Find 12 Early and Often, Line Moves, Running Backs in Action, and Other Bears Bullets

This is an undeniable fact:

I just wanted all of you to have a heads up. That’s all.

•   The Bears are 79 days away from opening their 102nd season. How many no-hitters will happen between now and then?

•   This might be the best advice Chad Ochocinco has ever given out:

•   When in doubt, find No. 12 wearing the same color jersey as you. I have to be specific now that defensive backs can wear all sorts of different numbers. But now that we’ve gotten that in the clear, the objective for Justin Fields (or even Andy Dalton) should be to find Allen Robinson II. The guy lines up everywhere in any formation, runs every route on the tree, and catches pretty much anything. Need a first-down? Throw it to Robinson. Touchdown? Robinson. Over the middle? Robinson, again. Back-shoulder fade against the sideline? You guessed it … Robinson! There is value in volume in throwing it to No. 12.

•   And it’s not that the volume is what is valuable. Robinson runs all the patterns out of every slot on the field. In other words, the volume of routes he can run because he is so versatile makes him tough to guard. You can’t play him one particular way because there are other ways to beat a defender. It’s unique and unlike anything I’ve ever seen from a Bears receiver. Truly fascinating stuff.

•   A changing of the guard in Pittsburgh:

•   I can’t front. My ears perked up when I saw the initial news that Pittsburgh was releasing David DeCastro. I like the Bears’ interior line situation, but flanking a center (James Daniels? Alex Bars? Sam Mustipher?) with two Pro Bowl caliber guards would’ve been dreamy. And to do so with DeCastro would’ve been dope. The 31-year-old guard is a six-time Pro Bowler, two-time first-team All-Pro, and an anchor on the offensive line. But I did not realize injuries were something that could put him off the Steelers. That Pittsburgh moved quickly tells me everything I need to know about the severity of the issues. Get well soon, sir. And if this is the end of your career, enjoy retirement.

•   Fun fact: DeCastro is one of four first-team All-Pros and five Pro Bowlers chosen after the Bears took Shea McClellin with the 19th pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. Far from Phil Emery’s best decision.

•   For the record, Morgan Moses is still a free agent — despite buzz about him inching toward an agreement with the Jets. There’s still no deal and I think I can make an easier pitch to add a tackle than guard right now. Just saying…

•   As much as I’d like the Bars to become some high-flying passing attack, it would be neat to have true balance. With that in mind, this piques my interest:

•   David Montgomery is going to get his 1,000 yards. And he’ll make his contributions in the passing game, too. But what happens behind him on the depth chart will tell us so much about how great this offense can be. Things can get interesting if the Bears can give Monty a breather with Damien Williams and Khalil Herbert carrying some of the freight. And this is before we factor in what Tarik Cohen can bring to the table. I just don’t want to put too much on his plate too soon. After all, we’re talking about a player coming off a serious ACL injury. No need to rush him back into action. Especially not with this depth.

•  And yet, I can’t wait to see Tarik Cohen back in action doing stuff like this:

•   Here’s this for your listening pleasure:

•   TE University Class of 2021:

•   For more on that aforementioned no-hitter:

•   Kevin Durant vs. Scottie Pippen isn’t the showdown I had in mind this summer:

 

•   It’s time to take a good, hard look at the Blackhawks organization from the top to bottom:

written by

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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