Long vs. Nagy, Robbie vs. the Cold, Voters vs. Hester’s Candidacy, and Other Bears Bullets
Yesterday, I caught myself singing a Taylor Swift song while crossing the street. It was at that moment which I stopped and thought to myself things are gonna be OK. Let it be known that I waited until *AFTER* I crossed the street to stop myself and have that thought. Otherwise, there would’ve been a mess at the intersection of Montrose and Kimball.
I’ve long been wondering about the root of Kyle Long’s exit from the Bears. And I think this appearance on his brother Chris Long’s podcast provides some answers:
“We were playing the Raiders, and we were getting our (butts) whooped. We’re in there at halftime and our head coach, Matt Nagy, God bless him, he looks at the O-line and says: ‘You guys are playing like some gutless, quiet, (expletive).’
“And I stood up in the middle of the halftime thing and just walked out. I made it about 50 yards down the hallway and our security guy was like ‘Kyle, c’mon man.’ He said ‘Not like this.'”
- That is a big yikes on multiple levels. Firstly, Long would go on to say he rode next to Nagy on the airplane home and was told to not come back into the building. Secondly, that is such a rough way to go out. Keep in mind that turned out to be Long’s last game in the NFL. He retired after the season and briefly tried making a comeback with the Chiefs, but ultimately never got the traction to get back into it on game day. It’s a real shame, too. Long was a great lineman who deserved a better ending to his career than what he was given. Injuries sapped him of his strengths and kept fans from getting a full taste of what he could provide. Bleh. I really enjoyed watching that guy play in the trenches.
- Robbie Gould doesn’t want to kick in the cold. I can’t say I blame him, but maybe Gould should keep tabs on the Bears’ Arlington Heights plans if he is considering a future return to kick professionally in the greater Chicagoland area. The Tribune has a running round-up of things to know about the Bears’ potential move out to the suburbs. At a minimum, it is a good resource for us (and you) to stay up to date.
- We touched on Cairo Santos’ PAT problems in yesterday’s Gould post because it seems to come up as the main reason there is a vocal segment of Bears fans who want a new kicker. Or even just some camp competition to spice things up at Halas Hall. If you’re that hard-pressed for kicking help, the most notable free agents on the cusp of hitting the market include Greg Zuerlein (82.3% since 2020), Matt Gay (92.5% since 2020), and Chase McLaughlin (83.3% in 2022). A part of me wants to include Brett Maher since his regular-season excellence (90.6% success rate on FGs in 2022) fueled me to a fantasy football championship. However, his kicking display in the postseason keeps him off my list.
- On the one hand, the Bears have so many more pressing needs than a kicker. But on the other hand, I know how mad I’ll get if Justin Fields leads the team into field goal range only to see Santos miss. Again, finding a kicker isn’t a priority in my world. But it might be something worth looking at in terms of ancillary moves.
- Speaking of Fields, retired Bears cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman wants what we all want from QB1 in 2023 (bold emphasis mine):
“I know that he can run,” Tillman said, via the Sun-Times’ Patrick Finley. “He definitely knows how to run. But I think hopefully the transition from Years 1 and 2 to 2 and 3 you grow a little bit more. Hopefully, in this next season, he’ll do a little bit more throwing, less running.”
- Hey! That makes two of us, Peanut!
- Also? If the Bears get Fields upgrades along the offensive line and at receiver, then I’d bet on seeing him running less often next year.
- Circling back to Arlington Heights for a brief moment. A poll of 625 registered voters that was commissioned by Telemundo-Chicago, the Sun-Times, WBEZ, and NBC-5 Chicago had 52 percent of respondents saying the Bears should not move from Chicago and into the suburbs. For what it’s worth, 25 percent of the voters said they weren’t sure. It’s not as if it is a slam dunk one way or another when it comes to feelings on this matter. Although, I feel as if a healthy chunk of us would agree that the Bears could do better than what Soldier Field has been providing over the years. (NBC Chicago)
- So … who gets in first: Tom Brady or Devin Hester?
- If they make Hester wait until 2028, we riot.
- Deion Sanders nailed it in calling it “idiotic” that Hester remains on the outside looking in at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. (NBC Sports Chicago)
- This would be fun:
- Unlikely, sure. But fun? Definitely.
- Wait … WUT?
- The Bulls have sent me to a place where I’m rooting for chaos. Few players do chaos like Russell Westbrook. And the whispers of Chicago’s potential interest are growing louder:
- This Blackhawks team is having a weird year on the ice:
- I bet this will garner mixed reactions from baseball fans:
