A well-deserved critique of Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson
Well, yes, games are won and lost by the whole team. Every now and then, however, we get an outlier, a game lost by one person.Hello, Tyrique Stevenson.What the Bears cornerback did on the final play Sunday against the Commanders in Landover, Maryland, nearly defies language or logic.With time expiring, the Bears leading 15-12 and the Commanders 52 yards from the end zone, Stevenson turned his back on the field of play and began taunting Commanders fans in the stands. Or perhaps — his story — he was celebrating with the few Bears fans scattered about.No matter because — hello! — there’s a football game going on. And you’re supposed to be part of it.It took a growing number of cellphone videos to be posted to the internet, then to be picked up by network and cable TV, to show that Stevenson didn’t turn around and join his defensive teammates for more than four seconds. Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels already had received the snap, eluded Bears rushers and was scrambling madly, preparing for the longest pass of his rookie career.Were the odds good that Daniels could complete the bomb with seven Bears back defending at or near the goal line against only four receivers? No. Were they close to zero? Yes.But throw in a defensive back who seems to have lost his mind, and the odds move way up.When Stevenson finally looked around and decided to join the play that was unfolding, he stayed away from the cluster before running and jumping as high as he could into the scrum, higher than anyone else, only to tip the ball directly to Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.So the Bears lost 18-15.All that came before was irrelevant. This one play meant all.And now the cherry on top. It came out that Stevenson was supposed to be covering Brown in the end zone, guarding the very man poised to catch the tipped ball — the ball that Stevenson tipped to him, that is.If this is discipline, then the inmates are in control of the asylum. How many times do we see immature, clueless or hotdogging players celebrate before a game ends, only to screw up? There are videos of such stupidity everywhere.Just last week, I watched over and over again the video of Central Florida cornerback Braeden Marshall joyfully dropping the ball on the 1-yard line at the end of a 71-yard interception return against Iowa State.You always can look up the classic Super Bowl dumbness of the Cowboys’ Leon Lett celebrating too soon as the Bills’ Don Beebe races from far back to knock the ball away at the goal line.Stevenson is now a meme, a caricature. That play will be watched forever as an example of what not to do in a sport, any sport.You wonder about the rest of the Bears, who apparently forgave Stevenson. You wonder whether that’s for real. A victory lost. Can everybody trust everybody now and figure they’re all in it together, till the final buzzer, horn, tick, whatever?Wouldn’t you be outraged if Stevenson were your teammate? And, if you’re a leader, wouldn’t you have tried to corral him, focus his brain, bring him into the flock? Maybe it would have been different if defensive backs Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker weren’t injured and were on the field.Coach Matt Eberflus was gentle and soft, saying, ‘‘I’ll have to look at what the execution was on that.’’No, you don’t. Eberflus said the Bears have practiced against Hail Marys ‘‘a hundred times.’’ This was an inexplicable screw-up. Where’s the leadership?Maybe the Bears could have called a timeout before the last heave and gotten everybody’s attention. They had three timeouts in their pocket. With only three linemen rushing and one linebacker spying, Daniels was able to scramble for 12 seconds, set up like a javelin thrower or center fielder with a crow hop and heave the ball for what would have been an astounding 66 yards, had it completed its arc with nobody touching it.A lot of quarterbacks can’t throw that far. But Daniels, a Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 2 overall pick last spring, can. Anybody think of that?‘‘I think it’s really a good lesson for everybody to learn from in terms of how to respect the game,’’ tight end Cole Kmet said in summarizing the mess.Ya think?
Well, yes, games are won and lost by the whole team. Every now and then, however, we get an outlier, a game lost by one person.
Hello, Tyrique Stevenson.
What the Bears cornerback did on the final play Sunday against the Commanders in Landover, Maryland, nearly defies language or logic.
With time expiring, the Bears leading 15-12 and the Commanders 52 yards from the end zone, Stevenson turned his back on the field of play and began taunting Commanders fans in the stands. Or perhaps — his story — he was celebrating with the few Bears fans scattered about.
No matter because — hello! — there’s a football game going on. And you’re supposed to be part of it.
It took a growing number of cellphone videos to be posted to the internet, then to be picked up by network and cable TV, to show that Stevenson didn’t turn around and join his defensive teammates for more than four seconds. Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels already had received the snap, eluded Bears rushers and was scrambling madly, preparing for the longest pass of his rookie career.
Were the odds good that Daniels could complete the bomb with seven Bears back defending at or near the goal line against only four receivers? No. Were they close to zero? Yes.
But throw in a defensive back who seems to have lost his mind, and the odds move way up.
When Stevenson finally looked around and decided to join the play that was unfolding, he stayed away from the cluster before running and jumping as high as he could into the scrum, higher than anyone else, only to tip the ball directly to Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
So the Bears lost 18-15.
All that came before was irrelevant. This one play meant all.
And now the cherry on top. It came out that Stevenson was supposed to be covering Brown in the end zone, guarding the very man poised to catch the tipped ball — the ball that Stevenson tipped to him, that is.
If this is discipline, then the inmates are in control of the asylum. How many times do we see immature, clueless or hotdogging players celebrate before a game ends, only to screw up? There are videos of such stupidity everywhere.
Just last week, I watched over and over again the video of Central Florida cornerback Braeden Marshall joyfully dropping the ball on the 1-yard line at the end of a 71-yard interception return against Iowa State.
You always can look up the classic Super Bowl dumbness of the Cowboys’ Leon Lett celebrating too soon as the Bills’ Don Beebe races from far back to knock the ball away at the goal line.
Stevenson is now a meme, a caricature. That play will be watched forever as an example of what not to do in a sport, any sport.
You wonder about the rest of the Bears, who apparently forgave Stevenson. You wonder whether that’s for real. A victory lost. Can everybody trust everybody now and figure they’re all in it together, till the final buzzer, horn, tick, whatever?
Wouldn’t you be outraged if Stevenson were your teammate? And, if you’re a leader, wouldn’t you have tried to corral him, focus his brain, bring him into the flock? Maybe it would have been different if defensive backs Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker weren’t injured and were on the field.
Coach Matt Eberflus was gentle and soft, saying, ‘‘I’ll have to look at what the execution was on that.’’
No, you don’t. Eberflus said the Bears have practiced against Hail Marys ‘‘a hundred times.’’ This was an inexplicable screw-up. Where’s the leadership?
Maybe the Bears could have called a timeout before the last heave and gotten everybody’s attention. They had three timeouts in their pocket. With only three linemen rushing and one linebacker spying, Daniels was able to scramble for 12 seconds, set up like a javelin thrower or center fielder with a crow hop and heave the ball for what would have been an astounding 66 yards, had it completed its arc with nobody touching it.
A lot of quarterbacks can’t throw that far. But Daniels, a Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 2 overall pick last spring, can. Anybody think of that?
‘‘I think it’s really a good lesson for everybody to learn from in terms of how to respect the game,’’ tight end Cole Kmet said in summarizing the mess.
Ya think?
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