My go-to move when I want to turn my brain off is to throw on a Star Wars movie. But last night, I started sorting through some TV shows on Hulu that were suggested by friends. Expanding my horizons is probably a good thing, especially since it doesn’t look like we’re going to get baseball to take my mind off things any time soon.
• New Bears assistant coaches are speaking to Chicago reporters via Zoom this morning. We’ll have highlights and a round-up of the most important things said later. In the meantime, some worthwhile nuggets have emerged to hold us over.
• This is actually a good angle to take:
Bears offensive line coach Juan Castillo on the Bears offensive line last year: "I'm really not worried about what happened, I'm concerned about now. I'd rather talk about that."
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) June 17, 2020
• If you’ve hung around here long enough, you know the Bears offensive line was problematic last year. But rather than dwell on how horribly things went in 2019, the focus *SHOULD* be on improving ahead of the 2020 campaign. And yes, I realize that four of five starters from last year’s dreadful performance are returning. But that’s also four of the five linemen that were part of a group that PFF ranked in the top half of its OL rankings at the end of the 2018 season and in the top third entering the 2019 campaign. So while I’ll still fall short of saying the Bears are a steady performance from the right guard position away from being the group they were in 2018, a bounce-back year from this collection of talent shouldn’t be out of the question.
• Oh, to be a fly on the wall for this conversation:
#Bears QB coach John DeFilippo says he and Mitch Trubisky had a long convo over Zoom talking about what things he does good and what he can improve on.
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) June 17, 2020
• I’m glad they took some time to talk about the good things. And no, I’m not saying that in a 100 percent facetious way. There is an obvious focus on Mitchell Trubisky’s shortcomings, especially when comparisons to quarterbacks taken after him in the 2017 NFL Draft are unshakeable at this point. HOWEVER, it’s way too easy to get bogged down in the bad stuff. And when you take on too much of the negative, it’s easy to feel helpless in what feels like a fight to swim upstream. This isn’t to say that you should ignore weaknesses, but an over-the-top focus on what you don’t tend to do well isn’t good for the rebuilding that clearly needs to be done for Trubisky to be successful in 2020.
• Back to the offensive line, where Zoom fun appears to be happening:
Bears offensive line coach Juan Castillo is entertaining us. He's using members of the media to fill a team to explain his teaching techniques.
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) June 17, 2020
Well new #Bears offensive line coach Juan Castillo just appointed members of the Bears media to a hypothetical O-line. I made the cut because he said he likes my smile. Think he'll be disappointed in my size and strength though. Basketball background could give me a chance.
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) June 17, 2020
• Theres a lotta love for Doc Talk:
Bears running backs coach Charles London says the best Zoom meeting they've had was the Doc Rivers talk…
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) June 17, 2020
• It’s always a hope to see rookies who play their way into starting roles early in their career, but I’m old enough to know that shouldn’t be the expectation. But still … I’m geeked up about what cornerback Jaylon Johnson can do when he gets on the field. Nicholas Moreano (The Chicago Audible) outlines what to expect from the Utah product as a rookie.
• I still want Jay Cutler in the booth for MNF, but I think I’d watch a Cutler-centric reality show:
Fans pushing for Jay Cutler TV show amid Kristin Cavallari divorce https://t.co/Gl75S1BtXT pic.twitter.com/noPRyrGDcI
— Page Six (@PageSix) June 16, 2020
• Speaking of Cutler’s social presence, Cam Ellis (NBC Sports Chicago) shares that the ex-Bears QB is now running his own IG account. Frankly, I’m here for it:
• This is fun to think about: Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. of SB Nation’s Windy City Gridiron asks who is the best Bears video game character of all time? Devin Hester getting a 100 speed rating in 2007 probably should put him at the top of the list. But I can’t help but come back to Cutler, who was an ideal video game QB. The combination of mobility within the pocket and a rocket for an arm made for the Bears being a far more entertaining video game offense than they were in reality. I used to rack up big yards when I used to run Hester on quick slants (if the corner was playing off) and fly routes (if he was playing at the line) when Cutler was the quarterback. Ahhh … memories!
• Checking in with former Bears DL (and 2020 Brian Piccolo Award winner) Nicholas Williams:
https://twitter.com/NickWilliams_98/status/1272957940392013824?s=20
• Mike Sando of The Athletic explores how rare it is for truly elite players to reach unrestricted free agency, which serves as a reminder to (1) build through the draft and (2) retain your best players when possible:
We’ve had some general free agency pieces lately.
My contribution: an all-UFA team since current #NFL system went into effect in 1993. Players had to be true UFAs, not cut players or UDFAs
Who did I miss?https://t.co/EKnlHJhiAR
— Mike Sando (@SandoNFL) June 17, 2020
• I miss feeling things about sports stuff. Even if those feelings are rage because the Bulls’ coaching staff had no idea how to properly use its young talent. Some perspective from Eli on a young Bull whose growth has been stunted to this point because of incorrect usage and deployment:
Wendell Carter Jr. Doesn’t Get the Ball Enoughhttps://t.co/5rH6yvyaYJ
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) June 16, 2020
• This would be a lot more fun if there were games to look forward to:
While MLB Does Whatever It Is Doing, Yu Darvish is Out Inventing New Pitches in the Bullpen https://t.co/b53u5hLuyc pic.twitter.com/M1fHVxa4Ai
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) June 16, 2020