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Rick Hahn Explains How He Played Theo Epstein Last Summer

By
Matt Enuco
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Remember last summer when the White Sox traded Jose Quintana to the Cubs? Want the inside story from the horse’s mouth? Remember Reddit users Wetbut23 and KatyPerrysBootyhole?

Just this week, as the anniversary of the seismic trade between the crosstown-rivals looms, Rick Hahn opened up about how the trade went down and his astonishment over how quiet the deal remained until the closing moments when two Reddit users broke the trade.

“I do recall I was on the phone with Q, which was the last step,” Hahn explained. “All the Cubs players had been informed. I was missing him and getting voicemail. Finally, he and I connected and while I was talking with him I was receiving text messages from members of the Chicago media.”

I spoke to Chuck Garfien of NBC Sports Chicago this week for the latest installment of the Pinwheels and Ivy Podcast and I can’t believe he didn’t mention his upcoming story about this. But, I’ll take the blame for failing to recognize the anniversary and quiet deception around the whole deal. (Don’t worry, Garfien gave us some tasty morsels about Jason Benetti’s eating habits, Steve Stone’s colorful shirts and A.J. Pierzynski’s ironic Florida State football jersey that was too risque for television.)

The media has tentacles in places you didn’t know tentacles could reach and we typically ferret out rumors before public relations teams can get the press releases out. But this was a circumstance that surprised both Hahn and Epstein.

“The short answer is yes, we were surprised,”  Hahn said. “We were surprised in part because it’s very rare that we as a club get to be the first to announce any of our transactions, even if it’s Avi (Garcia) to the DL. That somehow gets out on Twitter more often than not. So the fact that a major trade of any sort held until a press release, much less a trade between these two clubs and the level of heightened antennae that are around both clubs, especially this time of year, we were surprised.”

No kidding!

“The word getting out would have certainly increased the chances for there to be scrutiny and noise and derailment,”  Hahn said. “It’s some other club jumping in, an offer being increased, any number of factors that can derail a trade. Certainly staying quiet was essential to being able to get the thing across the finish line.”

Here’s the new scoop. There were five teams involved in the maneuvering before the Cubs sealed the deal. Three other “contending” teams were chasing Hahn and Quintana around the All-Star break last season. Two other “mystery” teams, who were not in contention for a playoff birth at the time but wanted to build a rotation for the future, jumped into the sweepstakes as well.

by the time Hahn reached out to Epstein he had a very clear idea of what it would take to get a deal done between the two clubs.

“The depth of those conversations with the other clubs is actually what put us in a position when it came time to talk to the Cubs to be able to be very direct with what it was going to take,” Hahn said in an interview with NBC Sports Chicago.  “We could sincerely tell them that without Eloy (Jimenez) and (Dylan) Cease being part of it, it’s not going to happen.”

With a little bit of mystery and deception (Hahn ditched his son at a Fanfest event to sneak behind a display and take a call from Epstein), the deal was gaining momentum.

Not long after, Wetbut23 sprinkled a little bit of intrigue into the narrative mere hours before the trade was announced.

“Hey, take this with a grain of salt, but I heard from a friend who’s brothers [sic] friend works for the cubs (sounds like bulls**t I know), that Q is going to the cubs in exchange for 4 players. Has anyone heard anything similar?”

****

But then…after a healthy amount of skepticism from other Reddit users, KateyPerrysBootyhole came to the rescue.

“4 prospects. No pros. Players were meeting with doctors and will be official tonight or tomorrow.”

****

When pressed for details and verification, Katy’s bootyhole responded with:

“I was just told that the trade was agreed to this morning. And the players were doing physicals and what not. Could have been before game, I am not 100% on the timeline of the physicals… There is no need for credibility of the interweb!! Haha I don’t know what I can even provide. Someone told me something, I took it for what it was worth.”

Once the trade was confirmed by team officials the praise for arses became real on the White Sox subreddit.

“wetbutt23… you are my new oracle.”

“I have no other choice but to believe wetbutt is Theo Epstein.”

“wetbutt23 is Rick Hahn and he’s placing trade rumors in various MLB subreddits…”

“Always have faith in Katy Perry’s Butthole, guise [sic]. Always.”

And that, my friends, is the story behind the story.

Matt Nagy Has a Habit of Excelling After Gutwrenching Losses

By
Erik Lambert
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matt nagy

Matt Nagy came highly recommended when the Chicago Bears hired him back in January. His track record as an offensive mind and quarterback specialist were hard to match. He was a student of Andy Reid, one of the best head coach molders in the NFL. Players love him and respect him. There weren’t many reasons to dislike the hire.

Well, this is football. People always find a way. One of the biggest concerns about Nagy had to do with the final game he coached for the Kansas City Chiefs. After his offense opened up with 21 points in the first half, it went completely silent in the second. This allowed the Tennessee Titans to rally for a stunning 22-21 comeback win.

Nagy took a lot of heat for that failure and didn’t shy away from it. He took full responsibility. Then again this isn’t the first time the 39-year old has had to endure a brutal defeat. In fact, they seem to characterize much of his football career and have a strange habit of propelling him higher and higher each time.

Matt Nagy doesn’t wilt from heartbreak, he thrives from it

Maybe someone should ask whether Nagy is a bit of a masochist because he sure does seem to show signs of enjoying pain. At least that’s what happens when viewing his history in football. He sat down to speak with Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times about how he’s grown as a person and a football man. One thing that seemed to characterize his life:  brutal losses.

“In Nagy’s two seasons as the star quarterback for Manheim Central, the Barons went 26-2. Their two losses came in the playoffs against the same team.

‘‘Berwick,’’ Nagy said.

The details of those defeats against Berwick, a state powerhouse, remain vivid. The emotions haven’t faded.

‘‘One was in front of 20,000 on an interception throw to win the game,’’ Nagy said of his own pass.

‘‘The other one was, we were winning 17-0 against the No. 1 team in the country in USA Today, and we lost 18-17.’’

Nagy called them devastating.

‘‘I can still remember walking off the field with all my buddies and knowing that’s the last time you’re going to be together,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘And you’re going to move on.’’

But Nagy didn’t. From Delaware to the Arena Football League to a brief career in real estate to the Eagles, Chiefs and finally the Bears, those losses accompanied him. A loss to Georgia Southern in the Division I-AA semifinals in his final season at Delaware was added to the mix, too.”

That wasn’t it either. Nagy was the starting quarterback for the Georgia Force in the Arena League in 2005. He took his team to Arena Bowl XIX that years. He accounted for five touchdowns in that game including three in a furious fourth quarter. Sadly it wasn’t enough as Georgia fell 51-48 in the closing seconds. Two years later he lost a second Arena Bowl as quarterback of the Columbus Destroyers.

Yet if one follows the trend, every brutal defeat spurred him on

The two crushing losses in high school didn’t stop him from going to Delaware where he broke all the school’s passing records. There he suffered another agonizing loss. Again he came back stronger than ever, carving out a highly successful career in the Arena League that included taking two different teams to the championship game. Those losses and the league’s eventual folding should’ve ended his career, right?

Nope. He took a chance on an internship with the Philadelphia Eagles and thrived. Then he loses in crushing fashion on a national stage to the Titans. A couple weeks later he’s being ushered in as head coach of the Chicago Bears. It truly does seem like each defeat he suffers through seems to toughen him up and make him better. More determined to reach the heights nobody thinks he can.

It feels like that’s exactly the sort of person the Bears want and need running the show.

Cubs Trading For Jacob deGrom Isn’t As Crazy As You Think

By
Aldo Soto
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All right, it sounds crazy at first because the Chicago Cubs definitely don’t have the prospects to make a deal with the New York Mets for starting pitcher Jacob deGrom. HOWEVER! This is another time the major-league depth really pays off for the Cubs off the field because there is no arguing they have one of the deepest, if not the deepest, roster in baseball.

We know by now that the Cubs are looking for pitching help, both in the rotation and the bullpen. Yu Darvish is going to be back in August(?) hopefully and well, Tyler Chatwood has been awful for a few months now and Mike Montgomery isn’t throwing six shutout innings every time out either.

This whole possible trade scenario of the Cubs maybe being in on deGrom popped off Wednesday, when 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine brought up the name of two young players on the roster, who could be used to make a huge splash by the trade deadline.

Those names were Addison Russell and Ian Happ.

Here’s what Levine wrote in his mailbag article.

Via 670 The Score.

Russell and Happ would both be in play right now for a pitcher like Mets ace Jacob deGrom, who’s under contract control through 2020. Any team looking to acquire deGrom now would be looking at having three playoff runs with him as a front-line starter.

And also this.

The Cubs should and will pursue pitching help, as general manager Jed Hoyer confirmed on 670 The Score on Wednesday morning.

Starters like deGrom will be on the Cubs’ radar with the health of Yu Darvish up in the air. Theo Epstein and Hoyer have a track record of being aggressive, and the Cubs’ window to win is right now. This time, the difference is that the Cubs will have to trade off their big league roster to make a big move.

I’ll start off by saying that I’d pass on trading Addison Russell for now and the only reason is because the Cubs have another player they could pair with Ian Happ in a trade for deGrom.

Remember how the other day I wrote this…

Two New Trade Rumors Make No Sense Unless The Cubs Are Planning On Making Some Big Moves

The trade rumors both centered around the Cubs having interest in veteran outfielders, which again with the current state of the roster and other needs present, pitching, make absolutely no sense…unless the reason they’re looking at guys like Derek Dietrich from the Miami Marlins is because they’re exploring a bigger deal for a starter…like deGrom?

As Matt Clapp alluded to in his tweet, the final piece to all of this has always been to go after Bryce Harper in the offseason. And as Aaron Kennelly put it, the expectation has always been to use one of the young players, like Ian Happ, to trade for pitching help.

Well, there’s really no better time than right now for Jacob 1.68 ERA deGrom.

deGrom still has two more years left of arbitration and let’s not kid ourselves, he’d be Game 1 starter for the Cubs in the playoffs if he was traded. This dude is awesome. Plus, the rotation would be unbelievable with, deGrom, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks Jose Quintana and Yu Darvish. I mean, you’re talking about having to leave one of those five out of the rotation in the postseason. Unreal.

As far as the Mets and why they’d be OK with the return, let’s take a look at the numbers.

Ian Happ is 23-years-old, can play all three outfield positions and has played at first, second and third base too. He’s still under team control for five more years after this season. In 194 games, remember still only 23-years-old, Happ has 34 home runs, a slash line of .253/.348/.487, and we’re talking about a guy who’s walked 44 times, five more than all of 2017, in 140 fewer at-bats this season.

Add in Albert Almora Jr., who Cubs fans are completely in love with and the Mets have two players both under the age of 25, under team control for at least four years, plus a few prospects and that package rivals anything any team can with a prospects-only trade offer.

Who knows, maybe the Mets really love one of the two, Russell or Happ, to headline a deal and if that was the case, I’d obviously still do it.

If it’s Almora and Happ plus prospects the Cubs still have Kyle Schwarber, Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, Kris Bryant, maybe a trade for a veteran outfielder and then you have right field open for Bryce Harper in the offseason. In the offseason in which if this deGrom to Cubs fantasy comes true, features the best starting rotation in baseball. Talk about enticing for any top free agent.

Only the second week of July and I am all in on these wild trade rumors!

Roquan Smith Projected Stats for 2018 Are In and Look Damn Good

By
Erik Lambert
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roquan smith

Unlike last year, the Chicago Bears have received a ton of praise for their first round draft pick in 2018. Much of that has to do with the pick being far more proven this time around. Mitch Trubisky was a largely unknown commodity who started 13 total cames in college. For Roquan Smith, it was the opposite.

They don’t come more proven than the Georgia linebacker. He played and started games across three years of college. In 2017 he claimed the Dick Butkus award for best linebacker in the county and helped his team reach the national championship game. There wasn’t much else he could do to show teams he was the real deal.

The Bears didn’t overthink it. They made him the #8 overall pick to join their growing defense. He was the best player available and everybody watching knew it. There wasn’t much reason to have doubt or fault GM Ryan Pace for the selection. Most experts agreed it was a solid, safe choice. The only question left is what kind of impact he’d have as a rookie.

Projected Roquan Smith stats are hard to get mad about

The first order of business is winning a starting job. The Bears have made it clear they aren’t going to hand it to Smith. He’ll have to earn it. Nick Kwiatkoski has more experience in the Vic Fangio defense and wants it just as bad. Things are earned on this team, which is the right way to do it.

Still, expectations are he’ll end up next to Danny Trevathan come opening day. After that? Bucky Brooks, a former scout and current analyst for NFL.com offered his take on what to expect from the young linebacker.

“Smith is the most disruptive sideline-to-sideline defender on the Bears’ defense since Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher patrolled the middle of the field. The rookie is an explosive athlete. He’s a quick read-and-react defender with outstanding instincts and diagnostic skills. Chicago’s defense has made significant strides over the last two seasons, and Smith’s arrival could help the unit go from good to great in 2018…

Projected stats: 100 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception.”

All things considered, that’s pretty good numbers. They project higher than what Jarrad Davis did last season. The Lions linebacker was the leading tackler among all rookies. It’s worth noting the last rookie linebacker to crack 100 tackles in a season was Deion Jones in 2016 and he’s since become a Pro Bowler.

That’s certainly a good sign. To say nothing of Vic Fangio’s long history of molding inside linebackers into studs. Smith has a chance to become something special in Chicago and by these numbers, it may not take him long to get there.

Why Max Pacioretty Could Be The Next Member Of “The Golden Misfits’

By
Kevin Smith
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The departures of James Neal and David Perron this offseason will be missed both on and off the ice for the Vegas Golden Knights. As reigning NHL General Manager of the Year George McPhee looks to replace the leadership qualities and production on the ice, he is going to want to get an established NHL player he can slot in on the wing to fill the vacant spot. Who else can fit that “Golden Misfit” mentality? Hello, Max Pacioretty.

Keeping up with the recent theme of Canadian teams wanting to trade their captains, the Montreal Canadiens informed Pacioretty there will be no contract negotiation for the captain, per The Athletic. Montreal fans will tell you how they really feel about their GM, Marc Bergevin and — to put it nicely — they think he is ruining their beloved Canadiens. It’s no surprise he is butchering this ordeal with Pacioretty, who has one year left on the 6-year deal he signed back in 2013.

There were rumblings this past December that Bergevin would explore trading Pacioretty, but nothing came to fruition. Pacioretty has changed agents and expressed many times he would love to stay in Montreal, yet Bergevin seems content on letting the five-time 30-goal scorer go. It seems as though both Ottawa (the Erik Karlsson debacle) and Montreal are in a battle of their own on how to ruin their franchise quicker. Toronto, which has been the butt of many jokes for so many years, is now tops the list as far as eastern Canadian market teams go.

Time is running out for Bergevin to make a move. They at least get something out of Pacioretty, or else it will be another John Tavares situation, where the player walks the following season for nothing. So could Pacioretty be a Golden Misfit next season? The framework is certainly there.

Here are a few reasons why:

Leadership

Pacioretty has been a proven leader on and off the ice, something we know McPhee, head coach Gerard Gallant, and Knights owner Bill Foley hold to a high standard. Pacioretty was a first round pick for Montreal in 2007, breaking into the league in 2009. After a few seasons back and forth between the AHL and NHL, Pacioretty hit his stride in 2011 and became the team’s leading scorer. Four out of five seasons, he was a 30-goal scorer and named to the prestigious role of captain prior to the start of the 2015 season.

Being the captain of the Montreal Canadiens may be the hardest job in all of hockey. The media there are equivalent to the New York media to the Yankees. One minute you’re a hero, the next minute you are getting screamed at by reporters and the fans. Pacioretty has handled every step of the way with class. It doesn’t hurt that Golden Knights new arrival, Paul Stastny, played with Pacioretty in the 2014 Olympic Games for Team USA.

Pacioretty Loves Vegas

It was an abysmal season for the Canadiens so it wasn’t hard to believe, after a fifth straight loss courtesy of the Golden Knights in February, a couple of the Montreal players got tired of telling their media outlets how they need to “turn things around.” Instead, a couple of them talked about the amazing atmosphere that is T-Mobile Arena. One of those players was captain Max Pacioretty.

That is not something you hear from a team’s captain about another team’s venue, even if it’s in the middle of the regular season. This is a man who has spent his entire playing career inside one of the rowdiest places to play in the world in Montreal, yet was blown away by the atmosphere at T-Mobile.

It is safe to say he was blown away by Vegas. Why wouldn’t he want to come play for the Knights? They just made it to the Stanley Cup Final, he loves the atmosphere of T-Mobile Arena, they run open fan-friendly practices in a brand new practice facility, we have winters that never hit single digits, a head coach who just won the Jack Adams Trophy…need I say more?

Opportunity to Win

If there is one knock on the American winger, it is that Pacioretty has never lifted the Stanley Cup. He made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2014, but has not gotten a chance to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup. He will have a much better chance to do that in Vegas, than in Montreal. Vegas is in a win-now stage whereas Montreal is in a rebuild, which is hard to do for a city that demands winning every season. He can slot in most likely on the second or third line for the Golden Knights and play along side the likes of playmaker  Stastny, (29-goals in 2017-18), Eric Haula, Alex Tuch, Tomas Tatar, or whatever combination Gallant decides to mix his lines with.

Is He A Golden Misfit?

How would Pacioretty help the Golden Knights? The Golden Knights would be getting a 6-foot-2, 206-pound winger with multiple 30-goal scoring seasons on his resume. They would be getting a U.S. Olympian who has proven himself on the international stage. They would be getting a leader in the locker room and in the community. Simply put: there is a lot to like about the veteran winger and he’ll fit in just fine with these strange goofballs, especially Marc Andre-Fleury and his man purse.

The “Golden Misfits” are more than just a quirky saying. It is a mentality the Golden Knights had last season and for good reason. They became these Golden Knights because other teams didn’t want them enough to protect them in the expansion draft and developed a chip on their shoulders that lasted the whole season. They worked harder than anyone on the ice.

Pacioretty IS a misfit. After years of loyalty, hard work and excellent performance on the ice for the Canadiens, his own GM isn’t willing to work with him to make a deal. He isn’t willing to keep their captain around. He’s going to be pretty chippy all season in a contract season so look out for him to enter to talks at the trade deadline, no matter what. The Canadiens have angered The Captain.

It has yet to be determined if significant talks have occurred between Montreal and Vegas but, while the whole world reports on Karlsson’s every move this offseason, McPhee could swoop in and buy low. After an off-year for Pacioretty and the Canadiens, McPhee has some leverage, particularly since word went public Bergevin doesn’t want to keep Pacioretty.

I can’t think of better kind of ‘misfit’ to join the realm, can you?

Bears Secondary Considered The Biggest Sleeper In the NFL

By
Erik Lambert
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chicago bears secondary

Expectations for 2018 remain cautiously optimistic at best. However, there is plenty of optimism around the defense, especially after the addition of Roquan Smith to the front seven. Together with Danny Trevathan, Akiem Hicks, Leonard Floyd and Eddie Goldman, it’s quite a young core they’ve put together. That said, some believe the unit to watch might be the Chicago Bears secondary.

The first evidence of this was in how it played last season. While the group didn’t make a ton of big plays, they did make more than previous years and drastically decreased their mistakes. Forgotten names and young rookies alike stepped up to deliver what Pat Riley used to call a “career-best effort.”

The result was the Bears having their first top 10 defense since 2012 and what many believe to be a sign of even better things to come. A major key to that is whether the secondary can take another step up in their productivity. There is a growing belief this is not only possible but growing more likely.

Bears secondary viewed as the top sleeper in the league

One of the biggest stories of 2018 thus far is the dissolution of the fabled Legion of Booms. The Seattle Seahawks secondary that consisted of stars like Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas. Sherman left for San Francisco. Chancellor is facing retirement. Thomas could get traded at any time.

It’s left some to wonder if there’s a secondary out there who might reach similar heights that group did. There are favorites including the Jaguars, Vikings, Rams, Chargers, and Ravens. Is there a possible sleeper group though? One that might surprise if all the right things happen? Danny Kelly of The Ringer believes so, and the Bears sit atop that list.

“Cornerback Kyle Fuller was the biggest get, signed to a four-year, $56 million extension, and the fifth-year pro will have the chance to show that his breakout performance in 2017 (two picks and 22 passes defensed) was no fluke. Opposite Fuller, reliable veteran Prince Amukamara comes back on a three-year, $27 million deal, and is flanked by promising slot corner Bryce Callahan, who signed a restricted free-agent tender to stay with the team.

Adrian Amos and Eddie Jackson look primed to emerge as one of the best young safety duos in the league. The Bears have the foundation for a top-tier unit—a group that finished 10th in DVOA without pressure last season—and they have a chance to prove they belong among the elite in 2018.”

The excitement around this group has to do with three factors:  youth, athleticism and experience. All four primary members are under the age of 30. All also come with substantial athletic chops. Fuller and Amukamara are former first round picks. Amos is a former corner and Jackson was a return man in college.

Then there’s another fact. Last year was the first season they’d played together. If they were able to excel like that without knowing each other too well, imagine how much better they could be when that’s no longer an obstacle.

NBA Looking To Get Rid Of Arcane One-And-Done Rule

By
Kevin Fiddler
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Despite a wealth of great prep signings, UNLV’s basketball program has struggled the last half-decade with keeping talent in the program. One could literally make an NBA Summer League team with the names of UNLV past, specifically players who came and went in a season or two. Most of the time, it’s because each player believed they were NBA-ready, using UNLV to meet the mandatory NBA rule age-minimum before bolting for somewhat-greener pastures. The age of the one-and-done basketball player may be at an end now that NBA commissioner Adam Silver told the Board of Governors its time to end the rule for good.

Silver told the Board of Governors Wednesday the rule has run its course and is, in fact, hurting colleges both academically and athletically. A major factor in the decision: former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

“My personal view is that we’re ready to make that change,” Silver told the group. “Given that Condoleezza Rice and her commission has recommended to the NBA those one-and-done players now come directly into the league, and in essence the college community is saying we don’t want those players anymore, that tips the scale in my mind that we should be taking a serious look at lowering our age to 18.”

Since 2006, UNLV has lost three players to the NBA after their freshman year, most recently center Brandon McCoy — who went undrafted. While it pales in comparison to Kentucky or Duke, UNLV isn’t bringing in the depth of talent those programs can.

One-and-Done Players By Program Since 2006


As of now, the rule states players either must be 19 or must have finished their freshman year in college to enter the NBA. The current collective-bargaining agreement doesn’t expire until 2024, but, according to the New York Post, “draft eligibility rules can be renegotiated before the next collective-bargaining agreement.”

Former UNLV standout Anthony Bennett left after his freshman season and was the first overall selection in the 2013 draft, taken by Cleveland. He never averaged more than 16 minutes and hasn’t played a single second in the NBA since he 2016-17 season. One could say he would’ve benefitted from a few more years of college, despite his draft status — specifically when it comes to emotional development as a young man.

Gorman grad Stephen Zimmerman also came to UNLV with great promise. A standout from local powerhouse Bishop Gorman, Zimmerman was expected to be the great local hero. Instead, despite not even an All-Conference award, he left after one season. Zimmerman was drafted in the second round, four picks after fellow former Rebel, Patrick McCaw, who left after his second season with UNLV.

Zimmerman was cut by the Orlando Magic last July and currently plays for the South Bay Lakers in the G League. McCaw, on the other hand, just won his second ring with the Golden State Warriors. The list goes on and on. There are six former UNLV Runnin’ Rebels in this year’s NBA Summer League yet only one of them — graduate transfer Ike Nwamu — actually graduated from college or used up all of their collegiate eligibility.

It has hurt UNLV on so many levels, whether image or simply program continuity. While the rule won’t solve all the problems, especially with the snakes dripping honey from their lips who gravitate towards gifted young athletes, it should help UNLV.

The next time UNLV signs an McDonald’s All-American, the program — especially head coach Marvin Menzies — can rest easy knowing they no longer are the stepping stone that helps aspiring young ballplayers circumvent an outdated NBA rule. Perhaps, in the long run, this will help Menzies bring in the athletes who honor their commitments, instead of using UNLV’s basketball program — and all of the Rebel fans — to placate a stupid NBA rule before leaving them abruptly like a late-night Tinder hookup.

 

VIDEO: Kris Bryant Crushes 2-Run HR In First Game Back From DL

By
Aldo Soto
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Kris Bryant crushed a two-run home run off Johnny Cueto to dead center field. It was Bryant’s first game back with the Chicago Cubs since June 22, as he went down with left shoulder inflammation.

Bryant now has 10 home runs this season.

Why Derek Carr Will Be An NFL MVP Candidate In 2018

By
Perry Schwartz
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After a mediocre fourth season in the NFL, Derek Carr is seen by many as a middle-of-the-pack starting quarterback. After all, he has an overall record of 28-34, no playoff wins, and averages a mediocre 6.5 yards per passing attempt in his career. Carr has yet to reach the 4,000-yard passing mark and averages less than 100 rushing yards per season, so it is not as if he has necessarily been a fantasy football stud either. However, there are quite a few reasons to believe in Carr, even outside of their splashy $100 million acquisition of coach John Gruden. In fact, Carr could be the 2018 NFL MVP and is set to, at the very least, prove to everyone that he is far better than a middle-tier starting QB.

It was Christmas Eve of 2016 and the Oakland Raiders were up 33-14 on the Andrew Luck-led Indianapolis Colts. They were on their way to their 12th win and likely the No. 2 seed in the AFC with one week left in the regular season. The 25-year-old Carr had 28 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions on the season and was getting MVP buzz. Many of you know the chain of events that followed. Carr’s fibula was broken in the 4th quarter against Indianapolis, and despite the fact the Raiders won the game, they lost their final game of the season, dropping down to a wild card. The Raiders went on to lose to the Houston Texas in the first round of the playoffs without Carr.

With high expectations in 2017, the Raiders were just mediocre at best, going 6-10 on the season. Carr appeared to take a step back, putting up just 22 touchdowns and under 3500 passing yards in 15 games. However, Carr’s numbers didn’t tell the whole story. He suffered a transverse process fracture in early November, which affected his play, and he also did not have much help around him outside of the offensive line. Carr’s receiving core was underwhelming, especially with wide receiver Amari Cooper having a disappointing season in 2017 after looking like a potential star his first two years.

Not to mention, the Raiders defense was terrible all year, ranking 26th in passing yards allowed and 29th in DVOA. It was not much better the previous season, but at least the Raiders defense had the second most turnovers recovered in 2016.

This season, however, Carr seems to have a lot going in his favor. He should be much healthier, is entering his 5th season, and has a better supporting cast than in years past. The Raiders acquired wide receivers Martavis Bryant and Jordy Nelson earlier this offseason, to go along with tight end Jared Cook, Amari Cooper, and a strong offensive line. The Raiders will also have a 3rd place schedule, which could help them reach a high enough win total for Carr to get serious MVP consideration.

And of course, the Raiders will be led by coach John Gruden, who, despite his blown up contract and ridiculous beliefs about analytics, can be a positive for the 27-year-old quarterback. Gruden is an offensive-minded coach and seems to be working well with Carr so far in the early going.

The Raiders will also feature a new offensive coordinator, Greg Olson, who worked with Gruden in Tampa Bay in 2008. You can expect the Raiders to call plays with a tight end/back out of the backfield combination, which should lead to easy completions for Carr. Last season, Carr tended to sit back and waited for plays to develop. But with a stronger receiving core and new offensive coaches, Carr will likely get the ball out of his hands quickly more often.

When healthy, Carr is one of the most well-rounded quarterbacks in the NFL. Before the 2017 season, Carr was considered by many NFL scouts as the top player they would take if they could choose any athlete in the league for the next decade. Carr has consistently been careful with the football, with a career touchdown-to-interception ratio of 103 to 44, and he truly has very few holes in his game. Although Carr does not take off and run very often, he has the ability to rush for 350-400 yards if he wants to, but he hasn’t in large part due to the added health risk.

Carr appears to have that IT factor that so many franchise quarterbacks lack. He has a certain optimism about him that is infectious. In 2016, he led the Raiders to an unbelievable total of 7 comeback wins in the 4th quarter, the second most since it became a statistic in 1960. He had the most 4th quarter comeback wins in 2015 as well.

The biggest obstacle to Carr’s 2018 MVP candidacy is the Raiders defense, especially with the uncertainty around Khalil Mack, but it is not as if the Raiders defense could be that much worse than it was in 2016 when Carr still managed to be a part of the MVP conversation. It could also be a bit of an awkward year in Oakland with the elephant in the room of the Raiders moving to Las Vegas, but ultimately the Raiders will improve significantly and Carr will be at the forefront.

Possible Targets For a Chicago Bears Supplemental Draft Pick

By
Erik Lambert
-
chicago bears supplemental

A Chicago Bears supplemental draft move is an ultra-rare thing. For all you ’90s kids out there it’s like finding and catching Mewtwo in Pokemon. Since it became a thing back in the 1970s, the Bears have only used a pick in the supplemental draft once. That was in 2010 when taking fullback Harvey Unga. It was a seventh rounder, so they clearly didn’t expect much.

Unga spent four years on the team and hardly ever played. Since then it’s been all quiet. Could this finally be the year they’ve awoken from their hibernation again? The general feeling is this 2018 class might be the best a supplemental draft has seen in a long time. Multiple players are in serious discussions about being picked.

Some of them have certain qualities that could be of great benefit to the Bears, provided they’re willing to take the risk on the academic or off-the-field red flags each of them come with. With the draft approaching, here are the names that fans should keep a close eye on.

Sam Beal (CB, Western Michigan)

“Beal’s academic issues and other shortcomings will bother some evaluators, but his exceptional talent and natural cover skills will make him a top selection in the supplemental draft.”

Beal is the hot topic of the supplemental draft class. His primary issue is he ran into a problem with credit hours at Western Michigan. His choice was to either wait to sort it out, transfer elsewhere or declare for the supplemental draft. The talent isn’t in question.

He’s 6’1 with good speed and plenty of tape to indicate he can match almost any receiver one-on-one. Guys like him are rare for this sort of situation, which is why he’ll likely be taken early. Some think he could go as high as the second round.

Adonis Alexander (CB, Virginia Tech)

“Considering the off-field problems (academic ineligibility and a marijuana arrest) and the so-so pro day (clocked 40 times in the high-4.5/low-4.6 range with a 35.5-inch vertical leap, 10-4 broad jump, 4.38 20-yard shuttle and 7.18 three-cone drill), Alexander’s stock will take a tumble from early 2019 draft estimates that once pegged him as a possible top-50 selection.”

Vic Fangio loves him some big corners. So it wouldn’t surprise if he might key on somebody like the 6’3 Alexander. The kid has athletic chops, loads of length and plays a tough, in-your-face style that fits what this Bears defense is all about.

While not a turnover machine he did show he could make plays on the ball in coverage and also served an extra value as a blitzing cornerback with 4.5 sacks. The question is whether he’s matured enough to learn from his mistakes or if he’s a knucklehead that just has a natural inclination to never learn his lesson.

Brandon Bryant (SS, Mississippi State)

“With questions surrounding his work ethic, discipline and attention to detail after his on-field (blown coverages) and academic struggles, Bryant is likely to be a seventh round/priority free agent prospect on most boards around the league.”

Watching Brandon Bryant on tape, he might remind Bears fans of another Adrian Amos. He doesn’t make a done of big plays, but he’s got size, range and can arrive with some pop on ball carriers. His biggest issue, as referenced above is a question of discipline.

The Bears aren’t hurting too much at safety but Bryant is an intriguing talent. They took a calculated risk on Amos back in 2015 with a fifth round pick and it’s paid off as he’s a solid starter. If he falls into the later rounds as expected, it might be worth taking a flier.

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