I.
Always.
Like.
THE.
Chicago.
Bears.
If Jayden Daniels doesn’t play Sunday, and the oddsmakers seem to believe he won’t, it is a massive bummer for the entirety of the NFL. The Washington Commanders (nee Redskins) and Chicago Bears are two of the proudest franchises in the sport, and the league is better when both are winning. Roger Goodell and the boys were going to use this game to promote and celebrate two players – Daniels and Caleb Williams – they expect to be the face of the league for the next decade. And there was a strong chance Bears at Commanders, kicking off at 4:25 PM ET, would be the highest rated day game all season.
Now, who knows? The game is still important. The rating will still be solid. But if Daniels doesn’t play, it loses half of its luster, half of its star power. And personally, I was excited to see both of them in-person, on the same field, and paid a hefty price for that honor. Marcus Mariota’s name on the marquee doesn’t create lines at the box office.
Football is taking center stage so I will bypass Lumet VI, which was to focus on his collaborations with Sean Connery and general work abroad. Four films should not be ignored, however, in this regard. The Hill (1965) is a brilliant moral tale, reflective of Lumet’s own conflicted time in the service. The Anderson Tapes (1971) is Lumet’s minor-yet-noteworthy entry into the paranoia cinema of the 1970s. The Offence (1973) is a complicated revelation, especially for Ian Bannen’s brilliant turn as the potential killer. And Murder on the Orient Express (1974) is a cinematic tour de force, another breathtaking example of Lumet’s genius for shooting in the confined space.
Audibles used to be reserved for just links involving the Chicago Bears, but today we’ll branch out beyond the Bears, to the entire league.
Bill and Jim sit on a park bench, holding cups of coffee acquired from their local diner. Coffee, to them, is a ritual, an experience to be savored. It would not be uncommon for them to nurse those cups of coffee over the span of many hours. They don’t see the coffee as getting cold. They see that as the natural progression of things. From hot, to lukewarm, to cold. That’s simply what life offers.
Both men have thick Chicago accents.
__________
Bill: What is it the man said about pornography?
Jim: I know it when I see it.
Bill: He wasn’t wrong.
Jim: No, he was not.
Bill: You ever wonder about birds?
Jim: Birds?
Bill: Birds.
Jim: No, I never wonder about birds.
Bill: I wonder about birds.
Jim: What is it you wonder?
Bill: I wonder if they know what’s going on.
Jim: Going on where?
Bill: Here. Over there. All around.
Jim: You mean, do the birds know we’re two guys having a coffee and a conversation?
Bill: If you want.
Jim: No, I doubt they do.
Bill: So you think the whole world is just random to birds?
Jim: I think that’s a fair assessment.
The early part of the season has belonged to the 5-0 Minnesota Vikings, the most surprising team in the NFL. But if they lose Sunday, Minnesota will relinquish the top spot in the NFC North and suddenly be thrust into the middle of the best division in the league.
Coming into this season, Detroit was the betting favorite to find themselves representing the NFC in the Super Bowl. Last Sunday was bittersweet for the club; they thoroughly humiliated Dallas but lost one of the best defensive players in the league.
Early season NFL games don’t get much better than this. I think the Lions make a statement and realign the conference stars.
Lions 34, Vikings 24
Matt LaFleur has masterfully kept the Packers above water, even with a temporarily injured quarterback and a temperamental wide receiver. Through six weeks of the season, he’s my coach of the year.
The Texans are 5-1 and look like they’ll have the AFC South locked down well before Macy’s inflates the Snoopy balloon. They bring to Green Bay one of the league’s best pass rushes, but Green Bay might have the best pass protection in the league. If Houston doesn’t win on the edge, they don’t win.
Packers 26, Texans 20
The Bears are good. But what else is happening around the NFL?