NEWSLETTER
Yesterday was one of the best baseball experiences I’ve ever been a part of as a fan.
So, of course, Javier Báez was in the middle of it:
Saturday’s World Baseball Classic experience was a nice reminder that pushing yourself to go out and do stuff can be very rewarding.
- I bet the schedule makers will have fun with this: The Bears are set to play a home game against the Panthers THIS YEAR. Put that one on a primetime island, you cowards.
- Did you know last year’s Bears had two top-10 run-blocking receivers on the roster? Well, now you do. Equanimeous St. Brown (67.5) and Dante Pettis (67.4) check in at Nos. 9 and 10, per Pro Football Focus’ grading. And let it be known that it wasn’t just the guys on the bottom of the depth chart doing work in that regard. Chase Claypool (62.0) was 29th on the leaderboard. Meanwhile, Darnell Mooney (41st) and the newest Bear D.J. Moore (43rd) also check in among the 50 highest-graded run-blocking receivers. It’s not the category you want to have a bunch of receivers crowding the leaderboard, but it’s not inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.
- Free agent Jakobi Meyers (69.2) was the sixth-highest graded receiver in terms of run-blocking (just in case the Bears want to further bolster that group).
- Seriously, isn’t this nice to see?
- Look … we know how important a legit WR1 option can be for a quarterback. And we know what Moore has done as a top dawg. And we can dream about what he can do in the future. But the football nerd in me digs that he is a willing blocker in the run game. Every bit counts when building an offense.
- Run blocking is cool, but you just love when a receiver can do this:
- If you’re an offensive player who is about to become an unrestricted free agent, you’re probably calling your agent and telling them you want to be a part of what is happening in Chicago … right? The buzz surrounding this team is palpable.
- The hidden benefits of the new guy’s arrival keep rolling in:
- Things I need to get used to: It is D.J. Moore. Not DJ Moore. It’s a small thing, but something I take seriously because names don’t have to be impossible to get correct.
- The post-trade reaction tweets are still popping up on my timeline:
- I just can’t get enough, just like Depeche Mode.
- A view from the other side of the trade:
- Win-win trades don’t make headlines. But a universe exists in which Chicago got an absolute haul in the trade and Carolina ends up getting a solution to their quarterback problem. This isn’t me trying to play Switzerland, either. I truly think this has the potential to be one for both sides. Maybe I’m a romantic who thinks things can work out for everyone at the end of the day. Or perhaps we’re existing in the timeline in which the Bears got Justin Fields his star receiver while also getting multiple picks that pan out *AND* the Panthers land on a quarterback who leads their franchise moving forward.
- We hear way too much about how trade-ups for quarterbacks who don’t work while trade-ups for Patrick Mahomes (2017), Josh Allen (2018), Lamar Jackson (2018), and Michael Vick (2001) never seem to get brought up in the discussion of whether to not it is worth it to trade up or not. If whichever quarterback Carolina lands on turns into gold, then few will think about what it cost for the Panthers to get that pick. That is how outsized the importance is when it comes to the quarterback position.
Chicago’s football team is often in the crosshairs of NFL history:
- Until we get a Cole Kmet extension, I’ll be looking at every tight end deal with an extra bit of curiosity:
- I usually respect petty, but…
- Is it bad that I laughed?
