Herbert’s Juice, NFL Awards Robberies, Eerie Hackett-Getsy Pass Game Similarities, and Other Bears Bullets

Yesterday, I crossed “sitting in the 100 level for a Blackhawks game” off the old Chicago sports bucket list. So what if it was only a preseason game? That was a neat experience. The Blackhawks should definitely sell $10 tickets in the 100 level more often.

  • If you see me on the phone, it’s probably because I’m dialing up the authorities to report that Khalil Herbert got ROBBED:
  • On the one hand, I write this with no disrespect to Cordarrelle Patterson. But this should’ve been Herbert’s award. It’s not just the 20 carries, 157 rushing yards, and 2 touchdowns. Although, that should’ve done a ton of heavy lifting en route to winning the award,. But it’s the 132 yards after contact, 6 runs of 10+ yards, and the importance of every successful rush coming (1) in the wake of the starter’s injury and (2) in a game where the passing offense was non-existent. I try not to get worked up over these weekly awards, but COME ON! Herbert should’ve been a lock. Guess he’ll have to do it against the Giants. And I wouldn’t put it past him.
  • Also: Pat O’Donnell having the punting game of his life three games into his Packers career is incredibly annoying.
  • Roquan Smith not getting the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week award is a snub in its own right, too. A 16-tackle, 2-TFL, 1-INT game in which every stop was necessary and the interception was a game-winner should’ve gotten some more love. But maybe the big winner here is a Bears defense that looks like it has its best player hitting on all cylinders. As was the case when Smith held out as a rookie in 2018, the 2022 version of Smith was off to a slow start after a hold-in during contract talks. But if we’re going to get Week 3 Roquan for the rest of the year, opposing offenses should be afraid. Very afraid.
  • Bears stock is on the rise:
  • But you already bought after Week 2 because Mike Tirico dropped a hint to buy low. You were paying attention, right?
  • That Bears ground game is something else:
  • Sounds like we should be prepping to throw it back to the Ditka-Parcells days:
  • I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful thing:
  • The Bears need every ounce of juice from Herbert as long as that passing game continues to sputter. And I struggle to imagine it getting better starting this week.
  • Hmmm. This stat interests me, but perhaps for reasons you might not expect:
  • Isn’t it interesting that the two former Packers coaches now responsible for play-calling with their new teams are having similar issues getting the passing game on the right track? Maybe it is a coincidence. But perhaps there is something in first-time play-callers fighting through a learning curve during the early going. And now I’m wondering if this is a thing that is common in this system. More research needs to be done!
  • Sure, the Giants should present opportunities for Justin Fields to sling it. However, there is a real chance Fields goes into battle without the two most prominent receiver additions of the offseason. Third-round pick Velus Jones Jr. hasn’t played all year and is still working his way through a hamstring issue that has had him on the injury report since Week 1. And the team just lost Byron Pringle, the free agent receiver addition who was brought in to be a starter from the get-go. We could see a starting receiver trio of Darnell Mooney, Equanimeous St. Brown, and Dante Pettis. A real who’s who of prospect hipster post-hype sleeper candidates next to Mooney.
  • It’s almost as if we were right to have concerns with the process of building a receivers room earlier in the offseason.
  • Speaking of concerns, I’ve gotten some good feedback from you after posting my early season concerns regarding Matt Eberflus’ coaching style. It’s early. And I thought I made it clear that I wasn’t jumping ship on something just three games into the making. But I think we found a middle ground in understanding that while it *IS* still early, we can still discuss things that bug us (known darn well things can get better because people/coaches evolve and grow). Nevertheless, it’s never a bad thing to hash it out when the opportunity presents itself.
  • An old friend is taking first-team reps in New Orleans:
  • Jeez, ya think?
  • Although, if there is an outside shot of Dak Prescott returning for the Rams game on Oct. 9, then I suppose it is possible he’ll be available for an Oct. 30 showdown against the Bears. Then again, part of me wonders if the Cowboys are rushing him back — which would neutralize some of the positive vibes that come with Dak’s potential return. Something to monitor from afar for now.
  • Tab checks in from the Blackhawks preseason lid-lifter:
  • That “Pitch Lab” the Cubs boast continues to churn out success stories:
  • There are few players I enjoy watching as much as DeMar DeRozan. And when he gets extra fuel from the haters, it goes to another level:
  • Among the Deals of the Day at Amazon: A big discount on espresso machines. #ad
  • written by

    Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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