Happy Friday Chicago!
I hope all of your holidays were filled with politically ambiguous conversations, ranging anywhere from the weather (“it used to be colder in December, didn’t it?” could get you into some trouble) to “this migrant situation is awful” (covers all the politic bases).
On my end, I’ve been careening myself toward Medicare eligibility by bitching endlessly about bowl game opt-outs and watching Christmas movies on television with commercials.
You know, there is a commonality between people who need all of their content immediately and those who enter the transfer portal at the first sign of adversity…
The holiday season was undoubtedly carried, in part, by the Justin Fields-or-Draft-a-QB conversation. In retrospect, I’m not sure that we could have juggled an all-important Bears game and Christmas Eve at the same time. My Dad wanted to ask the restaurant we were picking up catering from to put on the Bears game (5-9 Bears v. 3-11 Cardinals) while we waited, as if we were in a sports bar.
For a moment, as the Panthers were looking as if they may beat the Packers, I thought about how comical — and typical — it would be if Bears fans were at each other’s throats over the Caleb Williams-Justin Fields conversation for months only for the Bears to not end up with no. 1 pick.
As I considered that scenario, I admittedly had a brief moment of inner peace. But ultimately, it’s not my decision or your decision. It’s Ryan Poles’, or maybe part Poles’, part Kevin Warren’s.
But it’s not ours. That’s extremely obvious, but also something that does get lost in these conversations at times. No argument any of us make for or against Fields — or for or against Caleb Williams — will matter in the end.
There’s also a non-zero chance that the Panthers super-villain owner refuses to hand over the no. 1 pick like Shooter McGavin and that jacket at the end of Happy Gilmore.
It’s true that not a single sports argument we ever have is impactful, and the fun is having those conversations anyway. I just think I’m tapping out of the day-in, day-out Fields conversations for now.
The Bears are in a really tough position, but also an enviable one. They have, in my opinion, a top-half QB in the league already and the chance to get an even better one in April.
I won’t even mention the fact that USC — with Caleb Williams sitting out — looked better than ever in their bowl game on Wednesday night. All I will say about that game is that it was a great BIG TEN win. Score another one for the good guys in the now-defunct Big Ten-ACC challenge.
(Follow this formula: New member entering the Big Ten wins — great win for the Big Ten; New member entering the Big Ten loses — “they’re going to have trouble playing with Iowa and the rest of the tough Big Ten teams over the next decade.”)
Football season is coming to a close. When it does, I’ll be depressed that it is, overweight, and gearing myself up for the worst months of Chicago’s year. If there’s something that hasn’t changed since I was a child, it’s Jan. 2 hitting me like a ton of bricks.
When that time comes, it’ll be a good time to get right. Look at yourself in the mirror, splash some water on your face, and tell yourself a new version of you is on the horizon.
Like the Bulls, I’ll be just trying to get myself back to .500 in January. I’m not winning an NBA championship. I’m not even thinking about a playoff run. I’m just trying to rid myself of the bad things in my life (Zach LaVine), trying to keep my head above water, and trying to make something happen.
But, for now, we have another Bears game to look forward to on NYE, and a jampacked Jan. 1 that I’m going to ingest like a last meal on death row.
Let’s get into it.
The Bears have gotten a lot better since the season started.
If you’re a reasonable fan, that’s good news. But the intrusive thoughts that come with that are hard to deal with: If we had just won this game, that game, or all of those games, we could be sitting in a prime playoff position right now.
Take a deep breath and let it go — for now. That should be a part of Poles’ evaluation of the coaching staff at the end of the year. But it’s not worth ruminating over on our end.
I have a specific place, at this point, where I want my Bears fandom to evolve to over the next year. And it’s to a point where the offseason does not feel like the focal point of the calendar year. I want November to feel more important than April in 2024.
As for the Bears win this past Sunday, Justin Fields didn’t have a great game. But he didn’t have a bad game, either.
More than any other quarterback, Fields’ performances don’t always feel congruent with his final stat lines. I watch these games and think Fields looked great, and then his stat line often looks underwhelming. I do think that’s at least part of the reason why the national media can sometimes have a wholly detached view of Fields compared to Bears fans (at least the ones in on Fields).
As for the disconnect between the eye test and the numbers, I’m not sure who is to blame for that. Fields is the most likely suspect, but it could be coaching, it could be play calling. I’m fine admitting I’m not totally sure.
I do hope that Fields, over these next two games, makes Poles decision as difficult as possible. That bodes well for the Bears either way.
While the Fields-led offense is still just average, it’s pretty clear to the untrained eye where they can improve in the offseason.
The offensive line has been far better this year, with the exception of the center position. The lack of production there compared to everywhere else has been stark. With far less needs this offseason compared to last, the Bears shouldn’t have too much trouble finding someone next year who can 1. block 2. and, perhaps more importantly, snap!
What’s been a bit lost in the shuffle is how underwhelming the Bears receiving corps has been this year outside of D.J. Moore. Moore has been as advertised, if not more than that, and Cole Kmet has been fantastic.
Darnell Mooney is having his worst statistical year by far. In his case, the stats line up directly with what I see on Sundays. He looks awful, like he’s had his talents stripped from him. I don’t know what happened with him, but he cannot be anything but a 4th wide receiver in the future. And I doubt that’s how he’ll want to be paid in the offseason.
We know Chase Claypool was a disaster. Robert Tonyan has also been a disaster. Like Poles, I missed badly on both of those “evaluations.”
Cole Kmet has played to his peak, which is a massive credit to him. I just don’t think he’s Travis Kelce, meaning there has to be a more talented pass catcher in between him and Moore next year.
On the other side of the ball, it’s pretty incredible the Bears allow the least rushing yards per game in the NFL. By a pretty wide margin, too, at 80.7. They still allow a lot of passing yards — 237.5 yards per game — which is good for 25th in the league. That still puts them at 12th in the league in yards allowed per game. That would be a stunning revelation to any Bears fan in September.
Overall, the Bears are 6-5 since their first win. On the way, they’ve lost a couple of games that they had no business losing. During that time, they have a +31 point differential.
If you take that point differential from that 11-game stretch and apply it throughout the season — overriding the disastrous start — that would put the Bears somewhere between the 10-5 Browns and 11-4 Lions, which, honestly, feels right for this team right now.
Now, let’s check with Bill Parcells on that cute little assessment there. None of that matters, of course. The Bears are 6-9.
It’s a tale of two seasons, but, funny enough, the Bears will likely end up with the amount of wins they were expected to have in the preseason: 7 or 8.
The only team that understands what’s at stake right now for the Bulls and I right now is the White Sox.
They’re acting accordingly, with the most uninteresting offseason that could possibly be put together.
The Cubs have done nothing since snagging Counsell, but that means people want to talk about them and light a fire to the front office’s bottom.
The Bears have their own all-encompassing debate, but at least they’re still in season.
I just don’t have the bandwidth right now, which is why I appreciate the Sox producing nothing but yawns.
I can’t be on be on Rhys Hoskins Watch when I am crunching the numbers of every player on the Bulls B.L. and A.L. (before LaVine, after LaVine). We’re measuring time, still, based on a man that changes everything, though LaVine seems to be the Bulls’ proverbial anti-Christ.
After the Bulls lost to the Celtics on No. 28, I had written the entire season off. Now, they are 9-4 over their last 13 and have a chance to win 10 games in a month since December of 2014. Consider that for a moment.
(Bear in mind I am writing this Thursday, as I am headed to the United Center for the Pacers game tonight).
Nikola Vucevic is now out for a week, but the vibes didn’t vanish because of it. Instead, Andre Drummond turned in a 24-point, 25-rebound performance and the Bulls pulled off a comeback against the Hawks in a game where they frankly looked awful for the first 30 minutes.
DeRozan closed things out offensively, and embraced Billy Donovan (formerly “the problem”) after the game. Alex Caruso made two incredible defensive plays down the stretch, as he’s wont to do.
Coby White has taken a slight step back over the last couple of games, but much of that can reportedly be attributed to a sore right wrist. He’ll be okay.
The Bulls are going to have to rely on minutes from guys like Terry Taylor (6’4, 230 pounds) over the next week or so, but their small-ball lineups looked competent against Atlanta.
As for whether Vucevic or Drummond is better — the Bulls sadder version of the current Bears debate — I think the clear answer is Vucevic. Drummond’s skillset is valuable, but he’s extremely limited from a team perspective offensively.
Yes, I love Drummond, and it’s absolutely refreshing to see someone rebound nonstop without getting pushed around by opposing centers. But that’s his value in the 2-spot of a 1-2 punch, not necessarily as a front man.
Drummond still thinks of himself as a starter, which he said after the game earlier this week. He also said “it’s not hard to be a good teammate,” as a response to a follow-up on how he’s been able to accept his role.
Newsflash, you don’t want any of your players thinking of themselves as strictly back-ups. And you definitely don’t expect it out of guys who have been All-Stars in their past.
This could all change by the time you’re reading this, but the Bulls are currently just 4.5 games out of the 6th seed. They may not be a 6th seed just yet, but they’re certainly capable — in their current state — of surpassing the likes of the Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers.
I’m here for the climb.
LETS GO BULLS!
Happy New Year, SGCTChicagoans. Thanks for being such wonderful supporters and readers of the newsletter over the last year. It means a lot. Here’s to a new year filled with more wins than losses; more postgame talk than offseason talk.
Comment below, and I’ll see you next week.
Bears keep Eberflus, fire Getsey, keep Fields, draft Harrison, Draft a DEnd and A Center. Playoffs next year. It is written.