Tag Archives: Darnell Mooney

Triple Zeros: Alex Shapiro – Chicago Bears Season Preview

Triple Zeros

Alex Shapiro – Chicago Bears Season Preview

Triple Zeros is happy to welcome Alex Shapiro of NBC Sports Chicago to the show to talk all things Chicago Bears. Training camp and the preseason are now over and Week 1 of the regular season is right around the corner.

Alex shared his thoughts on the differences between the new coaching staff led by Matt Eberflus and the old one led by Matt Nagy. He also spoke on the state of the wide receiving corps beyond third-year man Darnell Mooney and what to make of the chatter about Teven Jenkins getting traded while he’s manned the starting right guard position.

Things switch over to the defense as Alex gets honest about his expectations from the Bears’ pass rush. Will Trevis Gipson take another step? Can Robert Quinn turn in another signature season? What about the secondary with two rookies at cornerback (Kyler Gordon) and safety (Jaquan Brisker)?

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Back In The Saddle – Bears Offseason, Bulls Resurgence, NFL, and NBA News Triple Zeros Sports Podcast

Returning from the long layoff to get into the slew of roster moves by the Chicago Bears this offseason and what more is to come, the Chicago Bulls resurgence and Parick Beverley's real impact, plus all of the latest around the NBA (the MVP race), NFL (Jets-Packers standoff)! Follow the show on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@JoshGBuck, @3ZerosPod, @ClockerSports), and check out ClockerSports.com today! Heavy on Bulls/Heavy on Nets/Last Word on Pro Football/Soaring Down South — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/triplezeros/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/triplezeros/support
  1. Back In The Saddle – Bears Offseason, Bulls Resurgence, NFL, and NBA News
  2. Rob Schaefer – NBC Sports Chicago
  3. Ryan Taylor of NBC Sports Chicago – Chicago Bulls Media Day
  4. Alex Shapiro – Chicago Bears Season Preview
  5. Bears Preseason Catch-Up/Bulls Offseason Recap

Be sure to follow Alex on Twitter @AlexShapiroNBCS and check out all of his amazing coverage of the Bears!

Follow the show on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@JoshGBuck@3ZerosPod@ClockerSports), and check out ClockerSports.com today!

Heavy on Bulls/Last Word on Pro Football/Soaring Down South

Triple Zeros – ‘Before Jerry West Was on My Socks’

Triple Zeros

‘Before Jerry West Was on My Socks’

This episode of Triple Zeros starts off picking winners for the two Game 7s taking place on Sunday. Will Giannis Antetokounmpo and the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks advance on the road against Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics? Then, can the Dallas Mavericks pull off the upset against last year’s NBA Finals runner-up in the Chris Paul-led Phoenix Suns? Secretly, there are a couple of Finals matchups that would be more intriguing than others both for basketball and marketing reasons.  Chicago Bulls free agent Zach LaVine‘s name came up in discussion of yet another team ahead of free agency. Draymond Green had something to say to Kendrick Perkins after the Golden State Warriors knocked off the Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies.

On the NFL side, the Chicago Bears are going with a strength-in-numbers approach at wide receiver. But there is still upside among the unheralded group led by Darnell Mooney. Former 16-year veteran running back, Frank Gore, celebrated his 39th birthday with a knockout in his professional boxing debut. A hearing to determine whether Jon Gruden vs Roger Goddell will be heard by an arbitrator or in a trial has a date set. New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston spoke about what his return to football means to him.

Anchor | Apple | Spotify

Heavy on Bulls

Last Word on Pro Football

Soaring Down South

Follow the show on Facebook and Twitter (@3ZerosPod, @JoshGBuck, @ClockerSports) and visit ClockerSport.com today!

NFL Week 9 Waiver Wire

Another week of NFL action is in the books just means more opportunities to work the waiver wire in Week 9. It wasn’t a great week for quarterbacks or running backs; save for Patrick Mahomes and Dalvin Cook, respectively. Tight end has been another issue altogether. We did hit on Joe Burrow and Brandon Aiyuk in Week 8, but it was a rough one overall for our suggested pickups.

There were, as usual, more injuries that will have a fantasy impact. However, they aren’t as pertinent as the status of injuries we were already monitoring. They still provide us with some fill-ins with the Bengals, Brown, Eagles, and Rams all on bye. What might be most shocking is there were a couple of rookies who had strong performances without an injury to a player ahead of them on the depth chart.

NFL Week 9 Waiver Wire: Lock Your Carr

Quarterbacks

Drew Lock

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos pulled the upset and got the win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday thanks in no small part to Drew Lock. The second-year pro threw for 248 yards and three scores against L.A. He struggled in his first two games back from injury, completing just 53 percent of his passes with no touchdowns and four interceptions. But Lock completed better than 63 percent of his passes on his way to being the QB7 through Sunday’s games.

He gets the Atlanta Falcons, who have allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season, in Week 9. Only three quarterbacks have finished outside the top-12 against them; Teddy Bridgewater (in the rematch), Matthew Stafford, and Nick Foles. Lock is a solid option for those going without Burrow this week.

Derek Carr

Las Vegas Raiders

Staying in the AFC West, we land on the most senior quarterback in the division. Derek Carr is in the middle of a career-year in real-life. That hasn’t necessarily translated to fantasy, though, where he’s just QB20 on the season. But he has had usable weeks, peaking as the QB9 in Week 5. He should be back on the streaming radar in Week 9 as Las Vegas takes on the divisional-foe Los Angeles Chargers.

They’ve allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks and just traded away a member of their already depleted secondary. Lock was able to get himself untracked against them, scoring more than 20 fantasy points. Burrow (QB20), Bridgewater (QB21), and Gardner Minshew (QB14) are the only two passers to not crack the top-10 against the Chargers.

Running Backs

Zack Moss

Buffalo Bills

Despite the fairly even overall split of the carries, Zack Moss is the more desirable back going forward for the Buffalo Bills. Devin Singletary (14 carries, 86 yards) drew the start and had more yardage. But Moss (14/81/2) got the ball in high-leverage situations, including all the work inside the 10-yard line. Week 8 was also the first time Moss got the majority of the snaps. Perhaps Moss can help solve Buffalo’s rushing woes.

His Week 9 opponent, the Seattle Seahawks, are tough on backs but this could be a long-term play on the waiver wire. They’ve also allowed 145 yards to Chase Edmonds and 112 yards to  Alexander Mattison in recent weeks. Moss obviously won’t score two touchdowns every week. And Josh Allen, who was playing at an MVP level earlier in the year, is always a threat to take it himself around the goal line. But Moss might be the next best option for a team that led the league in red-zone plays entering the week.

Jordan Wilkins

Indianapolis Colts

What seemed to be out of the ordinary actually has a logical explanation. Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich came out Monday and said rookie starting running back Jonathan Taylor is dealing with an ankle injury. Taylor still managed 11 totes but he could only turn them into 22 yards. Instead, third-year man Jordan Wilkins turned his 20 carries into 89 yards, also catching his lone target for 24 yards. This is Taylor’s role when healthy and Nyheim Hines gobbles up the receiving work pretty effectively.

There is also the matter of the Baltimore Ravens, Indy’s Week 9 opponent. They’ve allowed the fewest fantasy points to backs in 2020. Though, if we’re being honest, four of the seven backs they’ve faced have been the RB17 or better. And two of the other types of performances came over the first two weeks. Wilkins might have a tough time reaching the top-15 considering he gets almost zero action through the air. But he can certainly be a top-24 play in Week 9.

Damien Harris

New England Patriots

You cannot trust a New England Patriots running back. You cannot trust a New Patriots running back. You cannot tru…you get the idea. That’s typically the case but we may be seeing a shift in philosophy that has been looming since Tom Brady left for Tampa. James White has enjoyed the most stable role in this backfield, serving as a safety valve for Brady. But with the Patriots going with a more run-heavy approach with Cam Newton, Damien Harris might be emerging as the most trustworthy asset.

Harris has gotten 10-plus carries in three of four games he’s been active and has hit the century mark in two of them. New England lost all four games; hopefully easing at some concern over his being phased out by game script. He isn’t without worry, though. White isn’t likely completely gone from this offense and Rex Burkhead is the quintessential vulture. But Harris has been playing for Sony Michel and has given no reasons why he shouldn’t continue doing so.

Gus Edwards/J.K. Dobbins

Baltimore Ravens

For one week, at least, fantasy players finally got a glimpse of how the Baltimore Ravens backfield would produce with just two mouths to feed as opposed to three. The results were both Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins finishing in the top-15 in Week 8. Should Mark Ingram (ankle) miss another week, Edwards and Dobbins could be right back in the top-15 against the Indianapolis Colts.

Which of the two should be a priority might depend on your format. Edwards had one more carry and got the lone tote inside the 10-yard line so it’s likely him if your league is standard scoring. But Dobbins out-gained him (113 to 87) and was the preferred third-down option. He should be first-priority in PPR leagues.

Wide Receivers

Marvin Jones

Detroit Lions

Things have a way of coming full circle in sports. That usually manifests in the form of a veteran player signing for a final year, or even a one-day, contract to retire as a member of the team that drafted them. For Marvin Jones, it’s a little different. He was generally drafted toward the end of the eighth round or so as part of what was supposed to be a high-octane passing attack. He is just the WR52 on the year. In Week 8, however, he was the WR8.

A large part of why he was able to reach the ranking he did in Week 8 was because he caught two touchdowns. He caught two of them against the Colts; his just his second and third of the year. But he also got more opportunity due to Kenny Golladay exiting early with a hip injury. Golladay has already missed three games this season so perhaps Detroit takes the extra precautious approach. The Lions face the Minnesota Vikings who have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to wide receivers; just ask Davante Adams.

Darnell Mooney

Chicago Bears

We have had reason to suspect this was coming but it was nice to actually see Chicago Bears rookie receiver Darnell Mooney on the receiving end of a deep pass from Foles. For one thing, the Bears need all the offense they can muster. But, more important for fantasy purposes, it was the process paying off. Mooney has received three-plus targets in every game and has at least five in every game from Week 3 on.

Anthony Miller led Chicago in targets in Week 8 but that includes Allen Robinson; something no one should expect to happen again barring injury. He also still played fewer snaps than Mooney yet again. If one of these two performances was an outlier, it’s probably Miller’s. Sunday was his first game with more than four grabs all season. He’ll need to put together a couple more outing like this to regain the trust he began the year with. But the Tennessee Titans (seventh-most points to wide receivers) on tap, Mooney could yet again crack the top-16 like he did this week.

Kendrick Bourne

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are probably the most injury-riddled team in the NFL. They’re already down one All-Pro pass-rusher and two other key pieces from their vaunted defense. They are also without their top running back and lost his backup in what was his first game back. Now they will be without stud tight end George Kittle for basically the rest of the season. All of this is to say someone has to catch passes and in Week 8, at least, Kendrick Bourne was one of those people.

Bourne registered just one fewer target and had just 10 fewer yards than Brandon Aiyuk who led the 49ers in both categories. He’ll make for a better asset in PPR than standard, touchdowns will be harder to come by with Jimmy Garoppolo also set to miss an extended period of time. Nick Mullens has shown he can get the ball to his playmakers and with Deebo Samuel set to miss a couple more games, Bourne could be a nice FLEX play.

Tight Ends

Trey Burton

Indianapolis Colts

Another week, another rushing touchdown for Trey Burton. No, he hasn’t switched positions. He has just landed in one of the friendliest offenses for tight ends in the NFL. Frank Reich’s system helped revive the career of Eric Ebron and might be doing the same with Burton. He’s already surpassed his yardage and touchdown totals from 2019 with the Bears and he’s done so in half the games.

Mo Alie-Cox started in this role but got injured a few weeks back. This has allowed Burton to emerge for Reich, whom we won a Super Bowl as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. There are obvious risks. Philip Rivers hasn’t been great this year, Jack Doyle isn’t going away, and Burton is still a part-time player. Indy also plays the Ravens in Week 9. Their sturdy defense has been just okay at stopping tight ends and allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers Eric Ebron to catch four passes for 48 yards and a score.

2020 Chicago Bears NFL Draft Recap

The 2020 NFL Draft has come and gone, the most viewed televised draft in history. 55 million over the three days. I think it’s safe to attribute that to the nation’s quarantine policies and draft being completely virtual. Though it was an interesting outcome seeing commissioner Roger Goodell call out draft picks in his man cave from in front of his big-screen to his lounging chair by the third round. Another fun aspect was seeing the draftees and their families’ reactions when their names were called of new members of club NFL.

We even had comic relief, some of the best moments was seeing 17th pick wide receiver CeeDee Lamb showing off his hand-eye coordination by snatching his cellphone back from his girlfriend. How about defensive tackle, and 14th pick, Javon Kinlaw‘s father falling off the couch when his son was selected.

Lastly, and maybe the best one, was the 29th selection, offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson‘s mom yanking his girlfriend out the camera shot, (after she appeared to resist the first request).  This was one of the deepest drafts in recent memory, teams could find solid value through all seven rounds.  Only time will tell, let us not forget 20 years ago one of the greatest players in NFL history was found in the sixth round, Tom Brady.

2020 Bears Draft Recap

Mixed Emotions on Chicago Picks

Chicago’s draft was met with an array of feelings as the team decided for their first pick to opt for drafting the best of the worst, as far as depth, in this year’s crop.  That was at the tight end position, the 43rd-overall pick Cole Kmet from Notre Dame, the 6’5″ 250-pounder is expected to come in and contribute immediately.  Kmet did have an impressive junior year campaign amassing over 500 yards receiving and six touchdowns helping Notre Dame to an 11-2 record.  Fun fact: those six touchdowns were all he had for his college career.

The team’s second selection, 50th overall, was more of a relief, picking Utah cornerback Jaylon Johnson, another junior who finished with 7 career interceptions.  The one big question surrounding Johnson is not his play but his health, he played the entire season with a torn labrum.  Chicago then maneuvered to move up to the third round to grab EDGE Trevis Gipson out of Tulsa.  A solid addition to provide more edge rush depth.  Here are the rest of the new Chicago Bears as follows:

The Bears also signed undrafted free agent Ledarius Mack, younger brother of star Khalil Mack.

What to Grade Chicago’s Draft: C+

Grading the Bears 2020 draft can be debated but that’s my mark on it.  Hey at least it’s a passing grade even though it started out shaky, they brought it up though.  The immediate response was, “What are you doing??” Needs for the team are offensive line, wide receiver, and secondary; specifically safety.  The team circumvented what direction they should’ve gone (see my previous article) but recovered some.  As you’ll see, predictions were dead on as two of them went 44th & 46th.

Initially, it started out as a D, drafting a tight end to an already overcrowded position which brought the number to 10 (since down to nine) on the roster.  Not to mention signing free agents Demetrius Harris and Jimmy Graham.  With Kmet added unless the plan is to convert some of the many tight ends to offensive linemen, maybe Adam Shaheen, expect to see no more than four on the roster.

Speaking of offensive line it appears the staff is content with the unit as is and the free agents from the clearance rack they invested in.  Seeing that the offensive line wasn’t addressed until the end of the draft.  Possibly the addition of the new offensive line coach, 24-year vet Juan Castillo, will add improvement.

General manager Ryan Pace made strong moves thereafter adding substantial depth on the defensive side of the ball snatching up corner Jaylon Johnson and moving into the third round to bolster pass rush getting Trevis Gipson.  He was even able to get considerable value in the fifth at wide receiver with Darnell Mooney, fast, he will need time to develop though.

What to Expect in 2020

With the current state of the sports world, it’s hard to gauge what to expect.  Any team-related activities are virtual, there’s no timetable of when facilities will be open for players and coaches to meet.  It’s an unprecedented time in the league right now, so we all have to play it by ear.  At least the other teams in the division drafts were lackluster except for the Minnesota Vikings.

If there is a silver lining it’s the signing of Ledarius Mack, we can have the “Mack Attack” here on the defense.  This could end up being Pace’s best move of this draft.  Mack’s journey to the NFL can be compared to Vikings Hall of Fame defensive tackle John Randle, who was drafted 30 years ago.  Talk about history repeating itself, Randle also had an older brother in the NFL, Ervin Randle.

It doesn’t stop there, the similarities of both Mack and Randle are uncanny!  Both were considered undersized at their positions at 6’1, Mack weighing 240 lbs and Randle 244 lbs.  Think of the possibilities of playing with and learning from your brother who’s a defensive player of the year and considered one of the best if not the best at his position.  We could soon be witnessing history here in the Windy City but time will tell.