I won’t do it. But just know that I could write a thousand words on how excited I am about Taylor Swift releasing Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) just one week after my birthday. Again, I won’t. I want to, but won’t. Thank me later.
There is lots of good reading online if you want to catch up on Bears mini-camp activities from Friday. Josh Schrock (NBCS Chicago), Kevin Fishbain (The Athletic), and Mark Potash (Sun-Times) come through with takeaways from Day 1. The Chicago Tribune also has a nice photo gallery to browse through. It’ll be a weekend of nuggets and tidbits from Halas Hall. I’m looking forward to digging through them all.
Charles “Peanut” Tillman was in the building on Friday and was giving great advice, per rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson who passes this along via the Trib’s Dan Wiederer:
“Run to criticism,” Stevenson said. “I definitely was enlightened by that because it gave me an opportunity to realize that criticism is there to help. Not everybody is going to love you. You’re not put in the world for that. But I’m going to be the best me that I can and take the criticism and grow as a person and as a man.”
Run to criticism is wonderful football advice. But it is also quality life advice. Read that quote again and see if it can’t apply to your life. I know I can apply it to mine.
From a football standpoint, the best players are open to taking coaching and criticism. Now, all critiques aren’t built the same. And there is a difference between constructive criticism (which is helpful) and the alternative (which can be destructive to someone on the climb), so we should be mindful of that. But that Stevenson sounds ready to embrace some hard coaching is a good sign. Last year, we saw the change of coaching style rub off well on Jaylon Johnson and Eddie Jackson. Here’s hoping it can work on this rookie class.
Roschon Johnson is putting out David Montgomery vibes and I’m very much here for it:
Find you someone who loves you as much as running backs love practicing with pads on.
Wide receiver Tyler Scott, who was a Day 3 pick just like Johnson, could be an earlier contributor. Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobieski sees Scott as being in a perfect situation to contribute sooner than you might expect to see a Day 3 prospect chip in. Scott might not get as many reps as the guys ahead of him on the depth chart. However, the Bears could smartly utilize his speed in a way that keeps defenses on their heels. Luke Getsy has a new toy and should play with it.
The Gervon Dexter-Zacch Pickens tandem will hopefully allow me to dig into my bag of classic WWF tag team .gifs:
For me, a best-case scenario is that both Dexter and Pickens are quality starters by the end of the year. I don’t think that is asking for too much. Let veterans Andrew Billings and Justin Jones carry the load early, allow the rookies to develop without rushing them into action, and give the young guys a full runway when they’re ready.
At least I’m not alone in feeling this way. PFF’s big post-draft takeaway for the Bears is that they’ve potentially acquired a bunch of future starters with their draft weekend execution:
The Bears brought in a lot of players who have a chance to contribute as soon as Week 1. Darnell Wright can easily step in at right tackle to kick Teven Jenkins inside, Gervon Dexter Sr. can be a stout run defender on early downs and Tyrique Stevenson has a shot to win the starting outside cornerback job. Meanwhile, Tyler Scott and Roschon Johnson on offense can be rotational players in their first seasons. Scott could even make a big impact as a specialized deep threat.
We discussed this in Bullets earlier in the week, but it is worth re-sharing (especially when someone else co-signs a thought you had on your own).
This one always stumps me after the Heat and Magic:
I always forget about the Avalanche. And I never even think about college teams like the Stanford Cardinal (which is a color, not a bird) and Alabama Crimson Tide (whose mascot is an elephant).
An old friend is getting a new number:
I wonder if the Bears will have a 0 on their roster this year now that it’s possible for anyone to wear that number. Is there anyone worthy of it? Or is there even anyone who wants it?
The Chicago Cubs lineup is OUT. And Matt Mervis is in it … again. I can get used to this. (BN Cubs)
Our friends at BN Blackhawks continue continuing down to the 2023 NHL Draft lottery:
Some things are bigger than basketball:
NEWSLETTER
