Friday, September 6, 2019

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.

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