I’m Not Sure If Matt Nagy is More Pumped About 2019 or Mad About Not Playing Anymore and Other Bullets
The last three mornings I have woken up to the disappointment of snow in my yard.
That, coupled with the reality that the Bears aren’t doing anything meaningful on the field for the next seven months, has me singing the winter blues until further notice.
- Maybe I need to replay Monday’s press conference starring Head Coach Matt Nagy and General Manager Ryan Pace. Nagy, specifically, seemed to have his energy on another level:
- Perhaps he was still miffed about not coaching this week. I would be, too. Maybe the Cody Parkey TODAY show interview grinds his gears so much that he has to transfer that energy into being pumped up about the future. I can see that, too. It’s also possible that Nagy is genuinely excited about the future and what we saw yesterday was the manifestation of it. If you want to sit through 41 minutes, 8 seconds of reflection on 2018 and hope for 2019, be my guest. Just know there is a chance you emerge from it feeling better than you did in the immediate aftermath of Parkey’s missed kick.
- This is too accurate:
Check out Nagy's face while Pace is talking about how disappointed they were in Cody Parkey's season. You can practically hear the beginning of "The Sound of Silence" playing in his mind: "Hello darkness, my old friend…" pic.twitter.com/g76ytKIbkT
— Desipio.com (@desipiodotcom) January 14, 2019
- The differences in the facial expressions and tone when discussing Parkey and when they talked about Mitch Trubisky couldn’t be any different. Think about how your parents looked and sounded when you disappointed them versus the times you did something good. Pace and Nagy sounded like proud papas when talking about Trubisky’s growth and future. And when Parkey was the topic of conversation, well, the screenshot above speaks a thousand words.
- No wonder they were excited about Trubisky moving forward:
Top 15 in ESPN's QBR stat in 2018:
1. Mahomes
2. Brees
3. Trubisky
4. Ben
5. Luck
6. Brady
7. Rivers
8. Winston
9. Matt Ryan
10. Foles
11. Goff
12. Wilson
13. Wentz
14. Watson
15. FitzpatrickInteresting rankings.
— Johnny Kinsley (@Brickwallblitz) January 15, 2019
- As for Parkey, the writing is on the wall … isn’t it? Over at NBC Sports Chicago, JJ Stankevitz believes the Bears kicker’s days with the team appear numbered, after his television appearance on the TODAY show following that gut-punch of a loss on Wild-Card Weekend. Nagy seemed truly displeased with Parkey’s “me” decision to go on the show, and I’m starting to feel convinced that his TV gig might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
- The probability of the Bears bringing in a kicker to compete with Parkey at points throughout the offseason was high – and they could’ve used that competition to push the envelope, put pressure on Parkey to perform, and eventually allow him to kick his way back onto the 2019 roster. But after hearing Nagy talk about the situation, it’s hard to imagine Parkey returning to that locker room for any competition.
- Earl Bennett went to Vanderbilt, an SEC school that churns out intelligent graduates on an annual basis. Listen to Earl, please:
BRING BACK @RobbieGould09 https://t.co/cp3PkQZ3Uj
— Earl B. Bennett (@EarlBBennett) January 14, 2019
- Kalyn Kahler of SI.com’s The MMQB takes us behind the scenes of what it was like to kick a 43-yard field goal in the snow after a trip to Goose Island for last Saturday’s field goal challenge. While some might disagree, I still think this stunt was an overwhelming success. It gave the brewery some positive PR, allowed non-athletes to live out their dreams (and possibly kick away the frustrations of a disappointing end to the football season), and Lurie Children’s Hospital was the recipient of a $20,000 donation. Everyone was a winner.
- The first of many branches … hopefully:
With all the talk of coaching trees, does Vic Fangio count as a head coach off the Matt Nagy tree?
— Matt Eurich (@MattEurich) January 15, 2019
- To go from possibly coaching with Vic Fangio to coaching against the defense he built in Chicago is a bold strategy for the Kubiaks. Let’s see how this plays out:
Official titles for today’s #Vikings hires
Gary Kubiak – Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Advisor
Klint Kubiak – Quarterbacks Coach
Brian Pariani – Tight Ends Coach
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 15, 2019
- Bears football needs more of this:
“How do we use our platform in the best way possible?” Learn how the @ChicagoBears came together to help make an impact in their community. #InspireChange pic.twitter.com/zC6rNNHxgf
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) January 14, 2019
- That’s cool:
It is finally here! Together with @TheChrisRubio and Kevin Gold of @longsnapcom, we present to you The Patrick Mannelly Award presented to the top collegiate Long Snapper! For more information, please go to https://t.co/6lCzCYekfv pic.twitter.com/xOz3WuViRp
— Patrick Mannelly (@PatrickMannelly) January 15, 2019
- Baseball was my first love, so seeing this stings a little:
I have declared for the NFL Draft.
— Kyler Murray (@TheKylerMurray) January 14, 2019
Kyler mood… pic.twitter.com/qE0REwRuAz
— Pick Six Podcast (@picksixpod) January 14, 2019
- Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray figures to be a first-round pick and a potential franchise-changing quarterback. His entry to the draft changes the dynamics for teams looking for quarterbacks, but also for those who aren’t. As we learned last year, quarterbacks going high in the draft pushes better non-QBs to teams who don’t need a signal caller. We’ll track Murray’s draft stock as we go along because going off the board early could impact the drafts of NFC North rivals in Detroit and Green Bay, both of which own top-15 picks.
- Ooh, cast iron cookware is among the deals of the day at Amazon today, and that always gets me excited for completely lame reasons.
