Bonding and Team Building, Manifesting Excellence, Who’s Left Unsigned? And Other Bears Bullets

Jun 09, 2023

I could explain how I fell down an 80s music rabbit hole last night, but I’d rather just share this clip of WatchMojo’s Top 80s Songs That Got Popular Again that came across my eyeballs at 1 a.m. when I should’ve been trying harder to fall sleep.

There are way too many times when the NFL is too self-serious. And as I learned from Van Wilder, you shouldn’t take life too seriously because you’ll never make it out alive. Hence, I love it when the Bears do off-the-wall team-building activities like the ones they had at United Center on Thursday:

Got a team full of ballers 😤 pic.twitter.com/huHZnDT4e0
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) June 9, 2023

Last year’s group event was at Wrigley Field and featured Justin Fields, Cole Kmet, and others socking dingers. If you’d like to take a trip down memory lane, this is your opportunity to do so.

Head Coach Matt Eberflus gets it:

“The offseason for me and the coaches and the players is all about building relationships,” Eberflus said, via the Bears’ official website. “That’s why we’ve had these 30-minute sessions where we would intermix the groups—offense, defense and special teams—and we’d talk to each other, not about football but about life and experiences.

Don’t get me wrong. I know X’s and O’s are important. But the relationship-building and people-management aspects of being a head coach shouldn’t go overlooked. We still have so much to learn about Eberflus as a coach on gameday. And we’ll get a better feel for it after an offseason of upgrades. But as he enters his second year as a head coach, Eberflus seems to have a good feel for the team-connectivity part of the gig. And that isn’t inconsequential.

OK, fine, I get it. You’re here for the football-y stuff and not the offseason fluff. Let me throw you this bone as Alyssa Barbieri (BearsWire) highlights the most notable free agents from each of the NFL’s 32 teams who remain unsigned as of this morning. The Bears representative here is defensive back DeAndre Houston-Carson, whose presence on the market surprises me. DHC isn’t a star. And he isn’t someone teams should be busting down doors to add to their roster. So it wasn’t surprising that he would last on the market for an extended period of time. HOWEVER, Houston-Carson is a Jack-of-all-trades type of player. The Bears have slotted DHC into safety roles, cornerback spots, and a variety of special teams positions. Players who can wear as many hats as Houston-Carson can wear should be gainfully employed.

If you’re browsing that list for potential Bears free-agent targets, let me save you some time. DE Jadeveon Clowney (Browns), C/G Pat Elfin (Texans), DE Yannick Ngakoue (Colts), DE Dawuane Smoot (Jaguars), and DE Carlos Dunlap (Chiefs) make sense as players who it would be sensible for the Bears to kick the tires on while they’re still available.

I want to dive into this more later, but for now, I’ll tease with this headline from our friends at BN NFL: Vikings Taking Trade Calls on Edge Rusher Danielle Hunter (And Ryan Poles Should Be One of Them).

Have you ever wondered what NFL scouting departments do during the summertime months? Former Bears Scouting Director Greg Gabriel explains what goes on in those circles in his latest at Windy City Gridiron. Gabriel might be a polarizing figure on Twitter (it comes with the territory of having strong opinions rooted in year’s of professional experience) but I enjoy the depth and perspective he brings to a side of football that doesn’t often open its doors to the public.

This edit is way too cold:

Is this the year Justin Fields makes the leap? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/kCPJAPzlfo
— PFF (@PFF) June 8, 2023

Also, the answer is yes because this is the year Fields makes a jump. Let us come together to manifest greatness in 2023.

This story troubles me:

From @TheAthletic: Baby Gronk is a 10-year-old whose father is pitching him as the next big thing in college football. “He’s a real athlete. He’s not a normal kid,” his father told us. “He has been trained and programmed since he was 6 years old.” https://t.co/GJIlXmQrzT pic.twitter.com/bw6dlUTwh2— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 9, 2023

I see we are leveling up when it comes to fantasy football punishments:

When Your Fantasy Football League Forces You to Wear an Altuve Jersey to Yankee Stadium… 😬https://t.co/S7T3MgeBLZ pic.twitter.com/RJ1nFOPJC7— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) June 9, 2023

After seeing Coby White make notable improvements this past season, this is a question worth asking:

How Much Will It Take to Re-Sign Coby White?

It’s mock draft SZN for our friends at BN Blackhawks:

#Blackhawks Mock Draft Season: New 2-Round From @TheAthleticNHL Projects 6 Chicago Selectionshttps://t.co/J8Tyfcjb6i pic.twitter.com/te4QSf1qGV
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) June 8, 2023

The Cubs are down bad:

It Feels Like the Flip Has Switched on Selling Season

Have a nice day, Bears fans:

Good morning and happy Friday, Bears fans!

📸: @ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/MmjsuYqLKS
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) June 9, 2023

written by

Luis C. Medina

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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