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Mark Helfrich Is Planning To Torment Vic Fangio Moving Forward

By
Erik Lambert
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mark helfrich

New Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich is an excited man. This season will mark the first time in his career as a football coach that he’s worked in the NFL. This after spending a year out of football following his dismissal from being head coach at Oregon. No doubt he’s anxious to prove to people that he’s every bit as good at what he does as he did at his peak for the Ducks.

That starts with turning around a Bears offense that was among the worst in the NFL this past season. Mitch Trubisky is at the center of it all, but there is tons of work to do at wide receiver as well. Helfrich has to get these guys playing with more efficiency, urgency and confidence. The thing is he isn’t totally adept at how to speak the language of NFL players.

This is a common theme for lifelong college coaches who finally make the jump to the big leagues. He was asked by Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune whether he was concerned about being an assistant again, and in such an unfamiliar setting. Helfrich didn’t seem perturbed. In fact he hinted at a plan for dealing with any such issues.

Mark Helfrich planning to nag Vic Fangio constantly

It would seem that Helfrich hasn’t lost the Pac-12 in his blood. He delighted in nothing more than torturing defenses during his run at Oregon. So naturally he’d have a strong memory of Vic Fangio who was defensive coordinator at Stanford in 2010. In fact during his introductory press conference Helfrich managed to get a little dig in on his former foe.

For those who care to know why this is a troll job, it’s worth noting he and Fangio met once in college. Helfrich’s offense lit up Fangio’s defense for 52 points. Apparently though he’s not satisfied with simply reminding Fangio of how little fun it was to face him on the field. They might be seeing a lot of each in the office real soon.

“Not at all,” Helfrich said. “If (Nagy) was a different person, maybe, but we’re going to have some ups and we’re going to have some downs. I made a million mistakes, a lot of them. And if some of those things, I can communicate, ‘This, this and this might happen,’ and that helps him take a shortcut on a path, absolutely (I‘ll do it).

“But I think it’s all collaborative. I am going to be in Vic (Fangio’s) office a lot. He’s going to be annoyed by me (as I try) to get in his head and know what might help me transition from college to the NFL. I would be an idiot if I didn’t walk 24 feet down and ask a guy like that. So we are all in this together.”

It makes sense. If anybody can help Helfrich understand the difference between college and the pros, it’s Fangio. He already made that jump successfully back in 2011. No doubt those two are going to make for quite a pair.

Chicago Bears Had One Head Coach Interview No One Expected

By
Erik Lambert
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chicago bears head coach

The Chicago Bears head coach search a couple weeks ago went fairly quick. They interviewed a set list of candidates once and then made the decision to go with Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. The fact he went last may or may not have had something to do with that. Regardless he proved to be the choice and the Bears are happy with it.

That being said was the list that came out from top NFL insiders complete? There were some rumors that the Bears may have slipped one or two candidates in for interviews that people didn’t hear about. This either because it was just an oversight or perhaps because the candidate preferred it be kept quiet.

The people over at Roster Watch, part of Sirius NFL XM radio, believe that may have been the case for Chicago. They indicated that Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly may be looking for an exit from South Bend. His eyes are on the NFL and it seems the Bears job was something he had interest in.

Chicago Bears head coach buzz did hint a “college name”

A couple weeks back a source did inform me that the Bears were talking to an unknown “college coach” about the job. At the time the assumptions were it could be Jim Harbaugh of Michigan or David Shaw from Stanford. Both are considered among the favorites to make an NFL jump sooner than later. However no knew information came of it. This revelation about Kelly would seem to confirm that original rumor.

Kelly has been head coach for Notre Dame since 2010. In that time he’s posted a 69-34 record that includes four bowl victories and a national championship berth. His team rebounded this past season with a 10-3 record after a disappointing 4-8 mark the year before. Nonetheless the pressure is always high to achieve at that school. Kelly may be growing tired of it and want a new challenge elsewhere.

What’s interesting is the Bears were able to secure arguably Kelly’s best assistant in offensive line coach Harry Hiestand for Nagy’s staff. Up until then most had considered Hiestand untouchable. This might offer an idea that even the other coaches there can sense Kelly won’t be around much longer.

In the end it’s probably best the Bears didn’t explore that route too strongly. Kelly is 56-years old and has never coached in the NFL. He’s also steeped heavily in a defensive background. It’s unlikely he would’ve provided the necessary knowledge and experience to help make quarterback Mitch Trubisky a success.

Lopez & Grant Boost Their Trade Value In Crushing Loss

By
Patrick Mooney
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With 5:06 to play in the 4th quarter of Monday night’s game in New Orleans, the Bulls led the Pelicans by 17. Somehow, they didn’t win the game.

All star big man DeMarcus Cousins went off down the stretch, leading the Pelicans in their comeback victory with 44 points, 24 rebounds, and 10 assists. Chicago native Anthony Davis kicked in 34 points of his own.

Despite the crushing loss, there were plenty of positive takeaways for the Bulls in this one. First off, it was a great…

Outside of the end result, other positives from tonight were the performances turned in by center Robin Lopez and point guard Jerian Grant, which likely caught the eye of some NBA scouts. Lopez’ name has been rumored to be on the trade block for over a month now, and recent reports indicate the Bulls are listening to offers on Grant as well.

Both scored 22 points in the loss on a combined 16-23 shooting. Grant has seen an increase in playing time the last two games with the absence of Kris Dunn, and he is stepping up not only in the scoring department, but in the floor general department as well. He added a season high 13 assists to his 22 points.

Lopez, who has been labeled as anything but a scorer over his journeyman career, is averaging 19.3 points over the last three games.

With just over two weeks to go until the trade deadline, the Bulls could use as many of these performances from this duo as possible. Recency bias is very real in sports, and it would be swell if the Bulls could get a team to overvalue either one of these players in a trade because of a few outlying performances in the coming weeks.

Cubs In Active Talks With Yu Darvish According To AP Source

By
Aldo Soto
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Now it’s getting more serious, as the Chicago Cubs are reportedly in active talks with free agent pitcher Yu Darvish according to an AP source.

The New York Times published the following Monday night.

 A person with direct knowledge of the discussions says the Chicago Cubs are having active talks with free-agent pitcher Yu Darvish

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday night because there was no agreement in place. The Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees also have expressed interest in signing the Japanese pitcher.

This comes after the Cubs signed catcher Chris Gimenez to a minor-league deal.

The Cubs Just Signed Yu Darvish’s All-Time Favorite Catcher

Gimenez, who was a teammate of Darvish with the Texas Rangers is said to be the pitcher’s favorite catcher.

Stay tuned for more updates.

The Cubs Just Signed Yu Darvish’s All-Time Favorite Catcher

By
Aldo Soto
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Chris Gimenez is a 35-year-old catcher, who has played in a total of 366 MLB games, but he might be the final piece in the Chicago Cubs plan to sign Yu Darvish. The Cubs have reportedly signed the journeyman catcher to a minor-league deal, but there could be more to this acquisition.

Ken Rosenthal added that Gimenez has a good shot to make the Cubs 25-man roster as the backup to Willson Contreras.

Those chances become higher if the Cubs do end up signing Darvish and that’s because Gimenez is apparently really close to the pitcher and is his favorite catcher.

I don’t think Gimenez is going to be the most important part of the Cubs’ pitch to Darvish, but it certainly has to help, right? The ironic part is that Gimenez was let go by the Minnesota Twins, who are also trying to sign Darvish. Imagine if this does become the difference, though, that’d be pretty funny.

Gimenez has spent his entire MLB career in the American League, playing for the Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers and the Twins. He has a career slash line of .218/.309/.345. Last year with Minnesota, Gimenez hit seven home runs and had a pretty good .350 OBP in 186 at bats.

 

I know there are several Cubs fans, myself included, that were looking forward to possibly seeing Caratini up the entire year as the backup catcher, but if Gimenez can get Darvish to the North Side, then this will be a great move.

David Ross part two? Let’s all hope so.

Chicago Bears Senior Bowl History Proves Fans Should Care More

By
Erik Lambert
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Jan 28, 2016; Mobile, AL, USA; South squad offensive guard Cody Whitehair of Kansas State (55) battles offensive tackle Spencer Drango of Baylor (58) during a drill during Senior Bowl practice at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Glenn Andrews-USA TODAY Sports

Fans aren’t really giving much attention to the Chicago Bears Senior Bowl buzz. Why should they right? It’s not free agency. It’s not the draft. There isn’t much incentive to watch the practices and games. Except that couldn’t be further from the truth, and the team brass know this. Word has already come down that both GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy will be present in Birmingham for every moment of the festivities.

They understand that this week of football action is in fact more valuable than any other during the lead up to the NFL draft in April. That includes the scouting combine and the pro days. This is because it gives them a chance to see many top prospects (and some hidden gems) handle NFL-level coaching, practices and game situations.

One can’t say the Bears haven’t used it to their advantage recently. Starting center Cody Whitehair was their most valuable find to date. Linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski has also proven a quality scoop as well. What many fans may not be grasping though is that some of the most important players in franchise history have come up via the Senior Bowl.

Chicago Bears Senior Bowl alum is a who’s who of former greats

Truth be told this event hasn’t really become a thing among fans until the past few years as the pre-draft process became more and more magnified. However its important, especially to Chicago became huge as far back as the 1970s. It was at the 1975 Senior Bowl where the Bears brass got a close look at a young running back out of tiny Jackson State named Walter Payton.

A few years later new head coach Mike Ditka and GM Jim Finks were hoping to get a quarterback. Down in Birmingham they had a chance to see a skinny kid from BYU name Jim McMahon in action. In 2000 the Bears weren’t sure where they’d go with their #9 overall pick. That is until a mammoth safety from New Mexico named Brian Urlacher started going through drills and game action.

Three years later the same thing happened again, this time with a brass kid out of Arizona who called himself Lance Briggs. Last but not least? A smooth, versatile running back from Tulane took home MVP honors in 2008. That was really the first people had truly heard of Matt Forte.

Suffice to say the Senior Bowl has been good to the Bears in years past. It’s been at its best when they have good eyes in the front office as they seem to do now with Pace. Could the next superstar be laying in wait for them at this year’s festivities? Maybe you should tune in to find out. That way when the draft rolls around you might have an idea of just what this team is getting.

How Andy Reid Assistants Did In First Years Bodes Well for 2018 Bears

By
Erik Lambert
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2018 bears

Matt Nagy is about to take center stage for the 2018 Bears. GM Ryan Pace took a calculated gamble on the 39-year old. Nagy comes from an Arena League background and has only been an offensive coordinator for two years in the NFL. He’s not the most well-traveled coach either, spending his entire pro run under the same mentor. The good news is that mentor is the best there is at cultivating future head coaches.

Andy Reid remains one of the best head coaches in the business. He hasn’t even turned 60-years old yet and already has made the playoffs 13 times in his career. For an idea of how significant that is? The Bears have reached the playoffs 14 times in the entire Super Bowl era. Reid has done it since 1999. In that time he’s planted a series of seeds across the league in the form of several quality head coaches.

Nagy is the latest in that line to get his opportunity. What fans are eager to know is how swift his impact might be. Based on collected evidence, they might be in for a surprise.

Bears 2018 hopes looking bright based on the Reid factor

To date four assistants have gone directly from an Andy Reid coaching staff to a head coaching position of their own. On average the immediate results were pretty favorable. Two of the four coaches went to the playoffs their first year. One finished with the same record as the previous season and only one saw his team regress.

Brad Childress (Minnesota Vikings)

  • 2005:  9-7
  • 2006:  6-10

John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens)

  • 2007:  5-11
  • 2008:  11-5

Doug Pederson (Philadelphia Eagles)

  • 2015:  7-9
  • 2016:  7-9

Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills)

  • 2016:  7-9
  • 2017:  9-7

This is actually quite a crop of coaches as it stands. Childress may have struggled his first year but he was 8-8 his second season and in the playoffs by his third. Harbaugh of course won the Super Bowl in Baltimore. Pederson is now in the Super Bowl with Philadelphia during his second season. McDermott broke a playoff drought in Buffalo that had lasted since 1999. Suffice to say this is a quality tree the Bears plucked from.

The fact that Reid himself said he believes Nagy might be the best of the bunch? That makes it even harder not to be excited about 2018. The steps ahead are simple but not easy. He must do what he was hired first and foremost to. That’s improve an offense that finished 30th in the NFL. That doesn’t just mean making Mitch Trubisky better. It means making them all better.

Together with a Vic Fangio defense, the odds favor a considerable improvement on the 5-11 record they fielded this past season.

An Old Friend Sold Bears Ownership on Matt Nagy as Head Coach

By
Erik Lambert
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matt nagy

Chicago Bears ownership trusted GM Ryan Pace to make the call on who the next head coach would be. It became apparent from Pace’s research early on that Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy could be the guy. However, he had to make sure he got as many opinions as possible. Not a bad plan considering the importance of this search.

Team president Ted Phillips was a point man in helping Pace make phone calls to people around the league, gauging opinions on Nagy as a person and a coach. As it turns out the Bears got a huge vote of confidence from a trusted, familiar source. According to Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog, the same man who broke the Harry Hiestand hire, Nagy got a major sales pitch from colleague and former Bears special teams coach Dave Toub.

“Per a source, one of Phillips’ first calls was to Dave Toub on Matt Nagy and Toub gave a substantial, effusive endorsement of the Chiefs offensive coordinator. That endorsement went a long way with ownership and is a major reason the Bears landed their first-choice coach quickly.”

My own sources corroborated this story. It seems the Bears called Toub initially to gauge his interest in interviewing for the head coaching job. Toub politely turned it down so they talked to him about Nagy. He spoke at length about his fellow coaches’ qualifications. It’s unknown if that pitch was ultimately what got Nagy the job, but it certainly streamlined the process.

Toub connection to Bears ownership likely got them on Pace’s side

The one thing Toub had above other references in this case was credibility. Phillips and the McCaskey family know not only his work but the man himself well. Toub was the best special teams coordinator in football during his time in Chicago from 2004 to 2012. His work with Devin Hester alone made them loads of money by putting butts in the seats.

Pace no doubt had them intrigued by Nagy, but the word of Toub was likely a clincher to making things go so smoothly. One mustn’t forget he has worked with several future top NFL head coaches. Need a reminder? Here’s a recap:

  • Brad Childress (reached NFC championship in Minnesota)
  • Ron Rivera (reached Super Bowl in Carolina)
  • Leslie Frazier (made playoffs in Minnesota)
  • Sean McDermott (made playoffs in Buffalo)
  • John Harbaugh (won Super Bowl in Baltimore)
  • Doug Pederson (reached Super Bowl in Philadelphia)

This isn’t counting him going to a Super Bowl with Lovie Smith in Chicago. The guy has long since learned what a good head coach looks like. So for him to give such an enthusiastic endorsement for Nagy? That has to be a good sign for the Bears.

White Sox Land Five Prospects on B.A.’s Top-100 With Some Fresh Faces

By
Matt Enuco
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Dunning closed the season with a 2.94 earned run average.
Dane Dunning and Alec Hansen are new additions to the White Sox stable of top-100 prospects. (Photo credit: Baseball America)

With SoxFest on the horizon and a stalled free-agent market, fans will take any nugget of baseball news they can find. Baseball America released their top-100 prospect list on Monday morning and the White Sox boast five names on this roster.

Surprisingly, other teams placed more prospects on B.A.’s top-100 but the White Sox graduated Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez to the big leagues last season and Shohei Ohtani’s swing to the States easily forced a few prospects down the list. Still, the names you expect to see on this list are there and a few others appear as well.

Eloy Jimenez — #4

This is not surprising to anyone. After joining the White Sox organization in the Jose Quintana trade with the Cubs, Jimenez rocketed through the minors and is poised to start at Double-A in 2018. Despite his swelling confidence and prognostications about his readiness for a big-league promotion, he’s still at least half a season away from debuting in Chicago.

Jimenez was No. 14 on B.A.’s 2016 top -100 and shot up the rankings based on a breakout year. He slaughtered Carolina-League pitching and held his pace at Double-A late in the season. But Jimenez couldn’t crack the top three because Ronald Acuna, Ohtani and Vladimer Guerrero Jr. edge him out in tools.

Michael Kopech — #11

Kopech is the most electrifying pitcher in the White Sox organization. He can blow the doors off any hitter and some scouts have said he could survive in the majors right now. Kopech features an upper-90s fastball and survived his first full season without incident or injury in 2017. He earned a late season promotion to Triple-A and barring a derailment of epic proportions, Kopech is likely to makes his major-league debut in 2018. Despite dominant stuff, Kopech has to show more command of all of his pitches and continue to learn how to use them.

Alec Hansen — #57

One of the most prolific facial expressions while pitching, Hansen was all but forgotten by the time draft day came around in 2016. He started the season as the feature arm for Oklahoma at the beginning of the season and fell out of favor quickly after control issues surfaced. Hansen is so tall and lanky that scouts probably questioned whether he could repeat his delivery. But 2017 was the season Hansen put those questions behind him. He lead the minors in strikeouts and put together several gems while demonstrating depth in his pitches. Most impressively, he never let the wheels fall off in any of his starts. Hansen is likely to start in Double-A, a major test for him on his quest to the majors.

Luis Robert — #58

You want tools, Robert has all of them. The only reason Robert is so far down this list is because he hadn’t played for almost a year after defecting from Cuba and hasn’t played a single game in the continental United States. Robert took his first trip to Arizona this past week for a minicamp and the video that surfaced on Instagram was impressive. There is some serious pop in his bat and his hands are electrifying. Robert will move up this list quickly given his tremendous set of tools.

Dane Dunning — #82

Dunning has played second fiddle for most of his baseball life. At the University of Florida he was the swiss army knife of the pitching staff, covering spot starts as needed and dealing from the bullpen as his regular duties. Dunning was one of the lesser known pieces acquired from the Nationals in the Adam Eaton trade but he quickly made a name for himself with the White Sox fan base. More surgical than explosive, Dunning won’t light up a radar gun but he will expand the strike zone, confuse hitters with an array of pitches and showcase a fearless presence on the mound. With an arsenal of flame-throwing starters, Dunning will be an exciting contrast to watch in Chicago.

People Are Ignoring How Good Mark Helfrich Will Be for Jordan Howard

By
Erik Lambert
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chicago bears running backs
Credit: AP

The moment Mark Helfrich was hired as new Chicago Bears offensive coordinator, the buzz began. This was the man who oversaw the direct development of Marcus Mariota at Oregon. With his help the QB became a Heisman winner, a #2 overall pick and now a playoff-winning quarterback in the NFL. Accomplishments like that are why fans drool over the prospect of combining Helfrich with Mitch Trubisky.

After all Trubisky has a number of the same qualities that made Mariota great. He’s athletic and mobile, a down-to-earth worker, and an accurate passer. Helfrich understands the type of offense that can make such a player successful. It’s a matter of just implement parts of it along with head coach Matt Nagy to get the scheme they want.

However, this QB love fest has totally overlooked another fact about the Helfrich hire. He might end up being just as good for Jordan Howard.

Mark Helfrich will reignite underutilized strength of Howard’s game

Oregon ran spread offense concepts at Oregon. One would think that this meant they were chucking the ball everywhere. Especially with a talent like Mariota on the field. In truth though people forget how often (and how well) the Ducks ran the football in those days. From 2009 to 2016, Helfrich produced five seasons where one of his running backs topped the 1,500 yards rushing mark.

A lot of that success came courtesy of the run-pass option. This is where the quarterback is in shotgun and the running back is to his right or left. On the snap the quarterback goes for a handoff. Depending on how the defense reacts he either hands it to the rusher, tucks and runs himself or goes for play action to a receiver. It can be a maddening style of offense to defend, particularly if the running back is good running out of shotgun.

It just so happens that Howard is just that. Pro Football Focus revealed that the two-time Pro Bowler is highly productive when given the ball from that alignment.

YearAlignmentCarriesYardsYPCTD
2016Shotgun946577.00
2016QB Under Center1586564.26
2016Behind fullback311183.85
2017Shotgun351785.14
2017QB Under Center2419443.95
2017Behind fullback852773.32

 

In other words Howard has averaged a whopping 6.05 yards per carry running out of the shotgun formation. The fact the Bears only did it 35 times in 2017 despite having a mobile QB like Trubisky for 12 of those games? That’s criminal negligence.

Helfrich and Nagy almost certain to correct this problem

What makes Howard so good in this style? One thing about is not speed or agility. That’s often a big misconception. Running out of shotgun requires a back that has both vision and decisiveness. They have to be able to see the hole and not hesitate getting downhill. Otherwise the defense will get into the backfield and likely make a stop for a big loss. Howard has no such problem.

Both Helfrich and Nagy are huge proponents of the run-pass option style of offense. Given the success its seen for the Philadelphia Eagles en route to the Super Bowl, it is easy to understand why. Howard is already dangerous as he is. If the Bears can maximize one of the things he does best? That’s a scary thought.

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