Double Doink

We go through life fighting failure.  We win some, we lose some, day after day until we run out of days.  Sports offers relief from the daily grind while amplifying it at the same time.  Except in sports, success after failure is called “redemption.”  Don’t ask me why.

 

Bears’ kicker Cody Parkey had a chance at redemption last night against the Eagles.  Parkey is the latest in a line of kickers who’s proven unable to replace Robbie Gould, released before the start of the 2016 season and in the stands at Soldier Field yesterday as a fan.  The thing about Parkey this year as opposed to the other replacement kickers in other years has been the number of kicks to hit the uprights, five (three PATs and two FGAs).  Last night made six, a 43-yard attempt in the final seconds that hit the left upright, then bounced off the crossbar.  If the ball goes backwards, the Bears win; it bounced forward.  Hence, that’s the way the ball bounces.

 

There was plenty of non-kicking blame to go around for the loss.  That vaunted Bears’ defense allowed two touchdowns exactly when Philadelphia needed them; both times, Eagles’ quarterback Nick Foles operated in a pocket that kept the Bears far, far away.  And let’s not forget the offense.

 

Head coach Matt Nagy got conservative at the worst time.  I counted at least four sideline and shuffle passes.  Why?  Those could have been four carries by Jordan Howard to establish the run or, better yet, four throws over the middle by Bears’ QB Mitch Trubisky.  Why better yet?  Because Trubisky showed he could perform under pressure, completing 13 of 20 second-half passes for 198 yards and a touchdown.  Why couldn’t Trubisky do that in the first half?  Because his coach was enamored of shovel passes to go with sideline throws and end-arounds.

 

Nagy learns from this and lets Trubisky throw downfield more (you know, like Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady or Drew Brees), or he wears out his welcome within the next two seasons.  That said, let’s not forget the good news to come out of the game—Manny Machado was rumored to be at Soldier Field in the company of White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

 

 Now, that would’ve been depressing if true, and it wasn’t.