Saturday night

laiyongcai92 · Verfasst am: 21.09.2018, 08:41 Titel: **Saturday night**

Allen Robinson sees no reason he can’t regain the form that made him a Pro Bowl receiver and help the Chicago Bears snap a string of losing seasons.

He insisted the ACL he tore in his left knee in last year’s opener with Jacksonville is coming along just fine. And he expects to be ”fully cleared” for training camp.

”I understand it’s a question for the media Marvin Harrison Jersey ,” Robinson said. ”But I know how I’m going to go about this thing, and I know the kind of player I’m going to be. So for me, there’s no questions.”

He’s looking forward to catching passes from Mitchell Trubisky and playing in new coach Matt Nagy’s offense. Above all, he’s embracing the challenge in Chicago, where the Bears have just one playoff appearance since the 2006 team’s Super Bowl run.

Robinson was one of five free agent acquisitions introduced Thursday along with former Philadelphia tight end Trey Burton, Atlanta receiver Taylor Gabriel, Miami kicker Cody Parkey and New Orleans backup quarterback Chase Daniel.

”We just started the offseason acquisition period now,” general manager Ryan Pace said. ”We’re only one day into it. Let’s take it step by step, the excitement. The draft is right around the corner and that’s our primary mode for adding talent to our team.”

The Bears have four straight last-place finishes in the NFC North – and four straight seasons with 10 or more losses. Their passing game ranked last in the NFL in 2017.

But the Bears are banking on the moves they made to help get the most out of Trubisky – last year’s No. 2 overall draft pick – even though Pace’s record in free agency is spotty.

Not only did they add one of the top receivers on the market, they brought in a versatile tight end who threw a memorable touchdown pass to quarterback Nick Foles in the Super Bowl as well as a speedy receiver in Gabriel.

They also addressed the kicking game, a sore spot since they released Robbie Gould prior to the 2016 season, and brought in a backup QB familiar with the system to mentor Trubisky. Daniel played for Kansas City from 2013-15 when Nagy was the Chiefs‘ quarterbacks coach.

”I was part of this offense in Philadelphia Kyle Williams Jersey ,” Burton said. ”I saw how successful it was. All you need is a couple weapons and a quarterback who can handle all of it and I think that is exactly what we have here in Chicago.”

In Trubisky, Gabriel sees a ”very confident guy” who can ”sling it.”

”When we signed the other day, the first thing I asked him was `How’s your deep ball,’ so I’m excited to be with him and excited to get in and play with him.”

Robinson was also impressed by Trubisky as well as the ”versatility” of Nagy’s offense.

”You see a lot of big plays, you see some dink-and-dunk plays, you see everybody being involved,” he said. ”It’s something that just looked fun to play in.”

Robinson is looking forward to playing, period.

It wasn’t easy watching the Jaguars advance to the AFC championship game after they posted losing records in his first three years. He came into the season thinking he was poised for big things after a dip in production in 2016.

Instead, he injured his knee on the Jaguars’ third play of the season. He has been running sprints and performing ”pretty explosive jumps” as he works his way back.

Pace said the fact that Robinson is only 24 and the injury occurred early in the season bodes well, though he wouldn’t put a timeline on when he expects to see him on the field. Once he’s ready, the Bears envision big things from him.

”He’s just a big target that knows how to get open,” Pace said. ”He’s a savvy route runner that can set guys up and he’s just a proven receiver you know. He’s a physical guy that can body and out-position guys and it’s a guy that obviously we targeted and are excited to get here.”

Notes: The Bears signed LB Aaron Lynch to a one-year contract. A fifth-round draft pick by San Francisco in 2014 Pierre Desir Jersey , he made 19 starts and had 83 tackles and 15 sacks in four seasons with the 49ers.

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The playoff field for the Western Conference is almost set.

Patrik Berglund and St. Louis are going to Colorado to try for the final spot.

Berglund scored three times to help the Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Friday night, setting up a showdown with the Avalanche for the conference’s last wild card.

”When you have to win your last game, it’s intense,” Blues coach Mike Yeo said. ”Obviously there’s lot of pressure. I hope our guys embrace that because it’s going to be a fun game.”

Carter Hutton made 19 saves as St. Louis stopped a three-game slide that included a 4-3 home loss to Chicago on Wednesday night on Duncan Keith’s power-play goal with 8.5 seconds left. Jaden Schwartz also scored in the third after an ugly turnover by the Blackhawks.

St. Louis (44-31-6) moved one point ahead of idle Colorado (42-30-9) heading into their finale Saturday night. The Blues have won three of four against the Avalanche this season.

Colorado needs a regulation win to make it to the postseason, while St. Louis takes the spot if it goes to overtime.

”Final game, 82 all on the line at Denver,” Hutton said.

Erik Gustafsson scored for Chicago, and Jean-Francois Berube made 31 saves. The last-place Blackhawks (33-38-10) finished with an 18-18-5 record at home.

Veteran forward Patrick Sharp got the start in what was likely his final game at the United Center. The 36-year-old Sharp, who has 10 goals and 11 assists in his 15th NHL season, said he probably will retire after the finale Saturday night in his native Winnipeg.

”It’s never easy, but I’m just ready to take that next step in my life, and I’m looking forward to it Josh Jones Jersey ,” Sharp said.

The team honored Sharp with a highlight video in the third period, and he waved his stick and tapped his heart to acknowledge the sustained roar from what was left of the announced crowd of 22,218. With his parents, wife and children watching from the stands, he took another spin around the rink after the game was over and waved as the crowd cheered again.

”It was a tough game out there, tough to concentrate with what was going on inside my head,” said Sharp, a key part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams in Chicago. ”But thankful that I was able to do that. The Hawks put that video on for me in the third which was really special. The guys staying on the ice and making me do a lap was something I’ll always remember. So, special night.”

Berglund redirected a shot by Joel Edmundson past Berube with 1:43 left in the first period. The Blues carried the 1-0 lead into the third, but Gustafsson whipped a wrist shot by Hutton on the stick side at 8:08.

Just 16 seconds later, Berglund swept in from the side and poked home a rebound for his 16th of the season. After Brayden Schenn set up Schwartz’s one-timer at 12:40, Berglund added an empty-netter to complete his second career hat trick.

”I think we all played a pretty good game today Randall Cobb Jersey ,” Berglund said. ”It’s good for everybody’s confidence and now we know what we have to do tomorrow.”

NOTES: The Blackhawks honored Hall of Fame forward Stan Mikita with ”One More Shift” before the game. The 77-year-old Mikita, who is the franchise’s career leader in games played, points and assists and is second in goals to Bobby Hull, has a brain disorder called Lewy body dementia, so his three grandsons represented him on the ice for the national anthem. … Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews missed his seventh straight game with an upper-body injury. Anthony Duclair (lower body), John Hayden (upper body) and Tomas Jurco (illness) also were scratched, and Chicago went with seven defensemen. … The Blues scratched G Jake Allen, and G Ville Husso was the backup for Hutton. Allen is expected to start against the Avalanche in the finale.

UP NEXT

Blues: Visit Colorado on Saturday night.

Blackhawks: Visit Winnipeg on Saturday night.

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