NEWSLETTER
Before diving into BN Bears Bullets, I wanted to share something a friend recently wrote.
Long before I was doing this, I began my sports-writing career at the student newspaper of SIU Carbondale a.k.a. the Daily Egyptian. One of my first beats as a young writer was track-and-field, where I learned so much about how to talk to people during interviews, craft and layer a story, and write about a topic some might consider to be niche. A lot of my best formative work came while interviewing Connie Price-Smith, who was the Salukis’ track and field head coach and a former Olympian. This feature was a journey in all the best ways. After reading it, I am a little more inspired to be a better writer today than I was yesterday.
Anyway, on with the Bears stuff. It is game day, after all.
- An already thin Chicago Bears offensive line might be without another depth option with Doug Kramer being downgraded on the injury report and being listed as doubtful to play on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. The Bears did not elevate any offensive linemen onto the active roster for Sunday’s game, so perhaps this is a good sign that left tackle Braxton Jones and left guard Teven Jenkins will be available to play. Stay tuned.
- Offensive lineman Ryan Bates went on injured reserve on Saturday and I think we might have seen the end of his time with Chicago’s football team. The Bears can save $4 million in cap space by cutting Bates this coming offseason. I don’t think you’d need to host a Mensa meeting to figure out that this team could use $4 million in a more useful way in 2025.
- As for the future of the Bears offensive line, I rattled off an eight-pronged thread on BlueSky that had me so jacked up that it began with grammatical errors that I ignored. But because (1) it was a Saturday and (2) it was on a social media platform, I allowed myself to not be so hard on myself and let it rip:
I (@funkycoldluis.bsky.social)gonna thread some thoughts below for your Saturday consumption — hope you don't mind!
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@bn-bears.bsky.social) December 21, 2024 at 3:55 PM
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- I will have a more refined sharing of thoughts on the O-line on Monday. It might even go through an editing process!
BN ON BLUESKY: Bears … Cubs … Bulls … Blackhawks
- Since the awkward post-game handshake between Bears QB Caleb Williams and his Texans counterpart CJ Stroud:
- Caleb: 251/399 (62.9%), 2,670 pass yards, 17 TD, 3 INT, 93.5 passer rating
- CJ: 266/427 (62.3%), 2,998 yards, 16 TD, 11 INT, 85.0 passer rating
- Even with a patchwork line in front of him, Caleb Williams has just three games left to author an ending that will leave his rookie year on a high note. (Sun-Times)
- Chris Emma (670 The Score) has three storylines to follow in this Bears-Lions Thanksgiving rematch. I didn’t think much about D.J. Moore’s “thinking about vacation” comment this week, as Emma writes it was meant innocently and seems to have been said in a joking manner. But there might be some players who have already fully checked out. I think those players will reveal themselves with how they play on game day.
- Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon visited the Joffrey Ballet to speak with dancers and participate in one of their classes. The University of Washington product acknowledges that his background in dance has helped with some of his moves on the football field. It makes sense. Gordon moves gracefully and effortlessly when he is in pursuit on the defensive side of the ball.
- Gordon is one of the NFL’s best slot corners and grades out as the league’s 33rd-best corner according to Pro Football Focus’ grading scale. I feel as if this is a good place to point out that the Bears can begin discussing an extension with Gordon as soon as this season ends. With that in mind, I will put a “Kyler Gordon extension cost research” on my offseason to-do list.
- The first round of college football playoff games are in the books and they were mostly duds. But the way I see it, we get a bunch of duds in early-round basketball games at the NCAA Tournament and we make it out just fine. Let’s see how the rest of the bracket unfolds before we go throwing the baby out with the bath water.
- There was a point during Saturday’s Ohio State-Tennessee game in which the Buckeyes were out-gaining the Volunteers 205 to negative-3. It reminded me of that recent Bears-Niners game. I dozed off around halftime of this one.
- A Seiya Suzuki trade is a “potential option” for the Los Angeles Dodgers. (BN Cubs)
- The Boston Celtics came away with a win in their rematch against the Chicago Bulls.
- Connor Bedard keeps climbing the NHL, Chicago Blackhawks ranks for teenagers. (BN Blackhawks)
OTHER BLEACHER NATION SITES: Cubs / Bulls / Blackhawks
