Bears fans are very excited about what theyre hearing from new GM Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox. While Pace and new personnel director Josh Lucas are going to the Senior Bowl, Coach Fox is hiring his staff. He hired long time Special Teams coach Jeff Rodgers. While Rodgers has been with Fox in Carolina and Denver, Bears fans are doing cartwheels after the hiring of Vic Fangio as Defensive Coordinator. He turned a sorry 49ers defense into something special. He is creative and is known for designing exotic blitzes. Fangio generally runs a 3-4 defense but the Bears dont quite have the personnel for that scheme right now. Fangio and Fox are expected to transition the defense over the next year or two. Right now the nose tackle spot is either going to Jeremiah Ratliff or Ego Ferguson. Those who cover the Bears say the move to a 3-4 may save LB Shea McClelllins career. He was a dominant outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme at Boise State. The question is: Where does Jared Allen and Jonathan Bostic fit in? Fangio believes in man-to-man coverage not zone. Thats perfect for corners Kyle Fuller and Tim Jennings, both should flourish under this new defensive system. Ed Donatell is coming in as the Defensive Secondary coach. He will be assisted by Sam Garnes. Fangios style shows an offense one thing and runs something else after the snap, very confusing to the opponent. Fangio is also a terrific teacher. While running the Stanford defense, he turned a talented wide receiver into the NFLs best cornerback. Perhaps youve heard of him.... Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks. There are lots of personnel changes coming to the defense. While all Bears fans are thankful that Mel Tucker is looking for another job, the problems with his unit was as much about the poor players former GM Phil Emery acquired. Look for GM Pace and Coach Fox to bring Brian Urlacher back to the Bears in some capacity. Possibly as a defensive assistant coach. They said #54 was mistreated by the previous regime. Linebacker and Defensive line coaches will soon be hired. Fox also decided to bringing in a Derion Swinton II as an Assistant Special Teams Coach. I like how Fox is being allowed to bring in more than one coach for each position. The Bears need all the teachers they can get. Fox has started assembling his offensive coaching staff. Adam Gase assumes the role of Offensive Coordinator. Gase had the same job under Fox in Denver. Dave Magazu is handling the Offensive Line. He helped turn members of the Broncos offensive line into All-Pros. Receivers and Running Backs coaches are next. Now the focus turns to player evaluations. Expect numerous changes over the next six weeks. The best quotes this week. Jon Fox saying That trophy in the lobby looks lonely. Referring to the Super Bowl Trophy. George McCaskey also said this week.... During a family function everyone noticed most of the great Bears photos are in black and white.. and he said That needs to change. He also said.. He will not interfere with Ryan Pace and John Fox. Now thats good news. The Bears also announced season ticket prices are not going up this year. Fans shouldnt expect the Bears to be a playoff team next year. The mess Pace and Fox need to clean up is far worse than many believed. But you never know. Fans should expect a more competitive team. Meantime Bears tight end Martellus Bennett was added to the Pro-Bowl. He replaces New England tight end Rob Gronkowski. Bennett is the first tight end since Mike Ditka to make the Pro-Bowl. He joins right guard Kyle Long in Arizona. Finally former Bears head coach Marc Trestman is the Baltimore Ravens new Offensive Coordinator and Joe DeCamillas is now running Denvers Special Teams. Blackhawks fans need to relax. They are going through the normal peaks and valleys of a long season. They lost to Winnipeg and Dallas over the weekend but it wasnt because they didnt try. The defense struggled and the offense ran into a pair of hot goalies. These things happen. Forward Danny Carcillo was suspended for six games after a cross check last Thursday on the Jets Matthieu Perrarault. Funny how the NHL works. The Jets were taking physical liberties against the Hawks but when the home team answered back, they were penalized. One of the penalties included a cross check on Duncan Keith who was without a stick at the time. The Hawks lost a power play when Bryan Bickell was given 2:00 for embellishment. The NHL later told the Hawks... Bickell didnt flop. Thats the second time thats happened this season. During the two losses Corey Crawford was in goal and of course, fans are blaming number 50 for the losses. While Crawford hasnt been great.. hes been just fine. The players in front of him have been a problem. I dont think we need to worry. Coach Q and his assistants made the moves that led to a dominant win over Arizona Tuesday night. First Q mixed up the defensive pairings forcing better communication. That helped Antti Raanta win. Meantime the offense was simply sensational... Jonathan Toews got the scoring started with a power play goal. Andrew Shaw scored twice, Teuvo Teravainen found the back of the net again. David Runblad also scored and Patrick Kane picked up career goal number 200. Last night in Pittsburgh the Blackhawks won 3-2 in a shoot out. Marian Hossa and David Runblad scored in regulation. Then in the shootout Jonathan Toews provided the one-two punch needed for victory. Meantime Corey Crawford shutdown the Penguins in the shootout. The NHL All-Star break is upon us... Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Corey Crawford will be in Columbus. Ohio. If you think Blackhawks fans are upset... you should be hearing Bulls fans. Especially when you consider how well Derek Rose is playing. The biggest problems are on defense. Monday night, they looked lousy during a loss in Cleveland. It doesnt help Joakim Noah and Mike Dunleavy are both hurt. But the defense looks terrible and the work ethic right now isnt very good. Derek Rose complained about team chemistry after the loss to the Cavaliers. Things are so bad... rumors are starting to swirl around the future of head coach Tom Thibodeau. Tonight the Bulls are at home against San Antonio. Fans reading this note in Chicago should call ahead to find out if Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili or any of the Spurs stars are playing. This is one of those games that Coach Gregg Popovich may choose to rest his veterans. Tomorrow night I know many of our great Chicago fans will be at the Bulls - Mavericks game in Dallas. The Bulls host Miami on Sunday. The Cubs acquired center fielder Dexter Fowler from Houston in exchange for infielder Luis Valbuena and pitcher Dan Straily. Meantime, the mess around Wrigley Field wont be cleaned up before the season starts. Word is the bleachers wont be ready until May. Then there are the owners of two businesses who operate two Wrigley rooftops. They sued the Cubs and team chairman Tom Ricketts Tuesday, accusing the team of breaching the terms of its revenue-sharing contract, engaging in deceptive business practices and acting in violation of anti-trust laws. The White Sox are getting things in order including re-signing catcher Tyler Flowers for next season. By the way thousands of fans will be attending Sox Fest this weekend. The smart people who cover baseball in Chicago believe theres a better chance to see playoff games on the south side this season. While they acknowledge the moves on the north side have been good, the White Sox actually look like theyre ready for success. Well start to find out in a few weeks when the two teams report to Spring Training in Arizona. Go Hawks and Bear Down, Rich
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 13:00:10 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015