What I didn't see coming was the defense playing better than the offense this year. I was so used to that under Lovie Smith, and when the new management team took over the Bears front office, the word on the street was that they were going to build around Jay Cutler and become more of an offensive-minded system.
They brought in a coach with a killer pedigree (for quarterbacks, anyhow - not sure how he became the head coach), then did a pretty amazing job of getting top-flight receivers and solidifying the offensive line with an odd mix of rejuvenated castoffs and newcomers. On paper, this offense should be scoring on every drive. There should be a much better mix of plays available. It's not like it's everyone's first year together anymore, either.
I used to joke around about Lovie's "Prevent Offense" which would come into play the second they got a lead. It wasn't politeness or sportsmanship, it was a fear of failure. And when you focus that much effort on something (failure), you set up blockades for yourself. Then the other team shows up.
There's been wishy-washy coaching decisions, play calling meant to keep Jay Cutler upright (interspersed with plays meant to gain yards), and a defense that's gassed by the end of the 3rd quarter. I'm not sure where Matt Forte ranks with rushing yards, but as of this morning, he led the league in passing receptions. He's the running back, but this is nothing new for Bears fans.
There's the possibility that the issue is the turf, but opposing teams seem to be able to adjust. What I'm more concerned about is that we're stuck with another coach that would have been better off as a coordinator under someone with a more killer instinct. We didn't get the inverse Lovie Smith - we got another Lovie Smith. The scores end up being pretty much the same despite the shift of emphasis to offense.
After the game today, the twitterverse and sports media machine churned up some dirt about the Bears locker room, saying guys were sniping at other guys, and turning on the fans. I'm not sure it's fair to make headlines out of the stuff being said in semi-private after a loss like that; I'm not surprised the players weren't singing Pharrell songs, either.
I do wish that when they have 8 minutes to score 21 points, they'd go into some kind of "hurry up" offense. I've never seen a team (the Bears or otherwise) with such a lax approach to crunch time. Forget controlling the clock. You can worry about that once you're in the lead by a few scores (although the Dolphins didn't relent for 60 minutes).
Maybe it's time for Trestman to stop worrying about his team being better men and start focusing on getting them to be better at football. Maybe he needs to get a little Ditka crazy. Maybe yelling would help. Hugging hasn't.
October 19, 2014
October 10, 2014
Shave and a Haircut - 40 Bits
I remember being in high school when my mustache finally made an appearance. I was fully into the soccer rocker, rode BMX, wore a hip pack, etc. The 'stache was icing on the suburban dirt bag cake. In high school, there was no reason to shave.
In college, I started looking like a mountain man. I didn't cut off the mullet, but I did let the rest of the hair catch up until it was all about shoulder length. I hadn't shaved, and while I did have a beard, it was closer to peach fuzz than a wire brush. It wouldn't take long before I was retiring razors at an astonishing pace.
There are many distinct zones on my face:
1. Cheeks: these are easy to shave. I can pull down (with the grain) or up (against it) without causing trouble.
2. Upper lip: always shave down here, but you can feel the stubble if you run your finger low to high right after I shave. I nearly always forget the corners of my mouth, too, and a single hair there can drive me nuts.
3. Lower lip: for the entirety of my 30s (and a little beyond), I had what people who like to label everything call a "soul patch". I never referred to it as that, myself. It was there for a little something extra, style-wise, but mostly because I hate shaving that spot.
4. Under the chin: on my right side, I have to pull the razor from back to front, not up/down or down/up, or else I might as well not shave. Long whiskers are preferable to the stubble in that spot if I miss it.
5. Neck: right at the adam's apple, I have to shave up to down here, or I get bumps like crazy.
My facial hair is pretty sturdy. I go through razors pretty quickly. My current setup has been serving me well for nearly a year, and I believe it bridges the gap between longevity and frugality (for my tastes, anyhow).
These are the shaving tools I use:
1. Harry's orange handle, refill cartridges every six months or more. They're much cheaper than the Mach3 refills I used in the past. I have friends who vouch for Dollar Shave Club (and I love their ads), but I took a shot at Harry's and have been very happy with the experience.
2. Kiss My Face shave gel. It's not foamy, but it works better than any other shaving cream/gel I've tried. I gave Harry's shave stuff a shot, and it was not bad, but it's too expensive. Likewise for Alba and Burt's Bees. They're natural and different, but prohibitively expensive. Kiss My Face offers more stuff per container, it works better, and it costs a bit less, too.
3. Suction mirror on the tub wall. It's a little excessive, but I like to shave in the shower. I have a fog-free mirror at my face level.
That's basically it. Harry's site (liked above) has lots of thoughts on shaving if this little primer didn't get through to you, or if the images of the Kentucky Waterfall stopped you from getting into the subtle nuances of my chin hair.
What do you use?
In college, I started looking like a mountain man. I didn't cut off the mullet, but I did let the rest of the hair catch up until it was all about shoulder length. I hadn't shaved, and while I did have a beard, it was closer to peach fuzz than a wire brush. It wouldn't take long before I was retiring razors at an astonishing pace.
There are many distinct zones on my face:
1. Cheeks: these are easy to shave. I can pull down (with the grain) or up (against it) without causing trouble.
2. Upper lip: always shave down here, but you can feel the stubble if you run your finger low to high right after I shave. I nearly always forget the corners of my mouth, too, and a single hair there can drive me nuts.
3. Lower lip: for the entirety of my 30s (and a little beyond), I had what people who like to label everything call a "soul patch". I never referred to it as that, myself. It was there for a little something extra, style-wise, but mostly because I hate shaving that spot.
4. Under the chin: on my right side, I have to pull the razor from back to front, not up/down or down/up, or else I might as well not shave. Long whiskers are preferable to the stubble in that spot if I miss it.
5. Neck: right at the adam's apple, I have to shave up to down here, or I get bumps like crazy.
My facial hair is pretty sturdy. I go through razors pretty quickly. My current setup has been serving me well for nearly a year, and I believe it bridges the gap between longevity and frugality (for my tastes, anyhow).
These are the shaving tools I use:
1. Harry's orange handle, refill cartridges every six months or more. They're much cheaper than the Mach3 refills I used in the past. I have friends who vouch for Dollar Shave Club (and I love their ads), but I took a shot at Harry's and have been very happy with the experience.
2. Kiss My Face shave gel. It's not foamy, but it works better than any other shaving cream/gel I've tried. I gave Harry's shave stuff a shot, and it was not bad, but it's too expensive. Likewise for Alba and Burt's Bees. They're natural and different, but prohibitively expensive. Kiss My Face offers more stuff per container, it works better, and it costs a bit less, too.
3. Suction mirror on the tub wall. It's a little excessive, but I like to shave in the shower. I have a fog-free mirror at my face level.
That's basically it. Harry's site (liked above) has lots of thoughts on shaving if this little primer didn't get through to you, or if the images of the Kentucky Waterfall stopped you from getting into the subtle nuances of my chin hair.
What do you use?
October 3, 2014
State of the Bears - Four Games In
Here's the problem - I have no idea what to expect going in to week five. I have a pretty strong feeling that Jay Cutler will bounce back, and if Brandon Marshall is able to recover at all, he'll have some touchdown catches. I'm also sure that Matt Forte will run a solid ground game and Martellus Bennett will make some tough catches in traffic.
On the defensive side, I can predict that we will not get a sack, our high-end draft pick might get an interception or he might not, and that's about it. Oh, the other team will score basically at will. I guess it was a little less humiliating when I could rest easy knowing that the defense would hold a team down; there weren't such lopsided scores, usually. But now, if the opposing team has a decent defense, the game can get out of control pretty quickly, as evidenced last Sunday.
I don't know what Mel Tucker has done that would warrant another year of questionable preparation and poor execution. His squad is inconsistent at best. Losing Tillman and Allen sucks, but they can't play forever. If there's no depth, that's hard to fathom considering all the movement in the off-season.
The common thought going into this season was that the defense didn't have to be great, just good. They have to be able to stop some drives cold. So far, we've only really seen that in one game. Willie Young and Kyle Fuller show flashes of great, but they remind me of the wide receivers we had before Marshall and Jeffery - good, but not great. Level two players.
Unfortunately, upgrading to great doesn't guarantee wins. My biggest concern in bringing in Marc Trestman was that we'd have an inverse Lovie. Even then, I thought it would be nice to be able to score touchdowns and possibly get into a shootout and win.
I was reminded that Trestman was an offensive coordinator candidate while Lovie was here, but we ended up with Mike Martz instead. Talk about a night and day difference in styles. The idea of Smith and Trestman together is interesting, but there was also the old GM in play, and he had been misfiring on draft picks and free agents for years. I think Trestman and Marinelli would have been even more intriguing, especially since that might have changed the negotiations with Brian Urlacher.
No sense crying over spilled milk, though. Can't let the ghost of Urlacher affect the present. The defense is still in flux - no identity and depleted. The offense has equal or better upside than any other team in the league, but no real rhythm yet, and so the outlook for the rest of the year remains the same - the defense needs to be serviceable, and the offense needs to become automatic.
The Panthers are a similar team with lots of upside but lots of obstacles. The Bears have plenty of tools to stop them, but if they let a broken QB (or his backup) walk all over them, then my hope for the remaining 11 games will be dashed. However, if they contain the Panthers and start scoring, I'm already on the bandwagon - just need to adjust my seat.
GO BEARS!
On the defensive side, I can predict that we will not get a sack, our high-end draft pick might get an interception or he might not, and that's about it. Oh, the other team will score basically at will. I guess it was a little less humiliating when I could rest easy knowing that the defense would hold a team down; there weren't such lopsided scores, usually. But now, if the opposing team has a decent defense, the game can get out of control pretty quickly, as evidenced last Sunday.
I don't know what Mel Tucker has done that would warrant another year of questionable preparation and poor execution. His squad is inconsistent at best. Losing Tillman and Allen sucks, but they can't play forever. If there's no depth, that's hard to fathom considering all the movement in the off-season.
The common thought going into this season was that the defense didn't have to be great, just good. They have to be able to stop some drives cold. So far, we've only really seen that in one game. Willie Young and Kyle Fuller show flashes of great, but they remind me of the wide receivers we had before Marshall and Jeffery - good, but not great. Level two players.
Unfortunately, upgrading to great doesn't guarantee wins. My biggest concern in bringing in Marc Trestman was that we'd have an inverse Lovie. Even then, I thought it would be nice to be able to score touchdowns and possibly get into a shootout and win.
I was reminded that Trestman was an offensive coordinator candidate while Lovie was here, but we ended up with Mike Martz instead. Talk about a night and day difference in styles. The idea of Smith and Trestman together is interesting, but there was also the old GM in play, and he had been misfiring on draft picks and free agents for years. I think Trestman and Marinelli would have been even more intriguing, especially since that might have changed the negotiations with Brian Urlacher.
No sense crying over spilled milk, though. Can't let the ghost of Urlacher affect the present. The defense is still in flux - no identity and depleted. The offense has equal or better upside than any other team in the league, but no real rhythm yet, and so the outlook for the rest of the year remains the same - the defense needs to be serviceable, and the offense needs to become automatic.
The Panthers are a similar team with lots of upside but lots of obstacles. The Bears have plenty of tools to stop them, but if they let a broken QB (or his backup) walk all over them, then my hope for the remaining 11 games will be dashed. However, if they contain the Panthers and start scoring, I'm already on the bandwagon - just need to adjust my seat.
GO BEARS!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)