Chicago Sports Exchange: Bears Have 99 Problems But QB Ain’t One
Cubs give Kris Bryant overdue proper send-off
Well, at least we got to see Justin Fields.
Consider that our reward for bearing with what was an otherwise stinker of a season opener Sunday.
Although, if the 34-14 loss to Los Angeles is any indication, the rookie to whom an entire fan base has attached its hopes and dreams will be in line for more snaps much sooner than later. If only but to give the offense a better chance of picking up the defense’s slack (nope, I can’t believe I just wrote that, either).
And therein lies the problem.
While much fuss was made about Fields and Andy Dalton in the months leading up to kickoff, the quarterback position looks to be the least of Matt Nagy’s concerns at the moment. Or at least it should be.
It was Tashaun Gipson and Eddie Jackson who watched Van Jefferson spring back to his feet and sprint into the end zone with a 67-yard score. Not Dalton.
It was Marqui Christian who Cooper Kupp shot past for a 56-yard touchdown to open the second half. Not Dalton.
It was Roquan Smith who bit just enough on a play fake to allow Matthew Stafford to drop a 37-yard pass into the hands of Tyler Higbee. (A pitch-and-catch that fueled the Rams’ third touchdown drive.) Not Dalton.
It was Akiem Hicks, Robert Quinn, Bilal Nichols, Khalil Mack, and Angelo Blackson who combined for one sack and four quarterback hits. Not Dalton.
Dalton wasn’t spectacular either, to be sure. The lame duck quarterback lost a fumble and foiled what had been a promising opening drive with a red zone interception. But he was hardly the reason the Bears were beaten hollow on national television for what feels like the umpteenth time since the start of last season.
That distinction belongs to not only the defensive group that couldn’t get off the field on third down and allowed Stafford to bag the highest passer rating for a player in his debut with a new team in league history, but Nagy, too.
Even with speedsters Darnell Mooney, Marquise Goodwin and Damiere Byrd and the veteran quarterback he spent the summer caping for, the on-again off-again on-again play caller mostly steered clear of passes that weren’t of the dink and dunk variety. As he is wont to do. The four times he did feel froggy, his gambles resulted in a lost fumble and three turnovers on downs.
Yes, the Rams were the league’s top-ranked defense a season ago and still feature a pair of flesh-and-blood cheat codes in Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey. But why not bring the fight to the bully. Or at least take a swing. Especially when he hasn’t gotten his legs under him yet.
The Bears did as much on the ground, leveraging the nucleus of an offensive line that finished 11th in run block win rate last season and David Montgomery’s spanking new explosiveness to gash the Rams for 6.8 yards on his 16 carries. That was 1.4 yards more than Dalton’s completions averaged through the air, for those keeping score. (Dalton’s two left feet even found greater success.)
In the end, the best thing to happen to the Bears fans (aside from the glimpses into the future that Fields offered us anyway) was that every last one of the team’s divisional foes also lost Sunday.
Obviously, that trend won’t persist.
But if the defense continues to fork over big play after big play moving forward, it’s going to take Fields fulfilling the prophecy of his potential and that kind of miracle to turn everyone’s Dick Butkus-like frown upside down.
BUY — Cubs Make Amends To Bryant In Return to Wrigley
This time, they got it right.
The organization for which Kris Bryant helped reverse a 108-year-old spell pulled out all the stops to honor him in his return to Wrigley Field Friday.
It was enough to make the grown man it was intended for and (with apologies to Patrick Wisdom, Frank Schwindel and the rest of the team that had won eight of its last nine games at the time) the 29,439 fans who came to see him cry.
Considering the twists and turns of this season, a three-game sweep at the hands of the Giants was worth the chance for Cubs fans to shower the former Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in a way they couldn’t the last time they saw him in person.