Are You Sure We Can’t Ban Kickers? And Other Bullets

The first thing I read this morning was written by Brett at the O.G. Bleacher Nation site about the significant rule changes that are coming to MLB. And while some are intriguing (All-Star Election Day) and others are sensible (reduced mound visits), there are those (three-batter minimum) that perplex me.

And still … MLB has yet to address its biggest problem – blackouts. There’s still time to get it right, but COME ON!

• The Bears made their break-up with Cody Parkey officially official on Wednesday. And here’s what it costs them:

The #Bears will clear no cap space by designating Cody Parkey a June 1st release. They’ll carry his entire $4.0625M cap charge until 6/1, then take on dead cap hits of $4.0625M in 2019, & $562,500 in 2020. He’s free to sign elsewhere immediately.https://t.co/qhr32GgJrc

— Spotrac (@spotrac) March 14, 2019

• As for what’s to be gained: peace of mind, for starters. Oh, and an avenue to find a better kicker.
• Or the Bears *could* hop on board the #bankickers bandwagon:

join the #bankickers movement. https://t.co/T4DGvfJPaV

— Adam Studzinski (@trislerstudz) March 13, 2019

• Cody Parkey’s seven missed field goals and three PATs led the Bears to miss out on 24 possible points in 2018. That might not seem like much, but adding 24 points to the Bears’ total in 2018 would have moved them from 9th in scoring (421 points) to fourth (445). Talk about a potential narrative-shifting number. Perhaps we’ll dive into this later. Until then, we’re entertaining the idea of disallowing kicking in professional football.
• The AFC’s Pro Bowl place-kicking representative is heading west. Jason Myers signed with the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday, where he figures to shore up one of that franchise’s weakest links. Before his 2018 season with the Jets, Myers was inconsistent and battled with accuracy issues in Jacksonville. Maybe he found his stroke. Or perhaps he had a stroke of luck. In either case, he got paid. Good for him.
• As of this posting, Stephen Gostkowski and Matt Ryan are still available on the free-agent market.
• That the Bears didn’t use their new-found cap space on Le’Veon Bell is fine. Dreaming big dreams is good. But as Dan Wiederer of the Tribune points out, a different perspective is needed this time around in free agency compared to last year when the Bears were spending like it was going out of style.
• This year, it’s the Bears’ rivals in Green Bay and Detroit shelling out the big paper. Adam Jahns of the Sun-Times explores what that says about Mitch Trubisky and the Bears. In a sense, this offseason reminds me of how the Cardinals treated the offseasons after being eliminated by the Cubs in the 2015 playoffs. Once they started feeling the Cubs as a threat, they proved to be a little more aggressive. They tossed out big contracts to the likes of Mike Leake and Dexter Fowler, but neither has paid off. Then they went out a few years later and traded for Paul Goldschmidt, which I think has a better chance of paying off. Gulp.
• Jarrett Payton is out here making great points:

I just saw @TarikCohen last post. For all the #Bears fans upset that @SmashAmos38 got a bag from the #Packers, you should be ashamed of yourself. TC's post made me sick. ✅ it out for yourself. Amos worked his butt off for this payday. Wish him well & keep it movin'.

— Jarrett Payton (@paytonsun) March 12, 2019

• Adrian Amos has been taking some guff for signing with the Packers. In the spirit of the rivalry, I’m OK with ribbing a player in good nature. But some of the stuff that was posted and shared went over the line and was unacceptable. I’m not saying not to be upset or disappointed that Amos signed with the Packers, but I am saying that it’s flat-out wrong to take things to a personal level and use language you wouldn’t use in front of a loved one. If you wouldn’t say it to someone in the street, then don’t say it in a tweet.
• That’s wild:

Random Stat of the Day:

Adrian Amos is actually 5 months *younger* than former teammate Eddie Jackson

— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) March 14, 2019

• Kyle Long is expanding his horizons:

Here's what @ChicagoBears Offensive Lineman and the newest @NASCAR @PeakAuto @iRacing Series team-owner @Ky1eLong had to say last night on our Fontana broadcast about his passion for sim-racing and the formation of the @ModeMediaHouse #eNPAiS team ft. @PMD9409 and @CByus27 pic.twitter.com/4MMFWzVsSx

— Evan Posocco (@evanposocco) March 13, 2019

• Mitch Unrein was really good with the Bears in his final year with the team, so I’m bummed to read about this:

Sad situation with Mitch Unrein. Suffered a severe concussion in training camp and was never cleared to return. Failed his physical today. Possible career-ending injury.

— PewterReport (@PewterReport) March 13, 2019

• There are extra perks to signing big-money deals with the Raiders, especially if you are willing to push guaranteed money into Year 2 of the deal:

Musburger on Raiders’ free agency moves: “We’ve got to credit the state of Nevada, because these agents clearly are looking at that team coming to a state without state income tax next year, and they’re rushing to get on board. https://t.co/g9dC94FbLB pic.twitter.com/DJT9fOV37j

— Amber Dixon (@AmberNews3LV) March 14, 2019

• Myles, Adam, and I talk about how Jim Boylen sounds like a changed man who has at least earned an opportunity to coach this group of Bulls (for the short term) in our latest episode of Talkin Toros. I don’t know what the big picture looks like for Boylen and the Bulls, but he sounds more accountable than anyone else in the organization right now and that’s refreshing.
• A laptop cooler cooling pad is a real thing and it’s part of today’s Deals of the Day at Amazon.