North: Chicago Bears' season looking grim
The Chicago Bears' upcoming season doesn't look too promising as the season gets ready to kick off against the Green Bay Packers.
Jay Cutler turned into a game manager versus the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday night by completing 13-of-17 passes for less than 100 yards. It was a better-safe-than-sorry passing attack that was designed to keep the defense off the field, and I don't disagree with that thinking.
The team showed a good balance on offense with 18 rushes and 26 pass attempts, but failure to find the end zone won't lead to many victories. Their defense seems to have no strengths, and I don't see an ability to stop the run or the pass.
The fan in me hopes I'm wrong.
I got a tweet from a Daily Herald reader who suggested my postgame show on The Drive 97.1 FM will be great because the Bears will be so bad. I have to disagree, because if the Bears get off to a slow start, people will switch most of their interest to the Cubs.
So, let's hope for a decent start, because the team needs it, the fans need it and oh yeah — the media needs it, too.
Thumbs-up for Epstein:
It's time to give the Theo Epstein, the president of Baseball Operations for the Cubs,, a job-well-done nod.
I know I wasn't alone in my impatience with him as he told us the team was going to be bad. Remember folks, most of us have been through five or six rebuilding projects, so forgive us if we aren't automatic believers.
But Epstein, who stuck with his plan, seems to be getting it done, and hopefully will keep the Cubs relevant for a decade.
Winning two World Series in Boston for him was huge, but if he can win with the Cubs, that will be the bigger achievement.
I don't always put a lot of faith in the importance of a manager in baseball, but Joe Maddon has made a huge difference. The Cubs still have to make it to the playoffs because they aren't in yet, and Maddon will need to keep the team loose and focused, which he seems to be good at, even planning a “pajama party” for their trip back from Los Angeles.
They have a nice lead over the Giants for the second wild-card spot, and even thought the West Coast trip was a bit rocky (2-4), it ending with a stellar performance by Jake Arrieta in a no-hitter.
They are basically a year ahead of schedule to make the playoffs, and still have work to do, but it looks promising for them to make the wild-card this year.
The bats will get heavier and the thought process will be foggy, but I'm thinking they can do it. The question is: will they?
Program notes:
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