Happy Birthday Walter, Coaches with Swag, Good Hands All Over, and Other Bullets

Jul 25, 2018

Today would’ve been Walter Payton’s 64th birthday, so let’s take a moment to pay respect to the greatest Bears player to put on the uniform and check out some highlights:

Slot cornerback Cre’von LeBlanc shares a birthday with Walter Payton, which is kinda neat. And it allows me to present a smooth transition into a bullet in which LeBlanc is primarily featured as one of the two people who gave Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy his nickname:

Matt Nagy: “No, I have zero Swag”. Both Tarik Cohen and Cre’von LeBlanc call Nagy “Swaggy” and the coach said he doesn’t mind it one bit. Likes to see guys have fun. #Bears
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) July 24, 2018

A guy who has a ton of swag probably doesn’t need to brag about it. Hence, it makes sense that the Bears coach said he doesn’t have swag. That’s exactly what someone with swag would want you to believe in order to keep you off the right path and on your toes. I see what you’re doing there, coach.

Tarik Cohen has an undeniable amount of swag. You can see it in how he plays and even when you’re at the sidelines at camp with how he interacts with others. Cohen told the Chicago Sun-Times he expects to see a lot of one-on-one matchups this season, which should allow him to break off some big plays as coaches try to put him into favorable situations. The second-year back said he is more comfortable in the offense now that things have slowed down after a hectic rookie year. Let’s not forget how much he had on his plate early in his playing career despite his snap share being around 36 percent.

Cohen owns a very visible amount of confidence, and why wouldn’t you if you had his talent and skill set? It also helps knowing that you’ll be a key cog in what is expected to be a competent, professional offense because you can do a variety of things and aren’t limited in your abilities.

Of course, Cohen isn’t the only one who’s going to be lining up all over the field. And while we kinda knew that coming into camp, it’s good to see other parties express it:

“I’m everywhere in this offense,” Gabriel describing his role with the team. “I’m at running back, I’m going deep, I’m getting screens, and I need to be available.”
— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 23, 2018

How the Bears use Cohen and Gabriel in the same lineup at the same time is one of those things we can’t wait to see unfold once the regular season rolls around. It’s one thing to see it at training camp or in the preseason, but I don’t expect the Bears to show too much of their hand with those two athletes during meaningless summer contests.

Gabriel seems to be ready to roll on as he continues to pick up Nagy’s offense, expressing his belief that his new coach can use him in ways that could invoke visions of Chiefs star Tyreek Hill. “How many ways can you use speed? You can use it in all type of different ways,” Gabriel explained, via the Sun-Times. “So it’s just exciting and with Nagy having Tyreek Hill, the things he did with him, it’s very exciting. And to bring that to this offense, I’m excited to get to the season. I keep saying I’m excited because I’m excited.” Well said, Mr. Gabriel. I couldn’t have put it any better myself if I tried.

Pro Football Weekly’s Hub Arkush dives into the differences in Nagy’s offense compared to what we’ve seen before. Arkush doesn’t seem to think it’s as radically different as we think it could possibly be, but anything that puts up a steady stream of points would count as drastically different compared to what we’ve seen in recent years.

Well, this certainly wasn’t in the Bears’ playbook last season:

Mitch-Turbo-Rik Rik-Mitch #BearDown pic.twitter.com/7zE3vrg6EQ

— Greg Braggs Jr. (@GBraggsJr) July 23, 2018

It’s good to see everyone working on their hands at this point of camp. Every bit helps:

Matt Nagy said of Jordan Howard: “That kid is working on his hands every single day, and it’s reflecting in practice.”

— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) July 23, 2018

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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Happy Birthday Walter, Coaches with Swag, Good Hands All Over, and Other Bullets

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