the red zone.

“For him, the times that he got in there, he did well, being his first game,” Nagy said. “Andy did a good job too. … We’ll continue to keep growing with that stuff and see what we want to do.”

With the ball at the Rams’ 12, the Bears ran Fields out for his first NFL snap. On a run-pass option, he looked right, completed a nine-yard pass to Marquise Goodwin along the right sideline, and left the game. The Bears had a false start, then a timeout, then an interception in the end zone on a tipped pass.

Nagy said disrupting rhythm by inserting a new quarterback is “something that we gotta keep an eye on.”

Fields returned for the Bears’ third drive, and at the worst time. After Dalton completed a 19-yard pass to Goodwin — and the Bears got an extra 15 yards on a facemask penalty. Fields flipped the ball on an end around to Goodwin. He was tackled for a two-yard loss.

The next time Fields took the field, he was back in the red zone, faking a handoff left and throwing a shovel pass to receiver Allen Robinson for 1 yard. Robinson rolled into Larry Borom and hurt the backup left tackle’s ankle . Three plays later, Fields scored.

In the fourth quarter, Fields took a shotgun snap on third-and-2 and handed to David Montgomery for a first down.

Fields — who went 2-for-2 for 10 yards — gives the Bears an offensive element they haven’t seen in years. Now, it’s up to Nagy to make the Dalton-Fields dynamic work each week. It will be a chess match now that 31 NFL teams have Fields film. The surprise is gone.

But Nagy’s biggest challenge will go beyond Xs and Os. Will Dalton, who relies on rhythm passing, accept coming out of the game after a big play? After having to answer questions about Fields all preseason, what will Dalton think of the backup quarterback getting an inordinate number of red-zone touches?

“We’ve got some good stuff for [Fields],” Dalton said. “Obviously it helped us. He was able to score a touchdown. … It’s part of how we’re gonna play.”

How will Fields handle inconsistent work? What happens if he breaks off a long run — or a pretty pass — and has to come watch Dalton?

“It wasn’t weird with me running in and out …” Fields said. “I was used to it.”

Dalton completed 27-of-38 passes for 206 yards, one interception, one fumble and three sacks. If he struggles again Sunday, Bearsfans will chant Fields’ name.

For at least one week, though, they learned that a few snaps by the rookie is better than none at all.

“He’s certainly a weapon,” Nagy said.

Bears put ‘weapon’ Justin Fields to work in openerPatrick Finleyon September 13, 2021 at 3:09 am Read More »

Rams expose Bears’ offseason delusions in 34-14 stomping to open seasonJason Lieseron September 13, 2021 at 3:11 am

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — This is the time of year when you start to get the truth from the Bears. They won’t tell it to you directly, of course, but Rams defensive stars Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald have a way of extracting it on the field.

You can go all offseason claiming everything’s fine, as coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace did, and no one can disprove it — until the games start. And when the first game pitted the Bears’ delusion against the Rams’ reality, the decisive 34-14 loss in the opener Sunday can’t be a surprise to anybody who has been looking at them with clear eyes.

It seemed to sink in for Nagy.

”That was real football for everybody,” he said, hinting at how different the Bears looked sparring against themselves in practice, as opposed to tangling with a superb opponent.

”When you become one-dimensional against this team, look out.”

Well, sure, but that’s true against anyone. And saying his team was one-dimensional implied it at least was doing one thing well, which was a dubious claim on a night in which the Bears managed exactly two plays of 15 yards or longer and scored on two of their eight possessions.

Welcome back to another season of nip-and-tuck offense as the Bears’ offensive line somehow remains a perpetual work in progress, despite mountains of resources being thrown at the problem.

Welcome back to another season of the quarterback bracing for impact the moment he touches the ball, another season of Nagy calling plays that defenders anticipate as though they’ve been sitting in on his meetings and another season of the window closing on the Bears’ defense.

None of this would be as exasperating if the Bears had conceded this as a rebuilding season, moved forward with rookie Justin Fields at quarterback and geared everything toward being a legitimate contender down the road.

But the Bears refused. Chairman George McCaskey kept Pace despite the team’s 42-54 record under him — his teams have scored the fourth-fewest points in the NFL during that span — and kept Nagy despite his offense constantly tripping over itself and none of his quarterback expertise seeming to translate.

It sent them both into desperation mode, disregarding future salary-cap cramps and diminished draft classes, and the result was the Bears pouring everything they can into a season in which the ceiling is — hopefully — sneaking into the playoffs as a mediocre team, like last season.

On their way to selling that dream, the Bears declared the offensive line fortified, new quarterback Andy Dalton a game-changer, the secondary still staunch despite saying goodbye to cornerback Kyle Fuller and Nagy a changed man after seeing the light on his play-calling glitches.

They asked for trust at left tackle, in particular, as they went into the season with zero experience there — even counting college games — on the roster. It’s hardly shocking to see that backfire.

Plan A was second-round draft pick Teven Jenkins, a college right tackle. Plan B was 39-year-old Jason Peters, who exited before halftime after hurting his quad. Plan C was fifth-round rookie Larry Borom, who was out even quicker with an ankle injury.

They landed on Elijah Wilkinson, whose unreliability seemed to prompt the signing of Peters in the first place.

The Rams undressed every lie Sunday.

The Bears’ mirage lasted about three minutes, as Khalil Herbert’s 50-yard kickoff return, David Montgomery’s 41-yard run and Fields’ eight-yard pass got them to the Rams’ 3-yard line.

Then Dalton threw an interception in the end zone.

Then Matthew Stafford burned the Bears for a 67-yard touchdown pass. He hit them again for a 56-yarder early in the second half for a 20-7 lead that always feels insurmountable for this team.

Along the way, there were flashes by Fields, Montgomery and Marquise Goodwin, but the Bears couldn’t stay within punching range. That’s why Nagy got pressured into going for a fourth-and-15 from the Rams’ 30 while trailing 27-14 with more than 10 minutes left.

He went for it on fourth down four times, and the Bears didn’t convert any of them. On one of those, Nagy was certain his call sprung a man free, but Donald snuffed it out with a sack.

Those would-be and almost-were plays are a recurring theme.

”If that doesn’t happen, maybe we have a guy [open] and we get him down the sideline,” Nagy said.

But something always happens.

And even with Fields, the brightest spot on this team, Nagy self-sabotaged. He said afterward he wasn’t gauging how well it worked because he was locked into the plan of using him in isolated instances, regardless of whether he got any momentum going or whether it disrupted Dalton.

This is what it’ll look like when the Bears play good teams. Because regardless of what they tried to say in the offseason, they aren’t one.

Rams expose Bears’ offseason delusions in 34-14 stomping to open seasonJason Lieseron September 13, 2021 at 3:11 am Read More »

Authorities ID woman killed in West Pullman shooting where 5 others were wounded — including off-duty firefighter, teenSun-Times Wireon September 13, 2021 at 4:06 am

A woman was killed and five others were shot, including an off duty firefighter and a 15-year-old girl, Saturday night in West Pullman.

The group was outside walking toward their vehicles about 9:40 p.m in the 300 block of East Kensington Avenue when someone inside another vehicle fired several times in their direction, Chicago police said.

A 42-year-old woman, shot in the arm and armpit, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, police said. She was identified as Schenia Smith by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The teen girl was struck in the arm and transported in fair condition to Comer Children’s Hospital, police said.

An off-duty firefighter was shot in the face and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, police said. The 32-year-old man remained in critical condition as of Sunday night, according to Chicago Fire Department Deputy District Chief Curtis Hudson.

Another man, 38, was struck in the stomach and was taken to the same hospital in fair condition.

A third man, 22, suffered gunshot wounds to the arm and leg. He was taken to Roseland Hospital in fair condition, according to police.

A fourth man, 31, was grazed in the head and taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, where he was listed in fair condition, police said.

No one was in custody as of early Sunday. Area Two detectives continue to investigate.

Authorities ID woman killed in West Pullman shooting where 5 others were wounded — including off-duty firefighter, teenSun-Times Wireon September 13, 2021 at 4:06 am Read More »

Britney Spears engaged: Singer says yes to longtime boyfriend Sam AsghariAssociated Presson September 13, 2021 at 1:26 am

LOS ANGELES — Britney Spears announced her engagement Sunday to her boyfriend Sam Asghari with an exuberant post displaying a diamond ring engraved with the word “lioness.”

The news comes days after her father filed to end the court conservatorship that has controlled the singer’s life and money for 13 years.

She wrote “I can’t f—ing believe it!” with an Instagram video post where she winks, kisses a smiling Asghari on the cheek and answers “yes!” when he asks if she likes the ring.

View this post on Instagram

Asghari posted his own photo of Spears showing her ring finger to the camera.

The four-carat diamond ring is engraved inside the band with “lioness” because it’s his nickname for her, the company Forever Diamonds NY said in a statement.

The couple met on the set of the “Slumber Party” music video in 2016.

The singer told a judge in June she wanted to marry Asghari and have a baby with him during an impassioned plea to end the conservatorship, but said she hadn’t been allowed to remove an intrauterine device for birth control or even drive with him.

Legally, Spears can get married, but the conservatorship must approve it as with other major life decisions.

Spears was previously married to Kevin Federline, with whom she shares two sons, ages 14 and 15. She was briefly married to childhood friend Jason Alexander in 2004.

Britney Spears engaged: Singer says yes to longtime boyfriend Sam AsghariAssociated Presson September 13, 2021 at 1:26 am Read More »

Daniil Medvedev ends Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam bid at U.S. OpenBrian Mahoney | Associated Presson September 13, 2021 at 1:52 am

NEW YORK — Daniil Medvedev had outplayed the man he considers the best ever in tennis for about two hours. Then it was time to finish off Novak Djokovic.

That’s when Medvedev’s serve and his body started to falter. He double-faulted on his first match point. He did the same thing on his next one while trying to end Djokovic’s quest for a calendar-year Grand Slam.

“Second one was like in the middle of the net,” Medvedev said.

Eventually, he overcame the pressure and his opponent, beating Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday in the U.S. Open for his first Grand Slam title.

Medvedev had lost both previous times he played in a major final, with Djokovic beating him in straight sets this year at the Australian Open.

“After the final in Australia, we had the feeling that Daniil didn’t have this fire that can help your game to be much stronger, especially against a player like Novak,” said Gilles Cervara, Medvedev’s coach. “So this had to change, for sure, to play this final at another level.

“Our feeling yesterday and today was that he was ready to compete and to be at high level.”

The Russian has been there for a while, especially on hard courts. He leads all men’s players in wins and titles on that surface since 2018 and had reached the U.S. Open semifinals in each of the last three years.

At his best, he is as good as anyone on a hard court — and way better than Djokovic on Sunday.

“I mean, he was hitting his spots very well,” Djokovic said. “He came out very determined on the court. You could feel that he was just at (the) highest of his abilities in every shot.”

Especially on his serve, which Cervara felt hadn’t been good enough this summer. Medvedev had 16 aces and put constant pressure on Djokovic with his serve, winning 42 of 52 points on first serve.

“He served very good today,” Cervara said. “Maybe not at the end, but with the pressure, the tension, it’s a bit different.”

Medvedev took a long pause between serves to wait out some fan noise on his first match point while leading 5-3. He didn’t think the crowd was trying to heckle them, he figured the fans just wanted to see Djokovic prolong the match.

The No. 1 player did, then held to cut it to 5-4.

“My legs were gone after 5-3. At 5-4, left leg, I almost couldn’t walk,” Medvedev said. “If you really look at the replay, when I walked to the towel, my leg was just going behind. I was trying not to show it. If Novak feels it, it’s not good.”

The next match point produced another sloppy serve before Medvedev banged one in at 129 mph that Djokovic couldn’t get back into play.

Medvedev then fell slowly and awkwardly to the court, explaining that that move was a nod to a goal celebration in a soccer video game.

His real celebration was still to come.

“Russians know how to celebrate,” Medvedev said. “Hopefully, I will not get in the news. If I (do), it’s going to be in a good way. But I’m going to definitely celebrate the next few days.”

Daniil Medvedev ends Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam bid at U.S. OpenBrian Mahoney | Associated Presson September 13, 2021 at 1:52 am Read More »

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