Fields’ Battle, Awesome OL Class, Kramer’s Record Still Stands, and Other Bears Bullets

Tidal took me on a musical journey with Verzuz featuring The Isley Brothers and Earth, Wind and Fire. It was like Herb Kent’s “Battle of the Best” from when he was on V-103, but modernized and spliced with some live performing. You’ll want to check out the playlist – it was excellent.

•   Josh Dubow (AP) rolls through the NFL records that could fall now that the league has moved to a 17-game schedule. Not listed: Erik Kramer’s 3,838 passing yards in 1995, which still stands as an all-time Bears record. That Chicago’s football team never had a 4,000-yard passer during the 16-game era of professional football is a bit embarrassing. I can understand it to an extent, if only because I don’t imagine you’d want to throw a ton when you can easily turn around and hand it off to Walter Payton or Gale Sayers. But the modern game has skewed its rules to make it easier to pass. And yet, the Bears haven’t taken advantage. That stinks.

•   While we’re on the topic of the expanded schedule, Peter King isn’t a fan:

“I hate the 17th game. It’s not in the best interests of player—in the financial interests, of course, but not the health interests. The NFL could play 20 games, 22, 24. Fans would love it. You’re asking too much of the human body, I believe. My bet is that players, 20 years from now, will say (the majority, anyway), ‘I’d give back X percent of my dough for a shorter schedule.'”

•   I hope we don’t hit an intersection where players have significant regrets about giving the NFL authority to institute a 17th game without significant gains beyond a quick financial boost. But I fear that ship has already set sail.

•   A large chunk of King’s FMIA column has to do with Justin Fields, the perceptions he is battling as a prospect, and the challenges facing him because of how people are talking about him. Over at Touchdown Wire, Doug Farrar puts it into perspective:

New on @TheNFLWire: When it comes to how Black athletes — and specifically Black quarterbacks — are portrayed in the media, there's a long, ugly history. The words have changed, but the destructive impact has not.

Why we all must be more careful. https://t.co/7P6wBPmz0F

— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) April 3, 2021

•   I feel dirty thinking about how some of this narrative against Fields is coming from teams hoping to push down a player’s draft stock. But sometimes, this beautiful game we love has an ugly under-belly. In the end, I think we need to be more careful with how we choose our words and descriptors when it comes to prospects. It’s not a solution to what we’re seeing with Fields or what we’ve seen with prospects in the past. But it’s a step toward one.

•   Seriously, how can you not be enamored with THIS PROSPECT:

Gonna bet on myself every time.. pic.twitter.com/TMyh7uKhQf

— Justin Fields (@justnfields) April 3, 2021

•   Oof! This is cringe:

Separate from Fields, this is a pretty gross quote from Ryan Day taking a shot at players who opted out last season. pic.twitter.com/rbrCe3lISC

— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) April 5, 2021

•   PALATE CLEANSER: @MathBomb is one of my favorite Twitter accounts to follow this time of year. And with the Bears having a first-round pick, the wave of prospect information that comes our way makes it all the more interesting. This morning, MB shared some athletic scores that should be of interest to Bears fans:

Spencer Brown is a OT prospect in the 2021 draft class. He scored a 10 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 1 out of 1134 OT from 1987 to 2021. https://t.co/PFyAdjxUKo #RAS via @Mathbomb pic.twitter.com/fUbqW9QoSj

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 5, 2021

Samuel Cosmi is a OT prospect in the 2021 draft class. He scored a 9.99 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 2 out of 1134 OT from 1987 to 2021. https://t.co/KIeGKJDQQm #RAS via @Mathbomb pic.twitter.com/RkYELl5qRu

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 5, 2021

Brady Christensen is a OT prospect in the 2021 draft class. He scored a 9.84 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 19 out of 1134 OT from 1987 to 2021. https://t.co/t4iPDCNuM0 #RAS via @Mathbomb pic.twitter.com/3KnV14s4tv

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 5, 2021

Teven Jenkins is a OT prospect in the 2021 draft class. He scored a 9.74 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 31 out of 1134 OT from 1987 to 2021. https://t.co/TURtSPytut #RAS via @Mathbomb pic.twitter.com/7pLxbwsYyc

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 5, 2021

Rashawn Slater is a OT prospect in the 2021 draft class. He scored a 9.71 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 34 out of 1134 OT from 1987 to 2021. https://t.co/6lDu9ZaIuU #RAS via @Mathbomb pic.twitter.com/JoYWbrbh8t

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 5, 2021

•   The Relative Athletic Scores shared above are just a snapshot that tells a story of how gifted of a class of offensive linemen we’ll see get selected on Draft Weekend. It doesn’t even include the likes of Walker Little, Liam Eichenberg, Alijah Vera-Tucker, and Dillon Radunz — all of whom grade out among the top 175 of the 1,134 offensive tackles graded between 1987 and 2021. That’s 34 years of data, so we’re not sorting through a small sample here. All in all, this is impressive.

•   Aaron Rodgers’ time as Jeopardy host begins today. And if he finds that this is his true calling, then I would strongly encourage him to stay in this field and not return to football. Because that’s who I am as a person, someone who encourages people to follow their passions and pursue their dreams:

He's a 3-time NFL MVP, a Celebrity Jeopardy! Champ, and on Monday he takes over the Jeopardy! lectern! Tune in April 5 as Aaron Rodgers takes center stage. pic.twitter.com/5GPup20OSl

— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) April 3, 2021

•   Watching Shohei Ohtani is an absolute treat:

Shohei Ohtani Threw a Pitch 101 MPH and Hit a Home Run at 115 MPH in the Same Inning https://t.co/XEk4LXoxM2 pic.twitter.com/LhGV4ovfb9

— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) April 5, 2021