More Bears Fallout
As the Bears prepare for Sunday’s game with the NFC North leading Vikings, they are still licking their wounds from that embarrassing Week 4 loss to the Giants. The news didn’t get any better today as OL Cody Whitehair was placed on IR. Whitehair will be evaluated after 4 weeks and could possibly return Week 9 against the Dolphins.
QB Justin Fields remains the center of attention both in Chicago and with the national media. Here is a clip from ESPN’s Get Up that discusses what they feel is going on in Chicago:
Meanwhile Justin Fields took center stage and addressed the media after practice today and promised improvement from the offense:
The Bears face a Vikings team that puts up nearly 345 yards/game and 21.5 ppg. If this game becomes a shootout then that won’t bode well for a Bears team that ranks 32nd in passing yards per game and 31st in total yards per game and points per game. The Bears will have to find ways to slow down Vikings RB Dalvin Cook but considering they give up a league worst 183.3 yards per game that will prove to be difficult.
Bulls Fall in Preseason Opener
The Bulls opened their preseason at home last night against the New Orleans Pelicans and while the Bulls may not be concerned about the score (the lost 129-125) they will look back at the tape to figure out what they will need to do on the defensive end. The Bulls were bullied by the Pelicans’ speed & size all throughout the 1st half. At one point during the 1st half the Pelicans were shooting nearly 70% from the field and they coasted to a 17-point halftime lead while putting up 70 points.
The Bulls’ problem this year won’t be scoring. I believe they will find enough offense to put up 110 points per game but it is going to be whether their defense will be able to consistently hold teams under that number. Without Lonzo Ball, guys like Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Ayo Dosunmu will really have to get after it on the defensive end. Also of concern will be the defense of PF Patrick Williams. At that position Williams will have to deal with the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Scottie Barnes, Evan Mobley and Bojan Bogdanovic just to name a few.
The Eastern Conference is going to be dog fight every single night. I don’t think there is a team the Bulls will be able to take lightly. Most experts have the Bucks, Celtics, Heat, 76ers and Nets ahead of the Bulls leaving the Hawks, Raptors and Bulls to battle for that #6 spot. The development of the Bulls’ young core Dosunmu, Williams and Dalen Terry and their commitment to being better at defense will determine just how far the Bulls go this season.
The Season of Mid Comes To A Close
The Chicago White Sox’s season came to a close courtesy of a 10-1 pounding at the hands of the Minnesota Twins. The Sox finished this most disappointing season at 81-81 when most experts had the White Sox running away with the AL Central title. They also finished a full 11 games behind the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians.
What’s next for the Sox? Well for starters they will need to find a new manager as Tony LaRussa announced his retirement on October 3rd. The next thing to do will be to figure out what to do with the roster. The Sox spent close to $175 million this past season on the payroll so you figure that breaking the bank will not be high on management’s list going into 2023.
This season was marred by injury, players not being disciplined, players being arrogant, a manager who at the end of the day didn’t hold his team accountable and a GM who didn’t address the deficiencies that plagued the team at the end of the 2021 season.
ESPN 1000 Chicago host David Kaplan broke it down:
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