We return each year,
Fans of our beloved Bears.
And nothing changes.
New Orleans Saints 26, Chicago Bears 16
Haiku Game Preview: Bears at Saints in Week Nine
New Orleans Saints 26, Chicago Bears 16
Stan, an objective fan of the Chicago Bears, can’t sleep. Retired for over a year, and widowed for slightly longer, he spends the late hours of the evenings listening to Chicago sports radio and giving fake interviews to the hosts about his beloved franchise, hoping his endless droning will trick him into slumber. It never works.
Knowing his local dive is open at 7 AM and knowing a few of the fellas who might frequent the tavern at that hour, Stan wanders around the corner. When he enters, only one seat is occupied, by a younger man, eagerly scrolling on his cell phone, adorned in a #1 Justin Field jersey.
Sheila, beautiful and pregnant, is behind the bar. She hasn’t turned on the tavern’s only television because she can’t find the remote.
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Sheila: What are you doing here?
Stan: You have coffee on?
Sheila: Yep. Gonna put in a breakfast order from The Greeks, you want anything?
Stan: No, I’m okay.
Sheila (to #1): How about you?
#1: Nah, I’m good.
Stan (sitting beside #1): Good game Sunday, huh?
#1: Yea, they finally got a win.
Stan: The kid quarterback played well too.
#1: (Reluctantly) Sure. (Then) He could actually be a good backup down the road.
Stan: Why do you say that?
#1: Say what?
Stan: Why do you say he could only be a good backup?
#1: Did you see his stats? (#1 holds up his phone to Stan, where he’d be staring at the Tyson Bagent completion chart on Twitter.) He didn’t complete a pass more than 15 yards downfield.
I.
Always.
Like.
THE.
Chicago.
Bears.
Here’s how I am choosing to treat the Justin Fields injury: it’s a relief. The Justin Fields conversation was growing more tedious by the day. Tyson Bagent provides three opportunities.
First, he could be a long-term backup option for this organization. Those guys are invaluable.
Second, it will be interesting to see how the offense runs when run correctly. There was a noticeable difference, a flow, when Bagent entered the game Sunday. He was limited, of course, by his physical abilities, but the offense moved the ball with more cohesion after Fields exited. The ball was out quick, on-time, in the hands of playmakers. Let’s see if that continues.
Third, the longshot: what if he’s good? What if he goes out Sunday and puts up a 27-38, 310, 2? I know, I know, he’s an undrafted free agent, Jeff! But don’t we have enough evidence to prove NFL franchises are clueless when it comes to evaluating college quarterbacks? And is being an UDFA really all that different than being Mr. Irrelevant, like the fella in San Francisco?
The Sun-Times caught hell for their cover, but Bagent makes Sunday’s game against the Raiders more fun for this aging Bears blogger. My story is written on Fields.
(10) The Siamese Cats, Lady and the Tramp (1955)
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(9) All 52 Cats of Grey Gardens, Grey Gardens (1975)
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(8) The one on Marlon Brando’s Lap, The Godfather (1972)
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(7) Blofeld’s Cat, From Russia with Love (1963)
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(6) Cheshire Cat – played by Telly Savalas, Alice in Wonderland (1985)
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(5) Thomas O’Malley, The Artistocats (1970)
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(4) Oliver, Oliver & Company (1988)
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(3) Garfield, Garfield’s Thanksgiving (1989)
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(2) The Cat, Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
A cat so interesting it has caused the brilliant Dana Stevens, who wrote an essential book on Buster Keaton, to pen think pieces for The Atlantic about it.
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(1) The Orange Guy, The Long Goodbye (1973)
Is this the best sentence ever found on the internet, re: The Long Goodbye? “Another website claims the cat was played by a feline thespian named Chauncey Scratchet.”
I.
Always.
Like.
THE.
Chicago.
Bears.
Thought experiment.
Pretend Matt Eberflus’ brain didn’t turn to hot soup against the Denver Broncos and the Bears won that ballgame. The team would be 2-3, on the periphery of the wildcard conversation, with a chance to win their third straight against a Justin Jefferson-less Minnesota Vikings this Sunday. This would be a massive contest.
But Eberflus’ brain did turn to split pea, and this is not a massive contest. But that doesn’t mean it is unimportant. Just remember, if the Bears win Sunday, they will be 2-4, with a mediocre Raiders team coming to town next week, bringing with them a big, shiny opportunity to be 3-4. And isn’t hovering around .500 with an improving Justin Fields exactly what most of us expected from this campaign?
The Bears could not lose that Broncos game. And they did. Because of that, they needed to win the next three in order to insert relevance into their season.
Washington. √
Minnesota. [ ]
Los Angeles [ ]
