Reading the Bears Scat #1
Reading the Bears Scat is a blog series about the Chicago Bears Football Team. I take what I hear in podcast, read in articles, and see in press conferences and break it down. The truth lies in between all these sources, let's see if we can sniff it out.
Let's get started.
We are about two weeks from training camp so let's recap the
story lines of 2023 so far.
Front Office:
Kevin Warren: It's quite simple, Kevin Warren was
brought in to turn the Bears from a mom and pop Franchise into an actual
business. So yes, they will be moving to Arlington Heights, even despite the front office posturing of talking to other potential stadium cities. This Arlington Heights move is the correct business choice, let's not fight it.
It will be interesting to see in what other ways he can help the Bears franchise. I'm not
sure he will provide assistance with on the field affairs; the new stadium is
the priority, but time will tell.
Ryan Poles: He did the right thing by trading the number one
pick. Justin Fields has talent and seeing if they can build the team around him, is a good move. I'm a bit worried that building the team to fit the current schemes is going a little too slow. Perhaps they're being a little too cautious? To me, GM Poles is building the team through the draft. Building a team through this way takes times, you have to give players time to develop. That means there will be growing pains, and while it seems the team is alright with those pains, I don't think the media, nor fans will be. We, as fans, will have to be patient to see how that pans out,
but right now we're sitting at 50/50 with his 2022 draft picks. Jaquan Brisker and Braxton Jones
are wins. Kyler Gordon is a maybe, and Velus Jones Jr looks like he might not
work out for the team. Shout out to Trenton Gill, a great special teams find in
that draft.
Coaches:
Matt Eberflus: Can he coach? I say this in jest, but with an undertone of seriousness. Last year the coaching staff touted their ability to coach up talent, yet they finished last in the league. This is harsh, but I would say the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants were in a similar situation. And those teams reached the play offs, while the Bears did not. They each had new head coaches, and young quarterbacks still needing to prove their worth in Daniel Jones and Trevor Lawrence. It's a small sample size, but I'm on alert and watching the coaching.
That being said, the team actually seems to like him, and damn it, so do I. Last year, the coaches said they didn't have players which fit their scheme. Perhaps this year with scheme fits, they will be able to better coach up the talent they have. It's clear what type of guys they like, those who LOVE football. Coach Flus' inability to coach up Roquan Smith leaves questions for me. In Baltimore Roquan flourished and got PAID. Yeah, perhaps that was a better fit, but getting rid of talent because they don't fit the scheme when you have so few talented players seemed dumb to me. I know, this isn't all his fault, but the linebackers acquired in free agency points to them wanting players who fit scheme. I won't get into the other coaches here because we haven't heard much from them. Overall, the team wants to continue what they were doing last year, building a winning culture. We'll see how good they are at that when the engine starts moving.
Players:
Darnell Mooney: He is one of my favorites on the team. He is
reliable, quiet, and just wants to win. There's speculation about a new contract
for him, but we need to wait and see how he is after this injury. I hate saying this, but it is the truth. We haven't
seen any real action from him so I'm excited to see if he's the same player he was before the injury and
if he can pick up where he left off. He's not a number one receiver, and that's
not his game. He takes advantage as a fast small receiver. I just want to add one thing, he is now JACKED. Let see if that makes him more durable.
Justin Fields: Not much here to say, other than, can he
pass the ball short? You can rack up yards if you don't throw those short
passes effectively. I know he has talent, but will being surrounded by little
help, in addition to changing coaching staffs his first two years in the league be too much to surmount? Time will tell.
Jaquan Brisker: He did a press conference in the Spring, and
it doesn't seem like he was having fun. His concussion really seemed to have
weighed on him, I found it a bit surprising that a lot of the media (and I say
this as someone who likes and relies on the media) didn't catch how Jaquan said
he lost himself when he had the concussion. I hope he rebounds and finds
himself again, on and off the football field, because I enjoy his energy and
passion for the game.
Jaylon Johnson: I know Jaylon is up for an extension, but
his absence in VOLUNTARY OTAs was blown way out of proportion. Okay, the media
really annoys me with contract talk. and I swear I'm not against them. But Jaylon has said nothing about a contract at all. To suggest him missing something voluntary because of contracts disputes is just absurd, unless he were to say it explicitly. I think that a lot of the old school newspaper writers see sports as this end all be all in life. That you need to eat, sleep, and bathe in your sport as a professional. That's just not how it is now. In his first news conference after he came back for OTAs, he specified that he was spending time with his daughter. He also mentioned that the mother of his daughter was finishing her degree, so he also just wanted to be around for that as well. I think it's actually very commendable of him to support her by actually being there and being a father, something he relishes. Why did no one mention that?
Notable Free Agents: Is Nate Davis a good o-lineman? He skipped most of OTAs. Some question in the media question his dedication, but again, does that really matter? Or is this some old school football mentality. Time will tell. Will the linebackers added in the offseason add up to one Roquan Smith? Time will tell. Will the veteran defensive linemen be enough to help the young players while also producing any sense of pressure? Again, time will tell. I guess the whole point of that section was to point out that this team is still one big unknown and we will have to wait and see before passing judgement.
B - E - A - R - S, Rawr! Go Bears!
(Editing takes a while so these next few will be late. But rest assured, they'll be worth it.)
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