NEWSLETTER
I’m off to Family Fest at Soldier Field this morning. If you see me, don’t be afraid to reach out, say hi, give me a hug, etc. Looking forward to seeing some of you fine folks there!
• Yes, I’ve come around to the idea of Andy Dalton opening the season as QB1. Don’t get me wrong. If Justin Fields balls out and shows he is ready, then I’ll be ready to have that conversation. In the meantime, I’m comfortable with Dalton holding down the fort until that time comes. Moreover, I’m more comfortable with Dalton being the placeholder bridge guy than I ever was when it came to Mike Glennon being in that role. It didn’t take long for me to realize at Training Camp ’17 that Glennon wasn’t the dude. That proved to be obvious quite quickly. Dalton doesn’t give off those vibes at all. He looks comfortable in his own skin, evidenced by taking a friendly nudging shove from teammate Akiem Hicks during yesterday’s practice. Sigh. I’ve missed player-to-player interaction.
• No, I wasn’t recording video when Justin Fields made that side-arm throw while rolling left that had Bears Twitter going nuts. There were moments when Bears folks roaming the sidelines made holding your camera to take a photo for too long feel like it was punishable by catapult. But it made an appearance in this highlight video below:
• Sam Mustipher looks good. I’m not saying this because he is a fellow Lou Malnati’s pizza enthusiast. Instead, it’s an observation I had while he worked out in front of us during Monday’s practice. Mustipher held it down at center when the Bears re-jiggered their line last last season. But there were time where he was overmatched by bigger dudes. Nearly seven months have come and gone since Chicago’s season came to an end, and it looks like Mustipher was using that time to bulk up and get into center shape. The guy looks the part and I can’t wait to see how he plays.
• Defensive lineman Bilal Nichols made mention that he felt the swagger was back with the Bears. And with the obvious caveat being I saw just one practice, it sure looks like Nichols was onto something. Those guys were looking like they were having fun. Vibing to the music. Eddie Jackson hyping up dudes on the sideline. THE TURNOVER BUCKET. Swaggin’ out after stops. This group has a good energy. Sure, they’ll miss Kyle Fuller. But that front seven can make up for some back-end things if that group can stay healthy.
• Akiem Hicks and Danny Trevathan look good. As in physically good. Hicks is entering the final year of his contract and looks as intimidating as ever. Seeing Trevathan gave me #BestShapeOfHisLife feels. Hicks is the engine that gets this defense going. Trevathan is a glue guy who keeps it together. Both will play important roles for the Bears in 2021.
• The Jimmy Graham-Cole Kmet dynamic is net. There is some real Ben Kenobi-Luke Skywalker in A New Hope energy with that duo. I also like the addition of Jesse James to the tight ends room. It would be interesting to see how Head Coach Matt Nagy uses them interchangeably. In fact, I want to see a formation where all three are on the field together. A jumbo basketball package could be tough to defend in the red zone.
• Backup kicker Brian Johnson looks as good as some of the beat reporters have been tweeting. Keep this up, and the Vikings could make the return from the Kaare Vedvik trade look like small potatoes. And maybe, if we gas him up enough, Minnesota will trade a first-rounder for him.
• For more, you’ll want to re-visit this thread:
Alright. So I wanna thread some #BearsCamp thoughts together. That cool?
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) August 2, 2021
• Giggity:
https://twitter.com/LRiddickESPN/status/1422240456096821255
• A situation worth monitoring, written by an old friend around these parts:
Everything we learned Monday about Carson Wentz's foot procedure and where Frank Reich sees the @Colts' QB situation standing right now: https://t.co/sIk43t2GsT
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) August 2, 2021
• I’m looking forward to the Justin Fields-Trey Lance showdown in Week 8:
49ers’ HC Kyle Shanahan said today that he would be “very surprised” if rookie first-round pick Trey Lance started Week 1 at Detroit. pic.twitter.com/GXkonYMW84
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 2, 2021
• Holy cow! The Bulls had themselves a night:
Lonzo –> Bulls https://t.co/8JUIEnxEHR
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) August 3, 2021
SURPRISE: Chicago Bulls Ink Alex Caruso to Four-year, $37M Dealhttps://t.co/0xsyR5aQHP
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) August 3, 2021
• Wyd, Jed?
Jed Hoyer Explains Why None of the Just-Traded Core Wound Up Signing Extensions – https://t.co/E5r9RSh0Ug pic.twitter.com/RUXtaIsRyg
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) August 2, 2021
