Ocean’s Eleven came out 20 years ago yesterday. It was the first in what is an underrated movie trilogy. Sure, Julia Roberts pretending to play Julia Roberts in the middle installment was hokey (at best) or cringe (at worse). But the overall product was chef’s kiss good.
• Here is some irony that isn’t lost on me. When Nagy came to town, he was all about getting Mitchell Trubisky to unlearn what he learned under previous coaching. Pushing bad habits and traits out of Trubisky’s system was at the top of Nagy’s to-do list in 2018. Fast forward to 2021, and Justin Fields will have to do the same. All because the Bears haven’t done the smart/right thing. Yet.
• Watching the Bears offense is tough enough. But when you find yourself thumbing through these stats, it’s a minor miracle this offensive staff still has employment in Chicago:
Matt Nagy's passing offense is averaging 173.8 yards per game, good for last in the NFL.
By comparison, Sid Luckman from 1943 to 1947 averaged 189.5 passing yards per game.
So Matt Nagy's passing offense is literally less efficient than the #Bears passing offense in the 1940s.
— Bill Zimmerman (@ZimmermanSXM) December 7, 2021
• Since the Bears insist on not modernizing their offense, maybe it is fitting to throw it back and use the past as inspiration. Perhaps, with that in mind, the Bears brought in a fullback Ben Mason to the practice squad. For what it’s worth, the Bears were employing a fullback the last time they won the NFC North and put up a 10+ win season. Just sayin’ … adding a fullback can’t hurt. And it could even help.
• For those unfamiliar, fullbacks are running backs whose key task is blocking. Sometimes they function as an extra lineman in that way. Other times, they act like tight ends (if tight ends were catching passes out of the backfield). Fullbacks have been phased out in favor of skill position receivers and tight ends. But what’s old is new again in Chicago. Maybe Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy saw Monday Night Football and came to the conclusion that a ground-and-pound, milk-the-clock game against Aaron Rodgers would give him a puncher’s chance at a win. Or perhaps, the Bears were just looking to fill a roster spot. In any case, the Bears have a new player. Huzzah!
• In a corresponding move making room for a fullback, the team cut linebacker Rashad Smith from the practice squad. Seeing news of the Smith release makes me think Roquan Smith is healthy enough to where the Bears won’t need to call up an emergency linebacker because of Roquan’s hamstring injury. In re-watching the game, it’s evident Roquan wasn’t at 100 percent. But who is this time of year? Getting Roquan at 80 percent physically still means your team gets him at 100 percent mentally and emotionally. It isn’t inconsequential when your leader is available.
• Speaking of leaders, did you know right tackle Larry Borom was the Bears’ highest-graded player against the Cardinals last week? Now you do. Alyssa Barbieri (Bears Wire) shares the best and worst of PFF grades from the Cardinals game, which show that the rookie right tackle is coming into his own. We’re at a point of the season where player development is far more important than wins and losses. And to this point, Borom is trending in the right direction. Rookie right tackles such as Tristan Wirfs last year don’t grow on trees. But getting competent production at the spot from a Day 3 pick shouldn’t be taken for granted.
• It’s early, but Borom is reminding me of a blast from the recent past. Remember Jordan Mills? The Bears took Mills in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft and put him in the starting lineup at right tackle from the get-go. Mills started 16 games in 2013 and 13 more in 2014. Since leaving the Bears, Mills has been a perfectly cromulent lineman for a variety of teams. He was a primary starter in Buffalo (2016-18), and has been playing in reserve roles in Arizona (2019) and New Orleans (2021). In other words, if Borom can follow a similar path and carve out an eight year professional career, then it will mean the Bears got bang for their buck in the 2021 NFL Draft.
• This man deserves your Pro Bowl vote:
https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/1468384836045914117
• Might as well go for the record and make this season memorable:
Bruce Irvin was the 32nd player the Bears have used on defense this season, tied for 7th-most in the NFL, and the most for a Bears defense in a season since 2017.
If Thomas Graham Jr. and/or Charles Snowden get a chance, it’d be the most players used on a Bears ‘D’ since 2015.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) December 8, 2021
• Teams are really stuntin’ on the Bears this year:
Jordan Hicks won his first defensive player of the week award after 13 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and 2 quarterback hits in a win over the Bears on Sunday.
— Josh Weinfuss (@joshweinfuss) December 8, 2021
• Briefly, in Packers news, the team put backup QB Jordan Love on the COVID reserve list. Because Love has been vaccinated, he won’t go through the rigorous scrutiny Rodgers did when he was put on the list. Love also won’t get the same scrutiny because he didn’t publicly mislead anyone about his vaccination status. As we have recently learned from the NFL, being misleading can be awfully costly to players and teams.
• The Echo is 40% off right now at Amazon, plus your Daily Deals here. #ad
• Never say “never” … I guess:
Report on a Chicago Cubs, Kris Bryant Reunion: “I would not rule it out” – https://t.co/c6Rd3IXtzl pic.twitter.com/giMaU5qLTh
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) December 8, 2021
• There probably isn’t a fit with the Bulls, but I’m open to Artūras Karnišovas and Marc Eversley coming through with a surprise:
If the Indiana Pacers decide to blow it up, there will be no shortage of teams looking to acquire a few of their players. 👀 https://t.co/A60lAsPivW
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) December 8, 2021
• Hockey delivers some crunching hits, but the one Jacob Trouba put on Jujhar Khaira was over the line:
Thoughts and well wishes for Jujhar Khaira, who left the ice on a stretcher after this dirty hit by Jacob Trouba. #Blackhawks https://t.co/oO1IDILD2F
— Patrick K. Flowers (@PatrickKFlowers) December 8, 2021