NEWSLETTER
One of the most unique quirks about the 2019 Bears schedule is that some of the team’s *most challenging* opponents have to come to Soldier Field for their showdown.
Indeed, four of the six games the Bears face off against a 2018 playoff team will be played in Chicago. And if you ask Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan, he has a clear preference when he wants to face the Bears.
Why does @camjordan94 want to play the #Bears in Week 1? 🤔
And at what time and when does @camjordan94 want to play the #Rams in 2019? ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/f5qcl7Ystf
— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) April 12, 2019
“It can’t be Week 17,” Jordan said on NFL Total Access after the show’s host made note of the potential for late-season snow flurries and inclement weather.
It’s not a surprise that a player whose team plays its home games in a dome and plays division games in the fair-weathered NFC South wants no part of that Chicago hawk wind blowing off Lake Michigan in December. But then Jordan took it a step further by requesting the Bears and Saints play Week 1 (LOL! That ain’t happening, champ.) and suggesting he likes the matchup from New Orleans’ point of view.
Naturally, Akiem Hicks knows that Jordan and the Saints don’t want that smoke – no matter when the game is played:
Many issues here! @camjordan94
1. You didn’t name drop 2. Your defense can’t hold our jock 3. Watch “Tru” “rik” “AR” and dem boyz light you up! Blessings— akiem hicks (@The_Dream99) April 13, 2019
Hicks has no time for your sideswipes of his squad. But since this went down before the start of the offseason training program, Hicks showed he had plenty of time to defend his teammates by going barb-for-barb in this trash-talk session on Twitter:
You’re right you guys lost because they were just better than you pic.twitter.com/IwiqUobk7Q
— akiem hicks (@The_Dream99) April 13, 2019
So does this pic.twitter.com/tLTn0EMGVo
— akiem hicks (@The_Dream99) April 13, 2019
Oooph a double whammy… pic.twitter.com/0JLYOLPvuW
— cameron jordan (@camjordan94) April 13, 2019
Yaw lost big games two years in a row. And you let 69 block the piss outta you on this play. We’re on the rise we know that. But you guys, you guys don’t wanna see us pic.twitter.com/BXW7OXChNU
— akiem hicks (@The_Dream99) April 13, 2019
The last time the Bears and Saints played, New Orleans came away with a 20-12 win. That game was more known for Zach Miller getting a touchdown taken away from him by the NFL’s review officials and suffering a possible career-ending injury on the same play. But I remember one of my takeaways from that game being that the Bears – despite all their flaws and shortcomings – held their own on the road in the SuperDome against one of the NFL’s best teams.
A rematch with the two teams on a level playing field from a coaching and talent standpoint should make for an even more compelling matchup. Bonus points if it features some snowflakes on the lake front.
