Eberflus and Waldron Spark Cubs Offense, Newfound Caleb Love, Remembering Bill Tobin, and Other Bears Bullets

bears coach matt eberflus

Sorry for the late version of post-brunch Bears Bullets. I’ll make it up to you somehow.

  • I don’t want to lead off with somber news, but I do want to pay some respect to Bill Tobin. The former Bears exec passed away on Friday. Tobin was instrumental in building the Super Bowl XX champs. Among the draft picks the Bears made under Tobin’s watch include Walter Payton (Hall of Famer), Doug Plank (who was the inspiration for Buddy Ryan’s 46 defense), Richard Dent (a Hall of Famer), and Jimbo Covert (yet another Hall of Famer). May he rest in peace and may his family and friends find comfort in this time. You can read more about Tobin’s impact via the Bears (Mayer), Tribune (Biggs), and Sun-Times (Finley).
  • Onward…
  • Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron showed up at Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs offense explodes for eight runs against the Miami Marlins. If that is a preview of what is to come for the Bears, then let me just hit the fast foward button to September so we can get to seeing what Caleb Williams, D’Andre Swift, Keenan Allen, D.J. Moore, Cole Kmet, and others can do.
  • A meeting of the minds at Wrigley with Cubs Manager Craig Counsell and Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus linking up:
  • Things Matt Eberflus and I have in common: We spent Friday at Wrigley Field knowing damn well that we’re about to hunker down for NFL Draft Week. Enjoying some baseball with friends is a good way to spend the day. Also: We both have beards. So, we’ve got that going for us.
  • To hear Bears fans go from “We Want Justin!” at Soldier Field in Week 17 to chanting Caleb Williams’ name in the Wrigley Field bleachers in April is pretty wild:
  • https://twitter.com/CHGO_Sports/status/1781417481564835910

  • I don’t think any fan base gets behind a singular player the same way Bears fans get behind the starting quarterback. It doesn’t seem to matter who it is (although Mike Glennon and Andy Dalton seem like obvious exceptions to the rule). Justin Fields, Tyson Bagent, Mitchell Trubisky, Nick Foles (I could go on) are all recent examples of quarterbacks who fans have unapologetically backed despite any number of reasons to pump the brakes. The gumption of this fanbase’s attempts to will worthwhile quarterback play into existence is admirable.
  • Josh Schrock (NBC Sports Chicago) explores why Caleb Williams is built to break the Bears quarterback curse. I don’t believe in curses. Hexes? Sure. But curses? Nah. The only curse holding the Bears back is the curse of mismanagement. And that is hardly a curse. That’s more like questionable decision-making and an inability to understand positional value and importance. Couple that with an an unwillingness to modernize and you’ve got the Bears being where they are as a franchise in 2024. Call it what you want, but it sure seems like Williams is built differently compared to other Chicago QB projects.
  • Elsewhere, teams like the Denver Broncos are left to try to make fetch happen with a QB prospect who doesn’t have a Caleb Williams-like pedigree. Among those teams is the Denver Broncos. Head Coach Sean Payton says “it sure looks like we have to draft a quarterback” but doesn’t want to force the issue. Denver’s QB depth chart features Jarrett Stidham as QB1 and Ben DiNucci as QB2. So, yeah, the Broncos will draft a QB at some point next weekend. Book it. (Pro Football Talk)
  • The Broncos need to trade up if they want to get the best possible quarterback prospect. But they’ll have trouble getting into a top-4 slot from their current starting spot at No. 12. Denver figures to have plenty of company in terms of teams wanting to slide up the board. Chicago’s football team could be one of those sneaky trade-up teams. But Gene Chamberlain of SI’s Bear Digest thinks a Bears trade-up has too many potential landmines to happen.
  • What a fun stat:
  • https://twitter.com/WatchMarquee/status/1781433662732460111

  • Also fun: I was at two of those games. Keep sending me to Cubs games, folks! (CC: Michael, Brett)
  • BLEACHER NATION ON FACEBOOK: Cubs | Bears | Bulls | Blackhawks

  • The Chicago Cubs offense put up eight runs on Friday against the Miami Marlins. But Jameson Taillon low-key stole the show. Taillon’s postgame comments should make you feel even better about his 2024 debut.
  • NHL Mock Draft shenanigans from our friends at BN Blackhawks:
  • Exhale. Relax. It’s finally over. The Chicago Bulls lost to the Miami Heat in the final play-in to get into the playoffs. It’s time to pivot to the Chicago Sky, anyway. And, hey, maybe you can get a head start on snagging some merch:
  • 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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