Reluctantly Re-Living the Parkey Doink, Nagy’s First Pitch, 2019 Play-Calling, and Other Bullets

If my pops is reading this, my apologies for not realizing the andouille sausages I grilled last night might have been a bit on the spicy side for your tastebuds. I owe ya one!

  • After going out for ice cream, I came home and flipped from channel to channel looking for something to watch. At one point, I thought to myself: “Hmm, I wonder what is on NFL Network right now.” That was a mistake. I punched in 169 on my remote, only to see Cody Parkey lining up for a fourth-quarter field goal against the Eagles. WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?
  • Every time I think of that stupid kick, a thoughts pop into my head. For starters, Mitch Trubisky should have had a fourth-quarter, come-from-behind win under his belt … and in his first ever playoff start, to boot. It’s a moment we’ve all been waiting for from him. And despite real, tangible first-half struggles, Trubisky turned it around, put up points, then put his team in a position to win the game. That’s what good quarterbacks do! If Parkey makes that kick, it’s probably a narrative changer for Trubisky. Guh. I hate thinking about this.
  • Also, how much of a pro is Al Michaels? What a call on that last drive and in those final moments. Michaels is the best play-by-play voice going in football and it’s not even close. Enjoy him while you can, because he can’t do it forever (even if we’d like him to do so).
  • Move over, Ferris Bueller. Matt Nagy now has the greatest day-off moment in the history of Wrigley Field:
  • https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1151574064840040448

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    North Side Nagy.™

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  • Nagy isn’t going to tip his hand in July and August, but I’m still looking forward to seeing what kind of personnel groupings, packages, and formations he’ll put together for training camp. Sometimes they make their way out onto the Soldier Field turf after being tested at Bourbonnais, other times they won’t even make it out of the practice field. But I’ll be there with my eyes open to see if something out of the ordinary takes place.
  • One package I’d like to see is one with all three of the Bears’ running backs. ESPN’s Matt Bowen points out the Bears ran 12 plays out of what’s known as 31 personnel (3 running backs, 1 tight end, 1 receiver) last year. Only the Browns (14) ran more plays. It’s an outside-of-the-box way to create mismatches when the backfield is a position of strength. And when you have Tarik Cohen lining up anywhere and everywhere, David Montgomery as a dual threat option as a rookie, and newcomer Mike Davis, I’d venture to guess we’ll see those three on the field at the same time on at least a dozen snaps this coming season.
  • Trading for Melvin Gordon is fun to talk about. But Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller is already taking a look at the 2020 NFL Draft’s best running backs, several of whom could provide premier production without the premium price tag Gordon is requesting.
  • The folks at Sports Info Solutions opened my eyes to something in Nagy’s play-calling that deserves some love. The analytics giant looked at the “reactive play calling” from each of the NFL’s 32 offenses last year, and came to the conclusion that the Bears’ head coach didn’t allow big positive (or negative) plays influence his future decisions. That’s a good thing when you’re not being swayed by the ups and downs of a given game. And that’s really good if you think back to what that rollercoaster ride was like with Trubisky under center.
  • ICYMI: We looked at the Bears’ quarterbacks to kick off our training camp positional preview series.
  • Too soon, man:
  • Urlacher with hair still looks weird to me:
  • From images of one star middle linebacker to sounds from another:
  • There is only one acceptable answer here:
  • This isn’t football-related, but I’m a fan of well-done graphics and it would be out of character for me not to share it:
  • Clothes, fancy headphones, vacuums and more are your deals of the day at Amazon today.
  • I have found a new appreciation for art:
  • The Talkin’ Toros team is back on our bull stuff with Episode 22 of our podcast.
  • Someone got Eugenio Suarez out in the first inning. Yu Darvish picked up his first Wrigley Field win. The Cubs took a series from the Reds. I’d have planned a parade for all these things had it not been for the rainy weather that has mucked up the morning. At least there’s this:
  • 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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