Dein erstes Forum » upset, but it came in the divisions big

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears second-year safety Adrian Amos played five positions in college, so all the lineup shuffling his current team is doing is nothing too traumatic.Still, its anything but ideal when injuries force a rebuilding team to use numerous inexperienced defensive players before theyre ready, and it partially explains the Bears 1-4 start this season.Communication is everything for us, Amos said. With the way the season has been going, we know anybody can be in there at any time.So we have to all know the terminology and understand each other.Going against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, the Bears could have even more lineup changes in the secondary.Its possible Chris Prosinski could start at safety in place of Harold Jones-Quartey, although defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said this hasnt yet been decided. A hamstring injury could cause Bryce Callahan to sit out, leading to playing time for Jacoby Glenn, rookies Deiondre Hall and CreVon LeBlanc.The secondary has used nine players in coverage, and it all started before the regular season with knee surgery for starting cornerback Kyle Fuller. Several other nagging injuries added to the problem.Through those changes, as well as injuries to linebackers Danny Trevathan, Lamarr Houston and nose tackle Eddie Goldman, the Bears still rank 14th in yards allowed. They finished 19th last season.Were hopefully getting better every day, coach John Fox said. I think it wasnt all bad (Sunday). We had the ball last with an opportunity to win and it just didnt work out.Those guys will grow and get better just like everybody else on our football team.Fangio said its a setback for the development of numerous inexperienced players when theyre suffering injuries.Rookie Leonard Floyd is one example. The Bears first-round draft pick missed last weeks game with a calf injury.Theyre in all the meetings, at all the practices getting mental reps, but ultimately the only way you learn is doing it on the practice field and doing it in the games, Fangio said.The Colts took advantage of Glenns inexperience at corner for a game-winning, fourth-quarter touchdown pass last week. Fangio absorbed some blame by saying he should have given an inexperienced player help.I should have protected him better on that play, Fangio said. So half of that is my fault. I should have given him more help knowing hes in there.But hey, thats just part of being a corner. Youve got to be able to come back. Theyre going to catch some balls on you. Youve got to learn from it and play it better the next time.The learning could continue Sunday against Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles and receiver Allen Robinson.When injured players start coming to full health, a rebuilt defense could begin to fulfill the expecations coaches had.We just have to keep plugging away, linebacker Willie Young said. Well worry about the things that we can control.The things we cant control -- its oh well, just keep plugging away.Game notes Quarterback Jay Cutler, out with a thumb injury since the second game, threw a few passes prior to Wednesdays practice but did not participate in drills or scrimmage. Brian Hoyer continues to play first-team quarterback. ... Running back Jeremy Langford (ankle) and Goldman (ankle) did not practice. ... Cornerback Tracy Porter (knee) did not practice.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Louis Lipps Steelers Jersey . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. Lynn Swann Steelers Jersey .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/Steelers-Kevin-Greene-Jersey/ . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. Donnie Shell Womens Jersey . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. Joe Greene Jersey . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. ARCADIA, Calif. -- As a championship event, the 2016 Breeders Cup delivered, and especially in tremendous renewals of the Classic and Distaff. But while there is some important stakes racing left this year, mainly on Thanksgiving weekend, most of this years Eclipse Award divisions were decided by the time official went up on the tote board following Saturdays Classic.Lets take a look at the 10 equine Eclipse Award divisions on the flat, and the impact this Breeders Cup had on them, with a brief comment on Horse of the Year honors at the end:Older Dirt Male: California Chrome had this title wrapped up months ago with a compelling body of work highlighted by powerful victories in the Dubai World Cup and Pacific Classic. His narrow loss in Saturdays Classic, without any excuse, by the way, will have no bearing on him winning this divisional championship in a landslide.Older Dirt Female: Beholder might have temporarily ceded leadership in this division when Stellar Wind beat her for a second time in the Zenyatta after first edging her in the Clement L. Hirsch, but Beholder wrested it back Friday with her gutsy win in the Distaff. Taking nothing away from Songbird, who was gallant in narrow defeat in the Distaff after setting the pace, but the Distaff pace never really developed the way it figured to do so. In fact, the pace in the Distaff was downright moderate. Beholder ran better than her tiny win margin would suggest because she overcame a setup that wasnt entirely favorable. So Beholder will get what will be her fourth Eclipse Award, all earned in different years, and that is quite a feat.3-Year-Old Male: It would have been impossible to imagine a colt who hadnt even started in a stakes race on Aug. 26 could win this championship. But on Aug. 27, Arrogate delivered an explosive performance winning the Travers Stakes, a performance so exceptional that it suddenly put him in the conversation with Nyquist and Exaggerator for divisional honors. And when Nyquist proved unable to follow up on his strong Kentucky Derby win, apparently being cooked for good in a senseless Preakness speed duel, and when Exaggerator proved that his big wins this year were entirely functions of wet tracks and perfect pace setups, the path for Arrogate became more clear. He had to win the Classic to close the deal, which he did in a performance just as impressive as his Travers, but for a different reason. To run down a loose-on-the-lead monster like California Chrome is incredible stuff. Arrogate is hands down the champion 3-year-old male, and I cant wait to see what he does next year.3-Year-Old Female: When she romped in the Cotillion on Oct. 1, Songbird obliterated any potential scenario that could have denied her another divisional championship this year. But her game effort in the Distaff while racing near an inside that some thought might not have been the best part of the Santa Anita main track on Friday only enhanced the case that she should be a unanimous champion. Really, shame on any Eclipse Award voter who does not have her on top of their ballot.2-Year-Old Male: Without question, Classic Empire clinched this title by virtue of his determined victory in what felt like a very strongly run Juvenile. How strongly run was the Juvenile? Well, even after acknowledging that the Juvenile Fillies run earlier on Saturdays card was a weak renewal, the time of the Juvenile was faster by 2.52 seconds, which is an enormous gap. Classic Empires resume, which also includes a victory in the Grade 1 Breeders Futurity and Grade 3 Bashford Manor, and which has a solitary blemish when he wheeled after the start of the Hopeful, is considerably stronger than any of his contemporaries. However, Not This Time ran a terrific race finishing second in the Juvenile, and while he has no championship claim over Classic Empire, the two might have kindled in the Juvenile what could become a delicious rivalry.2-Year-Old Female: At first glance, you might think Champagne Rooms $69.20 upset in what was a slow Juvenile Fillies just confused further what was already an unsettled division. And sure, going forward from this race, you would probably want Juvenile Fillies runner-up Valadorna, who was coming off just a maiden win, or American Gal, who had an even more absurd trip than she figured to get from the 12 hole.ddddddddddddBut by winning the big one, and the Grade 2 Sorrento in August, Champagne Room simply has better credentials than anyone else in her division, and it will take something out of the box for anyone to displace her from the top by seasons end.Male Turf: This is one division where I doubt the corresponding Breeders Cup race will have a meaningful impact on the Eclipse Award vote. Highland Reel was a daylight winner of the Turf, beating Flintshire by 1-3/4 lengths. But everyone who watched the race (which I really hope means everyone who will vote in the Eclipse Awards) knows that Highland Reel absolutely walked on the lead in the early stages. And I mean walked, and that brings into question the conclusiveness of the result. When you couple that with the fact that this was Highland Reels only U.S. start of the year, well, I think the award should and will go to Flintshire. Victories in the Grade 1 Manhattan, Grade 1 Sword Dancer, and Grade 2 Bowling Green, and his seconds in the Turf and in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic give Flintshire a body of work that Highland Reels base on balls, somewhat fluky Turf cant equal.Female Turf: The scenario was somewhat clear here. Lady Eli had to do something special winning the Filly and Mare Turf, and Tepin had to do nothing against males in the Mile, for Lady Eli to have a shot to carry the vote. Lady Eli ran very well in the Filly and Mare Turf, but was nailed late. Tepin did a lot more than nothing in the Mile, finishing a rallying second to Tourist, beaten only a half-length. Tepins performance in the Mile was more than enough to cap a body of work on the year that included six group or graded stakes victories, led, of course, by her historic Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.Male Sprinter: The infected cut that caused Lord Nelson to be scratched from the Sprint (he was also retired) might prove very costly in terms of this divisional title. In Lord Nelsons absence, the 3-year-old colt Drefong posted a clear-cut victory in the Sprint that was impressive because he withstood being inside of severe pace pressure, which is never a good place to be. The Sprint was Drefongs second Grade 1 victory (he won the Kings Bishop in his prior start) and second stakes win of any sort in a perfect 4-for-4 season. It should be noted that Lord Nelson, who was the divisions leader before the Breeders Cup, collected three Grade 1 wins this year. But fair or not, Breeders Cup events obviously carry importance well beyond typical Grade 1 races, and Drefong is now the likely male sprint champion.Female Sprinter: This division might leave you feeling cold with the way no one in it really stepped up. And Finest City might not fit your ideal profile of an Eclipse Award winner with just two wins in eight starts this year. But thats what the Filly and Mare Sprint is for, to sort these matters out when we need some guidance. Finest Citys Filly and Mare Sprint victory might have been an upset, but it came in the divisions biggest race, and at least she has a Grade 2 sprint victory earlier in the season in the Great Lady M Stakes to make you feel better about the fact that her title argument is simply better than any of her division mates.Horse of the Year: My feeling is, instead of making a quick decision between the only two real candidates for this honor - Arrogate and California Chrome - it would be best to let the Breeders Cup dust settle and then think about it. California Chromes body of work this year is compelling, and is simply better than Arrogates cumulative record. However, Arrogate proved that, at least on Saturday, he was better than California Chrome. I mean, California Chrome had everything his own way in the Classic, so much so that jockey Victor Espinoza couldnt stop looking around behind him, and Arrogate still came and beat him. That was big man stuff. So while respect for body of work is very important, it shouldnt deny a possibly superior horse our games most important year-end championship. We have to let this one simmer for a while. ' ' '