I Miss Akiem Hicks … and Other Bears Bullets

The wonky wi-fi at O’Hare makes pounding through Bullets that much more difficult.

Next stop: Los Angeles!

  • As part of its ongoing celebration of the league’s centennial season, the NFL Network rolled out its list of 100 greatest teams in league history on Friday night. And since I’m in a petty enough mood not to recognize the undefeated 1972 Dolphins as the No. 1 team, let’s take a moment to honor the *REAL* top dogs:
  • https://twitter.com/nflnetwork/status/1195533304889348098

  • I wasn’t born when the 1985 Bears won Super Bowl XX, but their cultural impact lives on 34 years later. Sure, the Dolphins can say the same — but only because they force their way into the limelight because they pop bottles whenever the last undefeated team goes down. But the legendary 1985 Bears had a gold-standard defense that people still use to compare modern units, a team of oversized personalities that have grown larger as time has past, and was in line to snag a GRAMMY (if it wasn’t for Prince … a damn fine musician). So, I say let the Dolphins have this spot for their perfect season. They earned it, as well as the hero status that comes with it. But as the movie version of Babe Ruth said in The Sandlot: “Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.”
  • Alright, I’ve had enough nostalgia for one morning. Onward with Bullets.
  • Sunday’s Bears-Rams contest isn’t as sexy as it was back when schedules were announced, but there is still a certain level of intrigue here. Both teams sport quality defenses who pressure the quarterback, but aren’t getting the turnovers you would expect. Which means this one could come down to the quarterbacks, which is an idea fans on both sides of the aisle are probably concerned with entering this game. GULP.
  • Crazy to think about the first quarterback taken in the 2016 and 2017 drafts have fallen on hard times. This season, Mitch Trubisky has thrown fewer interceptions than Jared Goff (Trubisky’s 3 to Goff’s 9) and has a higher passer rating (85.2 to 82.7). But Goff has more touchdown throws (11 to 8). No matter how you paint it, both guys are having equally disappointing seasons.
  • How similar are these guys? Check out their last 16 games:

  • Trubisky: 65.4 completion percentage, 3,019 passing yards, 19 TD, 9 INT, 89.4 passer rating.
  • Goff: 60.8 completion percentage, 4,482 passing yards, 23 TD, 15 INT, 85.0 passer rating.
  • This isn’t what we had in mind when we wrote this:
  • Here’s a question: Would you rather be a Rams team that might have a slight advantage at quarterback, but are tied into Goff for a pricy extension or a Bears team that doesn’t have as good of a quarterback right now, but could be out from under a disappointing quarterback sooner?
  • Let’s celebrate Akiem Hicks’ birthday with some awesome Mic’d Up moments:
  • I miss Akiem Hicks … and it goes beyond the sacks, tackles, quarterback hits, tackles-for-loss, pressures, and everything else that goes in a box score. Because while I miss all that production, I miss watching a player with a non-stop motor and amazing energy who plays with an unmatched passion for the game. This league has so many great talents, but the combination of heart, hustle, and muscle that Hicks brings on every down simply can’t be replaced by the next man up. Get well soon, #96. And celebrate your birthday responsibly.
  • The Bears’ annual coat drive is underway as part of what was a busy week for the team’s community efforts:
  • https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/1195440835623628805

  • ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that more than 24 NFL teams are expected to be at the Colin Kaepernick showcase later today. That’s more than twice as many teams as the original estimate, of which the Bears weren’t a part of when it was first announced. We’ll keep our eyes open to see which other teams are in on checking out the workout.
  • The latest on Kaepernick’s workout plan:
  • Nate Davis of USA Today believes the Bears are the top fit for Kaepernick, which comes as a bit of a surprise. Not that the Bears don’t have quarterback issues, but Davis’ angle seems to make Kaepernick out to be some in-season savior. That seems like a major leap of faith that I’m not sure I would be willing to take. I’m just spitballing, but I feel as if a best-case scenario would he a situation where he is allowed to learn the offense without being thrust into a place where he is saving someone’s season, given a full offseason to engulf the playbook, plenty of reps in offseason training activities, and then put into a spot where he can settle into a quarterback competition. One of the worst things a team could do is throw a guy to the wolves when he hasn’t thrown a pass in a game of consequence since January 2017.
  • Some teams have already made it know they will not have anyone scouting in Atlanta including the Panthers (via Joe Person of The Athletic), Cowboys (via Jon Machota of The Athletic), and Saints (via NOLA.com’s Rod Walker).
  • These two calls from the Myles Garrett-Mason Rudolph situation were good:
  • Mack weighs in:
  • 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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