NEWSLETTER
With the NBA’s trade deadline hours away, now is a good time to follow our Bulls coverage. Check out Eli’s coverage on Twitter, Facebook, and our sibling site. Here’s hoping Pete Carroll doesn’t ruin any of the Bulls’ trade dreams like he did ours.
And I wasn’t even done writing this sentence when this went down:
BOOM: Bulls Are Trading for Nikola Vucevic!!! https://t.co/fFxO8nSXy6
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) March 25, 2021
Wow! What’s it like to actually finalize a big trade? Wish I could relate…
• This tweet *DEFINITELY* received engagement…
QB1. pic.twitter.com/TuyrAcpoCM
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) March 25, 2021
• … but it also reminded me of this:
Y’all are having fun with speculation, but… pic.twitter.com/dy4NbJ82iB
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) February 12, 2019
• In February 2019, new Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury insisted publicly that Josh Rosen was gonna be the guy for his offense. And then, 72 days later, Arizona chose quarterback Kyler Murray with the first pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. So while I don’t think GM Ryan Pace is using the Bears’ social media department to put on a misdirection play that would make Andy Reid blush, that QB1 tweet gave me big “Cardinals Josh Rosen Tweet” vibes. And frankly, I don’t think I can shake ’em ’til Draft day.
• Ahhh, yes. Draft day! The day that made people forget that these tweets still exist:
Pace: "Mike Glennon is our starting quarterback and we're fired up about that."
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) March 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/846871481472745472
• I’m wary of making predictions because they often blow up spectacularly. But I feel strongly about what I’m about to write. We’re going to see the Bears connected to everybody who’s everybody in the pre-draft process, particularly at the quarterback position. Guys who could fall to 20. Players who the Bears could reach for at the 20th spot. Trade-up scenarios. Possibilities to trade back. Potential second-round solutions. Mid-round diamond-in-the-rough types. Late-round fliers. Brace yourselves, for the rumors will fly. And in the end, I don’t see the Bears’ QBs room being Andy Dalton and Nick Foles. It very well could be those two, mind you. But there is something off about this whole thing. Something elsewhere. Elusive.
• Speaking of being connected on the rumor mill:
"It points me more toward he won't be on the roster in 2021."
–@JeffDarlington provided an angle we did NOT see coming to the Russell Wilson saga with the #Seahawks:#NFL #NFLFreeAgency #NFLDraft @RyanDLeaf pic.twitter.com/qsL1UFZHC3
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) March 24, 2021
• I wish I knew how to quit you. Jeff Darlington doubling down on his Russell Wilson angle is equal parts bold and eye-opening. And remembering that he was on an island early when it came to Tom Brady’s looming departure from New England makes it that much more curious. Again, I’m not saying that a Bears-Seahawks Russell Wilson trade is happening. But what I *AM* willing to say is that this thing has too much smoke from too many reputable sources to ignore just because a trade didn’t happen at the start of the league year. We’ll monitor and update as needed.
• Umm … I’m not sure about this:
Bears adding Damien Williams ruins a lot of the optimism I still had for David Montgomery in fantasy. Throw in the return of Tarik Cohen too and Montgomery is losing a lot of snaps and touches.
— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) March 24, 2021
• I understand this is from a fantasy perspective. But every fantasy scenario is rooted in reality. And in the end, David Montgomery figures to get a bulk of the carries. And from a perspective that impacts both fantasy and reality, Montgomery is in line to get the lion’s share of the load in goal-to-go situations. That’s when you want your RB1 to be getting carries, right? Also, it’s tough to envision Montgomery losing too many carries to Tarik Cohen (coming off an ACL injury) and Damien Williams (who sat out 2020). I just can’t see Montgomery losing “a lot of snaps and touches” here.
• And what’s the worst-case scenario here? Montgomery being “limited” to a 75-25 share? All that does is leave Monty fresher to close out games and to thrive deep into December. Fresh running back legs are invaluable to a team that isn’t settled at quarterback.
• I wish Walter Payton was around so he and his son Jarrett could talk about this game. The conversation between the two would be immaculate:
https://twitter.com/paytonsun/status/1374889394902085635
• Remember when CJ Beathard beat the Cardinals, essentially handing a playoff spot to the Bears? Well, his reward for his efforts is a trip to Jacksonville:
Remember when CJ Beathard beat the Cardinals, essentially handing a playoff spot to the Bears? #ThanksCJ https://t.co/as3cGCPJ7J
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) March 24, 2021
• An unpopular opinion: If the Bears weren’t firing GM Ryan Pace and Head Coach Matt Nagy after *THAT* playoff loss following an 8-8 season, they weren’t jettisoning either had they missed the postseason due to a tiebreaker loss. As my grandmother would say: Lo siento, muchacho, pero es la verdad. (That loosely translate to: Sorry, kiddo, but that’s the truth.”)
• For your listening pleasure:
NEW POD! We talked to @rjochoa of @BloggingTheBoys to break down Andy Dalton. Plus, we discuss some new moves the #Bears made:https://t.co/Nk4VGaVobQ
— Bear Report (@BearReport) March 24, 2021
• Hey, this isn’t awful:
Andy Dalton was @PFF's 16th highest-graded starting QB over the last 7 weeks of 2020
In that same span, Mitch Trubisky ranked 31st pic.twitter.com/rqMNcSEuuZ
— PFF CHI Bears (@PFF_Bears) March 24, 2021
• Happy retirement to Dick Stockton:
I spoke with Dick Stockton about his career and why he decided to retire now.
It was his decision.https://t.co/XhG5f7Xndi
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) March 25, 2021
• And happy retirement to my Dick Stockton as Emperor Palpatine bit:
— Coming in March to Lu-Ray (@lcm1986) March 25, 2021
• For the record, we’ve never seen Sheev Palpatine, Dick Stockton, and Lord Sidious in the same place at the same time. I’m just saying…
• Decanters, earbuds, science kits, and more are your Deals of the Day at Amazon. #ad
