Permission to be a baseball nerd for a moment?
Thanks.
I’ve long had an interest in the Negro Leagues. And when I was a kid, it turned into me writing so many book reports about the Negro Leagues and the stars of that era. So to it put a smile on my baseball-loving face that FanGraphs has Negro Leagues data, player pages, and leaderboards.
It almost makes me want to do another book report with all this newfound data at my fingertips. Almost…
Ahem! An important message from Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker:
I’m going to need all of Brisker’s teammates to have that mindset going into the 2023 NFL season. Let that Super Bowl fuel your competitive fire. Let it spearhead your offseason journeys toward the development and advancement of your respective games. Feel that burn of not spending the last football Sunday of the year hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. And go out there and make it the best 2023 it could ever be.
Sure, we’ll dream about the acquisition of Tee Higgins (so long as the possibility remains on the table). But we shouldn’t overlook current Bears who can still take steps in their development. Take Darnell Mooney for example. Mooney was primed for a big year coming into 2022, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Mooney was off to a slow start, gained traction in the middle of the year, but ultimately ended the season on IR. But perhaps that was a small setback to set the table for a major comeback:
Is part of me picking Mooney because he is a Bear? Sure. I’ll come clean and admit my biases. However, there are real reasons to believe in Mooney bouncing back in 2023. Firstly, his work ethic is top-notch. We knew that last offseason and believe that will carry over. Secondly, quarterback Justin Fields believes in him. Fields shows his belief in how often he targets Mooney and with how the two work together in the offseason. But it doesn’t stop there, because the stats suggest Mooney was heating up at the same time Fields was last year.
In his first three games, Mooney caught 4 passes for 27 yards. But in the next eight games, Mooney was averaging 4.5 catches and 58.3 yards. Extrapolate that eight-game stretch and Mooney’s numbers per 17 games come out to 76 catches, 990 receiving yards, and 4 touchdowns. It isn’t the breakthrough year we were hoping for before the season, but it those numbers would’ve suggested Mooney made strides to establish himself as a third-year player. And we shouldn’t undervalue that.
Side note: There is a presumption the Saints will release Michael Thomas this offseason. Considering Thomas’ résumé, highlight reel, and Ohio State ties, I wonder if there is a fit here with the Bears. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating signing Thomas and making him the de facto WR 1 this offseason. That wouldn’t be wise, especially if you take into consideration Thomas’ recent injury history. But if you’re looking for a bounce-back candidate with ample motivation, Thomas fits the bill.
Where was this energy before the Super Bowl? Remember how the NBA news cycle brought more buzz than Super Bowl Week? Sigh. I suppose this comes better late than never:
He called him Tik-Tok boy and I am HOWLING!
This feels like a good time to point out the Eagles and Chiefs are on each other’s regular season schedules next year. Maybe they should play that game in Germany and not Bears-Chiefs (as has been recently discussed).
More on the Eagles, who have lost their defensive coordinator (Jonathan Gannon) and offensive coordinator (Shane Steichen) to head coaching jobs elsewhere. Talk about a rough 48 hours.
We’ll beat this drum all offseason, but let’s add NBC Sports Chicago’s Josh Schrock to the list of folks who sees the Colts as an obvious Bears trade partner. (NBCS Chicago)
Well, this looks to be fun:
Friday the 17th should be a doozy!
It’s always nice to get some love from our baseball friends:
Major League Baseball is coming:
The Bulls are putting together one of the ugliest 3-point shooting stretches I’ve seen in quite some time. No wonder I’m looking forward to baseball occupying my time. (BN Bulls)
Tab tries to get a hang of what’s real in these Patrick Kane trade rumors: