In a throwback to the mid-to-late ’90s, it was the Bulls bringing us optimism on a Monday when the Bears were breaking our hearts on Sunday.
Because time is a flat circle:
Things You Love to See: Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan Have Been “Spending a Lot of Time Together”https://t.co/iyfWe1VLsn pic.twitter.com/CGfoe7V6uj
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) September 27, 2021
"We were pleasantly surprised a lot of guys wanted to play in Chicago. It says a lot about Billy and his staff. It says a lot about the players like Zach and Vooch." -AK
Well, well, well … you fix the front office and invest in All-Star talent and look what happens! ShOcKiNg!
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) September 27, 2021
Chicago Bulls “Not 100 Percent” Vaccinated But “Getting Pretty Close”
https://t.co/u7ikl2H4FD— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) September 27, 2021
Hope springs eternal in the land of buckets.
• While making a quick grocery run, I stumbled upon ESPN 1000’s Marc Silverman making an astute observation. Silvy points out that Matt Nagy has gone from firing himself as play-caller, to re-hiring himself as play-caller, to considering giving up those duties (again!) in the span of 10 games. That’s alarming. Even more so when you frame it that all of this has taken place in less than a calendar year. All this brings me back to Nagy’s “Be You” mantra, which is great — in theory — but has been poor in practice. I imagine it is difficult to “Be You” when you, yourself, don’t know who “you” are or want to be. The Bears appear to be at the crossroads of an identity crisis. Not great for a coach in his fourth year and a lame-duck season on the horizon.
• What does Nagy want to be? Does he want to be a successful head coach like his mentor Andy Reid? If so, he’ll need to delegate responsibilities to others when things aren’t going right, as Reid is known to do. Is being an ace play-caller his end game? Then he’ll need to go back to the drawing board, re-visit some film, and come up with fresh concepts and ideas. Is the coach the star or is the offense what makes it all go? So many questions, but no answers from the Bears’ top on-the-field football guy. Not to this point at least.
• Further complicating matters is that these Bears aren’t a competent play-caller short of being what they think they are or can be. As Dan Pompei (The Athletic) puts it: “This would be a good time for Nagy to give the play calling to Bill Lazor. But it’s not just about play calling. The Bears also need better game planning than they had Sunday. And better adjustments. And a better understanding of what they have…” As John Fox would say, it’s all a problem.
• Some big Charles Dickens energy from the start of Kyle Brandt’s delivery here:
Oh, the horror.
My thoughts on the Bears game. pic.twitter.com/dd9UuN1i46
— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) September 27, 2021
This was the biggest Bears game in two years. It was the ugliest Bears game in 102 years.
• And to think, that might’ve been on the kinder end of the spectrum when comparing to what was said elsewhere:
.@danorlovsky7 and Rex Ryan absolutely unleashed on the Bears' head coach 😳
"The Chicago Bears should fire Matt Nagy today. Because yesterday's game plan, which was the worst one I've ever seen in my life, was either negligence or intentional!" pic.twitter.com/SnWhQjNYme
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) September 27, 2021
• This, from NFL dot com’s Jeffri Chadiha, drives home a scary point:
“The major problem with what happened to Fields is that it’s hard to be optimistic about immediate next steps. This wasn’t solely about a young signal-caller taking his lumps. It was about all that is wrong with this team colliding at the worst possible moment. It was about the very real likelihood that this season now ends with Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace losing their jobs and the Bears looking for somebody who has a real plan for turning this quarterback into the star that city desperately craves.”
• Meanwhile, Kellen Moore put on a show with the Cowboys offense that should put him on head-coaching radars in the coming months:
Excellent play design by Kellen Moore and a great throw by Dak Prescott. pic.twitter.com/WECQ8d6peh
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) September 28, 2021
Last week, Cowboys set a franchise record with 13 first downs in first quarter. One week later, they again totaled 13 first downs in first quarter.
First time in NFL history a team had 13 first-quarter first downs multiple times in same season.
OC Kellen Moore can script.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) September 28, 2021
• Very Bears-y of the Eagles:
Eagles had zero plays with motion at the snap tonight, per @ESPNStatsInfo.
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) September 28, 2021
• I guess things could be worse:
The Jets have scored 20 points this season.
No other team in the NFL has scored fewer than 40. pic.twitter.com/VYPOAE1wx3
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 28, 2021
• Jon Gruden might come off as a football goober, but the guy can scheme some things up:
.@raiders with a 6 man shift to get @renfrowhunter free in the middle of field. Creative execution #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/fvVRTx8OTZ
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 28, 2021
• Doesn’t this seem odd?
After 2 OT games and a cross-country trip in first 3 weeks, #Raiders are relishing an extra day to prep for MNF at #Chargers. Gruden says team already prepping for #Bears, though, since they'll face them on short week after trip to Inglewood.
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) September 27, 2021
• Count the Bears as being “in” on pushing civic pride and participation via voting:
It's #NationalVoterRegistrationDay!
We encourage everyone to register to vote, check your registration status & learn more about upcoming local elections. ⤵️
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 28, 2021
• 🎵 Here come the Hawks, the mighty Blackhawks! 🎵
Sights and Sounds: Blackhawks Day Four of Training Camphttps://t.co/Ju2ShGJPmx
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) September 27, 2021
• You had to figure this was coming after Báez turned it around once he became comfortable enough to tell Mets fans publicly to buzz off:
Sure Sounds Like Javy Báez Would Like to Stay with the Mets and Francisco Lindor – https://t.co/wAA9B1WiID pic.twitter.com/v5SsRrJUcm
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) September 27, 2021