The series continues. This one requires no additional comment.
Someone made a YouTube playlist of over *200 complete episodes* of SISKEL & EBERT, from 1978 to 1999. Pray for me, I may never emerge from this rabbit hole…https://t.co/GRHEiaQ566 pic.twitter.com/hHrO7DdFVz
— Steven Melching, WGAw (@stevenmelching) June 2, 2023
Continuing our series celebrating Chicago culture…
Here is how Roger Ebert opened his review of Joe Maggio’s terrific, and sadly forgotten, The Last Rites of Joe May:
You meet guys like Joe May. They can get you a price on some merchandise that fell off the back of some truck. in the performance of his career, Dennis Farina depicts the type flawlessly in “The Last Rites of Joe May.” He looks into the type and sees the man inside: proud, weary, fearful.
This movie takes place on the West Side of Chicago, without a single “beauty shot.” Not a skyscraper in sight. Only gray, cold streets, shabby bars and forlorn bus stops. Joe May has just been released from Cook County Hospital after a siege of pneumonia that nearly killed him. Before he goes home, he goes to a bar. “Jeez, I thought you was dead,” the bartender says. Nothing about how he’s glad to see Joe is alive.
This is not a pleasant watch, but it’s an important one as a city film. And in so many ways it caps off Farina’s brilliant film career, a career that saw him emerges like a storm in Midnight Run and subsequently steal films away from superstars in Get Shorty and Snatch. The trailer is below, but the film is streaming free on Peacock and rentable in all the normal places.
Chicago is one of the greatest cities in the world. Does it have problems? Of course. That’s what happens when three million people to one place. But it’s a cultural mecca, truly unique on the American landscape and worthy of celebration.
This week DBB is spotlighting The Rap Pack, a collection of original artists whose hip hop adaptations of classic works (Shakespeare, Dickens, etc.) predate the work of Lin Miranda by decades and, for my money, provide far more depth. Whereas Miranda’s work is a sanitized, antiquated use of the form, The Rap Pack have always seemed to be of the moment, of their time. The members are the Q Brothers Collective: GQ (Gregory Qaiyum), JQ (Jeffrey Qaiyum), Jax (Jackson Doran) and Pos (Postell Pringle) and the Qaiyums are also the family who own and operate the legendary Merz Apothecary in town.
Below is their latest video, a twisted, hysterical homage to the legendary Sabotage video that features my buddy JQ dressed like Magnum P.I. Give it a watch, and follow these guys as they continue producing brilliant work.
Coaches and players continue to rave about the QB and the general vibe around the team.
That’s not new this time of year.
What is new is that the play on the field backs it up. More times than not, that hasn’t been the case in my 13 years covering this team.
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) June 1, 2023
Another week in the books! Another round of links from around the world of the Chicago Bears.
A final note:
A few weeks back, the Tribune’s Rick Pearson “won the Chicago Headline Club’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award along with three other veteran journalists who have covered Chicago for decades.” Rick is a terrific guy, a brilliant journalist, and a good friend. Since first meeting him with Reverend Dave at the Billy Goat over a decade ago, getting together with Rick at the Goat has been the only “must do” thing on every one of my trips to Chicago. He IS Chicago to me, and I want to congratulate him on this much-deserved honor.
As Chicago’s roster takes shape after what was thought to be a monumental offseason, it’s becoming clear who may or may not be key parts of the team going forward, despite what was previously believed. Here are three winners and three losers of the 2023 offseason.
Justin Fields
Fields has to make this list because the team announced with authority that Fields is The Guy.
Even after last season, it was fair to question if the Bears viewed Fields as the quarterback they wanted moving forward. (If we all acknowledge the moves Poles made this offseason show the team’s commitment to Fields, then we must also acknowledge that the moves Poles made last year showed uncertainty about the young quarterback.) The Bears did their homework on the quarterbacks in the draft — a decent group — and instead decided to stick with Fields, knowing they almost certainly wouldn’t be in position to draft a replacement next year.
Poles added a top-20 wide receiver and replaced the entire right side of the offensive line. He signed a free agent running back and drafted another; added a wide receiver in the draft and signed a tight end who has been a productive player in the NFL.
Fields is the guy, now he has to reward the faith.
Teven Jenkins
Jenkins might have to fight for his job but there’s no question he will enter training camp as the favorite to start at left guard. Many expected the Bears to spend a Day Two pick on either a center or a guard. Instead, the team didn’t draft a single interior offensive lineman. That means Jenkins is penciled in at left guard with Cody Whitehair shifting to center and Lucas Patrick backing both of them up.
Question One. Can they engineer a pass rush?
The Eagles had 70 sacks in 2022. The Bears had 20. This means that on average, the Eagles generated 2.9 more sacks per game. That number is massive and should give fans a clue as to how far this club needs to travel to be a title contender.
Everyone knows the Bears need to add a player or two at the edge position (Floyd, Yannick, etc.) but it’s unlikely the player they add is going to be a dominant player. Those players aren’t still available as free agents in the summer. The Bears have to double that sack total in 2023 if they want to be even a mediocre defense.
Question Two. How long will the new offensive line take to gel?
60% of their starting offensive linemen will be new in 2023, and with Teven Jenkins changing positions, one can easily consider this group 80% new. How long will Darnell Wright take to get his professional feet wet? How long will it take Jenkins to learn a new position? Can Cody Whitehair stay healthy in the middle and, if not, will Lucas Patrick get the opportunity to show he can play the position when he has a working right thumb? The 2023 offensive line has the potential to be a solid unit. But that may take some time, and the Bears need to make sure the season doesn’t drown as a result of the growing pains.
Question Three. Is DJ Moore the final piece of “the Fields puzzle”?
Justin Fields’ strength as a passer is the deep ball. DJ Moore dominates deep.
Fields has struggled with intermediate and underneath passing, primarily because his receivers haven’t separated and that has forced him to throw into tight, contested windows. Moore separates, even from the best corners, and should be able to make the shallow cross a dominant feature of this offense. If he provides what the Bears believe he will, a breakout season from the quarterback likely.
I did try my best,
to make this about the Bears.
But I got nothing.
Content (probably just another haiku) returns Tuesday!
Safe travels to all who are traveling this Memorial Day Weekend. And if you have a few pops, don’t get behind the wheel of your car. It has never been easier in this world to find a ride from one place to another. Don’t put your life, or the lives of others, in jeopardy.
Now, some reading material for the weekend.
Leonard Floyd’s career was seen as a disappointment.
The GM who traded up to draft him with the ninth overall pick rescinded his fifth-year option and instead signed an older player, Robert Quinn. While Quinn had one great season with the Bears, that move looks like a clear mistake; Floyd picked up 29 sacks in three years with the Rams.
It isn’t just the sacks. Floyd had 22 quarterback hits last year, 18 the year before and 19 in 2020 — the three best totals of his career. A large part of the success has to do with Aaron Donald constantly destroying the pocket. Another part is just that the Rams let him rush the passer more; Floyd had 442 pass-rush snaps with the Bears in 2019, according to Pro Football Focus. He averaged 561 per season with the Rams.
Floyd would bring speed and bend off the edge that the Bears don’t currently have. He has also been durable, not missing a game since 2017. Will that continue? (He’ll turn 31 next season.)
