Why, yes, I did see the news reports of Ticketmaster giving “verified” Taylor Swift fans a second chance at buying tickets. No, I didn’t get an email from Ticketmaster to get my chance. But a friend of a friend was able to snag me a single ticket, so at least I have that going for me.
- After a fun start to the offseason, things have turned dire for the Chicago Cubs. Cody Bellinger and Jameson Taillon are nice signings, but they weren’t supposed to be the headliners. Unfortunately, the headliners are off the board after Carlos Correa signed with the Giants late last night. This is the kind of thing that happens in free agency from time to time. So part of me isn’t surprised. But this wasn’t supposed to happen to the Cubs. Not with ownership that wasn’t a corporate conglomerate. Having ownership with a face that claimed to be a fan was supposed to yield a steadily competitive product. And with real spending, too. However, save for a window between 2015-20, the competitive window has been lacking. Moreover, save for the spending that happened to field teams between 2015-18, there’s been a real lacking in that area. It’s a real shame.
- You’re probably wondering why I began Bears Bullets with a Cubs anecdote. Well, it’s because I see parallels between the Cubs’ and Bears’ situations as large market teams with money to spend while meeting a fork in the road. I see what is coming down the pipeline for the Bears this offseason. This is a team that projects to have more than $100 million worth of wiggle room under the salary cap, a potential top 5 pick, and more needs than you can shake a stick at. There is potential for one of the wildest NFL offseasons ever. But GM Ryan Poles needs to be able to (1) read the market, (2) be willing to step out of his comfort zone when cutting deals, and (3) do the thing the Cubs have failed to do in their offseason adventures — which is signing impact talent when it becomes available.
- There will be a time when the Bears are rumored to do X, Y, or Z, and the pushback will be “this isn’t the right time” or “this isn’t their window.” And to that, I say that windows are often an illusion. And when they do open, they’re never as open as you might think (or for as long as you want them to be). So get good players when they’re available and let your coaches sort through the rest. It shouldn’t be that simple, but it can be. Your favorite team has two options — enter the window by forcing it open with impact additions or wait it out at the risk that the window could close at any given moment.
- In the end, it’ll be a fascinating offseason for the Bears. And because the NFL has spending floors, it’s not like Poles can just sit around and do nothing. Fasten your seatbelts, folks.
- If anything, I hope Poles (who spent time picking Brian Cashman’s brain this offseason) learns something from how the Cubs have been operating this offseason. See what they’ve done … and don’t repeat it.
- Mark Potash (Sun-Times) is already looking forward to rebuilding the defense, offering up Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter as a potential first building block on that side of the ball. We’ve spent some time discussing Carter, the Bears’ needs in the trenches, and how they can address them. Frankly, this is just the beginning of that discussion.
- It is funny to think about how much of our focus is already on the offseason when there are still four games to go. But unlike the Cubs, who I struggle to find a player I can fully rally around, the Bears have Justin Fields — a spectacularly entertaining player at the game’s most important position:
- As soon as the Bears dropped that tweet, I knew that pic was going to be the background image on the phones of so many Bears fans. It’s hot.
- It is fun having a quarterback who looks cool and plays well:
- I was meaning to square away some time to listen to this because it features Bears LBs Coach Dave Borgonzi (and his brother Mike, the Chiefs Assistant GM who was once rumored to be on a Bears hiring shortlist):
- What happens with Northern Illinois product Clint Ratkovich could be something fun to follow:
- My friends who are heavy into MACtion rave about Ratkovich. And not just because he is a local product. Before suffering an ACL injury during the pre-draft build-up, Ratkovich was described as the type of player who could practice his way onto a season-opening 53-player roster and be a useful piece of the puzzle. Obviously, the ACL injury complicates matters. But Ratkovich could be someone the Bears add to their practice squad, stash on the offseason roster that balloons to 90 players, and see what he can do during offseason minicamps and whatnot. Again, when you have so much roster fluidity, these moves on the fringes become fascinating. After all, building depth is still important.
- This feels like a good space to highlight that Eagles cornerback James Bradberry (1) is coming to town to face the Bears this weekend and (2) is on the verge of free agency after this season ends:
- Speaking of the Eagles, the potential return of tight end Dallas Goedert is something we should keep an eye on:
- We were already rooting for the Rams to beat the Packers. But L.A. starting Baker Mayfield again makes that matchup that much more intriguing. Go get ’em, Baker:
- Seeing the Mike Leach memorials and shared memories flow yesterday was pretty cool. When I go, I hope my friends honor me in a similar way. Share our fun times. Pass around my tweets that made you laugh. Post some pics of memories we had together. I don’t think I have any one thing as cool as Leach creating an entirely fake play sheet in a rivalry game, but this gives me something to strive for:
- Marcus Mariota leaving the Falcons after a demotion is a tough look:
- The CTA Holiday Train is a very cool thing that I hope all of you get to experience at some time during your stay in Chicago:
- This is one of the wildest Michael Jordan stories I’ve ever heard:
- Tab got to witness hockey history last night: