Bears and Puppies, Way-Too-Early Predictions, Schedule Quirks, and Other Bullets

Apr 18, 2019

Baseball fans today should be talking about the breakout that Tim Anderson is having for the White Sox. A first-round pick with prospect pedigree putting it together after going through rough times on the field and in his personal life is the stuff great stories are made of in the sports world. Instead, the discussion is about using the baseball as a tool in which to punish a player because you didn’t get him out. Let the kids play!

The 2019 Bears schedule is out there and it had the most adorable reveal via David Kaplan and NBC Sports Chicago:

https://twitter.com/NBCSChicago/status/1118681548432322560

Puppies and Bears are a winning combination in my book. And while that warmed my heart, the Bears’ reveal video gave me the chills:

Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk notes that the Bears are one of 10 teams scheduled for five-time appearances this season, in case you were curious about how the league and its TV partners feel about Chicago’s football team.

This Bears schedule is a treat. Six games in front of a national television audience. Five prime-time affairs. Three kickoffs at 3:25 p.m. (two at home!) against some prime foes. The first-ever Monday Night Football meeting between Chicago and Washington. Thirteen straight seasons with a prime-time game against the Packers. There is plenty to look forward to in the season to come and there will be plenty of eyes watching. It’s good to be good.

Here’s an odd schedule quirk: The Bears’ first Sunday noon game isn’t until Week 5 when they play the Raiders. Of course, it will be 6 p.m. in London. Luckily, the Bears get their bye week after that overseas trip and should get enough time off to get acclimated with their surroundings again.

For what it’s worth, the Bears’ first Sunday “noon” game that’s actually a noon (CT) start isn’t until Week 8 against the Chargers.

Ah, nothing like a hype video in April to get you pumped up for that Bears-Raiders game in London:

https://twitter.com/NFLUK/status/1118551507480252416

One schedule quirk I don’t like: Closing the season in Minnesota again. I’m already tired of this new tradition. Go make the Vikings play an outdoor game in Chicago or Green Bay to wrap up the regular season. I’m tired of their silly horn ruining the final Sunday of the regular season. Enough already.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, ROBERT!

Me: This new schedule release stuff is silly.

Also me: Taking my dad’s “company” Bears tickets and setting aside the four best games for us was better than Christmas.

— Robert Mays (@robertmays) April 18, 2019

The league’s schedule release is a gateway to making predictions for what will happen in the year to come. I find it difficult to get to that point before the draft, but NFL analytics expert Cynthia Frelund’s model is ready to share predictions – some of which will put a smile on the faces of Bears fans everywhere. Frelund predicts the Bears will go 10-6 and win the NFC North again. Chicago’s defense figures to be the driving force in the team’s success, much like it was last year.

For what it’s worth, Frelund also has the Packers at 10-6 and making the postseason as a wild-card team because of an improved defense and a healthy Aaron Rodgers. The Vikings (8-8) and Lions (6-10) are left in the dust and are viewed as not having enough to compete with the Bears and Packers at the top of the division. Chicago swept Minnesota and Detroit last season, and doing so again in 2019 would put them in position to find a way to get a second consecutive 10+ win season and division title.

Gary Davenport (Bleacher Report) and John “Moon” Mullin (NBC Sports Chicago) also have the Bears at 10-6. Hooray for optimism! But Davenport also has the Packers (10-6) and Vikings (9-7) right on their tails, so let’s not lose sight of the Bears’ competition.

During yesterday’s livestream, I struggled to recall a tweet I thought presented an accurate assessment of the 2019 Bears roster. But I knew I’d find it and here it is:

The Bears might not quite have the league's BEST roster, but it's the roster with the fewest holes.

— Andy Benoit (@Andy_Benoit) April 4, 2019

What a puzzle:

Every game.
For every NFL team.
All in one place.

The 2019 NFL Schedule is HERE! #NFLScheduleRelease pic.twitter.com/e8ON4iq9iz

— NFL (@NFL) April 18, 2019

Cast-iron cookware highlights today’s Deals of the Day at Amazon. Anybody hungry?

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com lists the Raiders, Broncos, Saints, Eagles, and Packers among the eight teams that have the toughest schedules in 2019. What do those listed teams have in common? They all play the Bears.

Unless you’re the New England Patriots, there’s really no such thing as an easy schedule:

The NFL schedule releases tonight, but we already know the opponents. Here is 2019 Strength of Schedule based on current rosters (not 2018 records): pic.twitter.com/fU78e0KfU2
— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) April 17, 2019

Ex-Bears receiver Earl Bennett has a growing audience as he finds his voice as he goes through life as a retired NFL player:

You probably know @EarlBBennett has a podcast and is now doing #StoryTimeWithEarl on Twitter. But did you know he’s working on his Ph.D? https://t.co/wrGRk3eWqv
— jon greenberg (@jon_greenberg) April 18, 2019

Meant to slide this into the Zach Miller retirement post, but better late than never:

#Bears tight end @ZMiller86 announced his retirement.

He dropped just 4 passes in his NFL career.

Before his knee injury, no tight end had better hands… pic.twitter.com/EwUPHgjyTs

— PFF CHI Bears (@PFF_Bears) April 16, 2019

I’d like to pass along my condolences to the family and friends of Chet Coppock, who passed away after sustaining injuries in a car accident in Georgia. Coppock was a legendary Chicago sportscaster who was essentially the Godfather of Chicago sports radio. His contributions the the sports media world will never be forgotten.

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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