Maciej Kasperowicz is a special cinematic correspondent for DaBearsBlog. He’s also a good friend, a dedicated Bears fan/Josie Woods loyalist and the voice I trust most when it comes to all things movies. 

Hello again. Welcome to the Marc Colombo of DaBearsBlog posts: super long, shows up like once a year, don’t know why you’d really have any expectations of it by this point.

It was a weird year for movies, have you heard? But much like every regular year, about a million movies came out, and you could watch rather many of them at home. Two weeks after my second vaccine a few weeks ago I went to two different movie theaters, and then went to three more the following week, so I’m incredibly thrilled theaters are back. But I didn’t find it remotely hard to watch movies at home, and it’s one of the things that kept my brain even sorta centered in 2020. I watched 450 or so movies at home, new and old, in the year or so between theater trips.

What the fuck else did I have to do?

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The Oscars decided at some point last year to hope against hope that movie theaters would be open early this year and extended their eligibility period, though the open theaters never really came in significant numbers. That’s why movies like Minari, Judas and the Black Messiah, and The Father, which came out in 2021 for anybody that’s not a movie critic are represented here. All in all, it’s a pretty regular-seeming Oscar lineup, missing only a few embarrassing below the line nominations for a shitty Star Wars movie (Birds of Prey got robbed in costumes though).

Instead of shoehorning further Bears metaphors, this year I went with a little preview of the big categories to make your viewing of the Oscars (directed by Steven Soderbergh) slightly more informed.

But first…

A Note About Oscar Pools

I’m very far from an experienced gambler, and this is not a gambling advice article so the owner of this here site can probably correct me, but I think an Oscar pool works pretty similarly to a March Madness pool. If you’re in a small pool with like a dozen friends or co-workers (and they’re not Oscar obsessives), it’s probably smartest to just pick pretty close to chalk and trust that they’ll make picks for sillier reasons (like their perception of quality). There will be surprises for sure, but your average friend probably isn’t going to do that much better than the experts. Does that suck the fun out if it? Maybe. But winning is fun.

If you’re looking to win a pool with like 1000 ballots, you’re probably going to have to go bigger. One route could be picking longer shots in all categories that have less consensus, like the shorts, Best Actress, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing.

Another could be betting on individual films over-performing. No one thought Ford vs. Ferrari was a Best Picture threat last year, but it beat 1917 for Sound Editing and all the heavy hitters for Editing. Maybe everyone likes The Father enough this year that it takes Best Editing and Adapted Screenplay? Maybe everyone’s wrong about the apathy towards Mank and it takes not only Production Design (where it’s favored), but also other below the line awards like Costumes, Makeup, and Cinematography. Don’t get too cute, take your free squares (Boseman for Best Actor, Chloe Zhao for Director, Soul for Animated, Sound of Metal for Sound, Another Round for International), but find a way to differentiate if the field is huge.

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Best Supporting Actor

If you pay a lot of attention to folks that write about the Oscars, you’ll often hear the phrase “category fraud” used to refer to actors in obvious leading roles pushed in the supporting categories where they’re more likely to win. This year we get both Judas (Lakeith Stanfield) and the Black Messiah (Daniel Kaluuya) from the film Judas and the Black Messiah as supporting actors, which is really funny. I think Kaluuya is the better of the two and a really great performance in general. Between this, Get Out, and Widows, Kaluuya’s firmly established himself as one of the best actors in the world, and I’ll be happy to see him get his Oscar here, despite it being a lead role.

The most obvious-seeming potential spoiler for Kaluuya (esp. after the vote-splitting possible after Stanfield’s surprise nomination) is Sacha Baron-Cohen in the Trial of the Chicago 7. The nicest thing I can say is that I don’t think he’s as terrible in that movie as Eddie Redmayne and Jeremy Strong. Or maybe it’s that I find it hard to separate his acting from how much I hate the screenplay. Regardless, this is SNL-level shit at best.

Read More …

If the Bears stand pat at the twentieth overall selection, there is a range of potential impact players that will be available to them. Today, some links featuring those names.

• Teven Jenkins, from KSNT in Kansas: “The biggest obstacle ever I feel like to me is when my mother passed when I was eight years old,” says Jenkins. “She passed away from breast cancer and that was the biggest obstacle for me and through the rest of my life there hasn’t even been anything close to that.”
• There are crazily three legacy corners in this draft, all projected to go in round one. Patrick Surtain II and Asante Samuel Jr. are self-explanatory. Jaycee Horn is the son of Joe Horn. Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post breaks down the corner class, which will interest the CB-needy Chicago Bears.
• Rashod Bateman’s decision to opt out of the 2020 college football season has come under scrutiny by NFL front offices. Per SI, he believes the decision made him a better man.
• The Bears have a good running back in David Montgomery. But there are two backs in this draft – Travis Etienne and Najee Harris – that would be electric additions to Matt Nagy’s offense. The Democrat & Chronicle (Western NY) believes Etienne is the home run hitter the Bills need. Could he be the same in Chicago?
• The Bears love their southeastern scouts. And there’s a pass rusher out of Georgia – Azeez Ojulari – that is climbing many draft boards. There have even been some comparisons to Steelers’ legend Joey Porter. If there are even slight Porter-ish vibes, the Bears shouldn’t let a minute come off their draft clock.

Good morning Twitter.

If you don’t put Devin Hester in the Hall of Fame, the Hall of Fame is a fucking joke. pic.twitter.com/hm1zAz4Mlc

— DaBearsBlog (@dabearsblog) April 19, 2021

It was the way Brad Biggs worded his Tweet that caught me somewhat off-guard.

It seems unbelievable Ryan Pace & Matt Nagy sold George McCaskey on the idea of just casting their lot with a bridge QB.

Surely, signing Andy Dalton is Part 1 of a 2-part plan & the #Bears might not be able to sit and wait for Part 2 at No. 20 in Round 1https://t.co/1BjpD1xdxk

— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) April 15, 2021

It seems unbelievable because it is, in fact, not believable. The Bears just spent more than a month negotiating with the Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson, only to have that deal be shanked in the prison yard by Pete Carroll. (And some high-profile NFL reporters still don’t believe the deal is dead.)

The Bears have been one of a handful of teams still in contact with the Houston Texans regarding Deshaun Watson – a player many in the league believe will not face serious legal issues beyond the current civil complaints. In the short-term, dealing for Watson would be a bit of a PR nightmare. (“Yes, he rubbed his dick on the masseuse but…” is a tough sell in any climate, especially our current one.) In the long-term? I don’t hear Chiefs fans complaining about having Tyreek Hill on their roster and what he did is far worse than what Watson is accused of doing.

And now the team is actively trying to make a huge leap in the draft, to as high as number four, to “solve” their issues at the most important position in team sports.

This is not new for the Chicago Bears. Despite what is constantly uttered about the team’s ownership, they have been aggressively trying to get this position right for decades. An early first for McNown. Didn’t work. So…a mid-first for Rex. Didn’t work. So…multiple firsts for Jay. Didn’t work. So…trading up one spot in the early first for Mitch. Didn’t work. So…we’re here. They have committed resource after resource after resource in an effort to avoid being what they remain: one of many teams trying to escape mediocrity without the help of a star quarterback.

And that’s what the team is doing now. Still trying to pursue Wilson. Still calling about Watson. Still packaging what they can to move up in the draft. Ryan Pace is doing EVERYTHING he can to solve this organization’s biggest problem. Whether he can do enough is something we won’t know for a while.

First Round: Teven Jenkins, OT, Oklahoma State

Second Round: Anthony Schwartz, WR, Auburn

Very little happening. Here are some links.

• Adam Jahns, fresh from vacation, posits what the Bears could look like if Ryan Pace had been perfect when it comes to the draft. (He openly admits that no GM is perfect – or anywhere near it – but it’s still a fun exercise to read.) The truth? Pace didn’t have to be perfect. He just had to get quarterback correct.
• WCG must have an ESPN+ subscription because they let us know who Mel Kiper projects to the Bears in both rounds one and two. (I pay for Jahnsy. That’s enough.) The players? OT Teven Jenkins and WR Anthony Schwartz.
• Patrick Finley of the Sun-Times does a breakdown of the four QBs who should be available day two and beyond. We’ve discussed three ad nauseum. Mond. Mills. Trask. But Finley sneaks in another name: Notre Dame’s Ian Book. His breakdown: “The skinny: Book isn’t a Day 2 pick unless a team overlooks his measurables and sees a two-time captain who had more success than almost any passer in Notre Dame history. He’s probably at the top of the Day 3 quarterback tier, which includes Texas’ Sam Ehlinger — Tom Herman, his former head coach, now works for the Bears — and former Wake Forest quarterback Jamie Newman.”
• ACTUAL BEAR NEWS! This USA Today piece has nice video of a “curious” bear being chased away from a home by two “mighty” guard dogs.
• Nice Brad Biggs piece on lengendary strength coach Clyde Emrich – one of the rare individuals connected to the team’s titles in both 1963 and 1985. Emrich just turned 90. You’ll probably have to pay to read this. But the Tribune is worth paying for because you get Rick Pearson in the deal.
• There is a movie called Thunder Force. It is apparently terrible. And in this terrible movie, a character named “Lydia goes on a long rant about the Chicago Bears’ 1985 season.” Perhaps it’s time to simply retire all things ’85 Bears for the foreseeable future. Haven’t we drained all the milk we’re gonna get from that cow.

Good morning Twitter.

Bears want that fourth pick. pic.twitter.com/bkSWy6W3Bo

— DaBearsBlog (@dabearsblog) April 9, 2021

There has been tremendous debate about Kyle Trask among scouting types. No one doubts his arm but his athleticism has called his future into question. From my perspective, he’s worth the risk any time after the first round. Here is analysis from the great Lance Zierlein at NFL.com:

Strengths

• Prototypical size to stand tall and fire from the pocket
• Made substantial production gains across the board in 2020.
• Enabled team to open up game plan in 2020.
• Became the first FBS quarterback in 15 years to post three or more TD passes in nine consecutive games.
• Stepped up against Alabama in SEC Championship Game.
• Able to pump and reset against baiting coverage.
• Feels edge pressure and climbs to free space in pocket.
• Gets back into passing platform when moving outside the pocket.
• Arm strength to whip field-side deep outs with no issues.
• Tardy safeties will find a willing challenger over the top.
• Talented downfield passer with touch and accuracy.
• Can attack one-on-ones and place deep throw where it needs to go.
• Fairly accurate even when feet are not set.

Read More …

During league meetings this week, NFL owners overwhelmingly approved the 17-game schedule.

But the landmark move did not come without opposition as Bears chairman George McCaskey voted against the measure.https://t.co/cYcc6hnT0X

— Chicago Tribune Sports (@ChicagoSports) April 1, 2021

This was apparently a near-unanimous vote. So the question becomes why didn’t George want that 17th game? Was he siding with the players? More to come…

Andy Dalton is a middle of the road quarterback.

Ryan Pace knows Dalton is a middle of the road quarterback.

Matt Nagy knows Dalton is a middle of the road quarterback.

George McCaskey and Ted Phillips know Dalton is a middle of the road quarterback.

And that is why none of these men can possibly believe Dalton is a pathway out of the mediocrity of the last two seasons. None of these men can possibly think Dalton – even replacing the ineptitude of “the former guy” – is the missing piece in a Super Bowl puzzle. And in the cases of Pace, Nagy and perhaps even Phillips, they can’t possibly imagine Dalton is worth risking their tenures within the organization.

To believe any of that nonsense would show that everyone in a position of authority at Halas Hall has lost their collective minds. And if that’s case, what hope do any of us have?

So we must believe Pace, Nagy, Phillips and McCaskey have not lost their minds. We must believe they understand the Bears must still solve the most important position in team sports. We must believe they know there are only two ways to inspire this fanbase for the coming season: Russell Wilson or a first-round (or very early second-round) quarterback.

Bears fans have grown impatient, and with every right. But until we know if either Wilson or a top prospect are achieved, there is no reason to be decisive about this Bears off-season. That time, however, is rapidly approaching.