I’m bummed this is a Bearless weekend. It couldn’t have arrived at a worse time. I wanted another chance to bet on a Lovie Smith opponent while he’s hot.
There isn’t a poker player alive who can leave the table when the dealer dishes him two straight smoking hands as Smitty has done, losing two in a row as a home favorite.
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You know how I hate to be an “I told you so” guy, but a Redskins victory — thus, a cover — confidently was forecast in this space last week. The only prediction I can make about the McCaskey Shufflers today is that on Wednesday of next week, offensive coordinator Mike Martz will be glowing about how his unit is sparkling at Halas Hall. He might even describe the job that linemaster Mike Tice is doing as “remarkable” for a third straight week.
Veteran coaches in Lake Forest need some media training. Bears fans read and hear this stuff. Stop it. And the same invitation to stop promulgating propaganda is extended to media brethren, some of whom have agreed the Bears made progress in the second half against the Redskins.
No tip of the cap is warranted just because Martz had Jay Cutler take shorter drops and hit on a few short slants. Or because Chester Taylor’s weekly cameo included two nice runs in succession.
The Bears are almost halfway home and it was evident early (the first half of the Cowboys game in Week 2 comes to mind) that they cannot protect Cutler in a Martzian world of seven-step drops. I prefer it when coaches make changes as the need arises, not after watching the master plan go limp for most of the previous six games.
Oh, the turnovers. Six of ’em. Kind of steps on my “second-half progress” buzz.
In a league in which outcomes are decided mostly on giveaways and takeaways, Cutler threw four interceptions and lost a fumble. Well, he didn’t really lose the fumble. He scored a touchdown, but Smith, who has been right on just 31 percent of his challenges as Bears headmaster, didn’t have the stomach for tossing the red flag after losing a challenge on the previous play.
Matt Forte lost another fumble. He does that.
Giving kudos for a few positive plays is the football equivalent of saying you feel well, despite the six malignant tumors.
So without an investment opportunity on the oddly 4-3 Bears, I’ll look elsewhere. Leaning toward the Chiefs, a 7.5-point favorite at home against the Bills. The Chiefs, led by former Bear Thomas Jones (ouch again, Jerry Angelo) cover the spread every week.
Charlie Weis, for whom I campaigned before Mad Martz brought his thick playbook to town, has steadied quarterback Matt Cassell. Kansas City scored 28 of its 42 points in the second half against the Jaguars last week. The Bears have scored a total of two offensive touchdowns in the last two weeks at Soldier Field.
Weis’ offense accrued 25 first downs, 13 rushing and 10 passing. Somewhere there is an understanding of balance.
The Chiefs were 6-for-11 on third down. Martz’s offense moved the chains twice in 10 tries on third down against the Skins. That was an improvement. In losses to the Giants and Seahawks, Martz and Cutler failed to collaborate on any third-down conversions.
Yep, I’m playing the Chiefs this week. Looking for former Bears wingman Todd Haley to have his club mercilessly tap dance on the winless Bills. I’ve always enjoyed watching teams run the ball well and a Bills beatdown will make them bigger underdogs — maybe by a couple of points — against the Bears the following Sunday in Toronto.
At least I have that to look forward to. Along with another Martz fairy tale in the middle of the week.
Dan McNeil hosts “The Danny Mac Show,” weekdays between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on WSCR-AM 670.