NEWSLETTER
If coping with your favorite baseball team’s postseason elimination by stuffing your face with chocolate-covered gummy bears and Harold’s Chicken is wrong, then I don’t want to be right.
• WELP. Waking up to read news of Cam Newton reportedly testing positive for COVID-19 is all sorts of unfortunate. As are reports (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter) that the Titans produced three more positive tests, bringing the organization’s total to 16. The NFL is facing some serious hurdles as it embarks on Week 4’s Sunday slate. And because the league didn’t put together a schedule that considered the possibility of outbreaks, it feels like I’m watching a scramble drill play out.
• I’m still unnerved by the sentiment that something like this was “inevitable” … mostly because it didn’t have to be. Watching the NBA and NHL bubble up successfully provided a blueprint on how to successfully have a professional sports season. And while I understand the differences between a postseason bubble and one for the regular season, it would have taken just a little bit of creativity to work something out. Instead, here we are with our current situation.
• As I’m typing out Bullets, the status of Sunday’s Patriots-Chiefs game is up in the air:
New from the NFL pic.twitter.com/UyUAMKI0qE
— Brian McCarthy (@NFLprguy) October 3, 2020
• I imagine we’ll be following this as things develop, but I can’t dedicate an entire set of Bullets to this. However, I will leave with this positive note:
There were no positive tests this morning in Minnesota, per source, meaning the Vikings continue to be unaffected by last week’s game vs. Titans. So it appears the virus hasn’t yet crossed the line of scrimmage.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 3, 2020
• Here’s a geared-up Roquan Smith for a palate-cleanser:
• This is an important year for Smith, who has looked good when healthy. But his long-term future could hinge on having a breakout season in 2020. That means more consistent play, improvements against the run and in pass coverage, and a full season of health. Should Smith check all the boxes, he’ll be in line to get the fifth-year option on his rookie deal picked up. And if that happens, he could be the first of GM Ryan Pace’s draft picks to play out a full five-year rookie deal with the team. Wouldn’t that be something?
• On the other side of the ball, Chris Emma (670 The Score) explains how the Bears’ offense can grow with Nick Foles running the show. We’ve spent plenty of time discussing Foles’ knowledge and familiarity within the offense. But more valuable than that is his previous in-game experience operating within the offense. There’s something valuable about taking what the defense gives you. And as was hinted at earlier in the week, there’s a good chance the offense Foles will play in will different from what we saw Mitchell Trubisky orchestrate because both players have different strengths within the scheme.
• I want this on a poster:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CF2GupKljVm/
• Larry Mayer (ChicagoBears.com) runs down some of the best and most dramatic comeback wins in Bears history. And with more than 100 years of games, there are plenty to choose from for this exercise. Most fans will say their favorite is the MNF miracle against the Cardinals in 2006. But mine is the Mike Brown game-winning INT to seal a comeback against the Niners on October 28, 2001. That’s one of those games that will cement your status as a die-hard.
• ICYMI: The Bears are expected to sign running back Lamar Miller to their practice squad.
• Kids books, foot massagers, and portable blenders are among your Deals of the Day at Amazon. #ad
