Football Friday: Send in the Teddy Bears

Photo Credit: Baby Lukoshus

For Bears' fans, such as myself, it has been a long offseason. A season that started with the signing of Khalil Mack that overnight energized a fan base that had been craving a new Monster of the Midway, ended with a double doink. The days following that missed field goal were somewhat surreal, Cody Parkey went on the Today show to talk about the experience, and Goose Island offered any fan who could kick the field goal Parkey missed free beer for a year (and eternal glory). No one made the field goal and Parkey was cut from the Bears... and all Bears' fans breathed a collective sigh of relief. To be honest, probably on both fronts as I think it would have only made things worse had some "regular person" off the street hit the 43-yard field goal thereby adding insult to our emotional injuries.

Still, we made it through the offseason that in my case has included a disappointing NCAA Tournament, the Broncos signing Joe Flacco and hiring Vic Fangio (I only cared about the latter, the former made me laugh), a roller coaster of emotions with the White Sox, utter and complete frustration at the abysmal play of the Colorado Rockies, and unseasonably warm temperatures in the last part of summer in Denver. Therefore I was ready for football, regular season, commemorate the 100th season, celebratory football. I don't have it in me to watch much of the pre-season games. I came to realize that herein lay my problem last night:  I was expecting a "real" football game, and what I saw, outside of the play of the Bears' defense, was something akin to a bonus pre-season game.

In the offseason, I purchased a Khalil Mack jersey. I wanted to represent the Bears of now instead of longing for Urlacher to shave his head and come out of retirement. Now that he's in the Hall of Fame, that's no longer a viable option. Plus he seems to like the hair... My purchase, however, was also driven by the fact that it came with a 100th Anniversary patch. I am such a sucker for milestone markers like this one. Last night was the opening of the 100th season of pro football, and the 199th meeting of the Bears and the Packers. Soldier Field was rocking, filled to capacity with people who wanted to be there, many of which probably overpaid for their tickets. It was a national audience with NBC commentators wearing 1920s attire, which according to Cris Collinsworth was quite hot. This line alone is indicative of the game:  the commentators had to resort to talking about their wardrobe to fill the air time, in large part because, like those of us watching the game, they were bored.

There were moments of excitement with Aaron Rodgers being shown the turf five times and holding him to 203 passing yards and one touchdown. Sadly shutting down the Packers' offense meant that the Bears' offense had to come out onto the field. Here's where I think the game plan went awry. I am thinking that Coach Nagy should have sent my soon to be born niece's stylish teddy bear into the game rather than the offensive players that missed the memo that the regular season started last night. The offense needed to overcome one touchdown and they couldn't do it. The only points were a 38-yard field goal from new kicker Eddy Pineiro. A guy that will be kicking with a target on his back until he shows that he can stay away from the goalposts. 

The trend across the league this season seemed was to sit the starters during the pre-season for fear of injury, but it came at the cost of live game reps. *Said as the person who has never played football,* I do not see how you can simulate the true feel of a game in practice. The timing was off, penalties incurred due to panic (I'm looking at you 1st and 40), and clock mismanagement were all ridiculous moments that should not have been allowed to happen in a regular-season game. 

Am I worried about the Bears over the course of the season? I don't think so. Am I annoyed at the disappointing play last night? Absolutely. Am I relieved that the Bears' defense looks like a formidable force worthy of the moniker, Monsters of the Midway? You bet. Do I think the Packers' defense is that good? No, but that could just be because I can't validate anything done by the Green/Yellow.

Until the Bears' offense is a well-oiled machine, however, the players need some reps in the pre-season. The concern around injuries is valid, but the solution is not to put them in bubble wrap on the bench. There may need to be fewer pre-season games - the fans don't like them anyway - and maybe an extra regular-season game that allows each team to have a blow-up moment like what we saw last night.

Bring on the Broncos in Week Two, and since I will be at the game, I would like to see Da Bears (both defense and offense). Please don't make me buy the teddy bear and double doink goal post that Brett Favre is pushing, just so that I can throw it onto the field in disgust.

Football Friday: 60 Minutes

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A pro football game is four, 15 minute quarters for a total of 60 minutes. When watching a game, you need to allow at least three hours, but usually, more time to allow for something ridiculous to happen. Let’s be real:  something is going to go awry. At the end of any given game, someone will be unhappy. 

In my mind, the NFL playoffs ended when the Bears were doinked, well really double doinked, from the playoffs. Did you see what I did there? If not, here’s a video. In Parkey’s defense, the kick has been ruled a block, but I still stand by the fact that I called the miss before it happened. I did not anticipate the double doink, otherwise, I would have gone out and purchased a (winning) lottery ticket with my newfound psychic powers. As a Bears’ fan of many, many (lean) years, I have learned to manage expectations. Even though I allowed myself to dream of the possibility of the Bears winning the Super Bowl, which I did do; I am not sitting here weeks later blaming Parkey. The defense did not play at their best. Going for two after the touchdown was probably a foolish call. Trubisky never found his rhythm, etc., etc., etc. A football game is 60 minutes, too much energy, strategy, and effort go into it; so to boil it down to one play feels like a disservice and dare I say ridiculousness?  

The Eagles came out the victors of their game against the Bears and had to go on the road to face a formidable New Orleans Saints team. The Eagles seemed to be flying high (more wordplay), after beating the team that allowed them to even make the playoffs. The irony is not lost on me that this is the second time in as many playoff appearances that the Bears have allowed their opponent into the playoffs, but there you hate it. Anyway, the Eagles go into the Superdome to play a team that absolutely embarrassed them during the regular season (48-7), and one that is playing really good ball with a seemingly ageless quarterback who went to that other school (Purdue). The Eagles get out to an early lead scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter, but that would be their score at the end of the game. New Orleans was able to take a 20-14 lead that seemed to be in jeopardy as the Eagles were driving down the field with mere minutes left in the game when Alshon Jeffrey - who did nothing for me in fantasy football by the way - let a very catchable ball go through his fingers. It felt like the equivalent of the baseball going through a players legs (it went through the wickets)! As mad as I was at Jeffrey, both for the aforementioned fantasy disappointment, but also for his criticism of the Bears coming into the game; this loss is not squarely on his shoulders. The Eagles’ defense held a high-powered offense to 20 points, the offense needs to be able to score more than 20 points. The Eagles even making the playoffs after Wentz went down again was nothing short of miraculous. Still, at some point, the better team is going to prevail. The whole of the 2018 Saints was better than the defending Super Bowl Champions this go around. 

This is all leading to the mother of blown calls and one-off moments. The Saints seemed to have the game in hand over the Rams. I am sure Saints’ fans had started purchasing plane tickets to Atlanta, planning a road trip, or at the very least planning their Super Bowl parties. Then comes a blatant hit on a WR, Tommylee Lewis by the CB Nickell Robey-Coleman before the ball arrives. If you’re a college basketball fan this is when you insert the Dick Vitale diatribe, “come on ref, even I could see that and I’ve only got one eye...” In all seriousness, it was an epic fail by the official. Even Robey-Coleman said he didn’t play the ball. The Rams take the game to OT and kick a game-winning, Super Bowl ticket punching field goal to win. Now you have a New Orleans attorney suing the NFL, eye doctors offering NFL referees free eye-exams, Saints’ fans signing petitions to try to get the game replayed, and Sean Peyton telling anyone that will listen that the NFL head of officials acknowledged the call was blown. Here’s the rub for me, however, and it lies in the overtime. New Orleans won the coin toss. They received the ball, as everyone other than Marty Mornhinweg, would choose to do. If the Saints score a touchdown, the game is over. Even scoring a field goal at least forces the Rams to match it. Instead, Brees is picked off, the Rams get the ball and score the field goal.

In many ways technology with the power of instant replay, and the challenge system now wide-spread in sports today has ruined us against the possibility of human error. Blown calls, missed strikes, erroneous safe/out, they are all part of the human dimension of sports. Did this official make a mistake? Absolutely. Is it an offense worthy of termination? That is not for me to decide. I just know that I have made some whopper-sized mistakes in my life, and I would hate for any of them to play out before the public. Again, this game should not have come down to one make-or-break play. The Saints had their opportunity in overtime, they were not able to capitalize on it. The Rams won the game, and the opportunity to (hopefully) beat the Patriots. 

Back to the fact that I am a Bears' fan... I am sitting here with my head held high knowing that my team beat the NFC Champions and should have beat the AFC Champion Patriots. Onward and upward for the Bears, but it is time to find a new kicker.

19 for 2019

A bayberry candle burned to the socket brings food and larder and gold to the pocket.

At the suggestion of one of my favorite authors (Gretchen Rubin), Danny and I created a list of the nineteen things we would like to do in 2019:

1. Build our mini block Camden Yards
2. Make the leap to Instagram
3. Launch Danny and the Designated Driver (documentation of his beer escapades) and evaluate this blog... is it something I wish to maintain?
4. Shutterfly Projects:  Wedding Album and Killmer Family Thanksgiving book with Aunt Alice
5. Visit Gunnison National Park
6. Create more white space... both in our home and on our calendar
7. Rainforest Yoga at the Butterfly Pavilion
8. Schedule a weekly Power Hour
9. I will not buy books, perfume, or DVDs
10. Do at least one shared health-focused activity per month 
11. Plan a trip to Baltimore, Union City, and the Region
12. Take a couples' cooking class
13. See Steamboat Springs in the summer
14. Whip the yard into shape
15. Hike Green Mountain
16. Try fly fishing
17. Host a holiday beer swap
18. Send Christmas cards and maybe an epistle
19. Work toward weight goals

I expect there will be times where I have to remind myself that these are goals for a year. I also hope that I can be graceful toward me and us in our efforts to meet this list. Still, it was fun to think about what could be done in the coming year. 

Football Friday: MITCH PLEASE

It's January and I am dusting off my blog, both as part of my 19 for 2019 (forthcoming list), and because I can write about my BEARS. In a positive light, no less, as we are in for bonus football (aka the playoffs). Considering the Chicago Bears have not been in this spot since 2010, I had to refresh myself on the terminology.

I do not like to dwell too much on the playoff run in 2010 as the Bears lost to the Packers in the NFC Championship Game. Yes, the Packers, the team that defeated the Bears in the "play or go home" game 17. Worse yet, the Pack went on to win the Super Bowl. All around, it was a dismal end to an otherwise solid season that included an NFC North Championship... 

Now it's January 2019, the Bears have claimed the title of NFC North Champions, and were again pitted against a division rival who had to win to make the playoffs. Both the opponent (Minnesota Vikings) and the outcome were different this time around. Perhaps Coach Nagy is a franchise historian who felt that one team from the NFC North in the playoffs was enough, or maybe he hates that stupid Vikings' horn as much as I do, or maybe he wanted to carry another win into the playoff. Whatever the reason, I was grateful for the result.

On to the post-season and a match-up with the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles. The irony of this game is that I told Danny should Philly get in, they could cause some damage for teams. They are not the team of last year, but they seemed to have once again found their way under Nick Foles. As a Bears fan of 25+ years, I have to operate with cautious optimism and a huge helping of hope.

At the core of this hopeful optimism is the defensive Monsters of the Midway. While Khalil Mack is the face, the Bears D is also sending three additional players to this year's Pro Bowl: DT Akiem Hicks, CB Kyle Fuller, and S Eddie Jackson. Teams continue to prove that defense wins championships, specifically the Ravens and the Broncos of recent memory. The Patriots continue to enter into shoot-outs with teams and line up a defense that is good enough to get the job done.

This leads me both to a point of personal confusion, and the outer layer of my hope. This Bears' offense could be good enough to play against anyone. They employ a diverse offensive scheme, led by Nagy and his out of the box thinking, two different running styles in Cohen and Howard (HOOSIER), and Mitch Trubisky a quarterback who can run and limit the stupid mistakes.

Yet, it feels like the national media and my local Denver market analysts, seem to be focused on Trubisky as the lynch pin. Now I am cutting the Denver guys some slack as they seem bitter about how the Broncos are playing abysmal football and show no signs of figuring out a direction anytime soon. Case in point: Chuck Pagano made a strong impression on the front office. How is he different from Vance Joseph? I digress. I struggle to understand, however, why other people are so down on Mitch? Perhaps it's because of that aforementioned 25+ years of watching the Bears and their merry-go-round of quarterbacks that would take until next week to list; but Mitch and I are good. Was I concerned when the Bears jumped up in the draft to get him, yes. Was I annoyed that he is a Tar Heel, absolutely. Does he give me heart palpitations like Jay Cutler, absolutely not!

I believe that MT has the potential and athletic ability to be a very solid QB in this league. At some point he is going to have to start trusting his arm more than his legs, but for now he's a big kid who can become a running back as needed. The Bears offense also lacks a true, consistent number one receiver. While there are advantages to spreading the ball around, it has to be hard for a QB not to have that one guy who you know is going to catch the ball if Mitch gets in the general area. All the great QBs have had their favorite receiver. Mitch needs to find his, or Pace needs to get him one. 

I was not a Bears' fan in 1985, but I was 2006-2007 (Bears vs. Colts, Super Bowl 41). The Bears had a formidable defense, a ridiculous special teams dimension, and a blah QB by the name of Rex Grossman (Sexy Rexy). The 2015-2016 Denver Broncos (Super Bowl 50) had a powerhouse defense and an end of his career, Peyton Manning. Manning did not win that Super Bowl, Von Miller was the MVP for a reason. Super Bowls 35 and 47 went to the Ravens and their dominate defenses. I have heard comparisons between this Bears team and the Broncos of Super Bowl 50. Relax JDP (Danny), I am not saying that Mitch Trubisky is Peyton Manning. I do, however, believe that sometimes the biggest impact a QB can have is staying within his lane and his own skill set.

So... MITCH, PLEASE play your game and BEAR DOWN.