One of the things I was hoping to do in 2023 that I wasn’t doing in 2022 was going to the movies more often. As in going to a theater, getting some popcorn with extra butter, maybe some candy, and enjoying a flick. I’ve never been much for movie-going, but things were changing in my life and I was thinking it was a good time to make that tweak. I haven’t done so (for various reasons), but movies about Air Jordan shoes and Super Mario Bros might get me into a theater soon. Although, I still need to get over that thing where I don’t like doing theater things by myself. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
This is going to impact some folks more than me, which is why I’m sharing it at the top of Bullets:
Here's what NFL Sunday Ticket and Red Zone will cost you this season (discounts for early sales end 6/6)
YouTube TV subscribers:
$389 w/Red Zone ($289 pre-6/6) $349 w/o RZ ($249 pre-6/6)
Non-YouTube TV subscribers:
$489 w/RedZone ($349 pre-6/6) $449 w/o RZ ($349 pre-6/6)— Patrick K. Flowers (@PatrickKFlowers) April 11, 2023
Ultimately, it boils down to $21-27 per NFL week over 18 weeks. That doesn’t seem like an awful price all things considered. But the sticker shock of seeing $489 this morning had my eyes popping out of my head in a cartoonish manner. At that price, I’ll take my over-the-air noon CT Bears start times, accept whatever 3 p.m. mid-afternoon game comes my way, and settle in for whatever the SNF nightcap happens to be. Because, yeah, there is no way to come away from these pricing tiers and not think about it as highway robbery.
To their credit, the Bears’ multimedia team gives us never-before-seen access with 1920 Football Drive. But I can’t help but think about how much more they can give us. And it really helps me better understand why an increasing number of fans want the Bears on Hard Knocks. The potential to get something you’ve not been privy to before as a fan is alluring. If the Bears gave us more 1920 Football Drive, maybe there would be less desire to want HBO’s cameras around. Or maybe that wouldn’t be the case. But maybe we should find out by having more 1920 Football Drive episodes. That feels like a good place to start.
Selfishly, I’d love more behind-the-scenes draft coverage. Especially when the Bears own a top-10 pick. But maybe that is just me being selfish.
Michael Renner (PFF) puts together a team of the best prospects from the PFF College Era. And, yes, it includes a pair of top players eligible for this class. Georgia DT Jalen Carter makes the cut above DeForest Buckner and this blurb has me feeling uneven feelings:
Both Jonathan Allen and DeForest Buckner were top-three players on the PFF draft board in their respective classes, but I’d take Carter on the field over both as prospects. He’s more explosive and violent…when he wants to be.
On the one hand, Carter’s numbers look like what you’d want out of an impact defensive tackle. But on the other hand, that “when he wants to be” is doing a lot of the work here and it makes me feel uneasy.
Should the Bears not land Carter on draft day, a potential Day 2 choice is Adetomiwa Adebawore, the Northwestern prospect whose stock is hot:
.@NUFBFamily DL @tomiwabawore is always ready for anything – an ability he mastered throughout his college career. 💪
No, I don’t think Adebawore will be a top-10 pick. And I’m not wholly convinced he’ll be a first-rounder. However, I think he has traits, skills, and measurable that I can see the Bears wanting to mold into a 3-technique defensive tackle. But we’ll see how draft boards fall for the NU product.
The Bears did a sneaky good thing in signing punter Ryan Anderson to a contract (as reported by punter Ryan Anderson). No, I don’t think it puts rising second-year punter Trenton Gill on alert. And I don’t even think his job is at risk. Instead, I think the Anderson signing is to give Bears return specialists a different look — and more of it. Anderson is a left-footed punter. And if you’ll remember Velus Jones Jr.’s noteworthy muffed-punt moments against the Giants and Commanders, you’ll recall they both came when fielding a punt against a left-footed kicker. Also worth noting is that Chicago brought in Anderson before playing Washington. Clearly, getting the lefty in for a few days didn’t work. Maybe a full offseason of reps will help.
On June 23rd, 1976, global superstar #Pele & the NY Cosmos came to play the #Chicago Sting at Soldier Field. Sting owner Lee Stern, arranged for #Bears owner George Halas to stop by before the game for a photo op. #NFL#MLSpic.twitter.com/JPJ7VxtXZN— WGNTV (@WGNTV) April 10, 2023
Since fútbol is on our mind, this feels like a good time to share that Soldier Field is one of the host sites for CONCACAF Gold Cup matches. (Sun-Times)
If I were to assess Jonathan Taylor’s fantasy production in 2022, I’d be so casually cruel in the name of being honest. Because, you know, it was a huge disappointment. Nevertheless, you knew I wasn’t going to let this slip by without sharing:
Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.
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