On the one hand, I feel like I’m going through a stretch where there is always something new going wrong. Yesterday’s episode featured me getting pooped on by a bird (which is apparently good luck, so say many of you on Twitter). And it also included my basement TV going out on me. But I had to laugh at that once since it was only last month when The Girlfriend had begun nudging me to get a new TV for that spot. I told her I’d put it on my to-do list. That the TV busted in January feels like she is saying “Babe, I told you about the TV, so I’m just going to handle this for you” from the great beyond. I might mess around and watch one of the movies she had on our list tonight.
Not that there was going to be any doubt, but quarterback Justin Fields was named the Bears’ MVP and offensive player of the year:
May this be the first of many MVP awards he wins in Chicago.
ICYMI: BN covers the NFL. And you should be following it on Twitter and Facebook, along with Patrick’s personal Twitter.
As part of yesterday’s happenings, Patrick covered the Seahawks making Jason Myers the NFL’s second-highest-paid kicker. And it got the wheels turning in my head:
Put aside the extra-point fiascos in 2022, Cairo Santos has been really good for the Bears. And yet, part of me wonders how long of a leash he’ll have in Chicago. Remember, it was Ryan Pace (not Ryan Poles) who signed Santos to an extension. I suppose that Poles could shake things up in that area if he was hell-bent on having his own hand-picked guy booting the football. For what it’s worth, cutting Santos would create $3 million in cap space at the cost of $1.5 million in dead money. To be clear, I’m not trying to kick Santos out of town. But I will say I wouldn’t mind bringing in a kicker to spice up competition around Halas Hall next summer.
Also? Let’s remember the last time a new regime came in, wanted to choose their own kicker, discarded a quality kicker in the process, and replaced him with someone notably worse. Of course, I’m referencing the Robbie Gould departure before the 2016 season that ultimately turned out to be a major stain on Pace’s résumé. As was replacing Gould with Connor Barth. Maybe the lesson here is that if you’re insisting on replacing a kicker, make sure the new guy is as good (if not better) as the old one.
There is still so much good Kevin Warren stuff out there for your consumption. Josh Schrock (NBC Sports Chicago) writes about Warren’s press conference representing the dawn of a new day for the Bears’ franchise. Mark Potash (Sun-Times) chimes and explains how Warren is holding himself to a higher standard. Dan Wiederer (Tribune) explores the opportunity (and challenges) that await Warren once he settles into his new position. Alyssa Barbieri (BearsWire) lays out eight important takeaways from Warren’s opening salvo. Matt Fortuna (The Athletic) presents a bigger picture type of view in underscoring how Warren’s move from the Big Ten to the Bears is a win for all parties.
Speaking of Warren’s B1G past, his explaining how he rebuilt his relationship with Bears QB Justin Fields is the stuff that leadership seminars will be rushing to put on a PowerPoint presentation:
“The best way you build relationships back like that, especially with type-A individuals, is to be able to let them know why you did what you did,” Warren said, via 670 The Score. “I think once people had a conversation with me and they recognized why I did what I did, it was because I truly looked at all of our student-athletes (as if) they were a son or daughter of mine. I wanted to make sure that they were safe, and I’m not a doctor. I followed the guidance of our medical personnel. So it wasn’t anything personal. The easy thing for me to do would’ve been to say, ‘Let’s ignore the medical issues and just go and play.’ So I think the more difficult decision was to do what I did, and that was to say until we gather more information, let’s take the safer approach. And then once we gather more information, let’s go back and play. Which we did.”
Not that we needed a reminder, but Andrew Dannehy (Da Bears Blog) makes a good point about GM Ryan Poles needing to do homework on the quarterbacks entering this draft. Frankly, he should be doing homework on QBs ahead of every NFL Draft. We’ve seen teams use developmental quarterbacks as placeholders, bridge guys, gadget players, and trade chips. It would be nice to see the Bears step into the 21st century and do something similar. It sure as heck beats spending real money and cap space on a backup. With all due respect to Trevor Siemian, that could be money better spent down the line.
We love seeing ex-Bears thrive, don’t we?
Maybe it was because the Al Michaels-Tony Dungy broadcast was putting me into snooze mode, but Roy Robertson-Harris had a NIGHT against the Chargers and it really didn’t register with me. RRH had 1 sack, 5 solo tackles, 4 tackles-for-loss, and 2 QB Hits. That is a monstrous performance for the former Bears standout who has gone from undrafted free agent, to developmental project, to role player, to standout defender on a playoff team. Robertson-Harris has registered a sack in three of his last four games. And I think he has another one in him this weekend against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Also: The RRH career arc should serve as a reminder as to why I feel strongly about the Bears being ultra-aggressive in the post-draft UDFA market. There are so many talented players who go undrafted. So if your front office is thorough in the evaluation process and assistant coaches are good, then your franchise can unearth some gems. It would sure be nice if we had some stories like that to follow in the coming years. Perhaps we’ll look back in a few years and see Jack Sanborn as being the Bears’ next great UDFA find. That would rock my socks.
Remember when Byron Leftwich was a red-hot coaching candidate in the interview circuit at this time last year? Well, he just got fired as part of the “sweeping changes” in Tampa after the Bucs lost to the Cowboys.
It is wild to think about how Leftwich is out of a job when he was on a reported short-list of possible Matt Nagy replacements that was floating around in November 2021. I guess the Bears dodged a bullet there.
The Brock Purdy story is unbelievable:
Are cookies coming soon?
This new Bulls front office (which was once revered as a breath of fresh air) is giving me GarPax vibes and I don’t like it one bit:
The Blackhawks having a winning homestead is a surprise, to be sure. But is it a welcome one?
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