NEWSLETTER
The 30 for 30 on how a made-up school finessed ESPN into televising one of its games will be an all-timer. But for now, this summary from The Athletic will do just fine:
▫️ Makeshift roster given out
▫️ Played two games in three days
▫️ No complete roster given out
▫️ Team made with a mix of high school players, graduates and JUCO dropouts.How "Bishop Sycamore" pulled off one of the biggest scams in broadcast history. https://t.co/4vQvBN2WLi
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 31, 2021
• Today is cut day around the NFL, meaning teams must submit their 53-player rosters by 3 p.m. CT. To be clear, it doesn’t mean we’ll have roster clarity in Chicago (or elsewhere) by 3:01 p.m. CT. But we’ll have a better idea of who’s in, who’s out, who could be on the move, and who could make it through the waiver wire. In the meantime, I’ll be on the look out for possible fits (as I imagine the Bears will be, too).
• Brad Biggs (Tribune) writes about how roster cut-down time is a scout’s Super Bowl. There are no trophies to be passed out this time of year. But this is where good talent evaluators make some hay. I’ll be curious to see how the Bears use this time period to work around the edges.
• We’ll be updating this cut tracker as updates become available throughout the day.
• While one surprising cut of a would-be starting QB led to a rookie starting elsewhere, the Bears are going to battle with their own veteran in Andy Dalton. Boo all you want, just know Matt Nagy is giving a thumbs down when he hears the disapproval rain down on him. But also, know that Justin Fields won’t just be holding a clipboard moving forward:
Bears coach Matt Nagy says rookie QB Justin Fields will run the scout team once the season begins. I assume he'll also get a small slice of game-prep reps as well.
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) August 30, 2021
• Let’s be clear about what this means, because I’ve seen some push-back as if this was a bad thing. Firstly, this allows Fields to go up against the Bears’ first-team defense. This should callous up the rookie and test him in new ways. Fields has already alluded to how practicing against the 1’s earlier in camp slowed the game down for him in the preseason. Steel sharpens steel, right? Secondly, Fields playing the scout team QB role gives him far more reps than if he was in Nick Foles’ position as QB3. That’s good news, too. Fields needs the reps more than Foles. And maybe pretending to be Matthew Stafford, Joe Burrow, and Baker Mayfield could pay off in ways that I’m not thinking about right now. Just don’t try and pretend to be Jared Goff, as we already know how that ends.
• Giving props to Dalton won’t make you the most popular kid on the block, but I respect his mindset going into this season:
“I’m in a great opportunity right here. I knew coming in that I’d get a chance to start. That’s my focus, is on this year. The rest of my career is going to take care of itself, but my focus is on what I’m doing now. This is a big year for me, and I’ve got to go just play like I know I can play.”
• Dalton doesn’t pretend as if Fields isn’t over his shoulder. Nor does he act like he doesn’t know he is one snap away from hitting the sidelines and getting the Wally Pipp treatment. What I respect about Dalton’s energy is that he wants to do his best to (1) hold off Fields and (2) showcase his skills for another team. Dalton knows he isn’t the long-term answer in Chicago. So rather than be Mike Glennon about it, Dalton has been welcoming of the mentorship role he has while also trying to make the most of his opportunity to start. You can check out more from Dalton’s press conference here.
• Perspective is important:
Jesus, #Bears Twitter.
Not every move around the NFL is some referendum about Andy Dalton.
Cam Newton isn’t vaccinated and had to miss 4 practices because of a testing issue while he was supposed to be fighting for a starting job.— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) August 31, 2021
• Meanwhile, Alyssa Barbieri (Bears Wire) explores five possible trade destinations for Nick Foles — the other other quarterback in camp. This market could be impacted by Cam Newton, but all of the teams mentioned make sense on some level. The Jets are rolling with Mike White as their QB2 behind Zach Wilson. Could the Falcons do better than Josh Rosen? Sure. But the 2018 first-rounder will stick around Atlanta for the time being. We’ve gone down the Colts path far too often this summer. However, I’m here for the Lions as a possibility. Intra-division trades don’t happen often. But with Lions QB2 Tim Boyle needing surgery, Detroit could do worse than Foles. Just saying…
• Amazon’s Deals of the Day include networking gear, lanterns, wallets, and more. #ad
• If you’re bored or have time on your hands, this might interest you:
At long last, the Bears finally seem to have their franchise quarterback in Justin Fields. Before he takes his first NFL snap, let’s rank all 45 Chicago QBs who came before him since 1985—from the mediocre to the bad to the truly baffling.@rodger: https://t.co/Vv38UWn8ZX
— The Ringer (@ringer) August 31, 2021
• As we made reference to earlier, Newton’s release probably dings whatever market exists for Nick Foles. But we’ll see what happens elsewhere around the league. Additionally, here is some perspective on that move:
Mac Jones was the better quarterback in training camp. We saw that. The question was, could he convince the Patriots to ride with him through the ups and downs of playing a rookie quarterback? This proves he did.
Plus, the vaccination issue may well have cost Cam his shot.
— Khari Thompson (@kdthompson5) August 31, 2021
• The Packers will be without David Bakhtiari for a while, placing him on the PUP List to start the season, reports NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport. Bakhtiari will miss at least the first six weeks, which means he won’t be available when the Bears and Packers square off on October 17 at Soldier Field. Khalil Mack should be licking his chops.
• Matt Nagy takes plenty of guff for not playing his regulars during the preseason. But out in Baltimore, John Harbaugh is dealing with second-guessers after J.K. Dobbins’ season-ending injury:
It took one series last weekend for J.K. Dobbins to injure his knee, ending his season. That’s the risk the Baltimore Ravens were taking by putting him on the field and coach John Harbaugh understands the second guessing. https://t.co/ncySSupePJ
— AP NFL (@AP_NFL) August 30, 2021
• This is fine: ESPN’s Chris Low reports Zeb Noland, who came to South Carolina to be a graduate assistant coach, will start in the Gamecocks’ opener against Eastern Illinois. Noland most recently played at North Dakota State, where he took over for Trey Lance and led the Bison to the FCS quarterfinals. For the sake of content, and not because I hold any ill-will toward directional schools that aren’t my alma mater, I hope Noland goes off.
• Oh, sure. Rodman does it and it becomes a movie. But when I do it, it’s “a cry for help.”
Oh My God, They’re Making a Dennis Rodman Movie Called “48 Hours in Vegas”https://t.co/NcowfmwMPE pic.twitter.com/Y7UE48Nox0
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) August 30, 2021
