Halas Hall Has Seen Better Days (And Other Bears Bullets)

I don’t really have anyone to hold me to this, but I’ve been craving donuts for a few weeks and there is a place in my neighborhood that apparently has some good ones. In my mind, I think that would make a perfect Bears Sunday NFL brunch hour snacking option. Again, I don’t have anyone to be like “Hey, Lu, don’t forget the donuts!” so I’m left to put it here and hope someone reminds me on Sunday. Or maybe I’ll read back on this post later in the week and remind myself. We’ll see.

  • Imagine waking up from a nap and seeing this tweet from NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport:
  • I never thought I’d have to reference this post about Charles “Peanut” Tillman being an honest-to-goodness FBI agent. Sigh. February 2018 feels like ages ago.
  • Yesterday was a busy one at Halas Hall. Quarterback Justin Fields had so much to say (including a proclamation that he is going into “F it” mode), Head Coach Matt Eberflus had little to say, Defensive Coordinator Alan Williams sent in his resignation, left tackle Braxton Jones went on IR, and there was a bit of roster shuffling that followed.
  • There is plenty of quality reporting from the beat in the trenches at Halas Hall. If you’d like to dig down deeper, I’d recommend pieces from The Athletic (Fishbain), Tribune (Biggs), Sun-Times (Potash), and NBC Sports Chicago (Schrock) that do well in capturing such a bizarre day in the land of Bears football.
  • These two tweets from the beat were mind-blowing. They really put some things in to perspective:
  • Do you remember the Matt Nagy fake firing before Thanksgiving in 2021? That was a wild time for sure. Or how about that time there was an argument between Tre McBride and Josh Bellamy at Halas Hall? That was unique! But yesterday might be a new topper. This was an all-timer for me, which speaks volumes considering my path to this point. I saw an entire newspaper get turned around in mere minutes the night the Blackhawks scored 2 goals in 17 seconds to win the Stanley Cup in 2013. And I was literally the only person at the sports desk when Brad Biggs broke the story of Marc Trestman’s hiring at some unholy hour of the night. Plus, I was in the Tribune newsroom the night of the 2016 election. What a wild time I’ve had over the years.
  • I don’t have much to add when it comes to the Alan Williams situation other than that this seems to be a serious matter that deserves to be handled with care on all fronts.
  • What’s wrong with Justin Fields and the Bears offense? We discuss on this week’s installment of the BN Bears Show:
  • I don’t think Justin Fields needed to walk back any of his comments from Wednesday. Although, I do understand why he might’ve felt the need to after seeing how some of his words were twisted. It’s why I do what I can to bring context and depth to a piece like Justin Fields speaks. Maybe it takes a little longer to push out the door, but I’d rather give a full lay of the land than just a small corner. Context is king, even if some want to ignore it because context doesn’t necessarily equal clicks.
  • There is lots of good stuff on the web about Fields and the offense. I’d encourage you to read pieces at the Sun-Times, CHGO, and Tribune for more depth.
  • Jim McMahon tells Patrick Finley (Sun-Times) that Chicago has always cared more about getting it right at running back and linebacker than quarterback (or any other position, for that matter). Jimmy Mac isn’t wrong. If you ever want to easily explain why the Bears offense feels like it is always pulled from a 1938 playbook, you can easily point to the franchise prioritizing positions that were the most important from an era that is long in our past. The sooner the Bears, as an organization, put an emphasis on quarterback development as a primary goal, the better off the whole thing will be.
  • The Vikings traded for Rams running back Cam Akers. It has been quite the fall for Akers, whose late-season efforts last year won me a fantasy title. Now, I’m forced to root against him as a member of a chief Bears rival. That’s a shame. (BN NFL)
  • Dame Dollar has been one of my favorite players to watch and I wouldn’t mind him on the Bulls:
  • The Cubs dropped to 12-5 in games I attended at Wrigley Field this year. But there were some fun moments and I was in good company, so I’ll take that as a different kind of win.
  • Hey, look who’s at Blackhawks camp:
  • Be sure to follow Tab and BN Blackhawks here, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
  • written by

    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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