NEWSLETTER
My favorite dater on The Bachelor was dumped yesterday and I’m kinda bummed about it. On the other hand, she leaves us with this:
from now on I'm ending all my conversations like Katie from The Bachelor pic.twitter.com/7D2TbjJQjO
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) February 9, 2021
Seasons of The Bachelor come and go, but .gifs are forever.
• Alright, so maybe that Carson Wentz trade isn’t happening as quickly as previously believed. Sure, there’s an expectation that a deal will go down this week. But yesterday’s wave of rumors has me wondering about how much of this stuff is being churned out of Philly. After all, the boots-on-the-ground reporters in Chicago and Indianapolis are suspiciously quiet. Eagles GM Howie Roseman is known as a wildly successful negotiator, while Bears GM Ryan Pace is known for working in stealth mode (for better or worse). So to see all of the information being pushed from one side is quite telling.
• No matter who is quarterbacking the Bears, a daunting schedule awaits. Over at the team’s official site, Nathan Smith tackles what the strength of schedule for Chicago’s football team means for 2021. I try not to put too much into projecting what SOS means in February, mostly because it’s not a predictive tool. For instance, as Smith points out, half of the playoff teams’ strength of schedule fell between 10th and 20th. In other words, a team’s strength of schedule is more likely to tell us about last year than the year to come. Even still … there are some nuggets that could be worth storing for a later date.
• Let Monty cook in 2021:
David Montgomery averaged 17.7 PPR fantasy points per game this season
6th best among all RBs 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/LqFetxYxrU
— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) February 9, 2021
• After returning from concussion protocol after the bye, David Montgomery’s final six games to close out the regular season were absurd. He carried the rock 116 times, gained 598 yards, averaged 5.2 yards per rush, and scored 8 total touchdowns. Extrapolate those six games and project them over a 16-game season and it comes out to 309 rushes, 1,595 yards, 19 rushing touchdowns. And because I’m in a mood, the receiving projections (64 catches, 603 yards, 3 scores) are also juicy.
• If Matt Nagy is coaching for his job, then he should lean on his best offensive player. So if that means giving David Montgomery 25-30 touches per game, then that’s what the Bears should do — no matter who is at quarterback. Unless, of course, the most unlikely situations play out. Then we can have that discussion (but only if we get there).
• Time is a flat circle:
Remarkable how similar Tampa Bay's two Super Bowl appearances have been. The Buccaneers were 3-point dogs in both games, and wound up with convincing blowouts. Here are the win probability graphs courtesy of @nflfastR pic.twitter.com/UCrWisEChv
— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) February 8, 2021
• Sure, 96.4 million viewers means a lot of eyes were on football last Sunday. But this number is probably disappointing to those in league offices:
CBS: Super Bowl drew 96.4 million viewers "across all platforms, including the CBS Television Network, CBS Sports and NFL digital properties, Buccaneers and Chiefs mobile properties, Verizon Media mobile properties and ESPN Deportes television and digital properties."
— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) February 9, 2021
• Winning a 50/1 Super Bowl futures bet was good and fun, but the game was a dud. Michael Wilson sums it up:
That’s one of the worst Super Bowls of all time because expectations were up. pic.twitter.com/2sW42Bus5Q
— Michael Wilbon (@RealMikeWilbon) February 8, 2021
• On one hand, this should teach me to temper expectations — especially when something seems dreamy or too good to be true. But on the other hand, I’m not wired that way and will be excited about the next big thing that crosses my nose because that’s just who I am.
• Todd Bowles was really on one:
double cornerback blitz loooool pic.twitter.com/CFWZTovpWM
— charles (“you look good” – andy reid) mcdonald (@FourVerts) February 8, 2021
• This is art:
Hey Siri, show me #art. pic.twitter.com/kch63rryO6
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) February 9, 2021
• But seriously:
https://twitter.com/BaldyNFL/status/1358832356644315140
• If the NFL is sincere about pushing diversity in its hiring practices, it should push Bucs Head Coach Bruce Arians to the center stage:
The Bucs' coaching staff is changing the game 👏
(h/t @Realrclark25) pic.twitter.com/8qkkCdpfbq
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 8, 2021
• Wishing John “Moon” Mullin all the best in his battle against pancreatic cancer. Many of you might be familiar with “Moon” from his time covering the Bears over the years. I remember meeting him when he was covering in-state college basketball. He treated me – a college student at the time – with the same respect he gave everyone else. And I really appreciated that at the time. You’re in our thoughts, Mr. Mullin.
I spent an hour talking with John “Moon” Mullin about life, football, more life and more football all while he received chemo as he battles pancreatic cancer. New House of L pod (@LaurenceWHolmes):
Apple: https://t.co/h9FSa6AbwL
Spotify: https://t.co/LdlLZZPBOW— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) February 9, 2021
• Looking forward to giving this a listen in a bit:
🚨New Episode Alert🚨
The first full-length episode of Bears Blunders is here where I take a look back at Chicago's decision to trade Thomas Jones after losing Super Bowl 41.
Come give it a listen and don't forget to subscribe!https://t.co/ZcHyURzCKa
— Matt Eurich (@MattEurich) February 8, 2021
• Our thoughts with the family and friends of the late Marty Schottenheimer, who died on Monday. Schottenheimer finished his NFL with 200 regular season wins as a head coach with stints in San Diego, Washington, Kansas City, and Cleveland:
We mourn the loss of the legendary Marty Schottenheimer. pic.twitter.com/jlMCgw69WC
— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2021
• Chicago, man…
A man froze his trousers and turned them into dibs: "Pants are always funny." https://t.co/zFVGlEPesD pic.twitter.com/ruogDYSu1m
— Block Club Chicago (@BlockClubCHI) February 9, 2021
