Vic Fangio has begun to garner some serious Buddy Ryan love around Chicago of late. In other words he’s a veteran defensive coordinator who is easily having more success than anybody with the Bears as of now. His defense is one of the best in the NFL. It’s ninth against the pass, 11th against the run, and hasn’t surrendered an offensive touchdown in two weeks. To top it off they’ve scored three defensive touchdowns in that same span.
Fans are singing his praises, as are the players. Definitely a Ryan vibe to it. Of course this has led to the inevitable speculation. How much longer will he be around? This is a loaded question for several reasons. There are so many things in play here that could determine Fangio’s fate after 2017.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune did a good job of laying out the situation as it stands. Among the factors in play are Fangio’s contract, his status on the head coaching circuit and whether he has interest in remaining with John Fox.
Vic Fangio name is rising and contract is fading
“Fangio’s three-year contract expires at the end of the season. What that means for 2018 is impossible to say right now. I’d imagine Fangio, when the timing is right, would like to be considered for potential head-coaching vacancies. He hasn’t gotten a lot of attention in that regard in the past.
If the Bears defense continues to play well, maybe his name will be more popular come January. Fangio likely would have headed to San Francisco with Kyle Shanahan in the offseason had the Bears not blocked him from talking to the 49ers. It’s premature to say what will happen when this season ends.”
The contract situation might prove the most difficult. No doubt there are plenty in Chicago dying to make sure Fangio stays put. Many current players would be included in that group. Several of them have explained just how vital he is to their run of recent success. Problem is what they want and what he wants are two different things.
It’s obvious Fangio is determined to be a head coach. Thus far he’s failed to claim that prize despite having the best run of NFL success in his career dating back to 2011. At 59-years old though he’s running out of time. This strong performance in Chicago may be his last springboard to seize the opportunity.
Then there’s the persistent rumor he wants out.
One can’t forget the reported Fox tension from last year
The rumor that Fangio was interested in returning to San Francisco wasn’t the first buzz of its kind. Back in December of 2016 Mike Mulligan of the Chicago Tribune published a piece indicating a rift between the defensive coordinator and head coach John Fox. Something that centered around “philosophical differences.” Many thought Fox would part ways with his defensive coordinator.
Both denied any truth to the rumors. The fact that Fangio stayed aboard pretty much put that issue to bed. At least for another year. Now the contract situation comes into play. Was Fangio simply being a good soldier and biding his time until he could get out without any controversy? Add things up and it’s hard not to see that as a possibility.
Losing quality coordinators is part of the NFL business. Whether the Bears could survive without Fangio just when things are getting good is something fans don’t want to think about.
San Diego Chargers wide receiver Dontrelle Inman runs with the ball as New Orleans Saints strong safety Kenny Vaccaro (32) defends during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
Ryan Pace now sees his Chicago Bears at 3-4. They’re clearly improving. Unfortunately to this point it’s a team held back by one crippling problem: they have no wide receivers. Two of their three starters are an actual rookie and one that is starting for the first time. Only Kendall Wright was their lone credible target and he can’t even play more than 50% of the snaps. Pace realized his prized quarterback Mitch Trubisky needed help. So he went out and got it in the form of Dontrelle Inman
Chargers traded WR Dontrelle Inman to the Bears for a seventh-round pick, per sources.
Inman is an interesting story. He was an undrafted free agent out of Virginia in 2011. After failing to land on a team, he went up to the CFL in Canada and spent two years with their Toronto Argonauts. He had enough success to earn an opportunity with the San Diego Chargers in 2014 and made the roster. After a quiet first year he managed 486 yards and three touchdowns in 2015 before breaking out with 810 yards and four touchdowns last season.
Inman is 6’3″ with solid deep speed. At 28-years old he’s in his prime and has no history of injuries. The Bears are starving for a big target that Trubisky can lean on. While he may not be the ideal solution, there is no doubt he brings badly needed credibility and experience to the unit. A seventh round pick is a small price to pay if he become even a functional target.
No doubt Inman is anxious to get out of Los Angeles. The Chargers had basically relegated him to the bench after drafting first round pick Mike Williams in April. He must be a man motivated to prove they gave up on him way too soon. It’s hard not to see him getting immediate action Sunday against the Saints.
The White Sox issued a letter to fans rebuking the latest round of proposed amusement tax hikes by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and city legislators. Chicago already has one of the highest levies on cultural events in the U.S. and the latest increase would vault the city into another echelon.
“As you may know, the current amusement tax on tickets to sporting events in Chicago, like White Sox games, is at 12% — already one of the highest in the United States,” the letter from White Sox officials reads. “Meanwhile, the amusement tax for concerts, still high by national standards, is taxed at a lower rate, currently 6.5%.”
Emanuel’s proposal would exempt midsize theatres from the tax while raising duties on larger venues. There is currently a five percent tax on all cultural events held at any for-profit venue with at least 750 seats around Chicago. The new proposal would expand the tax break to venues with 1,499 seats. However, venues with 1,500 or more seats would suffer a four-percent increase.
The White Sox disagree with those figures stating that concert tickets would witness an 80 percent hike to 10.5 percent. Regardless, the White Sox vehemently oppose any tax increase, stating
“Chicago stands alone for many reasons that we can be proud of – but having the highest amusement taxes for fans attending sports and concerts in the United States should not be one of them.”
The statement continues and lays bare their reasoning.
“We think it’s a bad idea for several reasons. First, in the short term, it will cost you, the music fan, more money. But the costs long term will be even greater. By driving this tax to one of the highest in the country, Chicago will lose concerts. As the shows leave, so do the dollars that flow through restaurants, cabs and hotels on any given show night. And despite what our political leaders believe, the losses will far surpass any gains a tax increase was intended to garner.”
The mayor’s office estimates that 30 venues will qualify for renewed tax relief under the proposed tax while 15 venues will bear higher tax rates. Under Emmanuel’s administration, Chicago has endured six years of tax raises and the mayor declared that “Chicago is on firmer financial footing than we have been in many years.”
This may be true and the financial state of affairs in Chicago may still need tweaking, but boosting the levy on sporting venues will level on undue burden on sports fans. Wrigley field hosted eight concerts in 2017 while Guaranteed Rate Field held several events as well, including the Get IN It MusicFest in September.
If the tax measure is adopted, ticket prices are sure to climb with no hope for relief at parking lots and the concession stands. It is already difficult to take a family to a sporting event and it is almost unimaginable what will happen with a trickle-down tax levy. Sporting events used to be the proletariate’s weekend respite, but now it appears to be the wealthy’s colosseum.
One of the best stories to come out of the process where the Chicago Bears drafted Mitch Trubisky involved one of their first meetings. GM Ryan Pace tasked the North Carolina standout with setting up a dinner reservation. It was a test meant to see how the kid handled preparation. When the Bears entourage arrived, Trubisky had made sure to keep it a secret by putting it under a code name: James McMahon.
It was the kind of clever, knowledgeable move that drew the young quarterback to Chicago. McMahon himself tweeted a tip of the cap to Trubisky when he heard about the stunt. Truth be told the two share a lot in common. They each are top five draft choices. Both come from programs that weren’t known for producing NFL quarterbacks at the time. To top it off each were instantly embraced for their leadership.
Through three games a pattern has begun to emerge with Trubisky. One that showcases he might be more like McMahon than anybody supposed. It doesn’t necessarily have to do with his talent, but more his unselfishness.
The Mitch Trubisky Jim McMahon comparison locks in at “team player”
People always got on McMahon about his average numbers during his time as Bears starter in the 1980s. His best season in Chicago was for 2,392 yards. That led some to think he was an average quarterback. This simply is not true. The fact is McMahon was asked to play within a system that didn’t demand an aerial circus and, being the unselfish leader he was, did so.
Keep this in mind. During his two years (24 games) as starter at BYU, McMahon threw the ball 868 times for 8,126 yards and 77 touchdowns. He was one of the most prolific passers in college football. In his seven years (61 games) with the Bears he threw for 11,203 yards and 67 touchdowns. He could’ve done more if asked but Chicago wanted him to a direct an offense that had an excellent rushing attack in order to compliment a suffocating defense.
There were several instances where he seldom threw the ball. For example in 1983 he completed just 8-of-12 passes for 79 yards against Tampa Bay. The Bears won the game 27-0. His job wasn’t to carry the offense. It was to direct it and make a couple plays through the air when needed and win the game. This was a job he perfected over time. Chicago was 24-2 from 1984 through 1986 with him under center.
Trubisky is being asked to do the same exact thing
Like McMahon, Trubisky has found himself under the guidance of a conservative head coach. Also like him he’s running a team whose strengths are in their defense and their running game. He too was a top passer in college, throwing 30 touchdowns in 13 games last year for North Carolina. So far in Chicago he’s thrown 48 passes in three games.
People are grumbling about the lack of production. Thing is the Bears are 2-1 with him playing this way and he has a quarterback rating of 97.2 in those two wins. So what he’s lacking in quantity he’s making up in quality. Trubisky is embracing the same role as McMahon did. Lean on the running game, don’t hurt the defense by turning it over and make a couple big plays when asked.
It may not be the light-up-the-scoreboard type of plays fans dreamed of but it’s hard to argue the results. Until such a time as when the Bears are equipped to throw the ball 30-40 times a game, this style is what they do best. That Trubisky has embraced the challenge and responsibility speaks volumes about his character. As it did for McMahon many years ago.
Mitch Trubisky the quarterback is still a work in progress. Anybody surprised by this deserves to lose their money. A quarterback with 13 college starts running an offense with second and third-rate receivers was going to struggle. Truth be told the kid has played better that most would under those circumstances. This hasn’t stopped him from progressing as a leader and teammate though.
In fact some other Bears in the locker room are learning that what he might lack in experience, he doesn’t lack in quick wit. The 23-year old knows he’s the new kid on the block but if he’s going to earn the respect of his older brothers in the locker room, he has to be prepared to give as good as he gets. Particularly in the trash talking department.
Mitch Trubisky the trash talker isn’t afraid of anybody
Bears defenders have called Trubisky the “Pretty Boy Assassin” for weeks now. This was due in large part to his tendency to attack the defense in practice, often with a seemingly disarming smile on his face. At the same time there are certain defenders who aren’t afraid to jaw at the rookie. Cornerback Prince Amukamara is one of them. He described what it’s like to go back and forth with the young quarterback.
“I just basically poke at them to see if they’ll bite back,” Amukamara said. “I’ll definitely crack some jokes on Mitch, and he definitely shouts a few jokes back.”
Amukamara said Trubisky calls him “Princess.”
“That’s a weak joke,” Amukamara said with a smile, “but he calls me that.”
It may seem weak but nobody likes to be called “Princess.” Not unless you’re under the age of 13. Regardless this is a welcome sign. It means Trubisky isn’t putting himself above what the game is all about. It’s competition. Trash talk is a normal part of competition. Do people think Michael Jordan was great and never said anything?
Please. Jordan was arguably the greatest trash talker of his era. Maybe even all-time. Jim McMahon was also a good one. Good things tend to happen for a team when their leader is not somebody who gets rattled when a teammate or opponent jaws at them. Instead they send it right back. It shows that they are mentally tough. They are confident in their ability and aren’t afraid to say so.
The fact that Trubisky is this far along at 23-years old? A welcome sign.
Members of the Chicago White Sox celebrate on the field after winning the 2005 World Series with a 1-0 win over the Houston Astro's at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas on October 26, 2006. The White Sox swept the series 4 games to none. (Photo by G. N. Lowrance/Getty Images)
Did I just imagine the entire 2005 baseball season? That’s what ESPN continues to make me believe. Whenever past championships are brought up on the station, no one ever seems to throw the 2005 White Sox into discussion. And not like they aren’t worthy of discussion. More like the team didn’t even exist at all. Today we got another reminder of the lack of respect the South Side seems to get.
ESPN deleted its annual forgetting of the 2005 White Sox but not before I photocopied it! pic.twitter.com/DV9Q5gSHtD
Looks like ESPN once again forgot not only that the White Sox won the World Series in 2005, but also forgot that they did it to the tune of an 11-1 record. The 2005 White Sox were (in my very biased opinion) one of the more dominant teams in recent memory. The fact that they get no love from national media is definitely frustrating to say the least. Hopefully the White Sox will start to get the respect they deserve if/when the rebuild succeeds and championships are eventually seen on the South Side.
Generally an NFL team arrives at the trade deadline as one of two types. They are either a buyer or a seller. It’s truth of all sports. Either a team is losing and unlikely to make a rally. So they ship out a valuable player that might get them some draft revenue for next year. Or it’s a team that feels they’re in the hunt for the playoffs. One more player at a key position could be the ticket. It’s hard to say where the Chicago Bears trades situation is at.
They started out 2017 with a 1-3 record. Most left them for dead. Now they’ve won two-straight against Baltimore and Carolina. Both teams had winning records at the time. Suddenly the Bears are going into New Orleans with a chance to be .500 at the midseason point for the first time since 2013.
This leads to the question. If they manage to beat the Saints, will GM Ryan Pace feel aggressive enough to give his team an added boost in hopes of making a playoff push? It’s hard to say but the man is unpredictable. He’s not a afraid to be bold. So with that in mind here are some names to watch carefully as Halloween approaches.
Chicago Bears trades are all about the wide receivers
Let’s be real. The only position that is so bad it needs a midseason trade to help it is the wide receivers. Currently Mitch Trubisky is throwing a discarded former first round pick in Kendall Wright who hasn’t topped 500 yards since 2014. The other two, Tanner Gentry and Tre McBride, have four combined starts of experience. In retrospect how can anybody think Trubisky should be a focal point of the offense.
Sure he has good tight ends and the coaches can do a better job scheming guys open, but that doesn’t make up for a general lack of talent.
Terrelle Pryor
Monday night showed again that the Washington Redskins just don’t have a meaningful role for Terrelle Pryor in their offense. That’s surprising given he’s 6’4″ and had over 1,000 yards last season. For the Cleveland *bleeping* Browns no less. He’s on a one-year deal and continues to get phased out of the offense. If the Redskins aren’t interested, then this could be a dirt cheap purchase for Pace with huge upside.
T.Y. Hilton
The Indianapolis Colts are approaching a potential death spiral that could lead to them throwing the rest of 2017. Andrew Luck remains sidelined and GM Chris Ballard knows he has a ton of work left to do in rebuilding a depleted roster. This may demand a difficult sacrifice. T.Y. Hilton certainly merits a mention. He wasn’t drafted by Ballard and carries a hefty contract. He’s already over 500 yards this year and turns 28 in November. The vertical ability he’d bring is hard to ignore.
Martavis Bryant
Certainly the name that has garnered the most attention. Martavis Bryant is unhappy in Pittsburgh where the Steelers seem to have marginalized his role. This after going over 700 yards in just 11 games in 2015. The speedy 6’4″ receiver wants more opportunities and the team isn’t giving it to him, so he’s asking for a trade. Thus far the Steelers have denied do that. Bryant is a big play threat but he’s also inconsistent, on and off the field. Definitely a high-risk, high-reward proposition.
Demaryius Thomas
This one might catch a lot of people by surprise, but it shouldn’t. Plenty of sources out of Denver feel the Broncos might be in selling mode given the direction the team has gone of late. Bottoming out against the Chargers has led to belief it might be time for a changing of the guard. That includes moving on from star receiver Demaryius Thomas. He has a prior history with John Fox and is still fairly productive at age 30. He’d at least give the Bears more credibility.
In addition to LaVine’s testing points for jumping, speed and strength reportedly being near or better than when he tested at the NBA predraft camp in 2014; (according to K.C Johnson of the Chicago Tribune) another reason for optimism regarding LaVine’s rehab has been the small forward’s upbeat attitude and heavy involvement in team activities–
LaVine, who missed five games as a rookie and none his second season, is fully engaged in practice. He participates in five-on-zero situations, watches during contact drills and scrimmages and even traveled to the season opener in Toronto for workouts, a rarity.
All good things.
Here’s to hoping he, along with Kris Dunn, can see the floor together here in Chicago sometime soon to inject some life into a currently morose Chicago fanbase.
With the 2017 World Series underway, in an era where TV dictates every major move sports make, Major League Baseball still seems to have it backwards. All summer long, baseball accompanies you on a warm sunny day at the ballpark, or by your side at night with a cold one after a long day at the office. But when the games really count in October, Baseball is missing its key audience — kids.
Baseball on television has become a very regionalized sport, where fans in Seattle may not know about Cubs’ first baseman Anthony Rizzo, or arguably the best player in the game, Mike Trout, playing for the L.A Angels, a team not on the radar of a Marlins fan in Miami. While this trend does great locally for the sport, this trend does nothing to grow the game throughout the country. So on baseball’s biggest stage, the playoffs, wouldn’t they want to showcase their most exciting players to the future generation of baseball fans?
The recent trend in playoff start-times would tell you MLB really doesn’t care as long as they continue to get the TV money in 2017 and beyond.
Changes in the game have caused the sport to become longer. Gone are the 2-hour Mark Buehrle 3-hitters, and in are the 5-inning starts by a $100 million dollar pitcher followed by a clown-car of bullpen arms, one if not two per inning. With the game trending longer, Major League Baseball needs to start playoff games at a time when the majority of the population, especially kids, can watch at least a majority of the game. But their vision of ‘Prime Time’ is skewed and hurts the viewing market.
A few years ago, Jeffrey Dorfman of Forbes, wrote an article describing how Major League Baseball is ruining the future of the game with late start times. I couldn’t agree with him more. While baseball may say they are remedying this by playing day-playoff games, that doesn’t work either.
Taking a look back at the Cubs vs. Dodgers NLCS schedule, trying to find some semblance of intense thought into the scheduling is hard to come by. The times were as follows:
Cubs at Dodgers 7:00pmCT/8:00pmET (Saturday) Cubs at Dodgers 6:30pmCT/7:30pmET (Sunday) Dodgers at Cubs 8:00pmCT/9:00pmET (Tuesday) Dodgers at Cubs 8:00pmCT/9:00pmET (Wednesday) Dodgers at Cubs 7:00pmCT/8:00pmET (Thursday)
Every game in the series lasted over three hours. And if we have any indications of what’s to come in the Fall Classic, just look back at Game 5 of the NLDS between the Cubs and Nationals, a 9-inning game that lasted 4 hours and 37 minutes. Yes, you read that right, 4 hours and 37 minutes.
If the game goes that long Tuesday night, a die-hard Dodger fan in New York would have to stay up until at least 12:30 a.m. to see the final out. Imagine that being the case for potentially the next three nights, and having school bright and early at 8 a.m. What kid can stay up for that, let alone their parents? The Cubs’ letterhead telling the teacher to ‘excuse’ their son or daughter due to the late game cannot be baseball’s answer.
Major League Baseball, however, thinks they have come up with new solution by starting playoff games during the day. Well, Commissioner Manfred, that doesn’t work either. NLDS games starting at 12 p.m.CT / 1 p.m. ET miss that audience because if you remember correctly, that would be lunch period in school. The Tuesday, October 17th matchup featuring both the NLCS and ALCS missed a major portion of the country’s kids who would love to watch Aaron Judge launch a home run over the wall, or Javy Baez making an electric play in the field. The Yankees vs. Astros game began at 4:00 p.m. CT / 5:00 p.m. ET and the Cubs vs. Dodgers game began at 8:00 p.m. CT / 9:00 p.m. ET. For the ALCS game, you are lucky if you get home in time from school for the game, and if you want to catch the nightcap, it began by the time your mom was yelling at you to go to bed. Major League baseball is losing out on growing its sport, as kids are not being allowed to see its greatest moments. And kids, Major League Baseball, not your parents, is to blame.
MLB: "We need more young fans interested in baseball?" Also MLB: "Let's start two LA-CHI games with many popular stars at 9pm ET!"
Just take a look at last years’ World Series. The year ended with the incredible culmination of 108 years for the Chicago Cubs, and the 10-inning Game 7 thriller lasted 4 hours and 28 minutes (including the rain-delay). An 11:30 p.m. CT / 12:30 p.m. ET end time on a school night? That’s just wrong.
There is a reason why baseball has an average age viewer of 53 years old. The games start too late and drag on into the wee hours of the night, cutting out a new generation who has already grasped onto the fast-paced 2-hour NBA.
The day games are too early and have low ratings, the night games are too late and prohibit kids from watching, so what can the MLB do?
First they can look at a time zone map. 47% of the country is on East Coast Time, followed by 32.9% of the country following Central Standard Time. Pacific Time is next at 14.1%; Mountain Time covers 5.4%, and Alaska/Hawaii accounts for .6%. While you were taught never to choose favorites, the East Coast and Central dominate the map. Why should they be penalized to please 14% of the market? If a majority 79% of the country has to stay up until almost midnight to watch the end of a playoff baseball game there is something terribly wrong with your growth plan for baseball.
Taking this into account, Major League Baseball should take a page out of the NBA’s playbook and play every other day. I know this idea goes against baseball purists, and I know the game needs to be played every night during the regular season for consistency purposes, but why not play every other day in the playoffs, giving players more rest for the duration of the postseason? There would not be as many pitching changes if pitchers simply had a day off in between games, which would allow starters to pitch longer, or bullpen arms to be more effective, which in turn would speed up the game. The ‘every other day’ mentality would allow there to not be the game-stacking issue we currently are seeing, where if ALDS Game 1 starts at 3:00 p.m., then NLDS Game 1 has to start at 6:00 p.m., then ALDS Game 2 has to start at 9:00 p.m. all in one night. The length of games is endless, they would probably have poor ratings because of odd start times, and out of market viewers for Game 3 wouldn’t even try to find it on TV. The fact that there are two LCS games on the same day this season, one starting during the school day and the other starting a little after 9 p.m., there should be no argument that this is the right way to schedule games.
The MLB postseason is the quickest of all the sports, spanning around a month. While cutting down the season is a whole different column, creating a NBA-like schedule, would allow fans to see each and every game at a normal time. However, I know this model would be difficult to execute due to the way baseball is played and for fear of angering baseball’s unwritten rules.
The other option would be to stop staggering games for fear of dividing viewership. If the MLB is so worried about dividing viewership by having two games on at the same time, they have a worse chance of even garnering an audience with a game starting at 1pm or 9pm.
One of the most exciting nights in Baseball history in the last 10 years, was Wildcard Wednesday in 2011, as the Red Sox squandered away a win in Baltimore followed by a game-winning homerun in Tampa Bay by Evan Longoria against the Yankees a few minutes later to clinch the AL. Wildcard spot from Boston. The same happened for the Cardinals as a win against the Astros set them up for clinching a playoff spot if disaster struck in Atlanta, and boy did it. The Braves blew an 8+ game lead and lost in the 13th inning to the Phillies, giving the Cardinals the N.L Wildcard.
What is the point of this story? The games all happened at the same time, allowing fans to flip from channel to channel, minute-by-minute watching the drama unfold with every pitch. Baseball needs to forget about having each game scheduled with its exclusive time and schedule them within a similar window. With the games being across two Fox networks, TBS and MLB Network, they can do it. Treat it like March Madness. Have the craziness and excitement of baseball all happen at the same time at 6 p.m. for the 79% percent of the country (sorry L.A). Or even start a game at 5:30 p.m., with the second game starting at 6 or 6:30 p.m., giving each a little breathing room like the unforgettable night in 2011.
Baseball can and needs to make these changes to open the game back up to the fans that will take the game to the next great level. Young fans are hungry for exciting sports and if they are given the chance, they can keep baseball as one of top sports in the country. If MLB does not make these changes, sadly, that average age of baseball fans will simply continue to increase, and that generation who grew up studying or sleeping through baseball games will have no idea how great the game is, as they simply never saw it.
I don’t know who Elias Samson is, but I know a great personality when I see one and really that’s all you need to be a star in the WWE. There’s nothing more entertaining than the wrestling heel, who knows exactly how to work a crowd and get a vial response and that’s exactly what Samson succeeded in doing during Monday Night Raw in Green Bay.
The Packers season is basically over because unless Brett Hundley can average more than four yards a throw there’s no way that team is going to be in contention even if Aaron Rodgers can return in December. As we know, Rodgers suffered his second collarbone injury of his career, the first coming at the hands of Chicago Bears legend Shea McClellin, and Samson gave a direct shot to Rodgers and the Packers fans filling the arena for Monday Night Raw.
Elias just became Vikings fans new favorite wrestler – ripping on Packers fans w/ Aaron Rodgers collarbone joke in Green Bay#SKOLpic.twitter.com/QvgAWtE0V9
