The Perks of Being Bad, Don’t Be Fooled by Carter’s Stats, Lazard a Fit? And Other Bears Bullets

Jan 10, 2023

Wintertime and I don’t vibe. At all. The days are short. And cold. Sunshine-filled hours are few and far between. Nights are long. And dark. There is an eerie peacefulness that is attached to winter nights, sure … but it doesn’t mesh with me one bit. That the alternative programming against what turned out to be a blowout in Monday’s College Football Playoff championship game really drove home another reason I don’t necessarily connect with winter. Bleh. I could’ve used something else last night.

There is no way I’m the only one out there who wants to press the “SIM PLAYOFFS” button and get us to March already. Think Bears GM Ryan Poles is thinking that way?

I’m not sure there’s ever been an off-season where a GM can have more fun than Ryan Poles this year

$100+ million in cap space and the #1 overall pick— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) January 9, 2023

“This is where the fun begins.” -Anakin Skywalker” -Ryan Poles

Five groan-worthy moments that ultimately helped the Bears land the No. 1 overall pick. Frankly, I can’t believe the list was limited to just five. (CHGO)

ICYMI: Jalen Carter, the Georgia defensive tackle who is a candidate to go first overall in the upcoming NFL Draft, declared for it last night. We discussed the potential ramifications of that decision here.

Dude had a moment last night:

Jalen Carter is quite strong. 🏈💪 pic.twitter.com/37QpYJfamp
— Matt Clapp (@DaBearNecess) January 10, 2023

The traditional stats (16 solo tackles, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles) don’t tend to do him much justice. But Carter has game-wrecking potential. Call it a hunch, but I think we’ll be looking into him as a potential No. 1 pick option a bunch between now and the 107 days that will pass until the Bears are scheduled to go on the clock.

Being bad has its perks:

A cool benefit of being bad: #DaBears will be in the No. 1 spot on the waiver wire when it opens up on Feb. 13 after the Super Bowl.

This could come in handy at any point this offseason.

Just something to keep in mind for the future.— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) January 9, 2023

Don’t get it twisted. I’m not celebrating the Bears being bad. There are no parties to be thrown for futility. No parades for putrid play. But I’m not going to act like there aren’t silver linings in this dark cloud. Hopefully, this front office can leverage them in all the right ways.

Looking forward to hitting the sim button through the offseason? I can’t say I blame you. But before you do, it might be good to know your opponents. This graphic is a fun way to look at the schedule that awaits the Bears (and the NFL’s other 31 teams) in 2023:

Here is every NFL team's 2023 opponents!

Each team plays every team in the same row, the same column, the same same color, or the same shape. pic.twitter.com/jAxCDdqTc3— Lee Sharpe (@LeeSharpeNFL) January 8, 2023

OK, I’ll admit there is a lot going on in that graphic. But it is cool to see something laid out in such a unique manner,. Bonus points for creativity.

Don’t want to play the match game? Fine. I’ll play nice. The Bears’ non-division opponents in home games for this upcoming year are the Broncos, Falcons, Panthers, Raiders, and Cardinals. Three of those teams (Falcons, Panthers, Raiders) will have new QB1s behind center. We could add the Cardinals to that list, but only if they play the Bears early enough in the calendar and Kyler Murray isn’t back from injury. Also worth noting is that the Broncos, Panthers, and Cardinals will have new head coaches. There is plenty of intrigue with that collection of opponents.

Want to watch the Bears on the road? Well, there is no shortage of intriguing road trips on the horizon. Chicago’s roadshow (non-divisional version) includes trips to Kansas City (Chiefs), Los Angeles, (Chargers), Washington D.C. (Commanders), New Orleans (Saints), Cleveland (Browns), and Tampa (Bucs). Ugh. K.C. has been on my wish list for a while. My love for California and desire to see SoFi Stadium (for Arlington Project comparison purposes) could be satisfied with a trip out west. I haven’t been to D.C. since my eighth-grade trip. And New Orleans has been circled as a destination since I realized the schedule rotation would take the Bears through the NFC South. Sounds like I better start budgeting now.

This is what I imagine the Bears offensive drive charts will look like when they get Justin Fields capable blockers and receivers:

This is how you dominate a football game pic.twitter.com/BMSabCgojr
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) January 10, 2023

The folks at 670 The Score compiled 22 years of audio excellence of the Bears on WBBM Newsradio, which was the radio home of Chicago football for the last two decades plus. There were highs and lows. When I get time later, I plan on revisiting it all.

ICYMI: The Bears’ next radio home will be on ESPN 1000.

A very cool tidbit about the upcoming NFL playoff games is that they’re all rematches:

All six wildcard games are rematches.

SEA @ SF
W2: SF won 27-7
W15: SF won 21-13

LAC @ JAX
W3: JAX won 38-10

MIA @ BUF
W3: MIA won 21-19
W15: BUF won 32-29

NYG @ MIN
W16: MIN won 27-24

BAL @ CIN
W5: BAL won 19-17
W18: CIN won 28-16

DAL @ TB
W1: TB won 19-3— Lee Sharpe (@LeeSharpeNFL) January 9, 2023

The league continues to brand this as Super Wild Card Weekend. Here is hoping it lives up to the billing. At a minimum, please be a wee bit more competitive than last night’s college football game.

People were really into this last night:

Witness the beginning of a new dynasty.

Watch the brand-new trailer for Marvel Studios’ #AntManAndTheWasp: Quantumania and experience it in 3D February 17. pic.twitter.com/vDvvwpYYh7— Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (@AntMan) January 10, 2023

Bears should get?

It Sounds Like Allen Lazard is as Good as Gone from Green Bayhttps://t.co/lntRrDgBFW pic.twitter.com/ebXyiFF6r2
— Bleacher Nation NFL (@BN_Touchdown) January 10, 2023

Allen Lazard would represent an upgrade from Equanimeous St. Brown. In fact, I’d go as far as to suggest Lazard would be a nice WR3 target for this Bears team. He has a big body (6-5, 227), knows the system (spent time with OC Luke Getsy while with GB), and is coming off a career-best year (60 catches, 788 yards, 6 TDs). I know it isn’t the sexiest name, but it is one we should keep tabs on should he reach free agency.

Not that we needed re-assurance, but…

Ryan Poles Makes It Clear: Justin Fields is the Bears’ Quarterback Moving Forwardhttps://t.co/F6pxjueq26 pic.twitter.com/eOjKEszyWH
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) January 10, 2023

I suppose the Bears could’ve played coy, but what’s the point? Why let your franchise QB’s status linger overhead if you don’t have to do so? Maybe it’s just me, but I saw Poles’ comments on Field as being the equivalent of him standing on the roof of Halas Hall and screaming “We’re open for business!” and waving the No. 1 pick over his head.

Patrick Kane’s hip injury could be something that impacts his trade value. Gulp.

Patrick Kane has missed the last two #Blackhawks games. How could his injury – if it continues to be an issue – impact the team's plans?https://t.co/9YoZ1M1kBy pic.twitter.com/ystl3IQSk9— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 10, 2023

Ah, son of a gun. Bulls star and owner of all your favorite fourth-quarter heroics DeMar DeRozan went down with a quad injury during the team’s loss at the Celtics last night. He didn’t return. And his health status remains up in the air at this time.

This continues to be such a wildly fascinating story:

WOW, There It Is: Now Carlos Correa is Signing With the Minnesota Twinshttps://t.co/YlZKnT8bId pic.twitter.com/lujs1eOjYz
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) January 10, 2023

written by

Luis C. Medina

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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