After giving Kanye West’s new album a listen, I found myself drawing parallels to the last two installments of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. And because Mr. West is a Star Wars fan himself, this should hit home. Because Donda while having excellent, aggressive, and inspiring production, feels long for the sake of it. With a little bit of focus and some editing, Donda – much like The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker – could have been a perfect ode to what was, while painting a brighter future.
Ah, well, nevertheless.
• Brace yourselves. Roster shuffling is upon us. Brad Biggs (Tribune) and the Chicago Audible (podcast) has 53-man roster projections and thoughts on building out this group. Kevin Fishbain (The Athletic) has risers and fallers after Saturday’s preseason win against the Titans. Tick tock. The Bears (and the NFL’s 31 other teams) are on the clock.
• Here is the first of 27-or-so cuts that need to go down between now and tomorrow’s 3 p.m. deadline to trim rosters to 53 players:
#Bears have started making some roster moves. WR Chris Lacy will be placed on waivers. Team must reduce roster to 53 players by 3 pm Tuesday.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) August 30, 2021
• This is probably good news for the Rodney Adams fan club. Last year, the Bears’ season-opening 53-player roster had six receivers. I imagine that number will be the same again in 2021. And with Allen Robinson II, Darnell Mooney, Marquise Goodwin, and Damiere Byrd seemingly locked into spots, it leaves two spots for a room full of players who want them. By my count, we’re looking at five players for two spots. Rookie Dazz Newsome, training camp standout Jon’Vea Johnson, 2019 draft pick Riley Ridley, and recent addition Isaiah Coulter join Adams as viable options for two receiver spots. My gut feeling has Newsome and Adams making the cut, with Ridley, Johnson, and Coulter as the odd-men-out. But I won’t try to get into Ryan Pace’s brain this morning. Even if I’m a wee-bit jealous of the head of hair that sits on top of it.
• REMINDER: Even after teams reduce initial rosters to 53 on Tuesday, the waiver claim period begins at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. Once again, I feel as if the Bears will be active here once the dust settles and potential roster upgrades present themselves. After that, we’ll start seeing 16-player practice squads come into formation. And by the time the smoke clears from all that, we’ll be about 10 days from the Bears kicking off their season. In other words, there is still a lot going on with the roster churn. I expect these 13 days to be a little wild. But there’s no one I’d rather experience it with than you folks.
• While the Bears’ offensive line gives me headaches at times when thinking about the battles in the trenches, looking at the names on the other side of the ball fills me with hope:
The #Bears are going to have a loaded group at DL/EDGE this year.
• Khalil Mack
• Akiem Hicks
• Eddie Goldman
• Bilal Nichols
• Robert Quinn
• Mario Edwards Jr.
• Trevis Gipson
• Angelo Blackson
• Khyiris Tonga
• Jeremiah AttaochuThat’s a STACKED unit right there.
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) August 29, 2021
• Not only is there name-brand value with the names atop the list, it is a deep group of contributors. Everyone on this list can make a splash play if given an opportunity. Looking at how the Bears have gone about building the front lines of the defensive front, it makes me jealous they haven’t taken the same route with their offensive counterparts.
• Speaking of depth at a position where the Bears could use some help:
So George Paton (GM, Broncos) said in during an interview in this preseason game that the Broncos had been getting calls inquiring about possible trades for some of their CB’s, as they are deep at that premium position.
I wonder if Ryan Pace called… pic.twitter.com/DRsFiVe4W9
— EJ Snyder (@thedraftsmanFB) August 29, 2021
• I’m not sure what the Broncos need. Or if the Bears could accommodate a trade that pleases both parties. But I saw the tweet above and first thought about the potential of a Bryce Callahan reunion. Callahan, 30, has a cap number around the $8.509M mark. Denver could clear $7.176M in cap space by cutting Callahan if it deems the CBs room is too crowded, but would do better by putting feelers out into the trade market. Let’s be real with each other. There is no such thing as having too many defensive backs.
• Along those lines, one of the three lessons Jeff Hughes (Da Bears Blog) has come away with after three preseason games is that the Bears don’t have an answer for their CB2 spot. I’d go as far as to say they don’t have a solution for two of their three starting cornerback positions. That is problematic in a pass-happy NFL where your defense goes against the likes of Justin Jefferson, Davante Adams, and Adam Thielen twice a year. Maybe the Bears can find someone on the waiver wire. Perhaps a trade is on the horizon. It is possible that the team could get creative with pinch-hitting safeties (Eddie Jackson has some experience in spot duty in this role) to make ends meet. But none of it feels particularly great.
• Shot:
— Ⓜ️arcusD ▶️ (@_MarcusD3_) August 30, 2021
• Chaser:
Drew Brees talking Bears QB situation on SNF:
“I think you have to start Andy Dalton because he’s your veteran”
But he also said he’s liked what he’s seen from Fields and thinks he’ll be ready to go when called upon.
— Matt Eurich (@MattEurich) August 30, 2021
• Is it just me, or are you also intrigued by the idea that a team must start a veteran because that is what the team’s veterans want. This has been a thought shared by analysts recently, but it misses the mark with me. Being veteran-laden team that wants to win now and starting a rookie quarterback aren’t mutually exclusive. I wish some of these network thought-leaders would throw fewer blanket statements out there for discussion.
• I understand this sentiment…
"Do we want to put Justin Fields behind the Bears offensive line that I've watched the last three weeks? Absolutely not. I've been in that situation." – David Carr on @dpshow
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) August 30, 2021
• …but the offensive line that will start the season in Week 1 isn’t the same one we’ve seen the last three weeks. It can’t be. Not when the starting lineup took its first preseason reps together for the first time just days ago. Don’t get me wrong. The line still needs work. And that group has to do a lot to build trust within this fan base. But Jason Peters-Cody Whitehair-Sam Mustipher-James Daniels-Germain Ifedi is the best group Fields (or even Andy Dalton) has been behind all summer. So, while that isn’t great, the statement is still accurate.
• The Lions are BUSY:
Lions roster moves:
Released:
Breshad PerrimanWaived:
Victor Bolden
Miles Brown
Mike Ford
Alijah Holder
Evan Heim
Damion RatleyWaived/Injured:
Dan Skipper
Tyrell Crosby— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 30, 2021
• Something to keep an eye on as you keep folks in New Orleans and throughout Louisian in your thoughts:
Saints scheduled to host Packers Week 1, 9/12. TBD if at Superdome. Other priorities for NOLA right now.
"We’ll have a Plan B," Sean Payton tells us. "We fully anticipate starting the season with Green Bay. The question would be where it’s at. I don’t see it being in Green Bay."
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) August 30, 2021
• Fundraisers are fun:
Paddles up! Bids for Bears Care is officially underway.
The five-day auction will feature different items every day, with all proceeds benefiting the Chicagoland area.@PNCBank | #DaBearshttps://t.co/YfFaA2HMU7
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 30, 2021
• Ninja air fryers and blenders, Anker headphones, and more are your Deals of the Day at Amazon. What great timing, seeing that I could use a new pair of headphones! #ad
• People upset with Javier Báez are just jealous because he is simply living out everyone’s dream of publicly ridiculing Mets fans into oblivion. Change my mind:
Javy Báez, Who Hears the Boos, Says the Players Are Booing Mets Fans Right Back – https://t.co/mjMuRQHmFT pic.twitter.com/YaZjcqnVnF
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) August 29, 2021
Good God, the Mets Released an OFFICIAL TEAM STATEMENT to Dump on Javy Báez and His Teammates – https://t.co/toMUtvPjvM pic.twitter.com/SRccGW1Ve3
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) August 30, 2021