My goal is to get Bullets done before they call my name on the airport loudspeakers to board my plane to San Diego. Unlike that time it happened on the trip to Los Angeles …
Allow me to take a moment to put together a brief rooting guide for your Bears-less Sunday. Losses by the Rams (to the Seahakws) and Vikings (to the Lions) would bump Chicago’s probabilities of making the postseason from 5 percent to 15 percent. Uhhh … go Seahawks and Lions? OK.
Even though the division race is the longest of long-shots at this point, a Green Bay loss to Washington would make those playoff odds creep up to 18 percent. But as it stands, all the Bears can do right now is win out and hope to get enough help somewhere down the line.
Bears-less Sunday allows me some time to think on the future. Specifically, the quarterback position. But I won’t go too deep … because it’s so much of a rabbit hole right now. But still … there is some worthwhile stuff to scratch the surface on at this point in December.
Not only did yesterday take me off the bandwagon to draft Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, it put me in the camp of thinking the guy needs another year of seasoning. Fromm completed just 20 of 42 passes for 225 yards, posted a lowly 5.4 yards/attempt, threw more interceptions (2) than touchdowns (1), and it all added up to a 32.6 QBR on ESPN’s grading scale. Then again, perhaps the last thing he needs is another year at Georgia in a system that might be limiting his growth. Seeing Justin Fields (Ohio State) and Jacob Eason (Washington) develop their passing games after leaving Georgia makes me wonder if going pro isn’t the worst idea.
Speaking of development, the Ryan Tannehill experience serves as a reminder that development isn’t always linear:
Tannehill spent seven years in Miami and threw to an 87.0 passer rating while quarterbacking his teams to a 42-46 record. A top-10 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, Tannehill flashed from time-to-time, but struggled to find consistency on a game-by-game level. But it appears as if Tannehill found it in Tennessee, where he has completed 71.9 percent of his passes, thrown to a 12-3 TD-INT ratio, averaged 9.1 yards/attempt, and owns a 117.1 rating as a starter. Things are going so well for Tannehill, the idea of signing him to a multi-year deal to secure his spot as the team’s starting quarterback isn’t far-fetched.
If you’re looking for a path for Mitch Trubisky, perhaps Tannehill’s road to where he is today is it. Top-tier quarterback prospect with tools who needs time to develop and ultimately gets it when he falls into the right situation. Chicago doesn’t have a ton of time to wait, but the waves of public support he has seen suggests he’ll get as much time as his current contract situation allows. Or in other words, the rest of this year, the start of the 2020 season, and possibly into 2021 if the fifth-year option on Trubisky’s rookie deal is picked up.
I got a kick out of this:
https://twitter.com/nflnetwork/status/1203086981946843138?s=20
“He looked like Joe Bleeping Montana” is never not gonna make me chuckle a little.
Not fast enough to get a speeding ticket in a school zone, but still fast:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5v3xnQlVct/
Poor Josh had to find out this way:
https://twitter.com/allhail_JWoods/status/1203124696369291264
I wouldn’t go on a limb and say the Bears didn’t miss Prince Amukamara on Thursday, but Eddie Jackson’s ability to cover Amari Cooper in the slot separates him from other upper-echelon safeties in football. And while I understand the disappointment in Jackson having just one interception this year, he does so many things well that deserve recognition beyond interception numbers.
More background on those jerseys the Bears wore last week:
Justice is served:
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UPDATE: I finished Bullets before boarding was scheduled to begin!
NEWSLETTER
