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Mitch Trubisky Got Advice From Ben Roethlisberger and Predictably It Was Great

By
Erik Lambert
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mitch trubisky asked advice

Honestly if Mitch Trubisky asked advice of any two pro quarterbacks coming out of college, he couldn’t have picked much better than Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger. It was Manning who advised him on whether he should come out of college early and what to expect in the NFL. However, the Chicago Bears top draft choice claimed it was Roethlisberger who resonated with him the most.

He didn’t really elaborate on what was said after the draft, offering a brief statement reviewing the words. With the Bears set to play the Steelers in week three though, he had a chance to better explain what the two-time Super Bowl champion and likely Hall of Famer had to say.

“One of the big pieces of advice he gave me was, really, take control of your career,” the Bears’ backup quarterback said Friday. “And I think that’s kind of how he instills how he carries himself in the locker room, on the practice field, at the line of scrimmage. The play is going to go how he wants it and that’s really how I want my career to go. Just exactly what you dream of, and take control and get everyone to buy into the same plan.

“I think that’s how you create a winning culture — really taking control, really taking ownership and hopefully that trickles down through the rest of the team.”

Mitch Trubisky asked advice from the right guy

First of all, the advice given is correct. Trubisky isn’t going to be handed anything in this league. Fans tend to forget draft status in a hurry. The only way to gain status and recognition in this sport is to take it. Take that starting job, take command of that huddle and take control of this team. It’s not about just wanting it. The great ones demand it.

Roethlisberger knows what Trubisky is facing. He was an Ohio native, like him. He came from a school (Miami of Ohio) not known for producing top quarterbacks, like him. His draft results were heavily scrutinized, like him. He was relegated behind a veteran (Tommy Maddox) most people knew he was more talented than, like him. Last but not least he faced a challenging franchise quarterback legacy upon arrival, like him.

Despite all that Roethlisberger arguably became the best the Steelers have ever had. With respect Terry Bradshaw had far better teams and nowhere near the same numbers. He understood the expectations and knew the only way to meet or exceed them was to work hard and be himself. If he tried to be something else he would’ve failed.

It seems Trubisky is taking that to heart. Already he’s shown more progress on the field and in the locker room than anybody expected. Even the coaches. His time is coming. If he follows the same path as Big Ben, this is going to be a fun ride.

Taj Gibson Takes Shot At Fred Hoiberg’s Leadership

By
Matt Peck
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taj gibson takes shot bulls coach fred hoiberg leadership

Before being traded to Oklahoma City midseason, workhorse forward Taj Gibson was the longest-tenured player on the Bulls roster. In fact, he was the only player remaining from the team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011. After the departure of Joakim Noah last summer, Taj assumed the role of the most liked and respected veteran in the Bulls locker room. Sorry, Dwyane Wade. But it’s true.

So fans and media alike took notice when Taj – on multiple occasions – stood up for his new coach Fred Hoiberg despite plenty of outside scrutiny through 1.5 years of frustrating mediocrity. While his teammate Jimmy Butler was criticizing Hoiberg for not coaching hard enough, Gibson put the onus on himself and his teammates to try harder and do better.

Fast forward to today’s Minnesota Timberwolves media day, and Taj sounded like a guy who could finally tell the truth without worrying about hurting anyone’s feelings.

Thibs Vs. Fred

Derek James of ESPN asked Gibson flat out if Hoiberg is a good NBA coach, adding a second part to the question wondering if Fred might have more success coaching younger players in this new Bulls rebuild.

Taj’s long and thoughtful answer went as follows:

“I think going young can help [Fred], but either way they’re going to grow up. It just depends on how you’re coaching them, what you’re saying to them. But it all comes down to being a leader. You have to be a leader whether you have veterans or young guys. Because the moment you turn around, the young guys are considered veterans after one or two years.” – Taj Gibson

The key phrase in there is clearly “you have to be a leader.” The way Gibson phrased it sounded like he was implying that’s a weakness to Hoiberg’s coaching right now. He continued talking about leadership, referencing his previous Bulls coach and current Timberwolves boss Tom Thibodeau.

“You have to just be a strong leader and have a strong belief in yourself. Things may go wrong, ups and downs, but you have to have a strong belief and you have to demand the attention of the locker room. Day One when I was in Chicago, Thibs came in there…he had that mentality. You respected him, knowing that if it didn’t go [well] he would square up with you. And guys respected that.” – Taj Gibson

Taj’s subtext here is pretty clear. He could tell a stark difference between the kind of respect that Thibodeau commands in the locker room, and the lack thereof for Hoiberg. As he wrapped up his answer, perhaps still feeling a bit guilty for subtly ragging on Fred, Taj tried to offer an explanation for newer coaches like Fred struggling in the NBA.

“I think a lot of coaches around the league, maybe sometimes they’re young and it’s tough on them. And Thibs is an older guy, he’s been around the league a long time. So he had years to mold himself to be ready for that position. Fred came from college and he’s being thrown in there to be a head coach, lot of guys being thrown in to be head coaches. They may be great at X’s and O’s and offensive guys but you’re being thrown in with guys that you once played with and played against. You know what I’m saying? It’s a big difference.” – Taj Gibson

There aren’t too many relevant guys still playing in the NBA who were around when Hoiberg played his last season in 2004-05. However, Taj isn’t totally off base here. One of those few would be Dwyane Wade, who came into the league as a star in 2003 and showed up in Fred’s locker room last year. There wasn’t a great deal of respect flowing in the Dwyane-to-Fred direction last season, and it was fairly obvious. If Wade does stick around, at least for part of this upcoming season, that will undoubtedly be a factor again.

You have to respect Gibson for sticking up for Fred while playing for him and softening the blow of his fair criticism on Friday. It’s one of countless examples of Taj being an all-class professional athlete. Always doing the dirty work, looking inward for blame and pointing outward to give credit to his teammates and coaches.

But even when Taj phrases it as nicely as possible, he couldn’t help but spill an undeniable harsh truth. Between these two coaches he played for in Chicago, one commands respect with his leadership and one doesn’t.

Taj followed the leader to Minnesota.

Will these young Bulls follow Fred’s lead in Chicago? That’s mostly up to Fred.

Jimmy Butler Trolls Bulls At Timberwolves Media Day

By
Matt Peck
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jimmy butler trolls bulls timberwolves media day

The NBA is back, boys and girls! While the Bulls have not yet had their media day, a group of familiar faces held theirs up in Minnesota on Friday. Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, their old coach Tom Thibodeau and the new-look Timberwolves spent the day doing photo shoots and interviews with the media.

The highlight of the day had to be a particular answer Jimmy had to a question about which teams he’s excited to watch this upcoming NBA season.

Check out Steve Aschburner’s question and Butler’s answer around the 5:45 mark of the video below.

Jimmy barely let Asch finish his question before blurting out his answer.

“The Chicago Bulls.”

Aschburner then asks Jimmy if he’ll be rooting for his former team this season. The star player’s answer seemed like a less-than-friendly “no.”

“Uuuhhh…I just want to see what they do.”

Jimmy then goes on to pivot away from directly wishing ill on the team that traded him away this summer, but his subtext isn’t that hard to decipher.

Everyone knows that Butler didn’t want to get traded. He constantly expressed not only his love for the city of Chicago and their fans, but gratitude for the organization that took a chance on him with the 30th pick of the 2011 draft. He wanted to stay here and he wanted to win here. But the Bulls front office never fully committed to Jimmy, or seemed to appreciated just how valuable he was.

I’ll just go ahead and say it. Jimmy is excited and eager to watch the Bulls play this season because he wants to see them fail without him. By now he’s adjusted to the move, plus he has plenty of familiar faces in Minnesota to ease the transition. He’s coming off his third straight All Star season and is pegged to lead a young and talented Minnesota team into Western Conference relevance. Jimmy will be fine.

His old team? They’re being widely picked to finish with the worst record in the NBA, and most people in Chicago aren’t too excited about the pieces they got in exchange for Butler to start the rebuild.

Methinks there’s a chance that Jimmy will experience some delightful moments of schadenfreude as the Bulls’ losses pile up and his old bosses continue to be battered with insults and criticism by an eroding fanbase.

I certainly won’t judge him if he does.

Baseball America Doesn’t Want You To Sleep On This White Sox Prospect

By
Matt Enuco
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Baseball America wants you to know about this White Sox prospect.
Sportslogos.net

If you haven’t heard of Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech by now, shame on you. The White Sox gathered two of the most promising prospects in baseball this past season and the duo is poised to reach the big leagues in 2018. But don’t sleep on the rest of the sprouting crop of talent.

While every media outlet heaped praise on Jimenez and Kopech over the past few weeks Baseball America doesn’t want anyone to forget about Micker Adolfo. In their final report on the White Sox farm system, Scot Gregor named Adolfo as someone to watch.

The heralded Dominican outfielder was signed in 2013 and spent three seasons in the developmental Arizona Rookie League. He played sparingly in both 2014 and 2015 while posting pedestrian figures that raised questions about his elite status. Adolfo slipped down the organizational rankings from No. 6 in 2014 to No. 24 in 2016.

After repeating a season in Kannapolis this year, Adolfo reclaimed his status among a pile of elite talent. He now sits at No. 14 in the latest MLBPipeline organizational rankings after a season in which he batted .264/.331/.453 with 16 home runs. His power surge is attributed to a revised approach and physical maturity.

Scouting reports have always lauded Adolfo’s physical makeup and while he faltered in his late teens, at 21 years old scouts have remarked on his transition to manhood. The slugger agreed to a hefty bonus ($1.6 million) in 2013 with the White Sox and Rick Hahn was pleased with Adolfo’s rapid development as a 17-year-old the following season.

“Find me some more 17-year-olds that can do what he’s done in the past year and we are going to be all right,” Hahn said in 2014. “We were obviously very high on his future when we were able to sign him a year ago. This has been a great first year for him in terms of being able to convert on that upside.”

A whopping .218 batting average and 85 strikeouts in 198 plate appearances isn’t the glittery debut that most fans expect from such an expensive product, but Hahn advised patience from all sides considering the totality of what Adolfo faced.

“…there’s a lot that goes into this transition. It’s not just how’s he performing between the lines,” Hahn said. “It’s how he’s acclimating to our nutritional program, our strength and conditioning, physically playing when he’s maybe not 100 percent and playing every day. Many of those factors are even more important to us in terms of how a player is developing at this level than his raw numbers on the field. …”

Patience is always prudent and it’s paying off for the young prospect. The biggest question is whether he will remain with the organization. Adolfo has double-plus arm strength and average speed, enough to profile as a right-fielder. But Jimenez appears to have that position sewn up for the foreseeable future.

The White Sox latest international splash was the signing of Cuban phenom Luis Robert, and after swiping Blake Rutherford from the Yankees and Luis Alexander Basabe from the Red Sox, the outfield is shrinking.

The White Sox might be partial to Adolfo, laying claim to his entire development, but with Adam Engel playing as well as he is, trade value will play a tremendous role in shaking out the future on the south side of Chicago.

Bears Get Surprising Injury News Regarding Nick Kwiatkoski

By
Erik Lambert
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nick kwiatkoski

It was a real kick to the get for the Chicago Bears when Jerrell Freeman tore his pectoral muscle in the first game of the season. Losing the captain of their defense was not going to be an easy thing to overcome. Even so there was some optimism. It was felt throughout the building that young backup Nick Kwiatkoski was more than ready and able to take his place. He started out fast against Tampa Bay, but then he too went down. With the same injury no less.

Just like that the Bears inside linebacker position was decimated. Kwiatkoski would have to join Freeman on injured reserve, leaving Danny Trevathan as the sole proven talent left at the position. Except it may not be that bad. According to head coach John Fox the team received a positive development regarding the severity of Kwiatkoski’s injury.

It’s likely the injury is either strain or a partial tear. If it were a complete tear like with Freeman he would be done for the year. Most likely it’s a Grade 2 injury. If so this means Kwiatkoski could be out for anywhere from 2-6 weeks. Clearly the Bears feel optimistic that it is the former otherwise they likely might’ve placed him on IR with a designation to return later this season.

Getting him back in a few weeks is highly preferable given what he can do to help their run defense, which to this point has played quite well. More info should be available as tests reach their conclusions.

The NHL Is Attempting To Screw The Blackhawks And Hossa, Again

By
Marc-Louis Paprzyca
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Since Marian Hossa’s health condition was announced in June there have been rumors about the NHL “investigating” the situation. It should come as no surprise to hockey fans that the NHL is up to no good and is now looking to get an independent physical examination. If the league finds something in their favor it could stop the Blackhawks from using the LTIR and receiving salary cap relief.

The Athletic’s James Mirtle stated in article yesterday, “This isn’t the first time this has happened. One source called these medical reviews “common,” although it’s unclear what exactly that means. (Other sources disputed that these medical reviews happen regularly.) What’s interesting is that two are happening at the same time this year: One with Lupul and another with Marian Hossa in Chicago. With Hossa’s case, a lot of other teams complained the Blackhawks were getting cap relief.”

The same source told Mirtle “Essentially it’s a safeguard in the CBA to make sure long-term injured reserve is not abused by the clubs.”

What a load of crap. Hossa has a real condition that has limited him from practice and games for seasons now. The Blackhawks most likely have piles of files from multiple physicians. This isn’t an abuse of the LTIR.

There weren’t any investigations against Chris Pronger being on LTIR for almost five years while simultaneously having jobs with the NHL and other teams. I’m not downplaying Pronger’s injury symptoms but I’m accentuating the league’s ability to turn a blind eye, except in the situation of the Blackhawks.

If they somehow find that Hossa doesn’t qualify to be put on the LTIR, it would be the second time they’ve changed or altered rules to hurt the Blackhawks salary cap and it involved Hossa.

Hossa signed a front-loaded contract in 2009 that saw his salary decrease every few years over the 12 years. At the time this was an acceptable practice and the cap hit was only what that player would make in that individual season.

During the 2012-13 lockout this was a subject of debate and Hossa’s name was frequently tossed around with Pronger as examples. Well, that lockout ended and a new CBA was signed, with the elimination of front-loaded contracts.

By the old rules, Hossa would only have a $1 million cap hit this season. Thanks to the new CBA rules, Hossa carries a $5.275 cap hit now.

It’s crazy how the NHL and some teams want to the keep the Blackhawks down. Everyone is benefiting when they’re winning and making money thanks to the CBA. The league has no problem using them for countless nationally televised games and more specifically, outdoor games.

The CBA is kind of like The Constitution in the fact that everyone only uses the parts that benefit them, while dismissing other portions. Teams that don’t make or spend any money complain about the Blackhawks “abusing” the LTIR but have no problems cashing checks from them as a result of the CBA.

Follow @Pappy_Hour on Twitter for more Blackhawks news and musings.

Smart Money Says This is When The Bears Start Mitch Trubisky

By
Erik Lambert
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packers players
Credit: Cleveland.com

When will the Chicago Bears start Mitch Trubisky? This is the overarching question that is the subject of every radio show, chat room and local city bar. Mike Glennon has floundered through two weeks in the starting job for the team. He failed to bring them back against the Falcons. Then he threw the game away against the Buccaneers with three bad turnovers. Fans have already seen enough.

Everything about Glennon’s game just isn’t working. His accuracy is erratic. His decision-making is puzzling at times. The inability to go for quick strikes down the field is also taking away what the Bears do best and that’s run the ball. Defenses are stacking the box with eight and even nine-man fronts. They have zero fear of Glennon trying to go deep because he doesn’t.

John Fox insisted that it’s impossible to evaluate a quarterback after just two games. Glennon needs more time to show whether he can or can’t do the job. All the while it doesn’t look like the schedule will comply as the Bears prepare to face the Steelers Sunday for a short turnaround to a Thursday Night game in Green Bay. Thus fans are left pondering. If not now then when?

Likely the Bears start Mitch Trubisky after Green Bay trip

Is there a chance Chicago can win one of the next two games? Sure. There’s always a change in the NFL. Will it happen though? Common sense says probably not. The Steelers are 2-0 to start the season and boast the kind of offensive firepower Glennon couldn’t hope to match with his conservative style. As for Green Bay they might be struggling but then tend to always find a way against the Bears.

Thus in two weeks time Chicago could be 0-4. At that point there would be little reason to continue the farce of Glennon starting. Also it would be the a great time to start Trubisky. The Bears would not play their next game until the Monday after next. That means a layoff of 10 days before the Minnesota Vikings pay a visit to Soldier Field.

JJ Stankevitz of Comcast Sportsnet tends to agree, citing league history regarding rookie QBs.

“History shows you might want to circle Week 5 or Week 6 for Trubisky’s debut.

Since 1997, there have been 33 quarterbacks taken in the first 10 picks of that year’s NFL Draft (we’re using top 10 here as a rough cutoff point for drafting a guy expected to be the future of the franchise). Trubisky and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes haven’t played yet. Among the 31 quarterbacks who have played, three waited at least one year to make their first start (Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers and Jake Locker). Of the 28 remaining quarterbacks, there’s an even split: 14 started from Game 1 of their rookie year and 14 made their first starts sometime between Games 2 and 17.

Of those 14 quarterbacks who didn’t start immediately, they on average made their first start in their team’s sixth game of the season, which for the Bears would be Oct. 15’s trip to face the Baltimore Ravens. The median of that group is Week 5, which is the Bears’ home Monday night game against the Minnesota Vikings.”

Everything about that game lines up perfectly. It’s at home where crowd noise won’t be a huge factor. Also the 10-day lull will allow the Bears coaches maximum time to get Trubisky ready, using every practice rep available to get him on the same page with the starters. It’s the best window to drop the rookie into short of the bye week, which won’t come for another month after that.

Brewers Fan Says “It’s Over” Into Camera, Javier Baez Ties Game Right In His Face

By
Aldo Soto
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Thursday night’s game between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers was beautiful. Yeah, you were probably on the verge of a heart attack, but at the end the Cubs got the last laugh winning 5-3 after Javier Baez tied the game with two outs in the ninth and Kris Bryant won it with a two-run homer in the 10th.

The Cubs magic number went down to six and the only thing that made the win better was Baez tying the game right after a Brewers fan was shown on camera repeatedly saying “it’s over,” as the Cubs were down to their final strike.

Priceless.

Beautiful.

By the way, great job of scouting Milwaukee.

Kris Bryant Put The First Nail In The Brewers Coffin

By
Aldo Soto
-

The Chicago Cubs were a strike away from blowing a 2-0 lead and see their division lead fall to two games against the Milwaukee Brewers, but a single up the middle by Javier Baez gave angsty Cubs fans some hope for a win Thursday night. An inning later, Kris Bryant crushed those same hopes for Brewers fans.

You wanted some gut-wrenching September baseball? Well, the Cubs and Brewers delivered in Game 1 of their pivotable four-game series. The comeback for the Cubs started with an infield single by Ian Happ to start the ninth. The call at first was challenged, but it stood after the review.

Happ got to second base and on 1-2 pitch with two outs Javier Baez knocked in the game-tying run.

Oh but the drama was only beginning.

Wade Davis got into a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth and then he got out of it.

Then in the 10th, the Brewers dropped a flyball and the MVP showed he’s pretty clutch after all.

Davis struck out the side in the 10th to seal the victory.

The Cubs magic number to clinch the division is six. Kris Bryant just put the first nail in the Brewers coffin.

Bears 2018 Head Coach Search Profile: Jim Harbaugh

By
Erik Lambert
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bears 2018 head coach search

Background:

Harbaugh was born in Toledo, Ohio. He attended the University of Michigan where he played quarterback and eventually became a first round pick for the Chicago Bears in 1987. He spent seven years with the team, taking them to the playoffs twice. From there he went to Indianapolis, made his lone Pro Bowl and would retire at the age of 37 in 2000.

Never one to waste time Harbaugh immediately entered the coaching ranks. In fact he’d already been doing that in his free time, helping his father Jack Harbaugh scout high school students for Western Kentucky recruiting. WSU eventually won a Division II national championship thanks to his efforts.

Two years after retiring, Harbaugh was hired by the Oakland Raiders as their quarterbacks coach in 2002. Rich Gannon would go on to have an MVP season and the Raiders reached the Super Bowl. Harbaugh parlayed that success into a head coach job at San Diego University where he’d win back-to-back Pioneer League Championships.

This drew the attention of Stanford University, who made him their head coach in 2007. It was here where Harbaugh’s fiery personality and competitiveness really came to the forefront. Along with his ability to elevate teams. With his help Stanford defeated mighty USC for the first time in six years. Under his watch the program would become the cream of the Pac-12 conference, winning the Orange Bowl in 2010 after going 12-1.

That accomplishment caused the San Francisco 49ers to offer him their head coaching job the next year. True to his history he turned a struggling franchise around overnight. The 49ers would reach three-straight conference championship games and made the Super Bowl in 2012. San Francisco never had a losing season in his four years there.

Upon his exit Harbaugh wasn’t unemployed long. His alma mater Michigan came calling with their head coaching position. He’s been there since, going 20-6 thus far in two years.

Qualifications:

Two things tended to stand out about everywhere Harbaugh landed as a head coach. His teams would play excellent defense and they would have sharp quarterback play. The quarterback part is no surprise. Harbaugh used to play the position. He speaks their language and knows exactly what it takes to make them better. Andrew Luck became a #1 pick under his tutelage at Stanford. Alex Smith had his first 3,000-yard passing season in six years when he arrived. Colin Kaepernick took him to a Super Bowl.

Stanford had the 10th ranked defense in college football during his final year there. The 49ers boasted the 4th, 3rd, 5th and 5th ranked defenses in the NFL during his stint in San Francisco. Michigan has fielded the 6th and 2nd best units in college over the past two years. The guy is no “offensive specialist.” He’s a complete football coach.

Concerns:

The biggest sticking point with Harbaugh, and perhaps the reason he went back to college is he doesn’t play nice with others. Part of the reason he only lasted four seasons in San Francisco was because he didn’t see eye-to-eye with then GM Trent Baalke over the 49ers roster. Not a surprise given his success at recruiting during his time in college before and after that. Answering to a general manager would be difficult.

Also there is the situation of his personality. Harbaugh is loud, boisterous and hot-tempered. Some feel this doesn’t fit an NFL locker room because after awhile players tend to tune that sort of stuff out. He can get away with it in college because most players leave after three or four years. This would seem to hint that hiring him would offer a possible shorter shelf life unless he’s learned a few lessons from how things went down in San Francisco.

Then there’s another problem that has started coming to the forefront of late. Despite being a former quarterback and boasting an offensive background, Harbaugh’s offenses have historically not been what one would call “elite.” During his four years in San Francisco, the 49ers were 20th or worse in total offense. His Michigan teams have never placed in the top 50 in college. The best he ever managed was 14th in 2010 at Stanford and that was with future All-Pro Andrew Luck at quarterback.

Connections:

Remember how the old saying goes. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” The mark of great head coaches is their ability to network through the football community and locate quality coaching talent. Often the best teams are defined by how good their staffs are. Having coached across the NFL and college since the mid-90s, it’s safe to say Harbaugh is well-connected.

A number of his assistants have found success over the years. David Shaw succeeded him at Stanford and won a Rose Bowl. Pep Hamilton became a successful offensive coordinator in Indianapolis before rejoining him at Michigan. Then of course there’s Vic Fangio who has slowly rebuilt the Bears defense into a respectable unit.

Bottom line:

Many Bears fans are begging Harbaugh to come to Chicago in 2018. It’s not hard to see why. He’s got Bears blood in his veins. He strikes that perfect balance of being able to develop a quarterback but also understands the value of defense. Also he exhibits a personality and competitiveness that too many coaches (Wannstedt, Jauron, Smith, Trestman and Fox) have failed to display.

Harbaugh is the shot in the arm a young team needs. He’d light a fire under this roster and the possibilities of him and Trubisky together are near limitless. The question would be can he play nice with Ryan Pace? It’s not easy to answer. Thus far Pace has shown himself to be a cooperative and patient man despite what Fox has done. The big hurdle would be whether he’d accept input on the roster. That might be the sticking point.

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