Jim O'Donnell: Getsy should go, Fields should steady and more October Ins and Outs
CRAYOLA ORANGE HELMETS on the homies at Soldier Field and blue Bears fans - a perfect weekend for October Ins and Outs on a depressed Chicago sports scape:
• In - Calling for the ouster of Luke Getsy as offensive coordinator of the Bears - It's already obvious he's in over his head. ... Does NextGen have a number for "Most Call Cards Swallowed in the Red Zone?" ... On that game-deciding fourth-and-goal vs. Washington Thursday night, Darnell Mooney should have had proper depth in clear isolation. ... The real killer is that Chicago's very own Mike Kafka - a possible future HC of the Bears - is tearing it up as OC of the Giants.
• Out - Criticizing Justin Fields - Critiquing, yes. ... Criticizing, no. ... How much more accountability is the second-year QB supposed to bear? ... And how many times has his athleticism bailed out yet another sheet call by Getsy? ... His tentativeness in letting passes go stems from his determined attempts at remaining within Getsy sequencing behind terrible pass blocking. ... Ryan Poles made a huge hiring mistake and the fellow paying the biggest price for it is Fields.
• In - Wishing ownerships of Chicago's five major sports teams had to be renewed by public referendum every five years - Karl and Groucho Marx would both likely agree. ... "The Captive Sports City" just plods on and on through rebuilds, competitive horizontaling and failed crescendos. ... The only two things guaranteed in Our Town's sportin' life are disappointments and higher ticket prices.
• Out - Allowing any mitigation by Tom Ricketts or Jerry Reinsdorf over the whiz-poor 2022 seasons of their MLB teams - Ricketts recently sent out a letter to select fans promising happier days ahead for the Cubs ... Reinsdorf remains shielded by scurrying hirelings like Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn ... Both showed blatant disregard for any sort of civic trust. ... Why would any self-respecting Grobnik spend a penny in 2023 on either outfit?
• In - Ignoring the Blackhawks - The epitome of pedigreed toxicity. ... Maybe they say breaking up is hard to do but not when it comes to mainstream fans running away from this nowhere organization. ... Why couldn't Rocky Wirtz do everyone a favor and move the franchise to some European B-league with home games in a remote Norwegian fjord?
• Out - Harboring high hopes for the Bulls - OK ensemble, solid head coach and stuck inside of that dreaded NBA netherworld of 40-to-48 wins. ... Billy Donovan will never win a championship with the Bulls and that's not on him. ... As long as Chair Jer' is around, the ceiling of the team remains blunted by the lingering karmic disablement of Tim Floyd and "The Curse of the Breakup."
• In - Loudly applauding the return of Bob Costas to a postseason MLB play-by-play booth with Turner's coverage of the Yankees-Guardians ALDS - Costas may be the most versatile major American broadcaster of the past 40 years - sports or otherwise. ... The NYY-CLE series stands as the first full playoffs set he has called since the 2000 SEA-NYY ALCS on NBC. ... In more recent years, his formidable intellect has simply outpaced the hypocrisy of major American professional sports. ... His talent - and evolved conscience - are national TV treasures.
• Out - Wading through any further Amazon Prime Video "Thursday Night Football" telecasts - If Jeff Bezos started out selling books online the way his APV group covers the NFL, he'd now be pensioning out at Barnes and Noble. ... Thursday, the production crew unconscionably blew the real-time TD catch by Dante Pettis. ... Al Michaels went on what sounded like a suspiciously preplanned anti-Dan Snyder screed. ... And Kirk Herbstreit gagged on his mic trying to explain away the critical non-call on Darrick Forrest's end zone mugging of Pettis. ... All reasons for fans not to cancel their holiday Costco memberships.
• Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears Sunday and Thursday Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.