You can’t tell me the will of the Force doesn’t exist when I got new Star Wars content, musical jams (Taylor’s Version), and new Jordans (via a rare SNKRS app dub) on back-to-back-to-back days. Happy Saturday, y’all!
And on top of all that, Justin Fields is quarterbacking my favorite football team. Life is grand.
• Fields lands on Maurice Moton’s list at Bleacher Report, highlighting one player on each NFL team who can still have a breakout before the 2021 season reaches its finish line. There is man argument to be made that Fields has already had a break out performance, especially when considering he has accounted for 614 yards of offense the last two games. But continuing to stack those performances will continue to open eyes around the league. Not to mention it would help keep building a rapport with the guys in his own locker room.
• One way to confirm the breakout would be with a Week 14 win against the Packers. I realize that is asking a lot out of a rookie quarterback whose team is currently wading through a four-game losing streak and will come out of the bye sporting a 3-6 record. But Fields sounds like his up for the challenge, telling 670 The Score’s Parkins and Spiegel Show: “Just know it’ll be back on our side very soon — sooner than later, for sure.”
• Surely, this is how Packers fans felt way back when they were trailing in the all-time season series. But since the Rodgers-Favre era, Green Bay has taken the all-time series lead, 103-96-6. Chicago has lost five straight, 10 of 11, and has just five wins against the Pack since the start of the 2008 season. Research that led me to find this fact led me to unearth this nugget from the Pro Football Reference website, which reminds me that the Bears lost to the Packers four times in a calendar year. No, seriously. In 2011, Green Bay beat Chicago on Jan. 2, Jan. 23, Sept. 25, and Dec. 25. What an awful year that turned out to be.
• More Fields:
Bears QB Justin Fields on the advantage of playing:
"I think I'm learning a lot and am going to continue to learn. Me being able to see different defenses, and how they operate. The more I'm out there, the easier it is to see." @ParkinsSpiegel #Bears
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) November 12, 2021
#Bears QB Justin Fields on what he's motivated by:
"I like proving people wrong. I like proving myself right. Just my competitive spirit allows me to keep pushing and thriving to be great every day." @ParkinsSpiegel #Bears
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) November 12, 2021
Bears Justin Fields says his pup Uno is having trouble adjusting to the cold, & will buy him a coat
SPIEGS: You ok being a guy with a dog with a coat? You alright being a dog-coat person Justin?
JUSTIN: "I don't mind it. It's for the dog. Just making sure my man stays warm."
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) November 12, 2021
• A reminder to keep your pets warm this winter season. Don’t let a coat of fur fool you. Your precious pets can get cold, too.
• I love the genuine belief folks elsewhere in the league have when it comes to Justin Fields’ future:
.@ChicagoBears @justnfields with a great drive. This is why you have to play these rookie QB’s if you believe in their talent. Chicago has a QB. Now start building around him everyday. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/2kcTJvobGE
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) November 9, 2021
• Some love for the Bears’ most prolific scorer over the last two years:
https://twitter.com/BN_Bears/status/1459518989617577989
• Also, I’m not sure if Santos accounting for 34.4 percent of the team’s total points over the last two years is a lot? But it feels like a lot. In other words, the vibe is that Santos is making up for a chunk of the offense’s shortcomings. Let’s put a pin in this and report back at a later time to see if my feelings are accurate.
• There is an expectation that Aaron Rodgers will be good to go for the Packers on Sunday. And it’s one confirmed by NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, who reports Rodgers is back and set for activation from the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Assuming there are no unforeseen snafus between now and tomorrow’s kickoff, it sets up a Sunday showdown between two all-time great signal callers, as the Seahawks activated Russell Wilson from IR on Friday. But just in case Rodgers wasn’t getting the green light, Jordan Love – having taken all the first-team reps this week – was ready to go, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
• With that in mind, this seems like a nice gesture:
A Wisconsin doctor said it is “tragic” that Aaron Rodgers is sowing doubt about the Covid-19 vaccine with misinformation. He’s offering to give Rodgers a tour of an E.R. https://t.co/JwLi9E6rXa
— NYT Sports (@NYTSports) November 13, 2021
• OPE!
“I don’t think he was that bad.”
“The coach didn’t have a good game plan for him.”
“Where were the screens?”Nope, not a Bears fan.
My brother-in-law (Packer fan) talking about Jordan Love’s first start.
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) November 13, 2021
• It’s almost as if not having a generational talent at QB changes the perspective of some people.
• Speaking of new perspectives:
After trading Teddy Bridgewater for a 6th round pick and passing on Justin Fields, Mac Jones in the draft for a cornerback who is currently on IR https://t.co/8b3suntYT3
— Ian Kenyon (@IanKenyonNFL) November 11, 2021
• Well, this is certainly one way of putting it:
Cutting Cam, signing Teddy and giving up multiple picks for Darnold only to bring back Cam is really going around your ass to get to your ankle.
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) November 11, 2021
• Some intriguing words from a first-year coach:
Coach Saleh on his philosophy of giving young players time to develop. pic.twitter.com/f9D1WlVqQe
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 12, 2021
https://twitter.com/HeadlinerClip/status/1459286370657005568?s=20
• An aside: We should probably normalize sharing text over videos. Or in this instance, in addition to videos. I’ll keep that in mind as we roll through the second half. Hey, even guys like me have something to work on during the bye.
• My hope is for the Bears to one day (preferably soon) be the team with players recruiting stars who are chasing rings:
How the #Rams got OBJ: Odell was on FaceTime with Jalen Ramsey and asked if he'll fit in with all the other WRs.
Ramsey got up, went to the WR room, put Robert Woods & Cooper Kupp on FaceTime with OBJ, and they all told him to come, per @PSchrags.
Few hours later OBJ picked LA.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 12, 2021
• A Bearsless weekend means our favorite team won’t have the audacity (or the opportunity) to try something silly like this:
November 13, 2014: Cal with one of the dumber looking trick play fails ever on a fake punt at USC. pic.twitter.com/ztXbJgP9eV
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) November 13, 2021
• Toys and pet gifts and cameras and books and laundry stuff and more are your Early Black Friday Deals at Amazon. #ad
• Awkward:
A strange story slipped into a longer article has Astros players “revolting” against Verlander throwing out a first pitch in the postseason. https://t.co/AodXuJL9W8
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) November 13, 2021
• Sure, it was ugly. But ain’t no shame in losing to the Dubs when Steph Curry puts it down as he did last night.
• The Blackhawks seem to be playing better with a new coach calling the shots. They just swept a homestead after last night’s win against the Coyotes.