OPENING SHOT
Steve Rosenbloom
Ten scary words: Pedro Strop will miss the rest of the regular season. Ten scarier words: Carl Edwards Jr. is coming into the game in relief.
More Rosenbloom,
Football should hand out assists the way hockey does.
I know NFL teams list assists on tackles, but I’m talking about the cause-and-effect presence of a player, not one joining a dogpile or having a hand on the guy with the ball. That’s a terrific measure of a player — one around whom the defense must game plan and one with whom the defense must remain occupied vigilantly, which frees others to make big plays.
Mack is that kind of player, and he can turn teammates into becoming that kind of player. We saw the start of that in Green Bay on Sunday.
For instance, Bears defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris deserved the primary assist for his near-sack against the Packers on Sunday night that pressured DeShone Kizer into a weak pass that Khalil Mack intercepted and returned for a touchdown.
Mack, meanwhile, deserved the first assist for Roquan Smith’s first NFL sack on his first NFL play and for initial pressure that Robertson-Harris turned into the sack that led to Aaron Rodgers’ injury.
If the NFL did add this kind of assist, Mack would be Wayne Gretzky.
For a while it looked like RobertsonHarris had a Shea McClellin moment, putting Rodgers out of the game. But then Rodgers came back, the Bears gagged and everything remained normal in the time-space continuum.
I can’t imagine the Bears gave out game balls after the choke in Green Bay, but if they did, Raiders coach Jon Gruden deserved one.
I know there’s belief in the Bears’
defense because of the addition of an All-Pro pass rusher and Vic Fangio’s history. But remember, Fangio couldn’t figure out how to stop his defense from allowing three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. That’s Mel Tucker-like stuff.
The Bears’ two-minute drill could use some Febreze.
Or it could have used live game experience in the preseason because it looked like Matt Nagy’s 2,000 snaps since the spring failed to include that part of the game plan.
Maybe Nagy didn’t think the offense would be close enough to require it. Not to scare you, Bears fans, but the way the offense ran the scripted stuff and then pretty much stunk once the Packers made adjustments, I felt like we were watching Gary Crowton,
Part Duh.
The Seahawks allowed 146 rushing yards in a loss to the Broncos, an average of 4.6 yards per carry. If this was John Fox, the Bears never would throw a pass and it would be the right game plan. In some small way, this feels like a choice between winning the best way possible or giving Mitch Trubisky every possible experience in the passing game.
From Andrew Siciliano of the Red Zone Channel: The Lions, coming off a 48-17 strafing by the Jets at home, now travel to Northern California, an area in which they haven’t beaten the 49ers since 1975 (0-12). The last time the Lions won in San Francisco, Steve Spurrier and Norm Snead were the 49ers quarterbacks. So, there are worse things than recalling the Crowton era. Email from Rich S.: “I blame Khalil Mack for the loss to the Packers. He didn’t score enough touchdowns. He got one? Puh-lease. He’s got to do better than that. I should think three or four per game just might overcome the Bears offensive growing pains.’’
Voluble former Bears receiver Brandon Marshall returns with the Seahawks, extending to six his number of teams with which he never will see the playoffs in his career. That’s some streak.
Yeah, sure, of course: The old Dillon Maples-Jaime Garcia-Jorge De La Rosa lockdown bullpen trick.
The alcohol wholesale company Blackhawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz co-leads invested $9.2 million in CannTrust, a Canadian marijuana producer. This comes amid the growing trend of cannabis-infused drinks. Those drinks, however, will be available only in Canada, no matter how badly Hawks fans look like they will need them this season.
What’s up, Paul Noce?