CUBS: Completely Useless By September and Proving it!
The Cubs dropped two of three to a Pittsburgh team that would have probably lost out in the Little League Regional finals this year. After losing 10-5 Sunday, The Cubs' lead in the N.L. terrible (Central) since Aug. 16th ended. In terms of they stack up in the MLB, here's the stats courtesy of MLB.com:
Runs: 22nd
Home Runs: 25th
RBI's: 21st
TB: 18th
BB: 24th
SB: 15th
OBP: 20th
SLG: 20th
OPS: 19th
The only category the Cubs were in the top half of the league was Batting Average at .269 as a team, good enough for 13th. The numbers don't lie, kids. This is a below average offense that can't sacrifice runs (considering they openly admit they don't practice bunting), and therefore can only rely on rallys (or lack thereof and dingers). Can anyone say early 2000 White Sox? This team will do just the same as those bestowing the blue before it: CHOKE!!!!!!!
Bears: Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
Sunday's offensive struggles pointed out very obvious points of contention for any Bears fan concerned about a repeat trip to the Super Bowl:
- Productivity from the backs
- Dr. Rex Jekyll and Mr. Rex Hyde
Number one has been talked about all preseason with Benson and Adrian Peterson not getting much in terms of YPC and total yards, but now it appears to be legitimate:
Benson: 19 carries, 42 yards/Peterson: 7 carries, 38 yards. With out the threat either of them gaining serious yards, the Chargers blitzed the always confused Rex Grossman and took his receivers away from him. This is the problem that needs work, because of the Bears' reliance on the Play Action. No run game to respect, no problem.
In terms of Rex, it was business as usual. Grossman had several plays in which he over/under threw wide open receivers, and threw a pick (although that was more of a miscommunication between him and Berrian, Berrian shouldn't have broken off his out route which he did, not Rex's fault). In order for Grossman to continue his development, problem A has to be solved to avoid problem B. I don't care what team outside of Indianapolis that loses the ball 4 times against San Diego, you're most likely going to lose, and lose the Bears did.
Final Analysis: The Cubs offense is worse because they can't fix the fact that they dont practice a National League necessity: run production and sacrafice. The Bears have legitimate problems that need to be addressed, but as we all saw glimpses in the preseason, should be able to straighten them out between now and the rest of the season. Thomas Jones, we miss you in Chicago...
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