Saturday, December 28, 2013

John Gruden has been mentioned as being interested in the University of Texas head coaching job. Would he consider the University coaching job? There are many of us long suffering 'Canes fans who would love to go back to the Big East days when the football team owned the conference.
Al Golden's version looks like the Chicago Bears, score a lot of points and give up as many. And as bad as the last two coaches were, Randy Shannon and Larry Coker they didn't lose to Duke. Randy Shannon had some of the best recruiting classes in his four years (2007-2010) and Larry Coker had Butch Davis players when he left to coach the Cleveland Browns. A case of winning with another coaches players which happened each time a coach left the school for the NFL. Coker parlayed that into two national championship appearances.

Former coach Jimmy Johnson who'd won a National Title at Miami with Current Bears Coach Mark Trestman, also won a superbowl in the NFL. So it can be said that a program like Miami needs a coach with NFL credentials like John Gruden or NFL potential. Both Coker are and Shannon are still in college as football coaches/coordinators.

Goldens bunch gave up 554 yards to Louisville in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Alumnus Ray Lewis was probably did what other 'Cane fans did and turned the television off halfway through the debacle. Granted Teddy Bridgewater is a first round pick in the NFL but being that Miami is a high profile program against another high profile program you can see the recruits who used to think a letter from Miami meant a direct route to the NFL is looking at them as a middle of the pack team. That doesn't bode well for the 'Canes future. Grudens number should be on the speed dial and the call should have been made before halftime.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Chicago, Il. Week 52


In Theo We Trust.

The Cubs have been criticized for the choices they’ve made since the new ownership and now the the management of the team since the end of the Jim Hendry days. Funny that it took a massive season ending choke job by the Red Sox in 2011 to get Theo here. A choke surpassing the choke job of the ’69 Cubs.

Since he’s been here he’s signed and traded nearly every free agent for draft picks and minor leaguers. Let Ryne Sanberg slip through his hands. He’s yet to trade away Castro who has gotten now two managers and counting fired. It’s possible to say that when/if this team starts winning it might be in spite of Theo.

Being shouted out by Scott Boras the fact that a team that actually made money last year through a second straight losing season. A large market team like the Cubs are not in the market for any big name free agents besides possibly considering a Japanese pitcher who won twenty four games last year. Which team isn’t looking at him?

For once I agree with this strategy. I never liked the mid season sell offs of veterans unless it meant winning or losing a division. I believe the Cubs are still short of talent for the long term winning they profess. Certainly one good year could win it for anyone.

Rich Rodriguez an underwhelming signing by the Cubs may just a baseball genius according to whatever matrix Epstein and staff are using. Maybe he has an ability to teach young players particularly Latin players but coming from the National League West where all the pomp and circumstance is due to Hollywood and not talent. Though the National League West has won two recent Championships, league play hardly includes the difficulty of three playoff contenders every year.

The Cubs only chance is to win the National League Central. The Wild Card system is a disaster. The current talent in the minors will certainly bring a burst of success which will just as quickly burn out. Will a World Series come from this? We can hope. My prediction is the burst will begin in 2015 and burn out by 2020. The losing will then return to the north side. By then Cub fans will return to comfortably numb.
Festivus For The Rest Of Us.

It can be said the NFL has become a league geared towards offense. A team would almost be lucky to go through a season like this one without having given up thirty points. Any explanation for the league turning into the NBA?
Teams would kill to have a defense like the one Lovie Smith built. But as clueless as he was on offense is as clueless the rest of the league is on defense.

Case in point the Bears haven’t given up less than twenty points at any time this season. That doesn’t sound like much but considering they gave up fifty four on Sunday night and thirty one the week before we would take a twenty point average.

The city has been worrying about how the new offense would work out sure that the defense would be fine without Smith or Urlacher.

Going into the game against the Eagles the Bears were on track to give up the most yards in franchise history. Also on par to break offensive records that have held since the forties and fifties.

There’ll be a lot of could’ve. Would’ve. Should’ve going on in the locker-room this week. A week full of positive vibes from publicity . Charitable work. Squashing of supposed beefs between quarterbacks in a contract year. Me once being a Jay Cutler apologist has suddenly changed my tune. But I also said we should have drafted a back up on this last draft.

How often do you go into a game with a win and you’re in scenario against a team who gave up forty eight points last week against Minnesota? The Bears on prime time not only lay an egg but in such a fashion they cannot even start to think about Green Bay next week. For the next several days they Bears should  do nothing. Cancel all appearances. Stay away from the radio and television. Don’t even show their faces around town. Throw out the video of this game. No need to be reminded how bad they are.

Like the famous Seinfeld episode where everyone else is having a merry Christmas they should be reviewing  everything. Every stupid loss. Detroit twice. Minnesota. St. Louis. And how badly they played in nearly losing to Cleveland of all teams. The many ways they found to lose. With a Super Bowl type offense and a historically inept defense. I wouldn’t want to sit through another Trestman press conference which is worse than a Buddah like experience of a Lovie Smith put us through.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t miss the man but I don’t remember him ever losing this badly.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Bulls fans never fear. We do have the talent to turn this into a winning season. We just have to be patient. After the dismantling of the two top teams in the east in Miami and Indiana I believe the Bulls were they in the playoffs the could win more than one series if they get their heads in oreder and let the loss of Derrick Rose go. Management handled him poorly so there should be no guilt on the part of the players. Dunleavy was a great signing and Tony Snell was a great draft pick. I only wish we had held onto Nate Robinson and let retire a Bull. But never fear the Bulls will be in it one way or the other. In Thibs we trust.
This years football season in Chicago should not be put on Trestmans back. Though I cannot listen to the man talk because he reminds me of a school administrator his offense is much better than when Lovie Smith was here and he has a defense racked with injuries. It would be great to win the lats four games which I think wont happen. We'll get blown out by Dallas and Philly, sqeak out winners against Cleveland and Green Bay if Rodgers isn't back. I say that only if we do not continue to give up 150 yards on the ground in either of those games. Talent wise we are as good as any team in the league but we are an aging team. Within a couple of years we will be the Monsters of the Midway again. It is worth the wait unlike the wait for the Cubs to get their act in order or for Derrick Rose to play a full season. I would give Trestman the grade of a B- for this year with the success of the offense. I can't put the defense on him.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

I see you guys (Cleveland) like signing former Bears backups. I said Jason Campbell sucked but you guys like him. Now you got Caleb Hanie another one of our backups. You better hope you don't need him. That dude really sucks. He has a lot of potential but I think he was scared shitless when we threw him in there. I hope he does well for you guys. I liked the kid but he couldn't win for us.

On the Derridck Rose thing I think the Bulls did go very wrong with him. I think they should have brought him off the bench instead of putting him in there right away for entire games. And letting Nate Robinson go was just dumb.