Raise your hand if you have good vibes while thinking about the Bears this week.
- OOF! It’s looking doubtful that Jayden Daniels will play on Sunday against the Bears. Patrick Flowers has more on the latest update regarding Washington’s QB1.
- Part of me wishes Sunday’s Bears-Commanders game featured a healthy Jayden Daniels because I love head-to-head football drama. Plus, I feel as if Jayden Daniels vs. Caleb Williams could be the kind of quarterbacking rivalry that could be fun to follow. CBS Sports analyst Matt Ryan tells the Sun-Times he is impressed with how the quarterbacks from Chicago and Washington are handling expectations. Hey, that makes two of us! Unfortunately, it sounds like we’ll have to wait.
- Caleb gets it. “Obviously you don’t wish to see good and great players down, not in games,” Williams said, via the Tribune’s Colleen Kane. “It only makes the game better (to have him).”
- The Athletic’s Jon Greenberg writes about the Caleb Williams homecoming angle. I’m a sucker for these stories. And I’m an even bigger sucker for them when a player has a big game in that setting. Yours truly has high hopes for what Chicago’s QB1 can do against the team he was rooting for while growing up.
- Ha! Kliff Kingsbury didn’t have much to say regarding his interview with the Bears for the then-vacant offensive coordinator position:
- Chris Emma (670 The Score) unearths a fun fact about the Bears since acquiring Montez Sweat at the trade deadline last year. Emma points out the Bears are 9-6 since the trade and have allowed 21 points or fewer in 12 consecutive games. The Tez Effect is real.
- The Bears added tight end Joel Wilson to their practice squad. The Tribune’s Brad Biggs tweets that Tommy Sweeney going on injured reserve is what opened up the spot for Wilson, a Central Michigan University product who was a third-team All-MAC performer in 2022.
- Bill Barnwell (ESPN) explores why veteran running backs are thriving on new teams. I’ve long felt that the NFL has gone too far with how teams, talent evaluators, and fans have undervalued quality running backs. But as is the case with so many things in life, the pendulum always swings back. I am fascinated to see how these situations play out moving forward.
- Hey, maybe D’Andre Swift can follow this trend. The Bears running back is averaging 4.76 yards per carry during the team’s three-game winning streak. Perhaps Chicago’s big-ticket free-agent addition to the backfield has more of that in store against a Commanders defense that has allowed three rushing touchdowns to RB1s in their last two games.
- Be sure to start your Bears pass-catchers in fantasy this week. Washington has allowed 100-yard games to Malik Nabers, Ja’Marr Chase, and Zay Flowers. The Commanders have also coughed up 10 touchdowns to opposing wide receivers. This feels like a good time to see if Rome Odunze is available in your league.
- What a fun nugget:
- The Lions hangover effect reminds me of being in college and watching SIU’s basketball teams wear down opponents so badly that they’d be feeling the effects in the next game. Sigh. I miss when Saluki basketball did that to folks.
- Oh, my. Chicago rapper (and noted Bears fan) Lil Durk (who’s been seen on the Bears sidelines during games this season) has reportedly been arrested in Florida in connection to a murder-for-hire plot. (WGN News)
- This might be a little out of my price range, but it looks cool as heck:
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- From Bleacher Nation: The World Series begins TONIGHT. I’m not all too geeked up about it, but I’m sure someone is and will watch the heck out of it. Frankly, I’ll have a grainy Eras Tour livestream playing in the background while baking cookies for my friend’s birthday party tomorrow.
- Sure, the Chicago Bulls lost their season opener. However, Zach LaVine’s night was a big positive for the team. Go ahead and build that trade value, Zach! (BN Bulls)
- Over at BN Blackhawks, Tab has a piece on Jason Dickinson’s leadership.
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