Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears This Week?
I.
Always.
Like.
THE.
Chicago.
Bears.
Caleb’s Continuation
Something occurred to me while watching Caleb Williams Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. He doesn’t look, physically, like a rookie. He has pre-snap command at the line of scrimmage, comfortability in the pocket (when one exists), and makes quick decisions.
And when I watched young Josh Allen and Cam Newton, I used to bemoan their inability to take the underneath stuff well into their second seasons. It was hero shot, run the ball, or bust. It only took Caleb four weeks to grasp that essential element of playing quarterback play in this league. Against the Rams, he put the football in the hands of his playmakers and let them make plays. This is an offense that should be nearly impossible to defend underneath.
What’s his signature flaw currently? Same as those two quarterbacks early in their careers: touch passes. He’s all fastball, but the off-speed stuff will come.
Through four games, Caleb is completing 61.7% of his passes (good), for 787 yards (projects to more than 3,300), 3/4 touchdown to interception (expected but needs improvement), and a passer rating of 72 (but trending in the right direction). It’s quickly becoming a respectable rookie season for the kid, and the next two weeks should be opportunities for him to continuation his upward trend.
Lumet IV: The Pawnbroker and Post-War Memory
The Pawnbroker (1965) is the portrait of Sol Nazerman, a Holocaust survivor operating a pawn shop in post-war New York City. As he confronts the memory of his imprisonment, and the murder of his family, he struggles to connect the human beings alive before him, on the streets and the subways of the city. It is a film about memory, and as such, it is wholly reliant on its director (Lumet) and editor (Ralph Rosenblum) collaborating to establish a technical vocabulary to represent not only memories, but the process of remembering when one prefers not to do so.
If you’re interested in reading an extensive essay on this concept, I recommend “The Representation of Trauma and Memory in The Pawnbroker” by Peter Wilshire for Off-Screen. Wilshire brilliantly connects the film’s technique with deeper studies of memory, trauma, PTSD, etc.
Any syllabus constructed around Lumet must include 12 Angry Men as the philosophical foundation of the career that follows. But as we previously discussed that film still feels an extension of his career in theater and live television. The Pawnbroker is Lumet’s first work of pure cinema, his first profound exploration of his Judaism, and his first New York City masterpiece.
Watch the below clip to see how Lumet visualizes memory.
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Reflections on Panthers vs. Bengals
- Andy Dalton has completely stabilized the Panthers offense, but everything they want to do runs through Chuba Hubbard. And Hubbard has been excellent since Dalton took over at quarterback. This is not a flashy player. Carolina is going to line up, hand the ball to Hubbard, and send him up the gut.
- Carolina’s tackling in the secondary was SHOCKING against the Bengals. Ja’Marr Chase had 85 yards Sunday, and it felt like 83 of them were after the catch. This profiles specifically as a DJ Moore game. Get the ball into his hands quickly and let him make plays.
- The Panthers have very little pass rush. (They do have a safety called Jammie Robinson, which might be in my top five NFL names.) This is not a defensive front that should be able to exploit the struggles on the OL for Chicago, but do we even know who the offensive line will be?
- Shaq Thompson’s torn Achilles is just another bad break for the franchise. On tape, he’s been their best player.
Around the League Bet (0-4)
These have been comically bad, but if you’re consistently going against me (as I recommend) you are cleaning up!
Where shall we venture this week?
TO FOGGY LONDON TOWN!
Vikings -2.5 over Jets
I watched every snap of Vikings v. Packers and Jets v. Broncos and here’s my scientific analysis: the Jets can’t block this Minnesota pass rush, and Aaron Rodgers has looked like a shell of his former self under duress over the first month of the season. I would not be surprised at all if the Vikings blow out the Jets.
I picked NYJ to win the Super Bowl, but that pick never expected the Jets newly formed OL, Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson to struggle this way. I think Brian Flores’s defense bosses this game.
Bears Under Pressure
(3) Andrew Billings. The Bears need to get better against the run and Billings is being paid to do just that. He’s been struggling physically but this game is only close if the Panthers can sustain drives on the ground.
(2) Shane Waldron. The Panthers are allowing 32.3 points per game, ranking them last in the league. And the gap between 31st and 32nd is a substantial 2.5 points. This is not a game the Bears should win 20-13. This is a game, in their own building, where the Bears should be putting a 30 on the board.
(1) Darnell Wright. He simply has to be better if the Bears are going to play in the tournament come January.
Tomorrow: Game Prediction!
(By the way, folks. In case you haven’t noticed…I’m back.)
