Bears Smoke-N-Mirror Show Goes On
The Bears improved their record to 5-1 with a 23-16 win over the Panthers but it was another mess of a game for the Monsters of the Midway. For the 6th straight week the offense looked ineffective and unsure of themselves throughout much of the game. The offense could only muster 261 yards of offense(only 63 yards rushing on 25 carries), had at least two long drives that stalled for FG attempts and actually had a delay of game penalty immediately after calling a timeout. There were two plays that were just unforgivable that nearly contributed to the Bears losing:
- Up 13-6 midway through the 3rd quarter, the defense forced a fumble and recovered deep inside Panthers territory. On the next play QB Nick Foles, while trying to flee pressure, decided to throw the ball in the direction of backup TE Demetrius Harris that easily picked off.
- Up 23-16 with less than 2 minutes to go in the game, the Bears decided to throw on a 3rd and 2. The pass was incomplete, the clock stopped and the Bucs got a chance to tie the game.
The defense played well enough today to set up for an easy win. They forced 3 turnovers and had 4 sacks. They held the Panthers to 3-13 on 3rd down conversions and held Teddy Bridgewater to a season low 216 yards passing. The problem remains the inconsistency on offense and even after benching Mitchell Trubisky midway through the 3rd game of the season the offensive woes continue. The lack of a consistent running game(the Bears only averaged 2.5 yards per rush today), an offensive line that can push the line and suspect play calling will be the things that keep this Bears from being a true contender.
Yes, the Bears are 5-1 and in 1st place of the NFC North(the Packers got their backs blown out in Tampa) but the next 5 weeks will be very tough for the beloved. 4 of their next 5 games are against teams with a combined record of 16-4(at Rams, vs Saints, at Titans, at Packers). The Bears could very well be sitting at 6-5 after this stretch if they don’t make some much needed adjustments to their offense.
The Good, Bad & Ugly of WWE
The Good: WWE has three red hot storylines right now and it’s what’s carrying the company at this moment. It’s no coincidence that these three storylines will be featured inside the demented Hell In A Cell structure at next Sunday’s PPV. Fans will get the blow-off match between WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and the Legend Killer Randy Orton. These two have been at war for the better part of 4 months.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley & Sasha Banks will take their feud inside HIAC. They have spent well over a year telling their story. Bayley turning on Sasha Banks was the unexpected swerve but it has worked to perfection.
Finally, Universal Champion Roman Reigns’ heel turn and his rivalry with his real life cousin Jey Uso has been appointment television. Their match at the Clash of Champions PPV was the best bit of storytelling I’ve seen from WWE since Kofi Kingston’s push for the WWE championship and before that Daniel Byran’s run to the WWE title at WrestleMania. Everything about Roman’s heel turn is working and what’s even better is how Jey Uso is playing off of Roman as the sympathetic underdog. It’s made for fantastic storytelling.
The Bad: The WWE had its draft over two nights last week and it wasn’t good. It was the very definition of one step forward and two steps back. What do I mean? Well here’s one glaring example – Seth Rollins gets drafted to SmackDown and looks to finally be rid of the Mysterio family angle that went on for far too long… only to have the Mysterios drafted to SmackDown less than an hour later.
Want more? The New Day was reunited with the return of Kofi Kingston & a ripped Xavier Woods and right away your boys were able to defeat Nakamura & Cesaro to recapture the SmackDown Tag Team titles. Literally ten seconds after that emotional title win, WWE thought it would be a good idea to split up The New Day. Woods & Kingston got drafted to RAW while Big E stays put at SmackDown. WWE’s reasoning was they wanted to focus on Big E’s singles push but that’s balderdash because Kofi was able to go on a singles push in 2019 while the group remained intact. The same could have happened here.
The decisions WWE made regarding their draft were confusing at best.
The Ugly: Lars Sullivan. Simply put no one was interested in seeing Lars Sullivan return to WWE after spending time away dealing with racist, homophobic and sexist remarks across his social media pages. His return was met a gigantic thud. WWE CEO Vince McMahon is hellbent on pushing Sullivan despite the backlash he’s received from the WWE Universe.
Even worse is Vince McMahon initially banning all of his talents from using any third party deals. It basically meant that anyone who works for WWE can’t generate any other streams of income other than what they earn from WWE. Given that WWE doesn’t give their employees health and life insurance this measure is extra cruel and inhuman even for McMahon. Well after the backlash WWE received from the media & fans alike, it seems as though they’ve softened their stance.
Final Thoughts
- Congratulations to LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers on winning their 17th NBA title. Also, kudos to the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler on making The Finals an enjoyable series to watch. Jimmy Butler became a superstar during this remarkable playoff run for the Heat.
- The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a massive effect on sports. Alabama head coach Nick Saban tested positive. The NFL and NCAA has had to reschedule several games due to players/personnel contracting the virus. The NFL has begun letting limited amounts of fans into the stadiums but it’s unclear what protocols are in place in terms of social distancing and mandated mask wearing.
- Last night, the Tampa Bay Rays punched their ticket to The World Series by ridding the world of the Houston Cheat-stros in 7 games. The Rays nearly blew a 3-1 lead before dispatching of Houston. They will face the winner of the Braves/Dodgers NLCS as they are locked in a Game 7 battle as I write this. It should be an entertaining World Series either way.
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