Sunday, September 24, 2017

Bears win nearly overshadowed by one of dumbest plays in team history



Image Courtesy of Bing

A rare hat trick in Chicago sports Sunday, the Cubs, Bears and Whits Sox all won. I'll start with the Cubs. The Cubs 5-0 victory puts them on the cusp of clinching the NL Central. Jose Quintana pitched a complete game shutout for the Cubs. Quintana gave up only three hits while striking out 10 and walking only one. The game was close until the 7th inning when they added on two runs on a Ben Zobrist homer. Anthony Rizzo added a two run double in the 8th.

Quintana may have cemented his place in the Cubs post season rotation. I think he belongs there, along with Kyle Hendricks and Jake Arrieta. I'm unsure if Jon Lester gets the 4th slot. That's my thinking, not necessarily Joe Maddon's. I think that what Lester does in the upcoming week determines if Lester plays a key role in the Cubs post season or not.

White Sox continue to show improvement


Lucas Giolito continues to impress in the White Sox rotation. Giolito went 7 innings in the Sox 8-1 over the Royals. Giolito gave up one run on five hits. He struck out 5 and didn't walk anybody. He's starting to look like a top of the rotation pitcher. In admittedly limited action, Giolito has an ERA of 2.38. I don't think his success is a fluke.

Avisail Garcia hit a 2 run homer in support of Giolito. He's currently hitting .331. Whether this year is an actual breakout season or not is debatable. Personally, I've come around to liking the idea of the Sox keeping him.

After going though one relief pitcher after another, the Sox have gotten to the point of having a pen that's not completely useless. Going into next year, major league retreads, Al Albuquerque and Danny Farquhar could find a spot in the Sox pen. Aaron Bummer may be a member of next year's pen, because he throws with his left arm. The fact he has command issues clouds his future.

Bears win overshadowed by Cooper Blooper


A rare Bears win was somewhat overshadowed by the dumbest play I've seen by the Bears in over 50 years of watching them. Marcus Cooper was well on his way to a touchdown on a blocked field goal when he shut it down and came to almost a complete stop at the goal line. There he was stripped of the ball. What should have been a Bears touchdown on the last play of the first half turned into a field goal.

I'm old school, but I've come to expect showboating from NFL players. But the combination of showboating coupled with stupidity on the part of Cooper is intolerable. The Bears as a group seem to have limited football IQs. I really think that's one reason the Bears collect so few turnovers. 

Is Glennon stopping the Bears from winnin?


The Bears seem to be getting better, though they act like a team afraid to win. Mike Glennon isn't a very good placeholder at quarterback. While Glennon doesn't have a good corps of receivers to work with, he's not weaponless. Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen are a great duo out of the Bears backfield. They should open things up for a poor Bears pass offense if there was a competent quarterback in place. 

I wonder how long it will be until Bears players get irked at the idea of Glennon starting over Trubisky? The Bears defense is getting to the point to where it can keep the team in games. Plus, the special teams are no longer an embarrassment. Trubisky could make the Bears an interesting team.

Pick a former Bears qb, any former Bears qb


In a battle of former Bears quarterbacks, Josh McCown led the Jets to a 20-6 win over the Jay Cutler driven Dolphins. A third former Bears qb, Brian Hoyer lit up the scoreboard in the 49ers 41-39 loss to the LA Rams. What do these three guys have in common, besides being former Bears, they are all cheaper and probably as good or better than Mike Glennon.

And the Browns are still the Browns

The Browns lost their third game of the season, 31-28, to the Indianapolis Colts. I thought the Browns had a shot at win, but, they again came up short. It looks like another long year for Browns fans. All in all an interesting day in Chicago sports, and sports in general.

Before I close, here are the top five reason Marcus Cooper stopped at the goal line:


1.  Was afraid the goal line might have a trip wire on it.

2.  Wanted to mitigate disappointment if there was a Bears penalty on the play.

3.  Was curious how John Fox would spin blatant stupidity/showboating in a press conference.

4.  Wanted to make for team unity by not outscoring the Bears offense.

5.  On impulse, considered taking a knee to show support for Colin Kaepernick.

More next time.












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