Bears Update

The 2013 season review for the Bears will post next Monday due to the news that surfaced yesterday.  The Bears have re-signed three targets already, a change from previous seasons when they let negotiations with Matt Forte and Henry Melton go down to the wire, even tagging both players, before eventually working out a long-term deal with Forte.

Yesterday, the Bears announced that Jay Cutler has been signed to a seven-year deal that will go through 2020.  The numbers on the contract have not been released yet, but there are reports that they are slightly higher than Matthew Stafford’s average of $17.6 million per season.  I’ll get more into the implications of this contract as we move through January, but as for now, it’s great news that Cutler will be back with the Bears for the foreseeable future.  Plus, with the return of Trestman and hopefully Aaron Kromer, Cutler will finally have some stability in the offensive gameplan so expect the Bears’ offense to continue improving next year.

The re-signing of LG Matt Slauson also helps with that offensive stability.  Roberto Garza is still a pending free agent, but considering the Bears changed up four positions on their offensive line last offseason, it’s awfully nice to see them heading into next season with four positions already decided!

Lastly, CB Tim Jennings signed a four-year extension.  An underrated cornerback, Jennings was one of, if not the only, the bright spots on the Bears’ defense.  Over the last two seasons, Jennings is 2nd in the NFL behind Seahawks’ CB Richard Sherman for total interceptions.  It’s a good signing and he took a discount to stay with the Bears so the extension should not handcuff the team financially.  Now to see if they can get something worked out with Charles Tillman.

And those are your updates.  Cutler, Slauson, Jennings- Completed.  Still to be worked out?

James Anderson, Zachary Bowman, Eben Britton, Landon Cohen, Nate Collins, Blake Costanzo, Roberto Garza, Kelvin Hayden, Devin Hester, Derrick Martin, Josh McCown, Patrick Mannelly, Sherrick McManis, Henry Melton, Jordan Palmer, Jeremiah Ratliff, Dante Rosario, Jonathan Scott, Craig Steltz, Charles Tillman, D.J. Williams, Corey Wootton, Major Wright…

Man, this is going to be a crazy offseason.

 

As always, your weekend Chicago sports schedule (games to watch)

Blackhawks @ Devils – Friday, 6:00 pm

 

Bulls vs. Hawks – Saturday, 7:00 pm     WGN

 

Blackhawks vs. Sharks – Sunday, 7:00 pm     NBC Sports Network

Bears-Packers Review

As I’m sure you know, the Bears 2013 season came to an end last Sunday afternoon when they dropped a heartbreaker to the Green Bay Packers 33-28.

What looked hopeful for a while with the Bears leading by 28-27 with under a minute left turned into devastation as Aaron Rodgers and the Packers converted a 4th-and-8 for a 48-yard touchdown to Randall Cobb.  I was driving home with my family at the time listening to the game on the radio.  Holding hands with my wife for the 4th down play, excitement and anticipation turned immediately into complete silence.  It was one of the most abrupt emotional changes I had ever experienced.

When you think about it, however, the season ended in an appropriate way.  Throughout this season, there have been several games where if one play had gone differently, the Bears would have won the game.  For example, if the Bears get one defensive stop in their 45-41 loss to the Redskins, if Cutler gets pulled one drive earlier in their home against the Lions, if Robbie Gould hits the game-winning kick against the Vikings that he has hit so many times before…  The Bears finished the season at .500.  They could just have easily finished 12-4.

Secondly, the defense held the Bears back all season.  It’s appropriate that the defense is to blame for their season ending.  Consider that Jay Cutler had a QB rating of 103.8, his 3rd best total of the season.  Matt Forte, meanwhile, had over 100 yards rushing and 3 TDs, two rushing and one receiving.  The offense had a great game and it should have been enough for the Bears to win.  However, the defense was haunted again by terrible safety play.  It seems only right that the last defensive play of the season was a lapse in coverage by Chris Conte, leading to the GW touchdown.

And so the Bears head to an offseason after a very disappointing regular season.  However, this team is definitely trending up.  In one offseason, Phil Emery and Marc Trestman were able to improve an offense from 16th in PPG and 28th in YPG to 2nd and 8th, respectively, in one offseason.  After that triumph, it seems crazy to think that the defense won’t also improve at least a little bit.  Of course, after setting franchise records for most rushing yards allowed and most points given up, anything will be an improvement.  How much the defense improves will likely determine the team’s success next season.

I’m excited to see the changes on defense in the offseason and am excited that there is finally a reason to be hopeful about the offense.

 

Your daily Chicago sports schedule (one game to watch)

Blackhawks @ Islanders – 6:00 pm

Bulls vs. Celtics – 7:00 pm

Bears Done…

I took last week off for Christmas and won’t be posting tomorrow or New Years Day.  I’ll be back on Thursday with a recap of yesterday afternoon’s heartbreaking Bears loss to the Packers and then will post a season review on Friday, but before that, I wanted to wish everyone the happiest of holidays.

Another Bear-less postseason and two NIU losses to close out the season have made this a pretty terrible end to the Chicago sports 2013 so I have to say, I’m very much looking forward to 2014.

Sans Blackhawks, this has been one depressing season to be a Chicago sports fan…

And on that note, happy New Year everyone!

Bears-Eagles Week 16 Preview

Due to computer issues, I haven’t been able to post.  For that reason, there is an extended “Who To Root For” feature after this preview.  On Sunday night, the Bears will take on the Eagles in Philadelphia with the potential of clinching the NFC North.  In Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers has been ruled out of the Packers’ game against the Steelers and depending on which New York Giants team shows up to play in Detroit, both the Packers and Lions could have lost by the time the Bears and Eagles meet.  If that is the case, a win will lock up the NFC North.  I couldn’t have seen myself writing that three weeks ago.  The NFL changes so fast and the Bears have to take advantage of their fortunate situation.

 

Three Matchups to Watch

1) DeSean Jackson vs. Tim Jennings

On Sunday, Tim Jennings will attempt to continue his good streak of play against some of the league’s best receivers.  Over the past two weeks, Jennings has held Dez Bryant and Josh Gordon to a total of 5 catches for 79 yards and 2 TDs.  That’s simply phenomenal production from the cornerback position.  However, DeSean Jackson is a different kind of animal.  Where Bryant and Gordon are big, physical receivers, DeSean Jackson is equally small and fast.  Jennings will once again need to be on the top of his game to limit Jackson, who is coming off of a 10 catch, 195 yard game against the Vikings.  To fully stop Jackson, the Bears will also need Chris Conte to be on the top of his game.  If there is a single coverage lapse, it could spell six points for the Eagles.

 

2) LeSean McCoy vs. Bears Front Four

The Eagles have the best RB in the NFL.  McCoy leads all RBs with 1,343 rushing yards and is 4th with 507 receiving yards.  There’s not much to be said about the Bears run defense that hasn’t already been discussed.  The Bears are last in the NFL in run defense by a long shot giving up 152.4 yards per game.  The difference between them and the 31st ranked New England Patriots is 19.9 yards, or more than the difference between those Patriots and the 18th ranked Kansas City Chiefs.  Ouch!  Look for the Eagles to exploit the Bears defense in the run game.  If the Bears can keep McCoy under 175 yards, it will be a victory for the defense.

 

3) Matt Forte vs. Eagles Front Four

This game will be a battle of the running backs.  Matt Forte has also had a great season currently ranking 3rd in the NFL with 1,200 yards.  He is coming off of three straight 100-plus yard games and as Forte moves, so does the Bears offense.  This entire game is an interesting matchup as both teams feature top-10 offenses and bottom-half defenses.  The game is likely to be a shoot-out and the running back that has the better day will likely determine the winner.

 

Who Wins?

I’ve come too far to give up on the Bears.  I’ll go Chicago 34, Philadelphia 28.

 

Who to Root For?

As the Bears are in 1st place, it’s time to start looking at potential playoff matchups.  If the Bears are to win the NFC North, they are likely to win out this season.  That would put them in the #3 seed ahead of whoever finishes in 1st in the NFC East.  They would take on the #6 seed at home.  A win in that game would lead to a road game against the #2 seed, likely the winner of the NFC South.  In that matchup, I think it would be easier to win on the road in Carolina than on the road in New Orleans.  Because of that, I’ll be rooting for the Panthers over the Saints this week.  We’ve already seen what happened to the Bears when they played the Saints at home, so I’d prefer for them to face off against the 49ers at home.  Because of that, I’ll be rooting for the Falcons on Monday night against San Francisco.  Of course, I’ll also be rooting for the Giants and Steelers to beat the Lions and Packers, respectively.  If those four outcomes come to fruition and the Bears get a win in Philadelphia, they will be well positioned for a deep playoff run.

 

As always, your weekend Chicago sports schedule (games to watch)

Blackhawks vs. Canucks – Friday, 7:00 pm     NHL Network

 

Bulls vs. Cavaliers – Saturday, 7:00 pm     NBATV

 

Bears @ Eagles – Sunday, 7:30 pm     NBC

Bears in 1st!

Let’s spend the day enjoying the fact that the Chicago Bears are alone in 1st place with two more games to play.  The Lions lost to the Ravens 18-16 last night and fell to 3rd place at 7-7.  A look at the standings:

Chicago Bears- 8-6
Green Bay Packers- 7-6-1
Detroit Lions- 7-7

Because of their loss, the Lions are likely to miss the playoffs.  The Packers play at home against the Steelers next Sunday and the Bears play primetime against the Eagles in Philadelphia.  If both teams win, the Lions will be eliminated from playoff contention as the Bears and Packers play against each other in Chicago in Week 17.

Another thing that helps the Bears is that they’re still a half game ahead of the Packers.  Because of that, if the Lions lose either of their last two games, the Bears will only need to win in Week 17 to win the NFC North.  Seeing as the Lions play the Giants at home and then end the season in Minnesota, the easiest thing for the Bears to do is, in the words of Al Davis, just win, baby.

And if the Bears win next Sunday and the Packers and Lions both lose, Week 17 won’t matter.

Basically, fortune is in the Bears’ hands.

Feels good.

 

Your daily Chicago sports schedule (one game to watch)

Blackhawks @ Predators – 7:00 pm

Bears-Browns Review

What started out worrisome finished with a relatively easy last five minutes of the game.  Yesterday, the Bears hurt themselves drive after drive with turnovers.  Jay Cutler threw two picks, one in the endzone and one returned for a touchdown, but recovered to post a quarterback rating over 100.  Martellus Bennett had a critical fumble also returned for a touchdown, but once again, the heroics of Alshon Jeffery and Matt Forte shown through and the Bears were able to escape the Factory of Sadness with a 38-31 victory.

 

MVP-

Zachary Bowman and Tim Jennings

I’m giving out co-MVPs to the Bears’ cornerbacks.  They single-handedly (double-handedly?) kept the Bears in this game.  Zachary Bowman came through with the defense’s two interceptions, one of them returned for a touchdown, and Tim Jennings consistently shut down Josh Gordon, who only posted three catches for 67 yards, but that includes a 43-yard garbage time touchdown, when the game was already out of hand.  The cornerback play for the Bears this season has been fairly steady.  It hasn’t been anything close to last year, when the Bears became the first NFL team to have both starting cornerbacks in the Pro Bowl, but that was an anomaly.  For a defense that has seen inconsistent play from its linebacking corps and bad play from its front four and safeties, it’s nice to still have a defensive unit to rely on.  Bowman has done a great job filling in for Charles Tillman and he may be worth re-signing in the offseason.

Honorable Mentions- Matt Forte, James Anderson, Devin Hester

 

LVP-

Adam Podlesh

I know, I’m surprised too.  I decided to give punter Adam Podlesh the LVP because there were moments in yesterday’s game where the Bears could have really swung field position but were unable to do so due to bad punts.  Podlesh had three punts for an average of 36.7 yards, five yards below his season average, which is currently ranked 32nd in the NFL.  As someone who was brought in last season as an improvement to Brad Maynard, Podlesh simply hasn’t played up to expectations.  I’d be surprised if he’s back with the Bears next season.

Dishonorable Mentions- Shea McClellin, Martellus Bennett, Julius Peppers

 

Next Up-

The Bears will practice this week leading up to an absolutely critical Sunday night game next week at Philadelphia against the Eagles.  If the Detroit Lions lose to the Baltimore Ravens tonight, the Bears will remain in 1st place.  If not, they will return to 2nd place due to the division tiebreaker.  Additionally, after the Cowboys’ hilarious loss to the Packers yesterday afternoon, the Eagles have everything to play for as well.  Lastly, if the Lions lose tonight, they are likely to miss the playoffs as the Bears and Packers would simply need to win out to win the division (due to their week 17 match-up).  These last two weeks are going to be crazy in the NFC North and the NFC East.

 

Your daily Chicago sports schedule (one game to watch)

Bulls vs. Magic – 7:00 pm

Bears-Browns Week 15 Preview

Week 15 poses the Bears’ best chance to take sole possession of 1st place in the NFC North.  On Sunday, the Bears will oppose the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland and then on Monday, the Detroit Lions will face a tough matchup at home against the Baltimore Ravens.  If the Bears and Ravens can escape their prospective games with wins, the Bears will be in the driver’s seat of the NFC North with a decent chance to clinch the division with wins in Philadelphia and at home against the Packers to close out the season.

 

Three Matchups to Watch

1) Alshon Jeffery vs. Buster Skrine

The Browns have potentially the best man coverage cornerback in Joe Haden. Week after week, Haden has shut out opponent’s #1 wide receivers.  However, the Browns haven’t played many teams this year with two legitimate elite receivers.  For that reason, Jeffery will need to take advantage of his soft matchup against Skrine. On paper, this matchup is as good as they come for the Bears.  Skrine is 5’9″ and 185 pounds, giving up 6 inches and 30 pounds to Jeffery.  Additionally, Jeffery has only had one game under 83 yards in his last five games and he has scored three touchdowns in his last two.  I’d look for Marshall to struggle (hovering around 50-75 yards), but for Jeffery to explode.  He has two 200+ receiving games this season.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see a third on Sunday.

 

2) Jay Cutler vs. Cleveland Front Four

Jay Cutler will return to the starting job in this game and he has to stay clean.  In his last appearance, Cutler played relatively well with his “healthy” torn groin against the Detroit Lions until he suffered a high ankle sprain that has kept him out for the Bears’ last four games.  The offensive line also needs to come up big in this one.  Sprains can be tricky from which to come back and with every quarterback hit, Cutler will be more and more at risk of re-injury.  The Browns don’t have a spectacular front four, but they do rank 9th in the NFL with 37 sacks.  Jay Cutler and the offensive line will have their work cut out for them on Sunday but if they succeed, this should be a relatively easy victory.

 

3) Josh Gordon vs. Tim Jennings

On the other side of the ball, the Cleveland Browns feature one of the best receivers in the league as well.  Josh Gordon has had four straight 100+ receiving games with at least one touchdown, and in those four, he has put up 774 yards and 5 TDs, good for an average of 193.5 yards per game.  Pro Bowl cornerback Tim Jennings will be going against quite possibly the hottest wide receiver in the NFL right now.  It’s games like these where the Bears really miss big cornerback Charles Tillman as 5’8″ Tim Jennings will be giving up much the same as Skrine to Jeffery (see #1).  Jennings has played relatively well this season, though not up to his pro bowl pace of last season.  However, if he is able to limit Gordon to under 150 yards, the Bears offense should be able to keep pace with whatever else the Browns are able to do alongside Gordon’s production.

 

Who Wins?

I think the Bears will carry their momentum from Monday night’s victory over the Cowboys into a relatively easy victory over the Browns.  There is too much firepower on the Bears offense for the Browns to keep pace.  To defeat the Bears, teams have needed a strong running game, but against the Browns, who dealt Trent Richardson earlier in the season and have relied on Willis McGahee, Fozzy Whittaker, and Chris Ogbonnaya ever since, the run defense should actually be fine in this one.  Emphasis on the word “should,” but even if the Bears give up 100+ yards on the ground in this one, I still see them escaping with a win.  I’ll go Bears 38, Browns 17.

 

As always, your weekend Chicago sports schedule (games to watch)

Bulls @ Bucks – Friday, 7:30 pm

 

Blackhawks @ Maple Leafs – Saturday, 6:00 pm

Bulls vs. Raptors – Saturday, 7:00 pm

Heisman Trophy Ceremony – Saturday, 7:00 pm     ESPN     Jordan Lynch is a finalist

 

Bears @ Browns – Sunday, 12:00 pm     FOX

Blackhawks vs. Kings – Sunday, 6:00 pm

Hot Stove Rumblings: White Sox and Cubs Dealings

The White Sox and Cubs have both been busy during the annual Winter Meetings as they try to field a winning team for next season.  Though small, the trades that both teams have made could be significant.  See below for your favorite team’s deals:

 

Chicago White Sox

Sign Felipe Paulino
On the first day of winter meetings, the White Sox signed RHP Felipe Paulino.  With a wealth of left-handed pitching (I’ll get into that more in a bit), the Sox needed to balance out their starting rotation.  Paulino does that.  With the Royals most recently in 2012, Paulino was 3-1 in seven starts with a 1.67 ERA.  However, it was the first time he had posted an ERA under 4.11.  He seems to be a bit of a wild card, but as a #4 starter, if he can post an ERA under 4, his $1.75 million deal will be a steal for the Sox.

Trade Hector Santiago for Adam Eaton in three-team deal
Like I wrote, heading into these winter meetings, the White Sox had a wealth of left-handed pitching.  Along with Sale, Quintana, and John Danks, Santiago was the most tradeable of the four.  Chris Sale is one of baseball’s best pitchers, Quintana apparently has an asking price that is way too large, and Danks has a giant contract.  For those reasons, Santiago was expendable.  In exchange, the White Sox received a good prospect in Adam Eaton, who projects to start at center field.  Eaton has great speed and is only 25, which figures into the Sox’s plans to get younger.  Though he has only hit .254 in 88 major league games and missed a majority of last season with a right knee injury, Eaton had 38 SBs and an OBP of .456 in the minor leagues in 2012.  He has garnered comparisons to Aaron Rowand and if that’s true, he’ll become a fan favorite almost immediately.  The White Sox finally have a true leadoff hitter again and they are likely attempting to shop Alejandro DeAza now.  If they are unable to deal him, DeAza will be the 4th outfielder on the south side.

 

Chicago Cubs

Trade Brian Bogusevic for Justin Ruggiano
The Cubs and Marlins exchanged outfielders and I like the deal for the Cubs.  They were able to trade a 30-year-old outfielder that they recently re-signed to a minor league deal for the 31-year-old Ruggiano who hit a career-high 18 HRs last season. Over the past five years, Ruggiano’s games played and HR numbers have risen every year.  He keeps getting better and better, albeit 31-years-old is certainly a question mark as to whether he can keep improving each season.  However, the price the Cubs paid was low and I think the potential rewards in this deal certainly outweigh the risks.

 

Both teams were slightly affected by the Rule 5 Draft.  The Cubs lost pitchers Marcos Mateo and A.J. Morris, 1B Justin Bour, and outfielder Julio Borbon.  They picked up catcher Charles Cutler from the Pirates.  The White Sox, meanwhile, stole catcher Adrian Nieto from the Washington Nationals, but lost no one from their roster.  I doubt that any of these minor moves will have a huge effect on either team. Nevertheless, it’s been an exciting hot stove for both Chicago teams and I’m excited to see their ever-changing starting lineups in 2014.

 

Your daily Chicago sports schedule (one game to watch)

No games

Hump Day Hits- 12/11/13: College Football Reviews

In lieu of doing full season reviews for the disappointing Northwestern Wildcats and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini, I figured I’d put in a post showing where I was right and where I was wrong in the case of both teams.

 

Northwestern Wildcats

Out of all of my season projections, I was most wrong about the Northwestern Wildcats.  I picked them to go 12-1 with a Big Ten Championship victory, their only loss at Wisconsin.  Instead, after dropping a close one to Ohio State in Evanston, the Wildcats tailspun into the ground.  After the Ohio State loss, they lost six more in a row before closing the season with a victory against the Illini.  They finished with a record of 5-7, after starting 4-0, failing to reach a bowl game for the first time since 2007.

I was right in predicting that the Cats would start 4-0.  I was also right in declaring Venric Mark their most important player.  Due to injuries, Mark only played in 2+ games this season.  That killed the Wildcats defense and was the biggest reason for their final 5-7 record.

I was wrong in predicting the upset over Ohio State.  Even with Mark out after the Wisconsin game, I figured that Northwestern could compete against Big Ten-minors Minnesota and Iowa, but once the wheels fell off, they really fell off!  Add to that a complete lack of any good luck (hail mary loss against Nebraska, 8-second tying-field goal against Michigan) in consecutive weeks and looking back in retrospect, the Wildcats never had a chance.

Final Record: 5-7
ChiTownSteve’s Projection: 12-1
ChiTownSteve’s Picks: 6-6 (- Big Ten Championship)

 

University of Illinois Fighting Illini

I was much closer in my projections for the U of I football team.  Illinois finished at 4-8.  I was incorrect on a couple of picks, but for the most part, I had a pretty good season choosing their wins and losses.  There unfortunately is not enough talent on this team to win in a BCS conference like the Big Ten.  Coach Tim Beckman has already been endorsed for another season, but you had better believe that he’ll enter 2014 on the hottest of seats.  Another bowl-less season could see Illini fans watching a different head coach in 2015.

I was right in predicting U of I’s poor record.  I picked the Illini to go 4-8, which was exactly their final record.

However, I was wrong in choosing how they’d get those wins.  I expected the Illini to struggle in their non-conference schedule and then play just under .500 in conference.  Instead, the Illini entered conference play 3-1, but just like Northwestern, were unable to get anything going in the Big Ten and finished with a conference record of 1-7.

Final Record: 4-8
ChiTownSteve’s Projection: 4-8
ChiTownSteve’s Picks: 8-4

 

Your daily Chicago sports schedule (one game to watch)

Bulls @ Knicks – 7:00 pm     ESPN

Blackhawks vs. Flyers – 7:00 pm     NBC Sports Network

Bears-Cowboys Review

Just when I’ve given up on the Bears, they pull me back in!  What a game last night, eh?  Behind the strong performances of pretty much every offensive player, the Bears dominated the Cowboys from the mid-1st quarter on in a 45-28 victory.  As pessimistic as I’ve been in the past couple of weeks about the Bears’ playoff aspirations, I’m equally optimistic this morning.  At 7-6, the Bears find themselves in a tie for 1st place with the Detroit Lions, but are technically in 2nd due to the tiebreaker.  The Packers sit at 6-6-1.  Let’s get to the review.

 

MVP-

Josh McCown

Josh McCown’s performance this season has been nothing short of incredible!  If there was ever a season about which to create a Hollywood script, this would be it.  McCown has shown up week in and week out and performed at an elite level.  His quarterback rating for the season now sits at 109.8, third in the NFL behind Nick Foles and Peyton Manning.  I’ve been advocating for Jay Cutler to return to the starter whenever he gets healthy, but for the first time all season, I’m now questioning that philosophy.  Last night, Josh McCown was 27/36 for 348 yards and four touchdowns.  He added one touchdown on the ground and had 16 yards scrambling.  His QBR was 99.1 (meaning he performed better than 99.1 percent of average quarterback performances)!!  He became the 2nd Bears quarterback in the franchise’s history with over 300 yards, at least four touchdowns, and no interceptions.  He also became the 1st Bears quarterback with five total touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) since Johnny Lujack in 1949.  He has now thrown for over 300 yards in three consecutive games.  You know who hasn’t done that in his entire career?  Jay Cutler.  Hmm…

Honorable Mentions- Alshon Jeffery, Matt Forte, James Anderson

 

LVP-

Shea McClellin

Another non-factor McClellin game.  One group tackle, no solo tackles, no sacks, no QB hits, nothing.  I hate to give up on a draft pick so early, but it may already be that time.  McClellin just doesn’t work in a 4-3 scheme.  He’d be much more suited to a 3-4 scheme.  Maybe Mel Tucker or his potential replacement switches the Bears defense to a 3-4 next season, but until that happens, I just don’t see how McClellin will be effective in Chicago.

Dishonorable Mentions- Jonathan Bostic, Khaseem Greene, Julius Peppers

 

Next Up-

The Bears play the Cleveland Browns next Sunday and the Lions play the Baltimore Ravens next Monday night in Detroit.  This coming weekend is a great opportunity for the Bears to finally gain sole control of 1st place, but that has to start with a victory in Cleveland on Sunday.

 

Your daily Chicago sports schedule (one game to watch)

Bulls vs. Bucks – 7:00 pm

Blackhawks @ Stars – 7:30 pm