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Execs Compared Ryan Pace and John Lynch Again and It Wasn’t Close

By
Erik Lambert
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ryan pace and john lynch

It seems like Ryan Pace and John Lynch will be forever linked now. Ever since the Chicago Bears GM and San Francisco 49ers GM made their shocking trade in the 2017 draft, the one that allowed Pace to nab Mitch Trubisky, the comparisons between the two started. Many declared the Lynch had “fleeced” Pace in the deal which included two third round picks. This despite experts saying based on costs from other QB trades it was relatively cheap.

Since then the comparisons have continued to go back and forth, fanned further when the 49ers squeaked by the Bears 16-15 last season at Soldier Field. Lynch has since become the darling of the NFL media, a genius destined to carry San Francisco back to relevance. Except that may be a delusion perpetrated by people who can’t see the reality.

The first draft class for Lynch was rather unremarkable in 2017. Its best performer, linebacker Reuben Foster, is in danger of landing in prison for domestic violence issues. On top of that, it seems his 2018 run didn’t get off to the best start according to others around the league.

GM says Ryan Pace and John Lynch 1st rounders not even in same ballpark

Peter King, in his final column at the MMQB, did an overview of what happened during the draft. Amidst the many nuggets, he uncovered a surprising reaction to the 49ers picks. One GM stated he was shocked at just how big if a talent drop it was from the Bears’ selection one slot before.

“The biggest gap of our grades between any two picks in the first round was Roquan Smith at eight and Mike McGlinchey at nine. That’s a premier player followed by a need pick of a good player.” Interesting. Those two tackles, in another year, could have gone 29 and 35 instead of nine and 15. But it’s a vital position, and there weren’t many tackles in the draft this year—and maybe none who can plug-and-play.”

Ouch. If nothing else this sounds like a collision of two draft philosophies. Pace has stated for years that he’s always focused on getting the best player available. No matter what happens, he sticks to his board. Lynch appears to operate a different way. He’s focused on using the draft to plug the most immediate needs on the roster. This isn’t a failed policy but it does have drawbacks. It can often force teams to miss out on great players in pursuit of good ones.

A perfect example is McGlinchey. Accord to NFL.com, he had a draft value of 5.95. Meanwhile, Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who went two picks later at #11? He had one of 6.19. Almost universally all experts had Fitzpatrick ranked ahead of McGlinchey on their boards. So while the 49ers may have plugged a hole, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re that much better.

This is the potential trap Lynch fell into.

Dexter Fowler Hits Walk-Off Home Run In The 14th, Cubs Get Swept

By
Aldo Soto
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Just, whatever.

Here’s the fucking video.

The Cubs have lost five games in a row and even when you thought Javier Baez saved the night with a 14th inning home run of his own Luke fucking Farrell gives up a bomb in his third straight appearance. Send him where ever, but get him out of the Cubs bullpen.

And really it’s not even his fault. The offense scored three goddamn runs in 14 innings. Pathetic once again.

I don’t know what else to say. It’s been a shitty week of baseball. The offense sucks, the defense has been garbage. What the hell is wrong Jason Heyward this year in right field that he keeps losing routine fly balls in the lights?

16-15, I guess it could be worse? Just start playing good baseball again and stop with this garbage play.

Bears Offense and Defense Must Reach These Rankings For Playoff Run

By
Erik Lambert
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bears offense and defense
CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 16: Jay Cutler #6 and Greg Olsen #82 of the Chicago Bears celebrate after a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the NFC Divisional playoff game at Soldier Field on January 16, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Seahawks 35-24. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Making the playoffs in the NFL is hard. Nevermind winning the Super Bowl. It took the Philadelphia Eagles over 50 years to do it. Remember that. Chicago would settle for just the former at this point considering they haven’t seen it going on eight years now. For that to happen though, it will take a total team effort. That means the Bears offense and defense working in tandem to the common goal.

Yes, it sounds cliche. That doesn’t make it any less true. This is a problem that has haunted the team far too often. It seems like every time the defense gets good, the offense falls apart. Then during the few times, the offense picks it up, the defense can’t carry the load. Finding that balance is such an underrated challenge in this league.

Is there a way to find out what that balance is, at least for this team? Few things are so concrete but there may be a way to find a line they need to cross. I went back through every playoff season the Bears have had in the Super Bowl era. With each one, I compiled their rankings on offense and defense. These are the ranking for points scored and allowed.

That done I calculated each side of the ball out and came up with the average they’ve been when the Bears have reached the postseason. The results were interesting.

Bears offense and defense rankings in playoff years

  • 1977 – 13th and 19th
  • 1979 – 18th and 3rd
  • 1984 – 16th and 3rd
  • 1985 – 2nd and 1st
  • 1986 – 13th and 1st
  • 1987 – 9th and 4th
  • 1988 – 18th and 1st
  • 1990 – 10th and 9th
  • 1991 – 14th and 9th
  • 1994 – 24th and 10th
  • 2001 – 11th and 1st
  • 2005 – 26th and 1st
  • 2006 – 2nd and 3rd
  • 2010 – 21st and 4th
Averages:  14th and 5th

According to this, it means in order for the Bears to make the playoffs according to their history, if their offense ranks 14th then their defense must at least rank 5th in order to compensate. Then as the offensive rank improves, the defensive rank can drop. A good example? In 2012 the Bears had the 4th-ranked defense in the league. Under those conditions, they would’ve needed the 15th ranked offense to make the playoffs. They ranked 21st, finishing 10-6 but missing the postseason.

A year later in 2013, it was the reverse. The Bears offense ranked 2nd in the league. According to this table, they would’ve needed a defense ranked 17th to make it in. Their defense that year was 30th. They finished 8-8 and were beaten in brutal fashion in the season finale. Let’s got back a bit further to 1995. The Bears offense ranks 8th in the league. The defense would’ve had to rank 11th. It was 22nd. They went 9-7 but missed the playoffs.

There are exceptions to the rule as 1977 and 1994 above show but the bulk of the playoff trips in the Super Bowl era for Chicago follow this pattern. So what does this mean going forward?

The Bears defense finished 2017 with the 9th-ranked defense in the league. One of its best performances in five years. If they are able to repeat that, then the offense would have to finish with a ranking around 10th to give them a strong chance to make the playoffs. That’s certainly a tall order considering they were 32nd a year ago. However, it’s not like this franchise hasn’t done it before. They went from 26th to 2nd in 2006, 28th to 11th in 2001, and 24th to 8th in 1995. One could argue this offense is more talented across the board than any of those were.

VIDEO: Kids Show Everyone What A Real Baseball Fight Should Be Like

By
Aldo Soto
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This is how every baseball fight should be. Batter vs. pitcher, 1-on-1 and then anything goes between the two.

There’s no throwing gloves or bats at each other, just haymakers and then a one big slam. These kids from a freshman baseball game showing everyone what a real baseball fight should be like.

Also, that pitcher must be hated by everyone on his team because no one even thought for a split second to come out and protect him before the fireworks began. It didn’t matter though, as he ended that fight quickly.

Rough look for the kid who charged the mound, trying to look like a badass.

VIDEO: Kris Bryant Destroys 433-Foot Home Run

By
Aldo Soto
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Kris Bryant talked about how he knows he can handle the inside pitch during a segment on ESPN and then the Chicago Cubs star proved it with his bat. Bryant launched a home run that was estimated to go 433 feet by ESPN.

This gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead.

So pretty.

Akiem Hicks Abuses Danny Trevathan and Nick Kwiatkoski on Kentucky Trip

By
Erik Lambert
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akiem hicks

Late spring and early summer from May through June is a time of rest and recreation for football players. They’re allowed to recharge the batteries, be with their families and have some fun. Sure they still work out and keep their bodies and minds sharp, but the true grind doesn’t happen until late July. Until then they’re free to do what they want. No man on the Chicago Bears roster seems to embrace this more than Akiem Hicks.

Whether he’s the primary leader of the Bears defense is debatable. He’s certainly one of them. What isn’t up for debate is he is the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion ballbreaker on that roster. A couple weeks ago Hicks posted on Instagram trashing Prince Amukamara for being a quitter after crushing him in a game of Madden.

The man has no mercy for the weak. Perhaps that’s why he’s such a great football player. This trend held true again when it appeared he took a trip down to Kentucky with teammates Danny Trevathan and Nick Kwiatkoski. During a two-minute video, he proceeded to trash talk and dress down both of them every chance he got.

It was beautiful.

This is classic from r/CHIBears

Hats off to Trevathan and Kwiatkoski. All we saw was what Hicks put on video. There’s no telling how brutal he got when the camera wasn’t on. If only someone could find a way to get him on a microphone during games when it’s not an official mic’d up situation. One can imagine how nasty he gets with opponents if he’s like this to actual teammates.

James Shields Was Perfect Until He Wasn’t

By
Matt Enuco
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CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 08: James Shields #25 of the Chicago White Sox walks to the dugout before pitching against the Washington Nationals on June 8, 2016 at U. S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)

James Shields appeared to be cruising to a historic day on the diamond for the White Sox, but a walks undermined his special moment. A free pass to Ehire Adrianza in the sixth and a leadoff walk to Brian Dozier in the seventh ended a perfect game and spelled disaster for Shields respectfully.

Shields was able to close the sixth without relinquishing the no-no, but after he put Dozier on first to lead off the seventh inning, the end seemed imminent. Next, Shields punched out Max Kepler for the first out of the inning and was one pitch away from closing the inning and maintaining his no-hit bid, but Eduardo Escobar dropped a single into right field in the next at-bat.

From there, the wheels came off the White Sox two-run lead. Eddie Rosario drove in Dozier and after Luis Avilan was brought in to replace Shields, Logan Morrison drove in a pair with a two-out double. As quickly as it came, the White Sox lead evaporated into thin air and Shields lost the win.

The silver lining is that Shields has been much better in his last two starts. The veteran went six strong innings against the Cardinals allowing one run on a solo homer and he followed it with an equally strong performance on Sunday.

In a year sunk in the growing pains of young talent, fans must find cause for celebration in the smallest victories. Sunday was a victory because it was something to tune in for. Shields may not pitch again for the White Sox after 2018 but he is fighting through this season as a proud veteran. He had good stuff on Sunday, but the mistakes were obvious. Too many pitches left up in the zone were a reminder that Shields’ luck would run out eventually.

There are no-hitters and perfect games where the lineup is clearly overmatched and then there are the instances where a cosmic force grants the ball safe passage through the strike zone. It was clear Big-Game James was summoning the latter.

Known Bears Hater Grudgingly Admits Love For Their Draft

By
Erik Lambert
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chicago bears 2018 draft

The Chicago Bears 2018 draft class has many in a state of shock. Not because it featured a run of unexpected picks. More because of how well they did. GM Ryan Pace was under a lot of scrutiny coming into this year. After three-straight losing seasons, there were plenty of critics out there who felt he wasn’t getting the job done and it might be time to start thinking about a new direction.

One of the people who hasn’t shied away from this constant criticism is NFL.com analyst Elliot Harrison. Every time over the past couple years he’s written or talked about the Bears, he’s shown them in a strongly negative light. Oftentimes its been comically over the top. Others it was making fun of their historical struggles at a position.

Suffice to say he’s not a favorite among Bears fans. So one can imagine what it might be like to hear him say anything positive about the team. Well, prepare for the heavens to fall. Harrison delivered that level of a stunner when he talked about his favorite team drafts of 2018.

Chicago Bears 2018 draft “special” in eyes of Harrison

“Spoke to one of my editors, college buff Gennaro Filice, about drafts he liked. I played coy, not letting him know which hauls I thought were special. First team class out of his mouth: the Chicago Bears. Can’t agree more. In Round 1, they got a stud in Roquan Smith out of Georgia (No. 8 overall). Over half the teams in the league could really use that LB. On Day 2, GM Ryan Pace grabbed a couple of players who could contribute sooner rather than later: offensive lineman James Daniels out of Iowa (No. 39) and wideout Anthony Miller from Memphis (No. 51).

The latter’s competitive nature and willingness to work (including coming back to the ball with those out-of-the-pocket scramblers) should make him a valuable wide receiver, even if it is as a third option. Fifth-round pick Bilal Nichols (No. 145) represents the organizational philosophy to run the football and play defense, supporting Mitch Trubisky in every way. Nichols should be a rotational player on the interior defensive line.”

As usual, the utter infatuation around this Bears class centers on their top three picks of Smith, Daniels, and Miller. All three could end up being Day 1 starters this year. Each has legitimate Pro Bowl potential if they develop as expected and can avoid injury. Harrison is not the first person to show that trio with such admiration.

The true encouragement comes from his mentioning of Nichols. He’s not the first expert to bring up the name of the Bears’ fifth round pick. Mike Mayock singled him out during the draft as well. This is a good sign that Pace, once again, has managed to find value in the later rounds as he’s done consistently the past few years.

All things considered, if Harrison is on board then it’s time to believe this class may be legit.

VIDEO: Tim Anderson With Another 2-Home Run Game

By
Aldo Soto
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Well, Tim Anderson was the only one to show up for the Chicago White Sox Saturday night as he smashed two home runs in their 8-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Anderson had three extra-base hits, driving in two with his solo blasts and scoring three runs. Anderson now has two career multi-home run games.

The first came on Opening Day against the Kansas City Royals.

The second was tonight, smacking two shots to left field.

Unfortunately Anderson was most of the offense, as the White Sox only scored once in the first on an RBI-single by Jose Abreu and another run in the fifth on a ground ball double play.

Hector Santiago started for the White Sox and was roughed up by the Twins, who jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the top of the first inning. Santiago only lasted 3.1 innings, allowing all eight earned runs.

Bears Declined Two Trade Chances to Ensure They Got Roquan Smith

By
Erik Lambert
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chicago bears brass

Roquan Smith was the guy. The Chicago Bears brass, led by GM Ryan Pace, insisted that they were somewhat shocked that the Georgia inside linebacker was still on the board when their turn came to pick at #8 overall. Indeed the buzz had picked out prior to the draft that he was coveted by Colts GM Chris Ballard. However, that idea went out the window when guard Quenton Nelson fell to them at #6.

Even then some still wonder if the Bears ever got any action on the trade front. Everyone knew they didn’t have a third round pick. Moving back even a few spots to recoup it made sense, even though it’s something Pace had never done before. In the end, nothing happened. Chicago went on the clock, made their pick and moved on.

It was rather boring. As it turns out though, it doesn’t mean they weren’t on the precipice of something big. Pace has always said he’s open to offers at any time. Based on buzz coming out of the draft, he passed on not one but two separate opportunities to move back if he’d wished it.

Chicago Bears brass declined advances by Bills and Raiders

The team everybody knew wanted to move up that day was the Buffalo Bills. They were in desperate need of a quarterback and were prepared to pay the price required. Initially they explored possibilities at #2, #4 and #5 but each fell through. At that point, their GM Brandon Beane began speaking with other teams. One of them being the Bears. The reception he got? Frosty.

“I had already been told by Indianapolis that they’re not moving. Tampa had said they really liked a guy, and they didn’t think they were going to move. Chicago had told us they’re probably not moving. Now we’re down to San Francisco, then Oakland.”

It didn’t matter in the end. Buffalo ended up jumping ahead of the Bears at #7 with Tampa Bay. However, it turns out they weren’t the only team that sniffed around that #8 spot. Jon Gruden and the Oakland Raiders coveted it for a different reason according to Albert Breer of the MMQB.

“There were rumblings on the afternoon of the draft that the Raiders were looking to trade up for Notre Dame OT Mike McGlinchey, and the teams I spoke with didn’t know who they were trying to leap-frog to get him. Evidently, they figured out that the team across the bay had eyes for him, even though he hadn’t been linked to the 49ers much during the process. And sure enough, San Francisco was the team that Oakland wound up losing him to, with McGlinchey going ninth overall.”

The 49ers were entrenched at #9, right behind the Bears at #8.

This meant they were the ideal trade partner for the Oakland at #10. It represented the cheapest possible route to getting their guy. The fact it never happened means Pace gave them the same answer he gave Buffalo as well. In a way, it’s easy to understand why.

Not only is Smith a great player, but there’s a genuine fear that San Francisco would’ve taken him on the next pick. Remember there is a growing legal situation with Reuben Foster. The 49ers could’ve easily seen Smith as the perfect solution to the problem. Pace wasn’t going to take any risks. He wanted his guy and he got him.

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