Normally this space, at this time, features what I call “rapid fire”. Because I insist on having new content by the time Chicago wakes up, which I arbitrarily deem to take place at 5 AM CT, “rapid fire” lets me pile a bunch of random thoughts, with absolutely zero structure, onto the blog. I don’t promote it on Twitter. I’m not particularly proud of it. It’s basically twelve or thirteen bullet-pointed Tweets. It’s not filler. But it’s close.

Yesterday’s performance by the Chicago Bears requires more than a mailed-in Monday. Because yesterday’s performance by the Chicago Bears was about a championship caliber team delivering a championship caliber performance in the face of adversity. Their defensive battery – Akiem Hicks and Roquan Smith – were not on the field. Their young quarterback was out for the game (and seemingly far longer) before most of the Soldier Field faithful got to their seats. They had every excuse Sunday to lose. And instead they did what we have come to expect in this new Matt Nagy era: they dominated their opponent.

It’d be easy to write about Khalil Mack today. He’s the most explosive defensive player in a Bears uniform in my lifetime. (Did the Raiders trade him to the Bears…on purpose?)

It’d be even easier to write about the The Two Nicks, Williams and Kwiatkoski. These supposed depth pieces looked like All Pros.

It’d be even easier than that to write about Chase Daniel, a journeyman backup many fans wanted cut this summer because he failed to develop rapport with Tanner Gentry in fake games. Yesterday he recorded a 101.4 passer rating against one of the league’s best defenses. (And yes, this was slightly higher than Aaron Rodgers fared a few weeks back.) Did he have to do much? No. Did he do exactly enough? Yes.

[Check out Peter King’s excellent post-game conversation with Daniel HERE.]

Many thought the Minnesota Vikings would win yesterday and assert themselves in the NFC North. Even those who picked the Bears had a difficult time seeing the contest as anything but a tight one. There were five individuals picking this game in the Sun-Times sports section. Three had the game 13-10. One had the game 15-12. One had a shootout at 21-20. Five picks with an average differential of 2.6 points.

The game was decided by ten and it didn’t feel anywhere near that close.

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Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears This Week?

I always like the Chicago Bears.

And they can’t drop two home division games and expect to win the NFC North.

Trite, Boring Thoughts on the Vikings

• Dalvin Cook has been the best running back in the sport through three weeks, averaging a staggering 6.6 yards per attempt on 66 carries. Gary Kubiak and Rick Dennison have built Minnesota’s offense around the run game and subsequently taken the pressure off Kirk Cousins. They are a team built to play with the lead.
  • But the Bears are allowing 68.7 yards a game on the ground. So something’s gotta give.
• Cousins has only thrown 63 passes this season. That’s by far the lowest total in the league, 22 fewer than the 31st ranked 49ers. That’s 40 fewer passes than the Bears have attempted this season! When Cousins had to pass – against the Packers – he completed 43.8% of his passes to a rating of 52.9. This is a bad, bad match-up for the Vikings quarterback.
• A few players who jumped off Vikings tape:
  • Rookie Irv Smith Jr. is working out of the slot and adds a terrific dimension to their receiving corps as a high-percentage throw/catch guy.
  • Eric Wilson was all over the field against the Raiders, registering 11 tackles and 2 sacks. (He started in place of Anthony Barr.) Wilson is one of those defenders the OL must account for at the snap.

Tweet of the Week

Cat Beard pic.twitter.com/jq5GSZi79a

— 41 Strange (@41Strange) September 23, 2019

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“Home”

I remember the shotgun.

Loaded, leaned up against his rocking chair,

smatterings of his faded blood on the porch planks he laid

with haggard hands so many years before.

He wore a wide-brimmed Akubra, tilted forward to cover his eyes.

Not a cowboy hat. Or a Stetson. An Akubra.

He sipped from a cold can.

He waited.

When they drove by, they drove by slowly.

He laid the can on the porch,

raised the shotgun to his lap,

and showed them his eyes.

This was his home.

And he would protect it.

It was the kind of game it should be. The Bears were the far better team and they won with relative ease. Here are some thoughts.

• Mitch Trubisky was not great. But this game was a serious positive. A few bad throws. A few terrific moments. But overall he just seemed far more comfortable operating the offense.
• David Montgomery has to get more carries moving forward. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry on 13 attempts last night. That’s ten too few. Montgomery wears down defenses. The offense will be at its best when it moves through the rookie.
• Don’t think I’ve ever seen a more negligent offensive game plan than Washington’s. Had they not heard of Khalil Mack? Did he catch them off guard? Singling him with a tight end? Mack is the second best defensive player in the entire sport. And on nights like last night, he’s second to none.
• Injuries starting to mount. Pineiro. Hicks. Gabriel. Nichols already on the shelf. The Bears are playing a huge divisional game, on a short week, potentially short-handed.
• HaHa Clinton-Dix looked like Eddie Jackson.
• Two weeks ago, Danny Tevathan looked like he was on the decline. Last night he looked like the best player on the field at times.
• What the hell was up with all the offsides penalties? The Bears have a brilliant defense but they better be more disciplined against better opponents.
• Cordarrelle Patterson wants to make plays. But does he have to take the ball out of the end zone on every kickoff?

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Be the kid down the park tonight, Mitch.

Effortlessly tossing the ball to his friends.

Allay the fears of those off the pitch.

Thrill all the guards and the backs and tight ends.

This is your moment, this is your team.

Harness the rising tide and

Execute the goddamn scheme.

Seethe at the criticism and rise above it.

Kid, this is the gig that you covet.

It’s drifting away, but

Not now, not today.

Start playing ball like you love it.

Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears This Week?

I always like the Chicago Bears.

And I think they will build off the miracle. (See yesterday’s column.)

Trite, Boring Thoughts on the Washington Football Team

• Redskins are simply not very good on defense.
  • They are giving up 168 yards per game on the ground through two weeks, better only than the Dolphins – who are not a professional football team. If there were ever a week for the Bears to get their run game going, it has to be Monday night.
  • When one watches Washington tape it’s remarkable how many open receivers they allow. Opponents are completing nearly 79% of their passes against them. 79%!! And they have been brutalized by the deep ball. The Bears can’t take a conservative approach with their passing attack. They have to force the Washington secondary to chase the football because they’ve shown no ability to do so effectively yet.
  • Only the Denver Broncos (0) have fewer sacks than the Redskins (2) so this is not a game Trubisky should spend under duress. This is a week the Bears offensive line needs to put on their backs.
• Two things positive for the Redskins:
  • While the outcomes have been bad, they have actually been competitive early in both of their games, especially the opener against Philly.
  • Case Keenum looks comfortable running Jay Gruden’s offense and is statistically off to a flying start. I didn’t know much about Terry McLaurin and Trey Quinn but they look like solid, professional pass catchers on the tape.

Great D.C. Movie Scenes, Volume I

Tweet of the Week

I spent way too much time putting together this video of Alex Trebek saying the word “genre,” so now you have to RT it. Sorry, I don’t make the rules pic.twitter.com/VacI730SJv

— Alex Jacob (@whoisalexjacob) September 13, 2019

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“Put in their hands thy bruising irons of wrath,
That they may crush down with heavy fall
The usurping helmets of our adversaries.”

-Shakespeare, Richard III

It was a miracle.

You know it.

I know it.

A miracle.

The Bears were beaten in Denver and their fans were emotionally bruised in barrooms across the country. There was a funereal silence at Bar 43 in Sunnyside, Queens. You could almost hear a buffalo wing as it crashed to the floor, sauce gently spraying onto the lower legs of white jeans.

Then it happened.

A weird call.

A brilliant play.

A kicker makes a kick.

Club Dub.

Now…keep it going, Bears.

Build on the miracle.

Was Sunday in Denver a great performance? Of course not.

The offense was putrid again and until those final moments it didn’t even seem to be trying to move the ball down the field.

If the Broncos had three more possessions in the game they would have scored three more touchdowns. That’s how gassed the defense was.

But they won.

They tallied the totals after an hour and the Bears had more.

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