Bears Doing Right By the Community, Trevathan’s Rope-A-Dope, and Other Bears Bullets
I recently discovered the awesomeness of frozen Nestle Crunch bars, but it turns out I am late to this party. That’s cool. Better late than never, I suppose. But this recent revelation leaves me wondering what other candy bars are good when frozen? What other deliciousness have I been missing out on? (Michael: All of them. They’re all good frozen.)
- Members of the Chicago Bears’ social justice committee shared an important message as we turn our attention to Vikings Week:
For our NFC North showdown this Sunday at Soldier Field we'll be wearing our classic jerseys for the first time since 1936.
Here’s an important message from our players and Chairman, looking ahead to Sunday. pic.twitter.com/SPbraNMFvL
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 25, 2019
- Chicago will wear its “classic” throwback jerseys that were ripped from the 1936 season. But as Jack M. Silverstein pointed out back in August, the uniforms inadvertently pay homage to a 12-year period in league history when African-American players were banned. But rather than run from this moment, the Bears are taking it head-on as an organization. Select throwback jerseys will be auctioned off to raise money for local social justice initiatives that will be selected by the players. Last year, the team was able to raise more than $800,000 to give back to local social justice organizations.
- I can appreciate a forward-thinking organization coming to grips with a dark corner of its past, then turning it into a teachable moment, and creating a movement that helps others. It is something like this that should make Bears fans proud.
- There is no smooth transition to the rest of Bullets, but here is Danny Trevathan fooling Washington’s defense with the rope-a-dope:
- Trevathan is one of the most underrated players on the Bears (and perhaps the NFL). He has speed and instincts that allow him to cover ground from sideline-to-sideline, plays fundamentally sound and makes tackles, has a motor that is always running, but hasn’t really gotten a chance to shine. He was overshadowed in Denver, but still played well enough to be handsomely rewarded as a free agent when he signed in Chicago. And while he tightened up the middle of what was a porous Bears defense, Trevathan still gets overlooked because Roquan Smith has high-end potential and a prospect pedigree that is easy to dream on. But let’s not allow that to distract us from Trevathan’s contributions. He is darn good.
Yeah, I'm still thinking about this. pic.twitter.com/iHYJskzT5p
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) September 25, 2019
- Come to think of it, a lot of people watched Trevathan and the Bears defense clown Washington’s offense all night:
Bears-Redskins on "Monday Night Football" averaged 10.327 million viewers. That's down 14% from last year’s game (Steelers-Buccaneers averaged 12.011 million).
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) September 24, 2019
- I can’t get enough of this group effort:
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1176482316685692934
- These dudes are studs:
Yesterday we looked at offenses on 1st down. Now let's look at the other side of the ball. Here are the top 1st down rushing defenses after Week 3: #GoPats #InBrotherhood #TakeFlight #FlyEaglesFly #Bears100 #HereWeGo #LARams #GoNiners #DUUUVAL @gregcosell | @MattBowen41 pic.twitter.com/eHpVxlnFCt
— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) September 24, 2019
Through Week 3 of the @NFL, here are the top 3rd down defenses VS pass: #GoPats #Bears100 #GoBills #Titans #DallasCowboys #Seahawks #GoPackGo #OnePride #SeizeTheDEY #RavensFlock @gregcosell | @MattBowen41 pic.twitter.com/GrHf24VHaP
— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) September 24, 2019
- Stop the run early in an offensive sequence, force a third-and-long passing situation, stop a conversion attempt short of the line to gain, force a punt, get a breather. That is the formula for a quality NFL defense.
- If the Grudens hate Khalil Mack, I would understand why:
Sacks the last two weeks…
Raiders: 2
Khalil Mack: 3Are we doing this again? We're doing this again.
— Phil Barber (@Skinny_Post) September 24, 2019
- To be fair, the Bears offense took full advantage of defensive dominance to put lints on the board. And while that was a refreshing change from the first two weeks when Chicago had a grand total of one offensive touchdowns on 22 possessions, there is still work to be done by Mitch Trubisky and his friends on that unit. “I think we are still growing on offense,” Trubisky said, via the Associated Press. “I don’t know if I would call it a breakthrough yet, we have to keep growing, and there is room for improvement. If we stick to the process, we will be right.”
- More often than not, good process leads to good results. Some people don’t want to hear that because they desire the instant gratification of results (oftentimes at the expense of process). HOWEVER, Trubisky is right. Frankly, he should read back what he said into a mirror until it is drilled in his head. If Trubisky can get to a a place where he trusts what he has studied in preparation of a given game, trusts his reads, and has faith in himself to deliver strikes with conviction, then he could be as good as he wants to under center. Practice what you preach, Mitchell. Otherwise, we will be more likely to see stuff we did in Weeks 1 & 2 than we did on Monday night.
- It sounds like Chicago’s special teams is going to be put to the test on Sunday:
Might be pretty good timing for Marcus Sherels to be back with the #Vikings. In the last three games he's played at Soldier Field, he has returned seven punts for 128 yards for an 18.3 average with one touchdown.
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) September 24, 2019
- If history is any indication of the future, the Bears find themselves at what could be a turning point game:
Bears Stat of the (short) Week:
No NFC North champion has ever lost two divisional home games.
And since that NFL realignment in 2002, only 12 of 136 division champs (9%) league-wide have lost two divisional home games.
Bears already lost to Packers at home. They host Vikings
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) September 25, 2019
- Networking gear, Kitchen Aid mixers, and Bosch tools are among the Deals of the Day at Amazon today. Good set.