No more Waldron, and tough games to come.
Since writing my last column, I have taken a deep dive into the ‘Windy City’ moniker to satisfy my own curiosity.
My research took me to the pages of esteemed online publication ‘History.com’. “Meteorological surveys have often rated the likes of Boston, New York and San Francisco as having higher average wind speeds [than Chicago],” it says.
Boston – they have to be the best at everything. They are that annoying kid at school who got their homework in on time and won the 100-metre dash. And on Sunday, the New England Patriots blew through the Chicago Bears 19-3.
Another impotent display on offense against the Patriots led to the firing of Bears offensive co-ordinator Shane Waldron.
Do teams who fire offensive coordinators midway through the season have a good chance of getting to the playoffs?
I am not sure of the statistics there, but here are some other damning statistics for you.
A home game against a team with a worse win-loss record last Sunday was – you guessed it – another loss for the Bears.
Under 75 passing yards, under 75 rushing yards and zero touchdowns. The last time this happened to any team was November 1983, when the Philadelphia Eagles were crushed 23-0 by the New York Giants. So I think the playoff dream is over.
Trouble lies ahead
This coming Sunday sees no respite to the pain. Rivals Green Bay come to town with a 6-3 record, ready to rub salt into the wound.
To revisit a footballing cliche, the only scrap of hope here is that rivalry games can throw the formbook out of the window.
Unfortunately, any chance of a win on Sunday would surely come in a low-scoring encounter. The Vegas points total of this one is set at 40, which is the joint-lowest of Week 11.
This weekend’s game coincides with an NFL meet-up with friends. A mixed fanbase who will be eager to watch a shootout.
I wonder if Vegas will offer an over/under on minutes played before we hear “Shall we put Redzone on?”.
I’ll take a 9-3 victory while Scott Hanson narrates over the Detroit Lions putting 40 points on Jacksonville Jaguars please.
