Swaggy Birthday, Hicks on Piccolo Award, Fox on Gould Saga, Javy Goes Sayers, and Other Bullets

I put Reese’s peanut butter cups in the freezer before going to bed last night so I can have something to snack on during the day. You’ve gotta love it when a plan comes together.

• Happy Birthday to the reigning NFL Coach of the Year:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwo6XwXHOP0/

• Matt Nagy turned 41 today, and it’s wild to think about how he is only a few months younger than Tom Brady, who turns 42 in August. Who’s up to see those two go head-to-head next February with the winner getting to claim they are the NFL’s best 40something?
• Remember when we learned that Nagy could still sling it?
• If anyone needs me this afternoon, I’ll be diving through the NFL rule book to see if the head coach can serve as an emergency quarterback.
• I’m sure Nagy could still engineer a scoring drive if necessary, but he has bigger fish to fry right now:

Here's a quote of note from GM Ryan Pace's pre-draft press conference today. This was part of his response to a question about collaborating with Nagy on draft evaluations: "He couldn’t be more intertwined and involved in this." #Bears

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) April 23, 2019

• There was a time when GM Ryan Pace and (then) Head Coach John Fox seemed to be working on different tracks. Fox appeared to be focused on short-term development, while Pace looked to have his eyes on a bigger picture. Nothing exemplified that more than the 2017 offseason when the Bears loaded up on short-term free agent fixes, while also drafting for the future at the same positions. But with Pace and Nagy running the show, it feels like the two are working together rather than working while trying to fulfill competing interests.
• Akiem Hicks and Roquan Smith earned the Piccolo Award, which is quite an honor. Both players weighed in on what it meant to them to be honored with the award:

• I love that this franchise’s history is not lost on the players who wear the uniform today.
• The 49ers simply can’t take a hint. Reports have surfaced that San Francisco will not trade kicker Robbie Gould, despite his request. The saga continues.
• Knowing how it ended for Gould in Chicago, hearing John Fox confirm the Bears need a kicker makes my blood boil:

• Here’s a thought I hadn’t really considered:

FWIW, the most I'd trade for Robbie Gould is a 2020 6th round pick.

Some may say "why trade for him when the 49ers may pull the tag?" Simple.#Bears would have to wait until Mid-May to sign Gould & not count vs comp pick formula.

— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) April 23, 2019

• The compensatory draft pick formula could loom large if the 49ers were to pull Gould’s Franchise tag and make him a free agent. If Gould was to become a free agent, the Bears would have to wait until May to sign him without losing the compensatory pick that scheduled to be coming their way. That pick could prove to be valuable for a team that needs to build with young players on rookie-scale contracts while they can.
• Khalil Mack is #popular:

Top 10 players in all officially licensed NFL products sold last year:

1. Tom Brady
2. Dak Prescott
3. Carson Wentz
4. Ezekiel Elliott
5. Patrick Mahomes
6. Saquon Barkley
7. Aaron Rodgers
8. Deshaun Watson
9. Khalil Mack
10. Drew Brees

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) April 24, 2019

• If Robbie Gould ends up back with the Bears, where would his jersey sales rank?
• Imagine what Anthony Miller could do with two healthy shoulders:

#Bears rookie WR Anthony Miller @AnthonyMiller_3 battled a shoulder injury for most of last season and was still among the league-leaders in touchdowns from the slot pic.twitter.com/ikFantp3PZ

— PFF CHI Bears (@PFF_Bears) April 24, 2019

• Javier Baez did a thing that drew comparisons to Gayle Sayers:

Javy Baez Just Juked the Pants Off the Dodgers First Baseman! HAHAHA (VIDEO) https://t.co/uL6wMbjMMG pic.twitter.com/Ys7ef3mUug

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) April 24, 2019

Joe Maddon said Baez pulled a Gayle Sayers move with that play at 1st.

— David Schuster (@Schumouse) April 24, 2019

Joe Maddon compared Javy's juke tonight to that of Gale Sayers. So naturally, we did our thing…#cubs @javy23baez @ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/m4xoCWdDrs

— Cubs Insider (@realcubsinsider) April 24, 2019

• I’ve seen some pretty neat stuff at the old ballpark over the years, but never anything like that. And that’s why the games are played on the playing surface, rather than a spreadsheet or online.
• Nothing like a board-game sale at Amazon to bring out the kid in me.