Da Dos

Tag: Movie

  • The Promised Land

    The Promised Land

    “Charlie Wilson’s War” is a criminally underrated movie. It’s about the CIA funding the Mujahideen in Afghanistan; it’s so absurd, it has to be true. Spoiler alert – it didn’t end well!

    Well, one scene specifically is cinematic magic in the hands of the late great Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

    This is how I feel about the Caleb Williams’ journey.

    Rookie year was up and down as Caleb definitely held on to the ball for too long resulting in a whopping 68 sacks [3rd most all time], but he did steer Bears to some late-time heroics including defeating GB in the finale.

    Nevertheless, the whole fiasco of going through 3 different OCs and Flus mid-season firing made it impossible to objectively evaluate.

    Up and down. Up and down.

    “We’ll see.”

    2025. First game he essentially gets outplayed by a raw JJ McCarthy. Then crushed by the Lions.

    He sucks!

    “We’ll see.”

    Later Caleb goes off on toothless Dallas.

    He’s great!

    “We’ll see.”

    Tyler Huntley comes off the Practice Squad and outduels him.

    Heck, often this rollercoaster spins us through loops in a single game.

    Bear games should come with the same warning: do not ride if you have a heart condition or abnormal blood pressure.

    Jaxson Dart, a rook on an awful team with a walking-dead HC, looked better than Caleb. Blame drops, BJ, wind, Tall Whites…don’t matter, Dart still looked sharper passing and running than Caleb [Flacco didn’t look too shabby in comparison either].

    Then Comeback Caleb dons his cape, and we know the rest.

    So where does that leave us?

    “We’ll see.”

    One thing is certain: through 10 weeks, the Bears have played some of the softest defenses.

    Jared@CinnamonJared
    ·
    The bears strength of schedule is .351 (next closest is Buffalo at .407) and their strength of victory is .272 (next closest is the jets at .278)

    Both easiest in the entire league

    Our very own Zombie posted this in-depth commentary:

    —————
    I know we’re all excited about being relevant this “late” in a season. Perhaps some perspective?

    Here are the records of Bears opponents thus far, not including the games against the Bears.

    The teams that beat the Bears
    Detroit: 5-3
    Minnesota: 3-5
    Baltimore: 3-5
    Aggregate: 11-13 (.458)

    Teams the Bears beat:
    Cowboys: 3-4-1
    Bengals: 3-5
    Commanders: 3-6
    Raiders: 2-6
    Saints: 2-7
    Giants: 2-7
    Aggregate: 15-35-1 (.304)

    Grand aggregate: .353

    In other words, bottom feeding. If you add the Bears games, the winning percentage of the opponents is 29-54-1, a mighty .351.

    Of course, you can only play who is on the schedule.

    But, clearly we ain’t done nothin’ yet.

    ———-
    Zombie is not alone. Twitter is brimming with [illiterate] doomers:

    Needless to say, the future SOS doesn’t get easier.

    “Front-runners” is a word floating around the Bears like Drakkar Noir at a gaudy discotheque.

    The other standard ‘slander’ on Caleb is that he wouldn’t need to be Captain Comeback if he actually played well for the other 3 QTRs.

    Or that despite the D spotting him 3 extra possessions, he still barely beats horrendous defenses.

    Common counters – Caleb only in his sophomore season, new to BJ-system, LT is some Canadian walk-on, he’s cut down his sack rate from 10.8 to 4.6 , unfair to compare to Maye, ‘this is a hit piece!’…

    And round-n-round we go.

    A lot of us may live in a Bear echo-chamber, but perhaps the sole good thing about Twitter is that one can see the haters from every echo-chamber!

    So what does this all mean?

    Simple. Caleb must prove the doubters wrong down the stretch.

    It won’t be about stats, comp %, EPA, “4K!” or other nerdanomics.

    Maybe not even about wins and losses.

    Caleb’s rating could hit 158.3 the rest of the way, and it won’t matter in the win column if the defense gets lit up by SB contenders like the Lions, Eagles, 9ers, Pack [2X]…while Specials continue to struggle as flags fly.

    Of course, we’re all going to be pulling for Caleb. How awesome would it be for him to rise above the criticism – to grow before our eyes and totally dominate from anthem to fade to black…

    To transfigure into that mythical elite QB we’ve all been waiting for so long…

    The franchise-messiah to finally lead us to the SB Promised-Land…

    Will he deliver?

    “We’ll see.”

  • 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!

  • Quotes 1

    Quotes 1

    Good thoughts. Good words. Good Deeds.
    – Zoroaster

    Bonus round – “Bohemian Rhapsody” not just a great song but also a poignant movie.

  • Movie Monday: Final Destination Bloodlines & The Babadook

    Movie Monday: Final Destination Bloodlines & The Babadook

    Been thinking about this installation for a while, but usually SOME Bear story breaks over the weekend; however everything as of right now is ho-hum [which is better than Bengals’ or perennial Cowboy’s drama]

    From time to time, I may do a Movie Monday – informally review and recommend a movie I have recently watched or RE-watched

    I’m not an avid movie-goer, but I have watched far too many flicks. Besides, many of the best ones are based on books, plays and graphic novels, and those I have read aplenty

    So, without further ado…

    If you have nephews, nieces or grandchildren in their teens, it’s a bit hard to find good flicks to watch together. They’re either too graphic, or cheesy, or related to comics in some way, but “Final Destination Bloodlines” is just a good ole fashion thriller-action-light comedy flick you won’t have to overthink. I went into it assuming I was going to hate it, but immediately found myself a little unnerved as it touches on an audience’s phobias through cinematic mastery. I won’t get into the specifics, but many scenes vividly depict something we may have winced at some time or other; nevertheless, it doesn’t totally devolve into a gory snuff film like the “Saw” or “Hostel” franchises

    When the credits rolled, all I could say was – that was fun! I almost regretted not being able to watch this in 4DX [those tickets were sold out to my shock, but relief to my wallet] as it may have taken the tension to another level

    The final scenes of Tony Todd [aka “Candyman”] also made this movie surprisingly poignant

    RIP TONY TODD

    So if it’s still out in theaters, and you want some fun with teens or family who fancy mindless horror, I definitely recommend this

    [Spoiler alert. Just don’t schedule an MRI appointment in the near future like my dumbass!]

    This ever happen to you? Someone recommends a movie; you’ve never even heard of it,  assume it’s new, and they inform, “Oh no. it’s been out for 10 years.”
    Well, “The Babadook” was one [of many] of those flicks for me

    I’m a sucker for Horror and Psychological Thrillers, and this subtly blends both. The watcher really doesn’t know what to make of it as it seems more like an indie drama for
    a large part of the setup. We are left ‘waiting’ for the show to start, but it doesn’t quite where one expects. About the only thing a viewer can be sure of is that kid is annoying AF!

    Yet, as the mother begins unravelling, and the mysterious episodes become more frequent, a certain creepiness and uneasiness spreads – both qualities of a solid thriller

    click for spoiler By the end of it, your alliance switches from sympathy for the mom, to sympathy for the kid, when you begin to realize that The Babadook may be all in her head – That she indeed may be clinically insane: the guilt, trauma and unrelenting social choke of being a single mom raising a hyperactive [to say the least] son only disintegrates her sanity to the point where she essentially gives up on trying to defeat the ‘demon’ once-and-for-all like in so many other horror flicks where the priest emerges victorious
    The mother must meekly cede that The Babadook can’t be ignored much less exorcised or killed. She is somewhat doomed to forever feed it, literally or metaphorically with the help of the only one who stood by her through it all
    Her son
    Which is way more relatable to the millions battling psychological disorders and the loved ones somehow vainly trying to help

    In other words, if you’re looking for a somewhat more recent horror-thriller, go watch The Babadook – preferably in the dark – alone