Baseball’s playoffs begin today. And in an attempt to celebrate in good fashion, I’m thawing skirt steak and tortillas to make tacos later in the afternoon. It’s Taco Tuesday!
• Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell’s positive COVID test and the NFL’s handling of the situation was a wake-up call of sorts for football fans, on-lookers, players, and teams. Now, the league has a bigger challenge on its hands after the Vikings and Titans suspended team activities after multiple cases of COVID-19 popped up. Eight members (three players, five other personnel) on the Titans reportedly tested positive for coronavirus, which has put the ball in motion to activate league protocol.
• Some notable updates:
• Titans' facility will undergo a deep cleaning, per NFL protocols. Call on re-opening = day-by-day basis.
• There's no set criteria on re-opening, but NFL/Titans will allow infectious disease experts to guide that decision.
• All close contacts have been isolated, as well.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 29, 2020
Statement from the #Vikings pic.twitter.com/JMG136w2ci
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 29, 2020
#Steelers statement pic.twitter.com/C3xbmT9moZ
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 29, 2020
After multiple positive COVID tests in their organization , the Titans are halting in-person work today and made this announcement: pic.twitter.com/2LDjIBgyor
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 29, 2020
• In thinking of these latest developments, I can’t help but think about the Bears and Falcons. If players from both teams come out in good shape later in the week, the league can point to its handling of what happened in Atlanta as a positive. But I’ll be on pins and needles waiting for positive news later in the week.
• Additionally, it’s impossible not to think about this through a Bears lens because Chicago plays at the Titans (Week 9), has two games against the Vikings (Weeks 10 & 15), and a game against the Vikings’ nest opponent (Texans, Week 14). Everything is intertwined, so let’s keep an eye on it.
• Alright, on to football …
• While many of you watched Monday Night Football, I re-visited Sunday’s Bears win. Check out the thread:
Mitchell’s INT just happened. I’ll say this: Not a bad pursuit or tackle by 10. He could play his way into ILB3. I mean, how long have I been saying Bears could use depth there?
— Luis (@lcm1986) September 29, 2020
Ah man. Now I’m mad all over again about 12’s TD getting overturned.
What’s most frustrating now is that a similar thing happened last year against the Cowboys. And it stood as a TD. Precedent was set. That should’ve been a TD. https://t.co/TkxYerYJbi
— Luis (@lcm1986) September 29, 2020
https://twitter.com/lcm1986/status/1310765599707017216?s=20
• There’s so much more. But I went down the rabbit hole so you don’t have to, so enjoy it!
• Sure, there was an argument for the Bears to challenge this in real-time. However, I wasn’t sure it would get overturned. The review overlords weren’t all that kind to the Bears on Sunday, so it’s possible we could’ve gotten more of the same:
another view pic.twitter.com/0gMKOo6K1a
— SunDevilBearsFan (@SunDevilBearFan) September 29, 2020
• Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes was doing this:
Patrick Mahomes under pressure on MNF:
7/9, 114 Yards, 1 TD
155.8 Passer Rating pic.twitter.com/VjFuDNSO3I
— PFF (@PFF) September 29, 2020
Patrick Mahomes now has 4 quarters with 3 Pass TD over the last 3 seasons.
Only one other QB has done it once…Mitchell Trubisky (3 times). pic.twitter.com/4vMC9ZZYTJ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 29, 2020
• And to think, Nick Foles is better than that Trubisky guy! lulz
• Bobby Massie saw this and immediately started a group text thread with Nick Foles and Matt Nagy:
https://twitter.com/Chiefs/status/1310773423371673600?s=20
• Andy Reid is a magician:
When multiple linemen don't have anyone to block, you know a design worked well. pic.twitter.com/Mp09S4zkg7
— Seth Keysor (@RealMNchiefsfan) September 29, 2020
• Don’t get it twisted. Matt Nagy isn’t turning into Andy Reid overnight. But I think we’re going to see changes to the playbook.
• Plenty of defensive linemen coming through for workouts at Halas Hall, but no “Snacks” sightings here:
Players #Bears brought in for tryout:
DL: Terry Beckner, Tyler Clark, Daylon Mack, Darrius Moragne
LB: Josh Carrway, Sharif Finch, Jason Harris
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) September 28, 2020
• Football drama elsewhere:
Here is Jerry Jones’ full answer on @1053thefan talking about Patrick Mahomes at first, Russell Wilson next, Dak Prescott’s last throw against Seattle, and how Tony Romo had a similar quality of being able to sense things without necessarily seeing them. https://t.co/nPUHnwDNeg pic.twitter.com/1y4OcrsQKb
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) September 29, 2020
• This was an eye-opening read. At least the NFL is starting to take real steps toward being more inclusive:
https://twitter.com/TheAthleticNFL/status/1310244053678784515?s=20
• A fun listen:
My full interview with Allen Robinson is now live! We only had a few minutes but it was great to talk with him. I also got to the bottom of his hair situation so you know I'm asking the hard-hitting questions. https://t.co/9O5QjuHdpG pic.twitter.com/jNec85TEKZ
— Brendan Sugrue (@BrendanSugrue) September 29, 2020
• I whole-heartedly endorse Brett’s idea of the Cubs retaining Billy Hamilton. That guy is an absolute joy to watch when he’s on your team.
• Doc Rivers, whose guest-speaker appearances with the Bears were reportedly wildly popular among players and coaches, was fired by the Clippers on Monday:
WOW: The Los Angeles Clippers Have Fired Doc Rivershttps://t.co/Uxt9YuV4eh
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) September 28, 2020
• The Bears rush “D” could use a pep talk, Doc. Come on down!
• Walking for a good cause:
Okay, the day for the https://t.co/9JgZKT7Pct has arrived! After @kapandjhood Show on @ESPN1000 I will walk home 29 miles from the station to raise big money for @berniesbookbank which supports under-served boys and girls with quality books. Please donate if you can!
— David Kaplan (@thekapman) September 29, 2020