James Daniels Celebrates His Graduation With Style and Other Bullets

This is the third Mother’s Day I’ve had without my mother, who passed away in March 2017. She is gone, but not forgotten. So to all the moms who shaped my life growing up, to my friends who are doing the thing as moms right now: Happy Mother’s Day! It’s all love.

  • Seeing this warmed my heart:
  • I’m a big softy, so I get all the feels when I see ballplayers go back to school, finish what they started, and cross that stage as graduates. It surely means a lot to them, but it also means a ton for their family and friends who helped them along the way before they were stars. Way to go, James Daniels (and the rest of the graduates out there). Everybody is proud of you!
  • To be honest, I was a tiny-bit concerned about Daniels early in the season. He didn’t win a starting gig out of camp and I wasn’t sure what his role would be out of the gate. But the Bears did a superb job of developing him throughout the summer, bringing him along, easing him into game action, and then allowing him to flourish as the team’s left guard. It was a remarkable job by the coaching staff to get a player whipped into shape and thriving for a playoff team. And while what position he will play in 2019 is still up in the air, I feel better about Daniels’ future – no matter the position.
  • On the other side of the field, Kyle Fuller was The Man in man coverage:
  • Because Chuck Pagano’s defensive scheme figures to call for more blitzing than Vic Fangio’s system, the Bears’ cornerbacks might play in zone coverage more. But because Fuller was SO GOOD in man coverage, I expect the Bears’ new DC to play to each player’s strengths. And since we figure that will be the case, Pagano will probably have to tweak his system to get the most out of the players. It’s a small sacrifice, but one worth making for this collection of talent.
  • If the Bears want to play the disrespect card in 2019, it looks like they’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so. Among Adam Schein’s bold predictions at NFL.com, he has the Packers (not the Bears) winning the NFC North with an 11-win season. That would be unfortunate on so many levels. It’s not much of a consolation prize that Schein still has the Bears winning 10 games, which likely puts them in a playoff spot. But not stringing together consecutive division titles would be disappointing because things are lined up for the Bears to be at the top of the division right now. Taking advantage of this competitive window is key.
  • And then there is CBS Sports football columnist Pete Prisco, whose post-draft power rankings have the Bears down at No. 12. But with six NFC teams ahead of the Bears, Prisco’s power rankings would have them on the outside looking in at the playoffs. Uhhh … what? The NFC is going to be a donnybrook, but that’s a percipitous drop-off – even if the Bears are still hanging around as one of the teams in the top third of the entire league.
  • Somehow, the Packers – who finished at 7-9 last year – jumped all the way to No. 2 because … reasons? Beats me.
  • Books and bedding are among your Deals of the Day at Amazon today.
  • I appreciate the Bears’ community efforts:
  • These pics are #fireemoji:
  • https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/1127213293091864577

  • A former Bear who is ridiculously fast is making the rounds on a tryout basis:
  • written by

    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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