Category: Sports

  • Caleb a JAG?

    Caleb a JAG?

    Which is a #1 overall & which a 3rd string backup?

    QB1: 77.3%, 186yds, ZERO INTs, 1 TD, [53 yds rushing]

    116.9 Rating

    QB2 [b4 last junk drive]: 68.8%, 201 yds, 1 INT, ZERO TDs, two intentional groundings, [22 YDS rushing]

    Approx 75.1 rating

    Caleb Williams didn’t play against the 2000 Ravens. As I wrote in the preview:

    Ravens’ D is allowing 4.6 ypc [to RBs]
    32.3 PPG [32nd]; rank 27th stopping 3rd down conversions.

    Their pass D isn’t much better. Their secondary amazingly enough has only ONE INT thus far [now two] while allowing 108.4 passer rating [28th]and 246 passing yds [28th] with only 8 sacks and low pressure rate.

    Caleb somehow still found a way to look indecisive, inaccurate and Trubiskesque; he also struggled mightily against the lowly Saints, so this is nothing new. We’re 24 starts in already. In fact, some argue he’s only had ONE good game all season.

    To be certain, Ben Johnson called a subpar game, but I mean, wth can he do to prevent THIS? This INT basically cost the Bears a win. Caleb made the mistake Tyler Huntley,a practice squader, did not.

    And it begs the question:

    Is Caleb a JAG?

    Think about this long and hard. No doubt Caleb has all the physical tools needed to be a HOFer. “Generational.”

    So did Smoking Jay Cutler, yet Cutler never became Aaron Rodgers despite possessing all the same physical gifts.

    [IMO, Cutler was actually more athletic].

    Halas just kept throwing Cutler out there, never even entertaining the option of benching him for his own good.

    Here’s another way to ask the question.

    Would you rather have Jordan Love? Daniel Jones? Jared Goff? How far down the QB list do you have to fall to prefer Caleb?

    Caleb over.. Bo Nix, Jackson Dart, Michael Penix, Trevor Lawrence, Mac Jones, CJ Stroud, JJ McCarthy?

    One would have to get down to the the 7th circle of the QB inferno with the likes of Wentz, Flacco, Geno and Tua to make this an easy decision for Caleb.

    [Even then I can see some Bear fans dreaming about Tyler Bagent, Cousins or even Flacco at this point]

    Asking if you’d want Caleb over Drake Maye by now is laughable. Maye who also is in his sophomore season under a new system with arguably worse weapons and no offensive wunderkind HC.

    You know, the QB that tightened Ryan Poles‘ chest and whom he laughed out of the draft room.

    Sadly, this routine is nothing new for us Bear fans.

    I remarked before how Caleb reminded me of Rex Grossman except Rex was bad/good for entire games.

    Caleb fluctuates between awful/great seemingly play to play.

    There’s the rub. Can’t possibly rely on that to win consistently. Couldn’t do it with Rex. Couldn’t do it with Cutler. Won’t be able to with Caleb if he can’t improve.

    Counting on 3+TOs a game is not realistic as we found out quickly vs Ravens.

    It’s almost better to go with a ‘game manager‘ like Orton, Foles or Josh McCown, but Poles didn’t draft Caleb to be Andy Dalton, so here we are.

    Before I get accused of over-reacting, compared to the Twitterverse, I’m being stoic. Even our old friend Jeff Hughes who advocated to start both Trubisky and Fields day 1 is expressing doubts.

    Kap, “[Caleb] is playing ok, fine, mediocre, but not like a #1 overall” – I.E. a JAG

    The only real question left: what is the best way to rescue Caleb from devolving into a permanent JAG?

    Is it for him to sit or play through it?

    Maybe Bears can make up some BS ‘groin’ INJ to lowkey bench Caleb.

    OTOH, perhaps BJ just keeps sending him up like Viper with Maverick in “Top Gun”.

    Either way, SOMETHING has to change else us Bear fans will be suffering through yet another era of mediocre-hair-pulling-jersey burning QBing with similar results:

    Bears’ suckage.

    Overtime:

    This isn’t ALL on Caleb. Ben Johnson also has to clean up many mistakes, especially the penalties.

  • Bears@Ravens WK8

    Bears@Ravens WK8

    C’mon, ladies, don’t fail me now!

    Lamar Jackson is already out!

    Can the Ben Johnson era do what other incarnations failed to do so miserably?

    BEAT A FREAKING BACKUP QB.

  • Bears@Ravens WK8 Preview

    Bears@Ravens WK8 Preview

    First off, thanks for the bday wishes! Had a blast. I rarely eat fancy meals, but I heard of an Italian spot run by actual Italians. At first I was a bit skeptical since it was located in a strip mall!

    However, so what if it’s not atop the Pyrenees ? As long as the food is delectable, and it was!

    You guys in Chicago might be spoiled with more quality Italian restaurants, but it’s a bit hard to find authentic Italian in L.A.

    The chef comped me a crab chowder soup: fresh crab in lobster bisque, potato, carrots and a touch of cream flavored with white Italian truffle paste; we actually chatted since he was making the rounds. He was from Naples, the host from Northern “German” Italy.

    I ordered a Tuscan Wild Boar Ragu: parpadella pasta, Tuscan wild boar and juniper flavor pancetta in a light red wine sauce.

    Magnifico!

    On to the Ravens…

    The biggest factor will be if Lamar Jackson plays, and just how healthy he is.
    He missed Mon, Tues, returned Weds, but was limited.

    The Ravens opened up as 6.5 favorites which should be a slap in the face to the Bears who after all are 4-2 riding a 4-win streak. Pan to the Ravens at 1-5 with a hobbled QB and a leaky defense.

    Ravens’ D is allowing 4.6 ypc [to RBs]
    32.3 PPG [32nd]; rank 27th in 3rd down D.

    Their pass D isn’t much better. Their secondary amazingly enough has only ONE INT thus far while allowing 108.4 passer rating [28th]and 246 passing yds [28th] with only 8 sacks and low pressure rate.

    They’re supposed to get Roq back who should be motivated. Still, is he going to remedy ALL that?

    Ravens are coming off a bye, playing at home, in must-win mode, ergo this should test the Bears.

    What I really want to see is if the Bears are physical.

    One thing about the Harbaugh Ravens is that they always come out ready to brawl.

    The Bears have actually played physically on their win streak – one of the biggest reasons we should get excited about the Ben Johnson Bears which differs bigly from his predecessors.

    Stuffing the run, forcing 3-4 TOs while stampeding for 200 will make the other team buckle-up their chinstraps.

    If the Bears can match the Ravens’ intensity that will bode well going forward.

    On O, it’s simple enough. Will Ravens respect Caleb Williams enough to go with a light-box like the Saints, and if so, will that open up the run game again?

    [D’Andre Swift is nursing a groin FWIW]

    Follow up question: if the Ravens don’t respect Caleb enough and decide to go full-Ravens and crowd the LOS, how will Caleb respond after a down Saints’ game?

    172 yds, 1 INT, 61.7 Rating

    Will he pull out of the slump?

    Something else to keep an eye on is Theo Benedet especially since rumors are swirling about trading Braxton Jones. Here’s an in-depth breakdown of his performance vs Saints.

    Speaking of trade rumors, there’s waaaay too many to track here, but luckily Harrison Graham covers some names, first and foremost DE Jermaine Johnson [Jets] and maaaybe Mad Maxx Crosby.

    On D, well, I keep waiting for the turnover ride to be over, but it keeps going, so screw it, let’s go Dennis “The Menace” Allen!

    We gotta keep an eye on if Tyrique Stevenson will play because if not the Bears will have to start Nick McCloud or Josh Blackwell, essentially CB#4/5. Not exactly ideal if Lamar is back.

    Austin Booker should return, so that’s a boost.

    At any rate, the Ravens score 24 PPG [13th] and are 13th in 3rd down conversions with Jackson, and that’s really the crux.

    Lamar’s QB rating is a mind-boggling 130 [1st] with 10TDs/1INT and naturally a bunch of back-breaking runs.

    IF Lamar plays, and is maybe like 60%, I think the Bears might be able to contain him. Montez Sweat, Dayo Odeyingbo, Booker, Tremaine Edmunds and even Dominque Robinson are relatively athletic – they just must remember to stay discipline and close in under control.

    Maybe Dennis Allen plays more zone and blitzes less [particularly if Stevenson doesn’t play] in order to minimize those big Lamar lanes.

    My biggest worry might be a rested King Henry [5.0 YPC] and their TE Mark Andrews especially if TJ Edwards has to cover him.

    Otherwise, it’ll be the Lamar show.

    Overtime:

    Apparently, Luther Burden is starting Festivus early and airing his grievances about not getting the ball enough. Well, it’s a little hard to feed the 5th option when the QB only has only completed 15 [Saints] and 17[WASH] passes in last two games. I guess we’ll find out how Ben Johnson handles this.

    Also, what’s going to happen with the kicker situation? Is Cairo Santos returning, and if so, are they going to put Jake Moody back on the Practice Squad and risk a team, like say the Gmen, poaching him?

    Will the Bears actually carry TWO kickers on the 53? [nobody tell the Rev…]

  • Victory Monday! Bears 26, Saints 14

    Victory Monday! Bears 26, Saints 14

    Lots of thoughts, but here’s a condensed version.

    The Defense came out on fire [most of] that first half. That was a championship D akin to the famous ’18 and ’06 predecessors.

    We heard about ‘bend don’t break’, but the Allen D was more like ‘break but force a turnover’. In that first half, they were not even bending; in fact, fuck you, we’re stuffing the run, sacking your QB, then taking that ball. Absolute dominance.

    Tez Effect seems to be back, and he was SORELY needed.

    Talked about it last week, but TJ Edwards back seems to line up everyone properly, thusly making them play faster and more downhill. Minimized are the wide open lanes, bad angles, missed tackles and total blown coverages.

    Tremaine Edmunds [3 INTs] is now free to use his speed; Brisker and Gordon sniffing the LOS is making QBs shit-bricks while Kevin Byard suddenly patrols the back end like Ed Reed.

    I also wonder how much Shemar Turner at DE has helped stabilize that line, especially vs run. If Austin Booker returns full-force, watch out.

    NGL, this offense, specifically Caleb Williams, sputtered for much of the game. It was just funky from the start, from taking the snap, penalties, dropped passes, scramble drills that had little chance to questionable play-calling [like those WR screens]. Did Caleb even complete 5 passes from inside the pocket?

    Caleb Williams completed 15-of-26 passes for 172 yards and an interception.

    It wasn’t pretty, and Caleb admitted as much. TBH, it’s a bit concerning particularly when one sees what Drake Maye is cooking in NE.

    Luckily for the Bears’ O, their run game continued to steamroll.

    Trivia Time:

    D’Andre Swift had 124 rushing yards and Kyle Monangai had 81, marking the first time the Bears had two running backs rush for more than 80 yards since??? ANSWER

    I loved Ben Johnson’s attacks. Yes, it was meat-n-potatoes traps, stretches, and combo blocks; however, he also mixed in some misdirection that perhaps didn’t pop, but at least helped to keep the Saints’ D honest and somewhat freeze them from just busting in.

    More importantly, BJ made great halftime tweaks. He finally began using more playaction [boot] to get easy passes for a struggling O. This was enough to milk the clock, scratch some points together, and close it out; other wise, it could’ve been a one score game had the refs not bailed out BJ on that 4rth and goal disaster.

    The specials didn’t shit the bed, and the rest was sorta just Judo – letting a bad team defeat itself, and here we are with the Bears at 4-2 riding momentum.

    Chicago relying on turnovers and a strong run game?

    “History doesn’t repeat but it rhymes”

  • Saints@Bears WK7

    Saints@Bears WK7

    If it ain’t broke…

    Is this a ‘trap game’? Seems to fit the definition – catching a meh team on a short week at home after an emotional win.

    I’ve caught some Saints this season. Numbers say their pass D suck, but outside the Bills and Seahawks beating them handily, and stomping the GMEN 26-14, they’ve been in one score games including the last one against a tough Pats’ team.

    In that game, Spencer Rattler completed 76.9% for 227, no TD/INTs, and 106.7 QB rating, so these guys aren’t just gonna roll over

    Bears have racked up 11 TOs on their win streak, and one must imagine that streak will end sooner or later. I mean, if they go +3 TOs the rest of the way, they can damn near beat anyone.

    The real test will come when they don’t create those TOs.

    How will they respond then? Will their D give up a bunch of TDs, or will they force FGs?
    God forbid make 3rd down stops…

    Will the O take it up a notch to make up for essentially 3 extra drives?

    One of my biggest question is if D’Andre Swift can continue stacking big runs off his 7.7 YPC performance?

    Ben Johnson went with the K.I.S.S. philo for the run, and it worked; however, NFL watches tape too.

    If everything goes right – D continues to steal TOs – Swift runs for over 4.5 ypc, Caleb plays efficiently with tactical strikes…

    Then this game should be in hand by the late 3rd.

    Though let’s be real, we’re all Bear fans. No such thing as an ‘easy win’ for this team especially if it’s super windy and rainy.

    As such, I expect more nail-biting Tradewinding into the crunch. At least they won’t be playing against the refs, right?

    Once more, into the breach!

  • Zen 11

    Zen 11

    Wakuan complained when he saw a picture of a bearded Bodhidharma, “Why hasn’t that fellow a beard?”

    – Zen Koan

  • Bears NEED Jeffery Simmons

    Bears NEED Jeffery Simmons

    Here are the next 5 Bear opponents:

    Saints
    @Ravens
    Burrow-less Bengals
    Giants
    @JJ? Vikings

    Bears are 3-2, only one game behind the Puke in the NFCN.

    It is entirely possible the Bears could go 4-1 in the next five games with a 7-3 record at minimum sniffing a WC.

    Yes, the Bears’ Dline did perform much better vs WASH, but they still allowed 4.0 ypc, and it may have been more if it hadn’t been for playing with a lead for most of the game.

    Also, Ben Johnson can’t rely on +3 TOs every game going forward. As Olin Kreutz correctly assessed, ‘You’re not forcing 11 TOs in 3 games like on this streak.’ That’s not a sustainable formula for success.

    A reliable formula for success? A studly Dline, or at the very least, a mediocre one.

    DT Jeffery Simmons could raise all battle ships.

    Since Bears played Mon, I had Sunday free to peruse. I flipped to the Raider game specifically to scout Jeffery Simmons.

    Holy Moly.

    I admit, I didn’t even know where he was on the field since I don’t watch much Titans’ football. But it took me about 3 seconds to spot him. He’s hard to miss. He’s the type of monster you want stepping off the bus first when visiting an opponent. He looked like JJ Watt.

    More importantly, he PLAYED like JJ Watt. On the very first series vs Raiders Simmons stuffed Jeanty twice, then sacked Geno despite the double team. He’s strong, fast, mean, and YUGE.
    The Titans’ DC seemed to line him up at 3T when he anticipated pass, then moved him to 1T to gobble-up doubles vs run.

    Honestly, it doesn’t take long to recognize greatness with the right eye. I mean, how long would you have to watch Sweetness, Butkus or Hester to determine they’re fucking awesome? It only takes one Picasso painting to gasp, “Wow.”

    Simmons hovers close to that tier. Much closer than Billings, Dexter, Turner, et al, at least.

    The Titans’ season is lost. They just fired their HC Brian Callahan and are basically tanking. They’re really about 3 yrs away [minimum] from making a serious SB push. Simmons is 28. Do they really expect he’ll fit that window?

    Trading for Simmons seems realistic for both parties. I would trade a 2nd for him given that Bears still have to take on his contract. Titans could use that 2nd to bolster their oline or weapons for Cameron Ward who should be their #1 priority.

    If Titans play hard-ball, demanding a 1st, MAYBE I’d throw in DJ Moore, but I’d have to get like a 4rth back in that scenario. They may want Moore. A tough savvy vet to help their fledging rookie franchise QB while the Bears need to clear cap for Simmons anyways.

    This would also mean more Luther Burden.

    Braxton Jones may also be in play, albeit I’d be more weary about trading away Oline given attrition. The Chiefs are paying a swing OT $15M/y. That’s how pivotal those OTs might be now; nevertheless, let’s be real. I doubt we’re paying Braxton next year.

    Feels like this trade makes too much.

    I also don’t trust Ryan Poles to actually DRAFT an elite linemen, so we’re back to Jerry Angelo copium.

    Football is an arm’s race. USSR launched Sputnik. U.S. blasted off to the moon. The other Evil Empire snatched Micah Parsons. Time for Bears to counter with Simmons. Imagine him destroying Love, Rodgers, Monty/Gibbs…

    Here’s Olin Kreutz breaking down the Bears-v-Commanders:

    Cliffnotes:

    1. Thinks coaches during bye simplified playbook.

    2 . Blocking, specifically combo blockings, looked much crisper resulting in better running.

    3. On run-stopping, maybe moving Shemar Turner to DE and Gervon Dexter to 3T helped.

    4. TJ Edwards back may have bolstered entire D. He may not be the fleetest of foot, but his mind is agile, and perhaps he aligned everyone correctly, making them play faster and more aggressively, especially Tremaine Edmunds.

    Olin, ‘I played against those MIKEs. They’re the worst. Sometimes they call out the play we’re running, and we know we’re going to have to move them off their spot’

    MISC…

    Finally, new Olympic sports I can get behind, literally!

  • Victory Tues!

    Victory Tues!

    I’m a bit exhausted right now, so I’ll keep it short.

    Hell motherfucking ya!

    Rapid fire reactions:

    1. This team is finally turning the corner

    I said when Matt Eberflus was hired that the team needed to learn how to win. They never did. In fact, they found new innovative ball-kicking ways to lose that would even make the Chargers proud.

    This team faced a lot of adversity in this game. For starters, given the whole ‘fail mary’ last season added pressure. MNF – pressure. Away game. Pressure. Underdogs. Pressure. Not ideal conditions. Pressure. Washington Refs. Pressure. Dropped passes, questionable play-calling, busted coverages, shoddy specials’ gunning, blocked FG. Pressure, pressure, pressure.

    Yet, Bears never cracked. They kept slugging it out, REFUSING to quit. They kept tugging, punching, clawing…returning all that pressure right back to WASH ’til they cracked on a hand-off. A Flusian critical mistake.

    Then Bears did what they rarely did under Flus.

    FINISH.

    The game boiled down to what I wanted – the ball in BJ/Caleb’s court to win or lose; they proceeded to march down field sans mistakes, executing, making WASH use TOs, RUNNING it [successfully] ’til they basically made the final FG a PAT attempt.

    Fade to black…

    2. Ben Johnson countered the blitz.

    I shared in the game-day thread that WASH uses a lot of zone [3rd most], but they zigged on Monday. They blitzed more than usual, no doubt trying to throw off the plan.

    However, Ben Johnson was ready. He used draws, screens and bombs to make WASH think twice. Here’s a creative screen which neither Trub or Fields could consistently pull off.

    Despite that awesome throw to Rome being called back on an absolute BS call, the rationale was right. Attack the blitz. If they’re going to single your best weapon, go balls-deep. Make them pay.

    It’s smart and aggressive – like Ben Johnson.

    3. Tip-o-hat to run O/D.

    My #1 MUST was to stop the run. They did – sorta. Or at least, they didn’t get completely run over, even forcing a Merritt fumble.

    On paper, doesn’t seem like that much of a differential.

    Bears total rushing yds: 145
    Comm total rushing yds: 124

    However, how they got there differed. D’Andre Swift was mostly responsible for the Bears, especially late to seal the deal.

    While Jayden Daniels had to pull some Houdini escapes, getting crunched along the way.

    Besides, let’s face it – we were all expecting WASH to steam-roll Bears’ D, so Bears limiting the #1 running attack to 4.0 ypc shocked me TBH, as did Swift averaging 7.7 per.

    Holy shit, who had that on their bingo card?

    Misc:

    Can’t discuss the game without mentioning the total dogshit officiating. Dr. Rev Huge Bears’ Penis warned us this crew threw a lot of flags, but Moses Krishna Christ, at least PRETEND to do it fairly. Refs tried everything possible to give the game to the Commies, yet the Bears still prevailed.

    Apparently, DJ Moore was hospitalized after the game. Let’s hope it’s merely precautionary.

    Troy Aikman also seemed to be hating on Caleb Williams. People noticed, Troy. Was it the UCLA-USC rivalry or have his concussions finally creeped in?

    Despite all that, it was a FANTASTIC Bears’ victory. It felt more emotionally draining than usual for some reason. Maybe it was just me, but the whole game felt tense with all the ups-n-downs and refs making Bears play with one arm tied behind their backs.

    Making the win that much sweeter.

    “Whatever does not kill us, only makes us stronger.” – Nietzsche

    Good Better Best!
    Never let it rest!
    Until your good gets better!
    And your better gets best!

    Bear Down.

  • Revenge: CHI@WASH MNF WK6

    Revenge: CHI@WASH MNF WK6

    We all know the narrative. Bears blow a victory vs WASH last year in catastrophic fashion thxs to Matt Eberflus dumbfuckery and Tyrique Stevenson yapping with the crowd.

    Bears enter death spiral that results in the first Bears’ HC to ever be fired midseason making Caleb Williams shuffle through 3 OCs in his rookie season.

    Meanwhile Jayden Daniels catapults to OROY, carrying his team to the playoffs amid media hype.

    Many pundits preseason were predicting the Bears to be a ‘surprise playoff team’, but Washington stole their Cinderella slippers that day.

    On the bright side, it was such a colossal disaster that it was enough for even the milk toast McCaskeys to show some balls and fire Eberflus.

    Although in typical timid Halas fashion, it still somehow wasn’t enough to terminate the GM who hired that HC [and vouched for him]because…Bears.

    So we know what’s at stake. This isn’t just another game. It’s nearly symbolic and a true measure of how far the Bears have really progressed since that fateful Hail Mary.

    What needs to happen:

    Well, once more, this isn’t rocket, or even rock ’em-sock’ em robot science.

    The Commies are the best running team.

    As I wrote on Tues.

    Bears’ avg 102.3 YPG [24rth]; however, when one slices out the Caleb scrambles it leaves RBs: 3.4 YPC, 2 TDs.

    Meanwhile, the Commanders: 156.4 YPG [1st].

    On D, the Bears are giving up a whopping 164.5 YPG [31st].

    Ergo. STOP THE RUN.

    Or at the very least slow it down! This won’t be easy. Jayden Daniels can freeze the LBs opening up lanes for Bill Croskey-Merritt who is having a heck of a rookie campaign. I caught some of him, and he resembles Ashton Jeanty in that he’s shifty with zip.

    Friendly reminder, Poles drafted Kyle Monangai [233rd] while Croskey-Merritt was selected 12 spots after. Fans dreaming about trading for Breece Hall or De’Von Achane when Poles could’ve just drafted Merritt straight up. Thanks, Poles.

    Luckily for the Bears, T.J. Edwards and Kyler “Spider-Man” Gordon are projected back. Maybe they help. It’s important to remember that nickel in today’s NFL is basically the new SAM, as such, expected to make tough tackles in space. For the Bears’ sake, Gordon [and Austin Booker] return hungry.

    As a Bears’ fan, my first instinct is to establish the run and keep ramming it down their throats. That simply isn’t feasible with this Poles’ roster. More realistically, Ben Johnson will have to pass to open up some lanes for the run as WASH struggles to defend the pass and employs a ton of zone.

    Caleb Williams seems to excel vs zone, so chunk plays must be made. First downs can’t be missed; they will act as the defacto run game to keep WASH off the field and hopefully playing from behind. It’s not ideal. Much more can go wrong, from pre-snap penalties, drop passes, wrong routes, to sailing balls, blown up screens, jumped passes and strip sacks, but that’s what happens when a team can’t run.

    Outside a slew of Bear-forced TOs, Commanders self-sabotaging, or crazy plays like blocked FGs, muffed returns, etc… this is likely the best path for the Bears to serve the chilly dish of revenge and finally bury that infamous debacle.

    King Benny didn’t take it lying down and neither should the BJ Bears. Bang! Bang!

  • Another Bearless Sunday Unless You’re in Weho [NTTAWWT]

    Another Bearless Sunday Unless You’re in Weho [NTTAWWT]

    None of the early games are interesting. NFL assumed Rams-v-Ravens would be good, but didn’t plan on Lamar going down. Maybe they calculated Chargers-v-Fins would be watchable, but both teams are disappointing.

    The later slate is not much better. No doubt the schedule makers were proud about Bengals-v-Puke, but with Burrow out the result is all but certain.

    Only real interesting matchup is Lions-v-Chiefs. This could very well be a SB preview, but here’s the difference.

    Lions usually steamroll through the regular season then sputter in the playoffs.

    Chiefs stagger through the regular season like a drunken sailor, then when the playoffs arrive, they sober up, and blast their [AFC] foes with anti-aircraft cannons.

    They’re the reason neither Lamar nor Josh Allen own SB rings.

    So despite me hoping the Lions will lose, I think they’ll eke out a victory at KC although part of me still expects Goff to wilt in prime-time.