Overreaction: Firing Kill Kingsbury and Lovie Smith was the right move

Kingsbury and smith were made the sacrificial lambs of their organizations yesterday when they were fired. In his fourth season as head coach of the Cardinals, Kingsbury finished his tenure 4-13 before getting the boot. This comes just 10 months after signing a contract extension in the offseason that would have made him the Cardinal’s head coach through 2027. This continues the streak of head coaches never lasting more than six years in Arizona, which has never tenured a coach for more than six years in the franchise’s existence.

The Cardinals had immense pressure to win now after their hot start in 2021, but injuries plagued their offensive line. The Cards were also without NFL All-Pro wide receiver Deandre Hopkins for six games and went 2-4 in his absence, then losing Kyler Murray to an ACL tear later in the season. With only winning two games the rest of the season the blame had to be placed on someone.

In the case of Lovie Smith the Texans had a chance Sunday to get the number one pick with a loss, but Smith did everything he could to win. The Texans managed a tie in week one against the colts that no one saw coming and didn’t have a blowout loss until week 6 when they lost 38-20 to the Las Vegas Raiders.

In most of their games, the Texans fought hard and had the 15th-best defense on third down allowing a 39% conversion rate. But in the end, it is about who won the game not how hard you played in the NFL. Houston is very clearly in a rebuild with no direction at quarterback, which will most likely be addressed in the draft, and will have a fresh restart with a new head coach.

With their win on Sunday, the Texans lost the number one pick to Smith’s former team the Chicago Bears, more than likely sealing his fate. Smith had success in his time with the Bears but was given nine seasons to build teams. He managed to get them to the Superbowl in his first three, but in the NFL if you can’t blame the defense or the quarterback the coach and General Manager are next on the chopping block.

Overreaction: The Ravens can afford to let Lamar Jackson walk

Without agreeing on a contract in the offseason the Ravens are in a position to franchise tag the former NFL MVP if they cannot agree on a long-term deal. There is speculation that Jackson will not like this, as most players who get tagged do not and may force a trade from the Ravens. Baltimore’s inability to go out and get a weapon may force Jackson to go to the weapons instead of hoping they come to him.

With offseason speculation starting quarterbacks and star players alike look to have fresh starts where the grass is greener. For Jackson, the grass is the greenest whereas the receivers are the best. Teams like Miami and New Orleans are loaded with offensive firepower but struggle at the quarterback position. Tua had moments of brilliance this season for the Dolphins but could not stay healthy and suffered several concussions, diagnosed or not, and in the NFL the best ability is availability.

As evident in the previous weeks since Jackson’s injury, the Ravens have been less than spectacular that quarterback and have had to rely on their defense to carry them since Jacksons’ absence. The Ravens may have to look at a rebuild if they cannot lock Jackson down for a long-term deal. Jackson deserves weapons without being expected to do everything if the Ravens want to compete for the title they will need to get him the help he deserves.

Not an overreaction: Several quarterbacks are on the move this off-season.

The goal of every team every year is to win the Superbowl. Some are closer than others to achieve this but the tonality of the NFL has changed from, “this is a several-year rebuild” to, “how can teams win now?” Coaches and GMs have shorter shelf life’s to change teams around, players have to prove every day that they belong or it will be next man up, this leads to many good options being left as a “bridge” to a great option.

Take for example the Alex Smith years in Kansas City. Smith and Andy Reid took the Chiefs from the first pick in the draft to playoff contenders during Smith’s tenure. They saw an opportunity to be great with Patrick Mahomes and traded up to draft him. Unlike the failures, the Jets have had a quarterback time after time when they start week one and are not allowed to grow under the right circumstance because they need to win now.

The current NFL has rookies starting week 1 or even in their first year, Mahomes was allowed to sit and learn behind Smith for an entire year before seeing the field and was allowed to grow without being thrown into a starting role. Many of the quarterbacks on the move this off-season they’re looking for fresh starts and ways to rebrand themselves to help another team win. Players that are expected to see new teams are: Ryan Tannehill, Derek Carr, Tom Brady, and Jimmy Garoppolo.

While some players may have played themselves into new contracts after coming to new teams, players like Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith (who now holds the record for most passing yards in a season in Seahawks history) Daniel Jones, Jarret Stidham, and Mike white all played exceptionally better than expected. Teams that were on the edge of going to the playoffs and were kept out of the playoffs because of quarterback play (Jets, Titans, New Orleans, Carolina, Atlanta, Washington) could all look to improve with the option presented this offseason or should look to trade up in the NFL draft as Kansas City did and grow a quarterback the right way.

Not an overreaction: Dak Prescott could be done as the Cowboy’s starter after this year.

Dak Prescott signed a 4 year, $160,000,000 contract with the Dallas Cowboys, including a $66,000,000 signing bonus, $126,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $40,000,000. In 2023, Prescott will earn a base salary of $31,000,000, while carrying a cap hit of $49,130,000 and a dead cap value of $89,070,000. After having just inked this new deal Prescott has done anything but play up to it this season. 

The Cowboys are 12-5 and suffered an embarrassing loss to the Commanders where Prescott completed just 14 of his 37 pass attempts (15 if you could the one he threw to the defense for a touchdown). Prescott finished with only 128 yards passing and one touchdown to his team. Dallas has not made the Championship game since 1995 and has not won a playoff game since 2018.

There has been growing unrest among the Cowboys fanbase with the play of Dak Prescott and if the Cowboys fail to win a postseason game or possibly even reach the NFC championship game the blame will fall on head coach Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott. McCarthy will no doubt be fired, but what of Prescott? The defense is good enough to win now, as is the running game, but the passing attack leaves more to be desired with Prescott’s inconsistencies.

In the NFL no one’s job is safe and nothing is guaranteed unless you have it in writing. Prescott has a no-trade clause in his contract but could be waived for teams like Tampa Bay or New Orleans that are in-now mode. The issue is that both of those teams are in cap hell and have the least amount of money available this next season. If Prescott wants to leave it may be to a team that isn’t as good but can handle his contract or he will have to restructure his contract to fit the needs of teams that want to trade for him.

Thank you for reading this year’s Overreaction Tuesdays. I appreciate and thank every one of you for taking the time to read these and cannot wait for another season of NFL football so that I can write them again for you. For more Chicago Sports and all things, NFL follow ChiCitySports on Twitter and Facebook.

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Ryan Borucki is the latest left-handed pitcher to sign with the Cubs on a minor-league contract that includes an invitation to major-league spring training, the team announced Tuesday.

Of the six such signings the Cubs have made official in the past month, three have been lefties. Borucki, who was born in the Chicago suburb Highland Park, joins Roenis El?as and Eric Stout. Throughout this rebuild, the Cubs have valued left-handed pitching depth, both in their acquisitions and draft choices.

Borucki and El?as join the organization with a combined 229 games of major-league experience. Both have played for multiple organizations and most recently pitched for the Mariners. Borucki, 28, is younger than El?as, 34. El?as has been turning heads in the Dominican Winter League, entering Tuesday with a 0.92 ERA in seven starts.

Stout, also a hometown kid, has only played 23 major-league games. But he rejoins the Cubs after a momentous return to the big-leagues at Wrigley Field last year. His Cubs debut was also his first MLB appearance since 2018.

The Cubs also announced Tuesday that catcher P.J. Higgins had rejected his outright assignment, electing free agency.

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“Good afternoon everyone. I’m very happy to be back again at Belmont Village. My name is Jim Kendros, and I had such a wonderful time being here before. We’re going to explore great music today.”

An audience of about two dozen people, including my parents, gathered in the lobby of a senior living community in Buffalo Grove last week.

“Today I have a program called ‘Mozart and More,'” Kendros continues.

He plays “Carol of the Bells” on the piano. It quickly becomes clear that the lobby is not the best environment for a recital. Noisy conversations erupt. Phones ring. A few residents arrive, late and loudly. A janitor rolls a garbage can rumbling by.

None of this fazes Kendros, talking major versus minor, diving into musical theory.

“Chances are you have heard something we call the ‘incipit’ in music,” he says. “I-N-C-I-P-I-T. It’s a Latin word that basically means the smallest part of a melody.”

Kendros does this for a living. He also lectures before concerts, as well as social clubs and libraries. He is a composer, creator of the Mount Prospect Overture.

For me, just visiting here once a week can be an occasion for somber reflection. I wondered how Kendros views his audience.

“They’re near the end of their lives, even though I hope they will live another 20, 30 years,” he told me, earlier, over the phone. “I would like to believe I’m bringing them not only new things to think about but helping them to feel younger.”

Music certainly is an elixir of youth. And Kendros offers food for thought. What most impressed me about him the first time I heard him was when he said the reason America leads the world in popular music is because we have such a diverse population — so many different ethnic groups bringing so many musical traditions to the table. I’d never thought about it that way before, and it made sense. I also liked the idea of learning something new in the lobby of a place like this.

Kendros plays “Moon River” by “the immortal Henry Mancini” — the “and more” part of the “Mozart and More ” program. Music appreciation is not the only appreciation he encourages.

“We live better than the kings of Mozart’s time,” he says. “Even the most modest among us have luxuries that the kings of Mozart’s day wouldn’t have had when you think about it.”

His focus shifts from the greats to those assembled.

“Mozart had a fascinating life, dying just before he was 36,” Kendros says. “Then again, people died of things we could easily cure today. When you look at it, life was so precarious. My gosh, if you made it into your 40s or 50s, you were considered lucky. When you think about it, the quality of life we have today, and how we’re extending it, is just amazing.”

That’s true. My dad is 90. His father died at 61.

“Does anyone know what is a piano concerto?” Kendros asks. I’ve heard the word, and have a vague idea. Something symphonic.

“What are the attributes?”

Nobody volunteers. Kendros explains “concerto” means “a dialogue between the orchestra and a soloist. A piano concerto is a work for orchestra with a piano. You can do it with a violin. We can have a concerto for anything. I have heard concertos for bassoons — Vivaldi wrote well over 30. Accordion. Harmonica. Ukulele.”

His view on talking with the residents of senior homes may be surprising.

“It’s a joy,” he said, previously. “An absolute joy. They have the most incredible stories. When you get them to open up, they have amazing stories to tell. … They are people who have Alzheimer’s. People in wheelchairs, with breathing conditions. The point is, new knowledge and looking at people as though they are just people helps them to feel younger, makes them feel more vital. They have hard-won life experience, and they have something to contribute to society.”

He said the problem is that others tend not to listen.

“If we just talk to them as normal people would, as you and I would like to be spoken to, you see a dramatic transformation. I see it all the time. They just glow.”

That is a truth of life: You get out what you put in. Music helps. As does learning new stuff. So it makes sense that learning new stuff about music really helps.

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Simeon’s weekend sweep over a pair of out-of-state foes, particularly Imhotep Charter, a nationally-ranked powerhouse out of Philadelphia, is another example of coach Robert Smith’s often overlooked impact on the state’s premier program.

There has always been an abundance of talent at Simeon in Smith’s 19 years as head coach. While Smith has won big with Division I players, including a couple of generational high school talents in Derrick Rose and Jabari Parker, he’s also shown to be a coach who has a unique way of keeping good and great teams all on the same page.

Smith understands and thrives in managing talent. He keeps egos and all different personalities in check. He massages any potential friction when it pops up among a team full of individual talent. Whether fans — or even other coaches — want to believe it, that part of coaching is an art and not for everyone.

When talking with a head coach of another high-profile team in the Chicago area recently, he stated, “I now have a total appreciation for what Rob Smith has done as a coach. You don’t truly understand how he’s done it until you see it for yourself.”

What the coach was emphasizing in that discussion is the challenge of being in charge of a loaded roster and maximizing its talent. With the outside distractions that come with coaching high-profile players, it’s not easy. Smith has consistently passed that test with flying colors over the past two decades.

Smith has also been a coach who has won when he’s not supposed to.

After winning back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007, Smith lost all five senior starters and still reached a state championship game in 2008, losing to Marshall to finish second in the state.

The 2010 state title came when everyone wrote the Wolverines off in February when they suffered their ninth defeat and Brandon Spearman was the team’s only double-figure scorer.

There have also been wins like this past Saturday over Imhotep, the No. 8 team in the country who, on paper, had more individual talent. Smith’s Wolverines have regularly knocked off bigger, more talented national heavyweights.

Simeon wasn’t supposed to beat mighty Oak Hill Academy, the No. 1 ranked team in the country, in 2007. They were underdogs in 2015 before taking down Bishop Gorman and 6-10 Chase Jeter and 6-11 Stephen Zimmerman, two of the top 15 prospects in the country.

And this season’s No. 1 ranked Simeon team is even better than anyone expected.

Smith, who is seeking his seventh state championship in his final season as head coach, is closing in on another milestone: 500 wins. A victory over No. 3 Kenwood in a showdown Tuesday night would be win No. 495.

DJ Douglas steps up

It sure didn’t take long for Yorkville Christian to churn out another mega-scoring, record-setting guard.

Jaden Schutt departed for Duke after leading the Mustangs to a Class 1A state title last season and scoring over 2,000 points in his career.

Now senior David “DJ” Douglas is putting up a whopping 33 points a game following his school record 56-point explosion in last week’s win over Ottawa Marquette. He’s made 62 three-pointers and made a living at the line (11 attempts a game) while shooting 89 percent.

Douglas averaged what now seems to be a modest 21.5 points a game in four Thanksgiving tournament games. Since then he’s averaged just under 40 points a game.

Douglas was a double-figure scorer as a junior for the state championship team. But he was the lone contributor to return this season. He’s making the most of his senior season. The 6-4 guard is a scholarship-caliber player and one of the better uncommitted prospects remaining in the senior class. He’s a deadly catch-and-shoot threat from the three-point line but has progressed nicely as an all-around scorer and threat with the ball in his hands.

The shooter

After watching months of club basketball in the offseason and the first half of this 2022-23 season, I’ve seen enough: Cole Certa of Bloomington Central Catholic is the state’s best shooter.

And with several early commitments, including the trio of Morez Johnson, James Brown and Nojus Indrusaitis at St. Rita, the junior guard is also the best uncommitted Class of 2024 prospect in Illinois.

Certa is still a very slender 6-5, but he’s gained some weight and strength that has enabled him to become a more complete scorer and player.

With offensive outbursts of 47, 38 and 37 points already this season, he’s shown to be more than just a shooter. The shot is pure and soft out of the hand and he boasts unlimited range beyond the three-point line. But he’s able to score the basketball in a variety of ways.

Certa is already a hot commodity among local programs. Loyola, Southern Illinois, Bradley and Illinois State all offered last summer. But Big Ten teams Northwestern and Penn State have jumped in with offers since.

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Chicago Bears Jake Tonges

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As the Bears enter what everyone expects to be a pivotal offseason in general manager Ryan Poles’ plans to build a winner, he’s not making any bold declarations.

“Everyone’s talking about how much money we have and how we’re gonna go crazy,” Poles said. “We need to be sound.”

After a year of demolition, Poles now has a tremendous opportunity to build the roster with a full slate of draft picks, including No. 1 overall, and a league-high $118.1 million in salary-cap space.

In Poles’ first season, the Bears went 3-14 under coach Matt Eberflus and finished with a franchise-worst 10-game losing streak. They finished 23rd in scoring (19.2 points per game) and last in scoring defense (27.2).

The Bears opened with an upset of the 49ers amid a heavy downpour at Soldier Field and were still hanging on at 3-4 after beating the Patriots on Monday Night Football in Week 7.

Throughout his first year, Poles offloaded experienced, expensive players in favor of draft picks future cap space. He traded three-time All-Pro Khalil Mack for a second-round pick that he used to draft safety Jaquan Brisker, then dealt linebacker Roquan Smith for a second-rounder and defensive end Robert Quinn for a fourth during the season.

“I know we’re healthier now than we were a year before,” he said Tuesday.

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Bears general manager Ryan Poles said he expects quarterback Justin Fields to be his starter in 2023.

The Bears hold the top pick in this year’s draft, but Poles all-but-squashed the notion he’d take a passer with the selection.

“I’d have to be absolutely blown away to make that type of decision,” he said Tuesday.

Alabama’s Bryce Young is considered the best quarterback in the draft, and nine quarterbacks have been taken first overall since 2010. Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter and Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson are the two best defensive players in the draft, and would each fill a Bears need.

Poles left open the possibility the Bears could trade the pick.

Fields finished the season 64 yards shy of breaking Lamar Jackson’s single-season rushing record for a quarterback. His passing, though, left a lot to be desired: he finished the regular season 25th in passer rating, tied for 16th in passing touchdowns and 27th in yards.

“He has to get better as a passer,” Poles said.

Fields went 3-12 as a starter this season, missing the Jets game with a separated left shoulder and sitting out the finale with what the Bears called a hip injury. Fields said Monday that his hip was about 80 percent. He could have played, he said, but might have been limited.

Without Fields at quarterback, the Bears lost their franchise-record 10th straight game Sunday. The Texans’ win against the Colts minutes after the Bears lost to the Vikings ensured the Bears would draft first overall.

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