Ngày đăng: 11/07/2019
No one can accuse quarterback Mitchell Trubisky
Chicago Bears of forgetting to stop and smell the roses during their run to a 10-4 record.Or it might be more appropriate to say they've danced their way to the NFC North title.With road games Sunday against San Francisco and then Minnesota in their finale Youth Kerrith Whyte Jersey , the Bears are trying to sharpen their offense for a playoff run. And at the same time they're enjoying every moment after years of wallowing in last place in the division.It includes postgame disco parties along with team dance-offs the day before games."I can't tell you too much because it's pretty secretive what goes down in there," Trubisky said. "It's a lot of fun."The Bears of 1985 had the "Super Bowl Shuffle," but they had nothing on this group when it comes to dancing."Club Dub," their term for postgame celebrations, was borrowed by Nagy from the Chicago Cubs and manager Joe Maddon."I absolutely love him, I think he's great," Nagy said of Maddon. "We talked over the summer about a lot of different things. And we just, we believe in a lot of the same philosophies, and one of them is having fun."And so the second we started talking for the first time about what we believe in it was easy for me to pick his brain and figure out ways that we could make it ours, as well."The postgame celebrations have been blasted all over the internet now for months."And I mean, guys are going nuts," Trubisky said. "You've got choreographed dances going down. You've got waves. You've got . somebody might have been wave-surfing last game. I don't know."But there are some videos that are floating around. It's just getting crazy in there. So we just have to keep it under control. And yeah, keep Club Dub rolling."Some are better at it than others."I was in the middle, but they were usually pushing me out because they don't want to see me dance," Trubisky said.Nagy watches but isn't dancing."He's the bouncer right now probably Cheap Kerrith Whyte Jersey ," running back Tarik Cohen said.Now, it seems they're also showing their moves on Saturdays with team dance-offs. And this week they'll have to watch Trubisky. It's four-player teams of Trubisky, wide receiver Javon Wims and offensive linemen Bobby Massie and Eric Kush against cornerback Prince Amukamara, linebacker Danny Trevathan, defensive tackle Bilal Nichols and safety Adrian Amos."It's like team bonding, team chemistry, and dancing in front of your peers and in front of the coaches and almost a whole organization," Amukamara said. "It can be nerve-wracking."Apparently it's catching on."I feel like it's just made our unity just come together more," wide receiver Josh Bellamy said. "And now you look around the league, like, I was on Instagram, and I've seen the Saints swag surfin' in their locker room. They're not doing it like us, but all these other teams are trying to do it, too."We're the trendsetters."Nagy said he hasn't found it difficult to keep the Bears focused despite the sideshows and the fact they've already clinched their first postseason appearance since the NFC championship game after the 2010 season."I'm just kind of wired that way," Nagy said. "I've been fortunate enough to be on other teams where we've won division championships. It's nice and it's important because it gives you advantages; it gives you a home game in the playoffs. It helps you get to the ultimate goal Kerrith Whyte Jersey Color Rush , but you can't be satisfied. That's who our guys are."Offensively, the Bears have much room for improvement, even after getting five players chosen to the Pro Bowl: safety Eddie Jackson, linebacker Khalil Mack, defensive end Akiem Hicks, cornerback Kyle Fuller and return man Cohen.They head to San Francisco ranked 22nd overall on offense, even after a 24-17 win over the Green Bay Packers to clinch their division. Trubisky had one of his best games with a 120.4 passer rating."Just continue to get better, one game at a time," Trubisky said. "And I think the main focus for me is to just play consistent football, continue to go out and do my job, find completions and help us win ballgames."Coming back to work this week, keeping everyone focused on San Fran this week and continue to get better. I don't think we've played our best football yet. You've got to have that mindset, just stay hungry and stay humble, get after it and believe that our best football is yet ahead of us."NOTES: Right guard Kyle Long has been on injured reserve since early November. Nagy said it's possible Long could return to practice after a foot injury later this week. Long did not practice Wednesday. ... Jackson has his right foot in a boot cast because of the ankle injury suffered in Sunday's win and did not practice Wednesday. Reserve outside linebacker Aaron Lynch missed practice due to an elbow injury suffered against the Packers. Jon Gruden's return to the sideline in Oakland and the prospect of a full season of Jimmy Garoppolo in San Francisco put optimism at a peak in the Bay Area heading into this NFL season.That feeling went far beyond the partisan backers of the Raiders and 49ers and extended to the league and television network bosses who decided to put the final Battle of the Bay before the Raiders leave town for Las Vegas in 2020 on Thursday night football.That battle has quickly turned into a Bay Area Bummer.The game between the Raiders (1-6) and the 49ers (1-7) this week could be the worst prime-time matchup in NFL history. There have been 784 prime-time games played in the NFL on Nov. 1 or later and the .133 combined winning percentage for Oakland and San Francisco is the worst of all of them, lowering the bar set Dec. 18 Kerrith Whyte Chicago Bears Jerseys , 2014, when Tennessee visited Jacksonville in a battle of 2-12 teams."I wish the game had two 8-1 or 7-1 teams playing in it," Gruden said. "Hopefully someday soon you'll see a game like that, but this is still going to be fun for the fans and both teams."Fun is not the word either team would use to describe this season, which has seen both the Raiders and 49ers blow three fourth-quarter leads, deal with several debilitating injuries, and pile up losses.While few considered either team to be Super Bowl caliber heading into the year, there was hope both could compete for the playoffs. Now the only competition is to determine which team is worse and has the inside track at the No. 1 overall draft pick.The Raiders' season turned sour before it even started with the decision to trade holdout star pass rusher Khalil Mack to Chicago just one week before the start of the regular season for a package of draft picks. A defense that came into the season with enough question marks if Mack did play has generated no pressure and offered little resistance to opposing offenses.Oakland lost the first three games despite never trailing for a second of the first three quarters as quarterback Derek Carr struggled to adjust to Gruden's offense and the older players Gruden signed in the offseason failed to deliver.An overtime win in Week 4 over Cleveland provided a brief respite but the Raiders have lost three straight since, getting outscored by 54 points during that span as the season is deteriorating quickly.Adding to the drama were reports questioning the toughness and leadership of Carr, public complaints from players about how they're being used and the trade of No. 1 receiver Amari Cooper to Dallas for a first-round pick.Now a team that won 12 games just two years ago behind a young core of Carr, Cooper and Mack, has regressed back to where the franchise was in 2014 when the Raiders lost the first 10 games of Carr's career."I've been here before," Carr said. "I know how to get out of it and it's not by pointing fingers. It's not by getting with your buddy and taking trash. It's about getting together with your buddies and figuring things out, asking your teammates what can I do better, what should I do. That's how we fix it. I believe that we have guys like that."The Niners have lacked the drama of their neighbors but the results have been no better. San Francisco overcame a 1-10 start last year under first-year coach Kyle Shanahan to win five straight to end the season after Garoppolo was inserted into the lineup following a midseason trade from New England.Garoppolo was rewarded with a $137.5 million contract in the offseason and the 49ers were considered an up-and-coming team worthy of five prime-time matchups.The team was dealt a setback a week before the season when running back Jerick McKinnon Chicago Bears Jerseys Stitched , the team's top free-agent acquisition in the offseason, blew out his knee in practice.Garoppolo then went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 3 and the Niners haven't won since, taking a six-game losing streak into this week's contest."Yeah, we've been dealt a tough hand with some of the injuries we have and some of the things that we've been going through, but that doesn't mean we should be 1-7," Shanahan said. "Those games, we make a few different plays, and I'm talking one to three plays, still wouldn't feel great about our record but I'd feel better than I do now."San Francisco blew late leads in losses to Green Bay and Arizona and also had a chance at a comeback against the Chargers thwarted by a late interception by backup C.J. Beathard.Perhaps the most concerning part is the regression by several young players who were expected to be foundation pieces with defensive tackle Solomon Thomas, linebacker Reuben Foster, cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon and safety Adrian Colbert all struggling with their play and health.Now San Francisco is just trying to salvage any positives in the second half of the season."We're fighting. Unfortunately, we're not getting the results," cornerback Richard Sherman said. "These have been some of the toughest losses I've seen."