Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears This Week?
I.
Always.
Like.
THE.
Chicago.
Bears.
Welcome to the Matt Eberflus Game
So, as many of you might have realized, I took a step back from the “insider” stuff when returning to school. That kind of work requires diligence, dedication and most importantly, nerve. You have to be willing to go with information when you trust it, and then sweat it out until it becomes reality (while the rest of Bears media peppers you with texts). The “sweat it out” part was not for me.
But on the drive from DC to Newark Monday, and throughout the day Tuesday, I texted everyone, trying to gauge what the league-wide consensus was on Matt Eberflus. Here is what I gathered in that informal survey.
– Eberflus is an exceptionally well-liked man in the league.
– Said one personnel guy: “Never make decisions after a Hail Mary loss.” (And he’s been through a bad one.)
– Said one scout: “The Ben Johnson/Breer leak was interesting timing. Johnson smells blood in the water.” I had to sit with this text a bit. Is Ben Johnson really thinking about his NEXT job in October, while being the OC of a team that looks like the overwhelming favorite to make the Super Bowl from the NFC?
– Said one former personnel guy, now a TV guy: “These next few games are very important.”
And this last comment is where I’ve landed on Eberflus. I don’t think it particularly matters if he’s the coach in 2025 or not. Do I think they can win with him? Yes. I think he’s becoming an excellent in-game adjuster, which was his primary flaw a year ago. But there’s not enough positive with Flus that I believe he’d be a major loss on the sideline should they replace him, and I don’t think Caleb would be all that flustered by a system change on offense, especially if they move to an offensive head coach.
But if Flus wants to stave off calls for his job, I think he must win these next two games. I’m not saying he’ll be fired either way, but the calls for his job will persist all season long if he’s not 6-3.
Three Thoughts on the Cardinals
- What is Arizona? Who knows? They are technically in first place (three-way tie) with a point differential of -27. They seem like an entirely different team every week I watch them.
- The Bears have a distinct advantage seeing Kyle Murray the week after Jayden Daniels, as Murray’s legs are the most threatening thing about the Cardinal offense. If the Bears contain Murray, they’ll contain Arizona.
- By every metric – especially pressures, sacks and opposing passer rating – this is one of the worst pass defenses in the league. (Washington was not, by the way, and I tried to tell people that in las week’s preview.)
Lumet IX: Dog Day Afternoon
The fun part of a teaching a filmmaker are the units where you just discuss the brilliance of a single film. And Dog Day is one of the most brilliant films ever made. Some possible academic approaches.
- The cutting-edge homosexual/trans component of the film is brilliantly analyzed for Film Comment by Christopher Brown. Lumet was incredibly concerned how this element would play for the blue collars New Yorkers he intended the film for and made sure to focus on truth when it came to Al Pacino and Chris Sarandon’s representation of their relationship.
- Frederic Jameson, an important theoretical scholar, reads Dog Day as a political film and I wholeheartedly agree with him.
- And Heather Hendershot positions Lumet (specifically Dog Day) in the framework of what we call the “New Hollywood Cinema” of the 1970s.
The trailer.
Tomorrow: Prediction!!