The enthusiasm permeating out of the draft community when the Chicago Bears traded up to get Anthony Miller was palpable. Many viewed him as the best receiver in the entire class. A route running wizard with quickness, agility and a fighter’s mentality to where every play was treated like it was the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. He embodies everything the Bears covet in their players.
Adding to the excitement were some of the pro comparisons he was drawing. Several experts saw so many similarities to Pittsburgh Steelers superstar Antonio Brown from the size and talent makeup. Miller himself stated he models his game after former Carolina Panthers great Steve Smith. Those are two phenomenal names to be attached to.
Still, it’s a bit of a high bar to reach for the young receiver. Luckily ESPN dropped a new name into the pot for stirring. One that can be considered a more measured comparison, but in truth is still something to get excited over.
Anthony Miller plays a lot like Seahawks star Doug Baldwin
Prominent tape expert Matt Bowen broke down which quarterbacks would be safe or risky bets as fantasy league options in 2018. Mitch Trubisky was considered the biggest wild card in his estimation. While breaking down his new receiving corps, Bowen unloaded a fascinating name that league experts see Miller’s likeness.
“No. 1 wide receiver Allen Robinson is a route technician with the 6-foot-3 frame to go up and get it. This is a wide receiver who led the NFL with 18 red zone touchdowns from 2015 to ’16. Move tight end (or slot tight end) Trey Burton caught five touchdowns last season for the Eagles and the skill set/fit is there for the free-agent signing to create matchups in the Chicago route tree. Taylor Gabriel? Straight speed on the outside. And rookie Anthony Miller has drawn some comps to Seahawks stud Doug Baldwin.”
Baldwin reflects Miller not just on the field, but in upbringing as well. He had to fight his way up the ladder to get recognition. He went undrafted in 2011 and didn’t become a starter until his third year. Everybody said the same things: he’s quick and has some speed but he’s so small (5’10). Sound familiar?
Well, now Baldwin is one of the best receivers in the NFL. He’s averaged over 1,000 yards each of the past three seasons, scored 29 touchdowns and made the Pro Bowl twice. His route running prowess and penchant for big catches reflect all the same traits that Miller showcased during his run at Memphis.
If that’s who indeed the Bears have secured, then their offense is in even better shape than originally thought.
Throughout the inconsistencies of this White Sox season, there has been one constant thus far. That would be Jose Abreu’s performance at the plate. The Cuban slugger is tied for the league lead in doubles, has hit 10 home runs, and driven in 38. He is a solid bet to be the starting first baseman for the American League All-Star team this year as well. With his contract with the White Sox ending after the 2019 season, there has been a lot of talk on why the White Sox should trade him before the deadline this year. His value is at an all time high, and he isn’t getting any younger. But it would be foolish to trade Abreu at any point, and I’m going to explain why.
Production
Let’s get the obvious reason out of the way first. Every year you can place a safe bet for Abreu to hit in the neighborhood .300 with 30+ home runs and 100+ RBI. He is one of the most consistent players in all of baseball. Abreu is the main driving force on a young team with not many other offensive forces.
Defensive Improvements
The main knock on Jose is that he lacks superior defensive skills. While that may have been true when he first came overseas from Cuba, it is hard not to see just how much he has improved at manning first base. Last night he made one of the nicer plays you’ll see from any first baseman this season.
Unfortunately the MLB is lame and takes down any highlight videos posted due to copyright policies, so I’ll describe it.
Basically Abreu fielded a grounder to first, stepped on the bag, then gunned down Jason Kipnis as he tried sliding into third base. It was an absolutely flawless play and one of the bigger ones of the game.
Leading By Example
I get the fact that the more top 100 prospects you have the better odds that they will pan out to be studs, but the White Sox need a veteran like Abreu to lead by example. Here’s what he’s done so far among first basemen:
Jose Abreu should start the @MLB All-Star Game. Here's where he ranks among AL first basemen:
But honestly, for a guy supposedly “past his prime” he seems to be doing just fine. If the White Sox trade Abreu, they would essentially have no veteran leadership in the clubhouse. Even the 2016 Cubs and 2017 Astros had longtime veterans who played important roles on the two young teams. Abreu could be that guy on the next White Sox playoff team.
Health
If you are worried about Abreu being injury prone as he ages, don’t be. Since he has been on the White Sox, he has never missed extended periods of time. He’s been on the 10-day DL a few times here and there, but no serious injuries have ever plagued him. He takes care of his body and seems to show up each season in better shape than the last.
Wrapping Up
The White Sox would have to be absolutely blown away by an offer to trade Abreu. I’m talking at least two top 100 prospects, with one being top 50. He is everything you want in a baseball player and is under contract through the 2019 season. That being said, I think people need to start talking more about an extension as opposed to a trade. Jose has said time and time again how he wants to be in Chicago for his entire career. That speaks volumes from a guy who has never been on a team with more than 78 wins. He believes in the rebuild and has been the ultimate teammate from Day 1. Jose Abreu is my first baseman now, and he should continue to be so for years.
The Chicago Bears are typically a team defined by three jobs: GM, head coach, and quarterback. Those are the ones fans talk about most due to their obvious importance. At the same time, it makes it so easy to overlook the worker ants who put in so much time and effort to make the team a success but seldom get any of the credit. Few understand this more than the scouts.
These guys sacrifice long hours and travels thousands of miles every year to find players that can turn the Bears into a winner. The only way they ever get recognition is through advancement. That’s how Ryan Pace did it. One can imagine he’s more than happy to do the same for others. Such became the case when he promoted area scout Chris Prescott.
The #Bears have elevated Chris Prescott to fill the team's vacant National Scout role. Prescott started out as a scouting asst w/the #Jaguars in '03 and has been w/Chicago since '15. He's also served w/the #Jets.
Most fans have no idea who this man is so it feels like an appropriate chance to offer a glimpse of where he came from and what he might bring to the table in a greater position of authority. Prescott got his start in the sports business with the Bridgeport Blue Fish in Minor League Baseball. From there he took a chance to intern at Madison Square Garden.
That opportunity led him to become a scouting assistant with the Jacksonville Jaguars. After five years of learning, he took his first big step in becoming an area scout.
Jacksonville Jaguars (2008-2013)
After a brief year as their northwest area scout, Prescott became the southwest regional scout for the Jaguars from 2009 to 2013. While the team struggled overall with their drafts during this time, Prescott came away with some successes. This included California defensive tackle Tyson Alualu, linebacker Brandon Marshall, and punter Brian Anger.
New York Jets (2013-2015)
It’s not known which region Prescott took over when he was hired by the Jets in 2013. Conventional wisdom says they kept him in familiar territory in the southwest. If that’s the case, he secured them their best pick during that period in the guise of Pro Bowl defensive end Leonard Williams.
Chicago Bears (2016-Present)
It appears Prescott returned to the northeast region when he joined the Bears two years ago. He was man selected to break down their picks of Mitch Trubisky and Bilal Nichols following the draft, indicating he was their foremost expert on them. If this is true he also had a hand in the selections of Nick Kwiatkoski, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Adam Shaheen and Tarik Cohen.
That’s not a bad run of names, especially if Trubisky continues to improve as most expect. It would explain why the Bears were more than comfortable promoting him to become their national scout. Pace has loved to reward his own people as he did with Mark Sadowski two years ago. It will be interesting to see how Bears drafts go now that Prescott has his eyes on all the regions instead of just one moving forward.
Matt Nagy is entering almost uncharted territory as new head coach of the Chicago Bears. This is a team and city that is identified by defense. It’s been that way since the teams’ inception in the 1920s. Every era of great success was defined by a suffocating defense. It’s part of why the franchise has generally favored defensive coaches for most of their existence.
Now here comes Nagy, a hotshot offensive coach with an impressive background of success at building a modern, 21st century attack. Many fans like the idea, but are skeptical. They’ve heard this before, having ghastly memories of the bill of goods they were sold on Marc Trestman. Sure Nagy is much younger and plugged in with the NFL than Trestman was, but it’s virtually the same scenario.
The Bears have a QB they’re dying to build around in earnest. They want an offensive coach to forge a proper system around him. Truth is for a moment Trestman almost pulled it off, but ended up crashing to earth. He failed in the one area that has bedeviled Bears head coaches for decades, and it’s one that Nagy can’t afford to miss.
Building a top offense in the NFL is easy. The hard part is keeping it going.
Matt Nagy must learn Bears’ issue is sustaining a top offense
Offense is a tricky beast. Most of that is because the modern age requires a quarterback to elevate it and the Bears are notoriously rough at finding good ones. However, when they have secured at least decent names at the position even then their success has been brief. They’d have one really good year of production and then suddenly disappear off the map again. Go back through the history books. It’s pockmarked with examples.
1977: 3rd ranked offense (9-5 record)
1978: 22nd ranked offense (7-9 record)
1995: 9th ranked offense (9-7 record)
1996: 21st ranked offense (7-9 record)
1999: 8th ranked offense (6-10 record)
2000: 23rd ranked offense (5-11 record)
2013: 8th ranked offense (8-8 record)
2014: 21st ranked offense (5-11 record)
Having a good offense for one year isn’t too hard. It’s bound to happen every few seasons. It’s maintaining that success over a period of time that is the true challenge. Thus far only one head coach in the Super Bowl era managed to pull it off for Chicago. That was Mike Ditka. From 1983 through 1986, his teams ranked 6th, 7th, 7th and 7th respectively in total offense.
The Bears went to the playoffs three times and won a Super Bowl during that stretch. So for all the talk about defensive greatness, it was an upsurge of sustained offensive success that drove their greatest period of the past four decades. If people are looking for a reason why Nagy was hired, it was the pursuit of this elusive sustainability.
Only one coach has pulled it off in over 50 years and he was never the sharpest offensive mind. This should give the new Bears head man some hope.
Players transitioning to coaches in the NFL is far from an uncommon thing. It’s often the best way for them to continue being part of the game they love. Not all of them prove to be great at it. They quickly find that being a good player and teaching someone how to be a good player are two vastly different things. Still, there is value in hiring such men as position experts. Matt Forte took notice of that recently.
The Denver Broncos made a surprising announcement that former star linebacker and future Hall of Famer Demarcus Ware would join the team as a consultant, helping out as a pass rush specialist. It’s not the most terrible idea. Ware was a tremendous leader during his time on the field, so he may have some natural coaching prowess.
It seems some former players are watching this with some interest. Forte is one of them. So much in fact that he took to Twitter, shouting out to the Chicago Bears about possibly hooking him up with a similar position.
Of course it was meant as a joke. Forte seems happy with being able to spend time with his family. He also expressed a desire to get into acting at some point. That’s something former teammate Charles Tillman can help him with. At the same time, it’s fun to speculate on the subject. Few men had a better work ethic or understanding of the full scope of what running backs could do than Forte.
He could be of great value to Jordan Howard in particular, who continues to have his issues with catching the football. There was none better it for almost a decade than Forte. Alas we’ll have to content ourselves with think about the what-if. Who knows. Maybe he’ll change his mind at some point.
Cormier to challenge Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title.
The T-Mobile Arena here in Las Vegas will play host to UFC 226. The main event features light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier taking on heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. “DC” will make the jump to heavyweight as he challenges Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title.
This one is already being classified as a super-fight, and for good reason. Not to mention, recent reports confirm that UFC 225 took a huge PPV dive with less than 150,000 buys.
Photo: MMA Core
For those who may not know, Miocic is a firefighter in Valley View, Ohio. While impressive in its own right, Miocic wont be thinking about fighting fires here in Las Vegas, only turning out someone’s lights. He will have a formidable opponent across the octagon when he steps inside July 7th.
In Stipe’s last seven fights, he is 6-1, with his only loss coming at the hands of Junior dos Santos in December of 2014. Miocic made quick work of dos Santos during their rematch in May of 2017, ending the fight by TKO (punches) in the first round.
His opponent? Daniel “DC” Cormier. Yep, the light-heavyweight champ who got knocked out by Jon Jones (the same Jon Jones who couldn’t pass a drug test). In his last seven fights, Cormier is 5-1 (not counting the No Contest by the cheater Jones). “DC” finished Volkan Oezdemir back in January at UFC 220 in Round Two.
Photo: UFC
These are two amazingly talented fighters: Cormier is without question the best wrestler Miocic has faced thus far in his career. “DC” boasts a take-down accuracy over 42 percent. That, coupled with an 81 percent take-down defense average makes him extremely dangerous inside the octagon.
Meanwhile, Miocic will enjoy an 8-inch reach advantage, as well as a 5-inch height advantage over “DC.” Keep in mind that “DC” will be moving up from light-heavyweight to fight Miocic. At what point in the fight might it catch up to Cormier? If it does, he could be in serious trouble.
Stipe is a vicious striker with 72 percent of his wins coming by way of Knockout or TKO. A mere 6 percent of his victories have ended in submission, while 22 percent coming by decision. Miocic has a stout takedown defense sitting at 75 percent.
As Cormier challenges Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title, he may have trouble getting the fight to the ground. Miocic may have trouble if he succeeds. It’s no secret, “DC” is a world class wrestler. Cormier — not to be outdone by Stipe’s extra curricular firefighting activities — also coaches the notable wrestling team at Gilroy High School.
Back in April, Dana White mentioned the possibility of the winner of Miocic vs. Cormier eventually facing Brock Lesnar (and his mailbox-esque hands) was still in play. As time goes on, it appears that may not be the case at all. Recent reports suggest a much different opponent, IF Lesnar does — in fact — return to the UFC. According to multiple sources, Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar have mutual interest in making a fight happen.
Current odds have the favorite Miocic as high as -300 (opened as low as -250) while Cormier sits at +260 (opened at +200) as the underdog.
You can catch the UFC 226 prelims on Fox Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass at 3:30 PST (6:30 EST). Viewers can flip over from Fox Sports 1 to pay-per-view as Cormier challenges Miocic for the UFC Heavyweight Title. The Co-Main Event of the night features Max Holliday against Brian Ortega prior to the Cormier-Miocic brawl.
Of any Chicago Bears position group that’s getting all the attention this offseason, one could just cover their eyes and point at somewhere on the offensive side of the ball and they wouldn’t be wrong. Mitch Trubisky is now the focal point of their future and is backed up by respected veteran Chase Daniel. The offensive line got a young new addition in James Daniels. The receiving corps was overhauled from top to bottom.
Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, and Anthony Miller make up a completely different trio than what the Bears had last year. They’re joined by the ascending tandem of Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen at running back. It’s little wonder people have been so focused on that side of the ball, but the defense got some notable help too.
First round pick Roquan Smith became the first inside linebacker picked by Chicago in the top 10 since Brian Urlacher way back in 2000. He’s expected to become the center of this defense moving forward. Amidst all of this though, are people overlooking a key portion of the roster that could decide their fate in 2018?
Chicago Bears position group tops the list of most underrated
Danny Kelly of The Ringer pinpointed the position groups across the NFL deemed the most underrated. Groups that were and will be crucial to their teams’ success. First on the list is none other than the Bears secondary. He explained what makes this unit so good and yet so overlooked.
“After slapping him with a transition tag, the Bears signed breakout star Kyle Fuller to a four-year, $56 million extension; he’s expected to remain the team’s shutdown corner after breaking up 22 passes (third in the NFL) and picking off two balls while allowing an opposing passer rating of just 69.0 (14th) in 2017, per PFF.
The Bears also re-signed veteran starter Prince Amukamara to a three-year, $27 million deal and then retained slot corner Bryce Callahan with a restricted-free-agent tender. That trio is set to play alongside one of Pro Football Focus’s top-rated safeties in Adrian Amos and Eddie Jackson, who flashed as a rookie, registering two picks and six passes defensed last year.”
The Bears had the seventh-ranked pass defense in 2017. Much of that was thanks to the efforts of that young secondary. Fuller played like a Pro Bowler. The tandem of Jackson and Amos may finally be a pairing the team can lean on long-term. One also must not overlook Bryce Callahan. When healthy he was quite effective as their nickel corner in the slot.
Together they were able to shut down some good offenses last year. The question becomes whether that was a one-time deal or if their continued experience together could lead to bigger things. The Bears coaches no doubt hope it’s the latter. Perhaps playing with more leads courtesy of the offense might enable them to get their hands on more footballs.
Either way, it’s not a secondary to be taken lightly.
In case you missed it, the Chicago Blackhawks recently made a huge announcement. The Blackhawks have officially kicked off the NHL offseason with a big move. No, it is not John Tavares – yet. No, it was not John Carlson or Justin Faulk. The first big move of the Blackhawks’ offseason was the signing of 2017 1st Round pick, Henri Jokiharju, to a 3-year deal.
Henri Jokiharju is not the 1st generation of the Jokiharju family to play professional hockey. In the 80’s and 90’s, Henri’s father, Juha, played in the top hockey league in Finland, Liiga, where he won 2 championships. Juha Jokiharju also won a bronze medal with Team Finland in the 1987-88 World Juniors tournament. He went onto France and led the league in scoring twice and won another championship. Henri also has a brother, Juho, who has played 3 seasons at Clarkson University.
Henri was drafted by the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2016 via the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft.
Jokiharju compares his game to Sami Vatanen of the New Jersey Devils.
Henri Jokiharju is a highly touted prospect and has been said to have “no real weakness”. NHL Central Scouting praised Jokiharju’s hockey abilities by describing him as,
“An excellent skater who is very elusive with the puck and can beat the forecheck with a pass or his skating ability. A very good passer with excellent vision – quickness and mobility allows him to take away time and space defensively.”
The Blackhawks drafted Henri Jokiharju 29th overall in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft.
What an absolute steal by StanBo and Co! Looking back at it now, the Blackhawks definitely got some great value this late in the draft last year. Henri Jokiharju is an 18-year-old Finnish defenseman who has already mastered the art of puck-moving. Jokiharju already has a great two-way game and he is only going to get better with time. Insert Dr. Evil laugh here.
Jokiharju is already off to a blazing start in his young, promising career. The numbers don’t lie. Check it out for yourself.
Very impressive stuff from the youngster. To me, the thing that stands out the most about Henri Jokiharju is the number of points this kid racks up. As a defenseman, points can be very hard to come by and he makes it look easy.
Henri Jokiharju Lets His Game Do The Talking
After being drafted by the Blackhawks in 2017, Henri Jokiharju rejoined the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL) for another season. In 2017-18, Jokiharju upped his totals even more in his 2nd full season of North American hockey. He tallied 71 points (12G, 59A) in 63 games which was enough to get him selected to the WHL Western Second All-Star team.
The 18-year-old was named to the Western Second All-Star team and posted a career-high 71 points with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL last season. #Blackhawkshttps://t.co/L6OEUfplld
His shot just sneaks up on goalies and it is always on target. This is something that the Blackhawks were desperately missing on offense last season. Take a look as Jokiharju showcases his offensive skills here as a member of the Portland Winterhawks last season. Keep an eye out for number 16.
Henri Jokiharju is a rare specimen. He plays defense but has the offensive abilities of a winger. Plus, his skating, shooting, and puckhandling abilities are mesmerizing and drool-inducing. If you take a look at the 2016 IIHF U18 highlight reel, you can see for yourself. Watch as number 28 leaves it all on the ice for Team Finland as a 16-year-old.
Henri Jokiharju Is Ready For His First Taste of the NHL
Henry Jokiharju tweeted a personal message about signing his very 1st NHL contract.
Feeling honored after signing my first NHL contract with the @NHLBlackhawks ! I want to thank my fellow teammates, coaches, fans, my d-pairs and mostly my family. Another step closer of my dream… #blackhawks
It is pretty refreshing to see a young kid who is a fan of the team he was drafted by. Jokiharju seems extremely happy and excited to play in Chicago and it could be as soon as next season.
If he pushes himself hard enough, you could be looking at one of the newest and youngest members of the 2018-19 Blackhawks team. After seeing his body of work as a member of the Portland Winterhawks, Jokiharju seems determined to make the NHL roster next season. It looks like he is going to take full advantage of his opportunity once the NHL preseason and training camp officially begins. The Blackhawks could definitely use his services.
A young, hungry Jokiharju will give the team a shot of adrenaline, especially on defense. If I was to predict a full strength line pairing for him, I see Jokiharju being paired with Duncan Keith on the 1st line of defense. They play a very similar style of hockey and would compliment each other very well. Jokiharju could also find himself as a regular member of the Power Play line. He plays the type of game that might be able to jumpstart the Power Play.
As Henri Jokiharju continues to gain more experience on North American ice, you can expect him to become a key contributor to the Blackhawks’ future success. If Henri Jokiharju ends up not cracking the NHL roster next season, things will get a little messy. Jokiharju would become an Entry Level Contract (ELC) slide candidate which means he would have to report back to the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL.
Because Jokiharju only turns 19 this summer and comes from a CHL team, he’s not eligible to play in the AHL this upcoming season. Rockford isn’t an option.
The one good thing about the slide clause is that Jokiharju’s contract would still be considered a 3-year deal and no time would come off since he is not a part of an NHL or AHL roster. This is a win-win situation any way you look at it. In my opinion, I believe Henri Jokiharju has a great shot at making the team because let’s face it, the defense was a black hole just sucking the life out of the team last season. They need help in a big way and it looks like the Blackhawks found their first upgrade of the offseason.
This is great news Blackhawks’ fans. Things are already looking up and the NHL offseason has only just begun.
Say what you want about good ole Windy, he’s one of the most reputable reporters in the biz. If he says the Bulls have a trade package to put together for Kawhi Leonard, that likely means he’s heard from at least one league executive that the Bulls have a trade package to put together for Kawhi Leonard.
Ok, so, that’s extremely exciting. When healthy, Leonard’s probably a top 4 or so player in the league. The Bulls have had just one player since Michale Jordan retired that was capable of making the kind of impact Leonard can, and that player lasted less than four years before his knees exploded.
Ok, now on to the not exciting part. This trade isn’t happening. There are three reasons for that.
#1-Any Trade Would Involve Lauri Markkanen
To get Leonard the Bulls will have to part with Markkanen and both of their first rounders, at least. With Leonard’s contract and Zach LaVine’s pending raise, The Bulls won’t have enough cap space to improve their starting five from Kris Dunn-LaVine-Leonard-Bobby Portis-Robin Lopez. That starting five isn’t getting the Bulls past Boston or Philly.
#2-Everyone Wants Leonard & The Bulls Don’t Have The Best Offer
If Leonard is indeed on the table, there will be 29 teams bidding for his services. If you don’t think there are multiple teams out there that could beat the Bulls’ best offer, you’re crazy.
#3-Kawhi Won’t Re-Sign With The Bulls
This one’s pretty self-explanatory. He can opt out of the final year of his contract, making him a free agent next offseason. He’s not passing up free agency to sign with the Bulls.
So, sorry to stomp all of the hope out of you, Bulls fans, but Kawhi Leonard isn’t coming to Chicago.
Was Mike Ditka the greatest head coach in Chicago Bears history? No. Some might even say he’s a bit overrated, too revered by fans these days when in reality he probably wasn’t as successful as he should’ve been. Yet the facts don’t change. Ditka was the last head coach to win a football championship in Chicago. So maybe it’s okay to trust his word about anything Bears-related.
One thing that might be a bit hard to swallow is his take on quarterbacks. Ditka never hid his feelings on that position. He had a reputation for being hard on them. His treatment of Jim Harbaugh during the late 80s and early 90s was rather notorious, as evidenced by his reaction during a crushing loss to Minnesota in 1992.
Perhaps that hatred of quarterbacks had to do with his prior relationship with Jim McMahon. The former Pro Bowler was the brains behind Bears offense for most of the 1980s but had a rebellious streak that often infuriated Ditka. This inevitably led to clashes. Even though the two can’t say they liked each other, the old coach never lost any respect for his ex-QB.
In fact, he sees much of McMahon in the newest Bears signal caller.
Mike Ditka sees even more talented version of McMahon in Mitch Trubisky
Ditka spoke with NBC Sports Chicago about the current state of the Bears going into 2018. He senses the optimism around the team and shares it. A big reason for that is the presence of second-year man Mitch Trubisky. Ditka believes Chicago has somebody that can get the team to the next level. He went so far as to say he might be an evolved version of McMahon himself.
“I like Mitch a lot, I really do. I think he is a good leader and has a lot of talent. I know he has heart and I think that’s the main thing.
I was with the guy who played quarterback for us last night, Jim McMahon, he wasn’t the most talented guy in the world but he knew how to play the position. He wanted to win. I think that’s the way Mitch is, but I think Mitch is a very, very talented guy.”
That’s high praise indeed. Ditka doesn’t offer that to just anybody. He might be a bit biased given his Bears background but the comparison to McMahon is an eye-opener. If it’s true? The team is in even better shape than first believed. People often forget how good of a player McMahon was during his heyday. Despite being trapped in a somewhat backward offense, he molded himself into the exact quarterback it needed.
At one point during his run, the Bears were 21-0 in games he was able to start and finish. He remains the last QB to make a Pro Bowl in Chicago. The numbers will never truly show how good he was. So if Trubisky is that caliber of player and then some? This team could be poised for big things in the near future.
