NEWSLETTER
We made it to Friday of the second week of the NFL season. I’m going to celebrate with a steak and salad later tonight. How about you?
• Cody Parkey made all five of his extra-point attempts in the Browns’ 35-30 win against the Bengals on Thursday Night Football. But prior to the game, Parkey was up to his old tricks:
And again from 46
(yes, we're tweeting pre-pregame warmups) https://t.co/DbQIKN18rg
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) September 17, 2020
• At this point, he’s TRYING to hit the uprights and you can’t tell me otherwise.
• Perhaps there is no such thing as a bad omen. Nah, that doesn’t feel right. Maybe Parkey was due to have a clean game. The “due factor” is totally a thing and I’ll hear nothing to the contrary. It’s a four-game sample, but all three of his field goal tries (2/2 40-49, 1/1 50+) and 10 of 11 extra points since the double doink. Are we witnessing a rebound story or the calm before a storm of clanged uprights and crossbars? Only time will tell.
• Facts only:
Just the facts. pic.twitter.com/Gm32RNsL5a
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) September 17, 2020
• Perhaps we have an explanation as to why no one called holding on this or any other play against Khalil Mack in Week 1. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reports league officials threw just 18 flags for offensive holding in the first week of the season, which represents a 78 percent decline in flags thrown compared to last year. After making holding calls a point of emphasis early last year, maybe the NFL wants to help pace of play by asking officials to reserve their flag-tossing for egregious penalties. Although, that still doesn’t explain how the image above didn’t result in a holding penalty.
• I’m not overly optimistic Mack and company will get positive regression in terms of calls going in their favor if officials are pocketing their flags for the sake of watchability. However, I’m feeling better about the odds of Allen Robinson getting an extension. Once that gets ironed out, the time will come to put an old narrative to bed about the Bears not wanting to spend:
4th highest cash spender 2011-2019 pic.twitter.com/c5mpApOhYc
— TexansCap (@TexansCap) September 18, 2020
• Are the Bears spending wisely? Now, that is a question worth asking and is up for debate. But the facts are that they are spending. It’s just not always smartly or in the right (or desired) areas. I want to dig in on this more, but we can do so when the time is right.
• Diving into film-review breakdowns about the Bears offense is more fun when Mitchell Trubisky is connecting with receivers instead of over-throwing them. JJ Stankevitz and Adam Hoge (NBC Sports Chicago) and Kevin Fishbain (The Athletic) have film-study that’ll make you feel good about some things. Or at minimum, better than you did after the first three quarters.
• I’m looking forward to Darnell Mooney snatching more souls with his route-running:
Nevermind the Trubisky-Graham miscommunication here, check out Darnell Mooney's route at the top of your screen — absolutely shatters his man's ankles while drawing coverage.
Hoo boy, this #Bears rookie is so much fun to watch. pic.twitter.com/sIyt4kqax4
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) September 17, 2020
• The Bears are bringing back some old friends:
The #Bears signed OL Dieter Eiselen and LB Devante Bond to their practice squad. Previously this week they lost OL Jamon Brown and LB Rashad Smith, who were signed by the Eagles and Cowboys, respectively.
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) September 18, 2020
• Offensive lineman Dieter Eiselen and linebacker Devante Bond have re-joined the organization by way of the practice squad. Earlier in the week, the Bears saw offensive lineman Jamon Brown and linebacker Rashad Smith poached off their practice squad. The Bears still have one available spot, which could presumably go to tight end Eric Saubert if/when he clears waivers.
• Get to know new Bears right guard Germain Ifedi in a different way with this profile by Nathan Smith at the Bears’ official website.
• This is art:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFSDr1anzwG/
• Something to listen to on a Friday:
https://twitter.com/NBCSBears/status/1306975766232657922?s=20
• Here’s video of Joe Buck learning that he is Hall-of-Fame bound:
https://twitter.com/NFLonFOX/status/1306777573062475789?s=20
• Something to keep in mind when the Bears and Texans square off later this season:
John Harbaugh on Deshaun Watson: "He actually holds the ball longer than anybody in the league. I think their offensive line does a good job; the scheme is part of that, but it's really mainly him. And he does it to create opportunities for the pass game … It's a big concern.." pic.twitter.com/ymEfY48SCY
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) September 16, 2020
• Matthew Stafford, the quarterback who provided the opposition for Chicago last week, declares he and his football brethren can no longer just stick to football:
“Deep down inside, no matter what political party we support, or what we do for a living, we know what’s real.
Police brutality, white privilege, racism — it’s all real.”@Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, in his own words.https://t.co/PiLws4ggAX
— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) September 18, 2020
• More than 100 days have passed since our last Talkin’ Toros podcast. Now, we come in video form:
