Muhammad’s Cut to Open Doors, Other Needs on the Line, Tale of Two Tweets, and Other Bears Bullets
In an attempt to get into a life groove, I think I’m going to get back into the kitchen and do some more experimentation. Maybe it’ll work. But it might not. However, I feel as if putting in the effort is more important than the result. Anyway, I’m planning on trying to make my friend Jim’s Chicago-style mild sauce for chicken at some point this weekend. Wish me luck!
- Over at BN’s NFL wing, Patrick has begun his offseason preview series by giving us a look at the Bears and Bengals. Hey, maybe those two teams can be trade partners this offseason? (Wink, wink)
- Allow me to encourage you to read those posts when you get a chance. Reading about the Bengals, where they are now, and where they can go moving forward gives me a bit more perspective about what the Bears need to do in order to get into the conversation of being among the league’s best. That’s where we want this Bears team to be in the years to come, right? The NFL is a copycat league. But it is also simultaneously evolving. Threading the needle isn’t easy. However, I find value in learning how the best do it.
- In the grand scheme of things, the Bears’ plan to cut defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad is small potatoes. For an expanded set of thoughts on the Muhammad cut, this Twitter thread I put together last night is helpful.
- Muhammad was underwhelming and disappointing in his first (and only) season in Chicago. So, in that sense, this transaction isn’t going to move the meter all that much. However, Muhammad’s departure serves as a reminder that the Bears need to rebuild their defensive line. And while we’ve spent a chunk of time discussing 3-technique defensive tackles, we shouldn’t overlook the importance of defensive ends in this scheme. All in all, that whole line needs help.
At least it looks like there could be plenty of DE and DT options available:
- And it is a good thing the Bears appear ready to pounce on some options in free agency.
- As a reminder, we should always follow the money when roster cuts go down:
- Ultimately, the cap savings component is a small detail. But the use of those cap dollars in roster construction will be huge. There is so much to unpack here and I don’t think Bullets is the best place for it. However, I wanted to let you know it was on my mind.
- I’ll never begrudge someone for having an evolving opinion, but this one from ESPN’s Todd McShay caught me off guard:
- McShay has gone from hinting there would be a bidding war to get the first pick and laying out a case encouraging teams to trade up with the Bears and offering an idea of what the Bears should expect in a trade to pivoting to saying Bryce Young would be an upgrade from Justin Fields. Hmmm. That’s curious. I’ll continue to monitor McShay’s insight with great interest to see if he changes his tune again. The evolution of opinions and prospect analysis can be fun to follow.
- Also: Can we stop comparing unproven prospects to future Hall of Fame players? Full disclosure: I like Bryce Young. He is one of my favorite quarterback prospects of the BN Bears/Ten-Yard-Line era. But he is nothing like Patrick Mahomes. This isn’t to say Young isn’t a good prospect. And I’m not saying he can’t be a good pro quarterback. But come on, man. That’s not a fair comp.
- A tale of two tweets:
- The Bears offense was like that one Charles Dickens novel we all read in school. Opening drives were the best of times. The rest of the drives were the worst of times.
- Former NFL tight end/Missouri State product (as a Southern Illinois guy, this makes us friendly rivals) offers up an intriguing receiver the Bears should target this offseason:
- Remember when Chark and the Lions ended the Packers’ season in Week 18 on SNF? That was fun.
- Chark has been on our radar since standing out in the 2018 Senior Bowl. Here’s what we had to say about him then:
No receiver impressed like D.J. Chark, who hauled in five passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. The LSU standout didn’t get much action in Baton Rouge, in part because the quarterbacks throwing him the ball struggled to make plays. Chark popped up in a mock draft that looks like a best-case scenario from a Bears perspective.
Chark and Davenport were among the seven draft prospects who helped themselves out the most with how they played in the Senior Bowl, according to NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah. Linebacker Darius Leonard jumped off the screen with his performance on Saturday, too. The South Carolina State product came up with a game-high 14 tackles and was making plays all over the field. That Jeremiah favorably compared to Jaguars outside linebacker Telvin Smith is high praise.
- That was a fun look back to the past.
- Hmm … Chark and free-agent-to-be defensive end Marcus Davenport stood out to us at that Senior Bowl. Maybe both of those end up with the Bears this offseason? That would be a fun way to close that circle.
- On the one hand, I’m happy Eric Bieniemy gets a chance to carve his own path in Washington…
- … but on the other hand, he shouldn’t have had to leave the Chiefs after being the OC for two Super Bowl winners for a job that wasn’t a head-coaching position. Period.
- Meanwhile, former Bears head coach Matt Nagy is in line for a promotion to take Bieniemy’s role. I’m not against Nagy getting a second chance. And it is likely that he’ll get one at some point. But if he gets a second head-coaching opportunity before Bieniemy gets his first, that’ll be a whack look.
- I truly hope that Andy Reid opens up his interview process. After all, the league put in place rules to make the hiring/interview process for assistants subject to Rooney Rule type of standard.
- Oh, brother. This Lonzo Ball update isn’t encouraging at all:
- This Bulls season hasn’t gone as planned. And it makes me want to hug Eli. A year that should’ve been full of promise and real reasons for hope just never took off. In fact, it has been in a tailspin since the trade deadline. What a mess.
- Oof. This trade puts a dent in the Blackhawks’ trade deadline plans (even if there is a silver lining):
