Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears this Week?
I.
Always.
Like.
THE.
Chicago.
Bears.
Caleb Williams, the Winning Haiku
From commenter “Please bear in mine” and I’m not sure I totally understand it but rolling with it anyway.
Ah, competition.
Chasing luck, Winter dance comes,
Mornings, fleeting youth.
Notes on Jaguars v. Colts
- This is a game where the Bears, and Caleb, need to attack the middle of the field with the passing attack. Joe Flacco exploited a ton of space for all four quarters.
- Jaguars are good against the run, currently ranked 8th in the league. The Colts had 34 points in Jacksonville last weekend and didn’t surpass 100 yards on the ground.
- With the Bears struggling against north-to-south rushing attacks, Tank Bigsby could be a real problem for them. Travis Etienne is a more versatile back, but Bigsby runs an awful lot like Chuba Hubbard and Hubbard averaged 7.5 yards per carry at Soldier Field. Watch the physicality Bigsby runs with on his touchdown in the middle of the third quarter. (Etienne is Trevor Lawrence’s quick outlet option, especially when he releases into a vacant space behind the defensive line.)
- Josh Hines-Allen v. Braxton Jones has the potential to be a game-defining battle. Hines-Allen doesn’t leave the right edge position and his burst off the line of scrimmage forced Flacco to release the ball quickly on at least 6-7 important downs. (Trevon Walker is a solid closer on the other side as well.)
- Trevor Lawrence was good to wide open deep options Sunday, but mediocre just about everywhere else.
- Mo Alie-Cox’s stat line for the Colts – 2/37/1 – may not look impressive. But he could easily have had a pair of additional touchdowns with a more accurate Flacco. Is this Cole Kmet’s breakout game in passing attack?
Lumet V: Fail Safe and the Cold War
Sidney Lumet’s filmography – 1957 to 2007 – tells the story of a particular American, political experience over the second half of the 20th century. If we view The Pawnbroker as a reckoning with the atrocities and trauma of WWII, it is easy to see Fail Safe as a reckoning with the tensions and potential destruction of the Cold War which followed.
Fail Safe is a film that has faded historically because of comparisons to one that handled similar subject matter in a superior fashion, Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. The latter sardonic, witty, hysterical. The former is earnest, serious, almost humorless. (I will not spoil the plot, but the ending of the film is a truly remarkable sequence of human drama.)
A question I would ask students to consider re: Fail Safe: is the earnestness a product of the director, or is the earnestness the director’s recognition of what his star, Henry Fonda, represents to the American film audience?
Around the League Bet (1-4)
A hit! A palpable hit! Are we going to hit two in a row?
BRONCOS +3 over Chargers
Why on earth are the Chargers favored in Denver against what is currently one of the five best defenses in the league? Makes zero sense to me, especially for a Los Angeles team that is extremely limited in the passing game. I’m not only confident taking the points, but I’ll be also betting Denver on the moneyline at +130.
Bears Under Pressure
(3) Braxton Jones. The expectation should be that Darnell Wright will handle Walker on the right edge. If Braxton can handle Hines-Allen, the Bears won’t have to alter their game plan and slide protections to the left side.
(2) Keenan Allen. With only 10 catches on the season, there have actually been serious trade rumors surrounding Allen. But the truth of his tape is this: he’s not getting open enough. Understanding the Bears need to exploit the middle of the field, this is the week for Allen to kill Jacksonville with shallow crossing routes.
(1) Tremaine Edmunds. Jacksonville wants quick hits to their tight ends (Strange, Farrell) over the middle and dumps to the backs in the flat. This is the kind of week where Chicago’s sideline-to-sideline ILB needs to earn his money and keep three and four-yard completions from becoming big plays.
Tomorrow: Prediction!