My friends left me with leftover pizza with gluten-free crust. And while I’m not one to turn down pizza or leftovers, I can’t eat that stuff again. I tried. But it did not hit with me whatsoever. Not in a positive way, at least. But you can’t say I didn’t try something new. Ah, well, let’s discuss some Bears things.
Something happened after last night’s Cubs loss gave me bad flashbacks to an era of Bears football I’d soon rather forget. This gave me the worst kind of flashback:
After Hector Neris blew his fourth save, Cubs Manager Craig Counsell – when asked about removing Neris from the closer’s role – said “I wouldn’t anticipate doing that.” Reading this late-night BN Cubs post and seeing those words from the Cubs skipper gave off big Matt Nagy energy. It reminded me of how Nagy would respond when he was asked about relinquishing play-calling duties. Nagy would take the longest and most tortured routes when having this discussion. It was a mystery … wrapped in an enigma … shrouded in uncertainty. And it was all rooted in stubbornness.
We’re only a few months into the Craig Counsell managerial era. But between what he said about Hector Neris and what folks said about Luke Getsy, I’m on the cusp of never trusting a Wisconsinite again.
Not that we’re thinking too much about the ex-Bears offensive coordinator. But this popped up via The Athletic and it also gave me a flashback:
Both Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew struggled during OTAs. They split snaps with the first string fairly evenly, but neither found much success during the practices that were open to reporters. The quarterbacks (and the rest of the offense) are still in the early stages of getting comfortable in coordinator Luke Getsy’s offense. Understandably, there have been some growing pains, but it’s still troubling that neither O’Connell nor Minshew displayed much progress results-wise by the end of OTAs.
One of the biggest reasons I’m looking forward to the Shane Waldron era is because of the clean slate. The Chicago Bears offense having a new play-caller gets top billing for obvious reasons. But this team also has a newbie in the following coaching roles: Quarterbacks Coach (Kerry Joseph), Running Backs Coach (Chad Morton), Wide Receivers Coach (Chris Beatty), Assistant Offensive Line Coach (Jason Houghtaling), Offensive Passing Game Coordinator (Thomas Brown), and Offensive Assistant RBs (Jennifer King). At a minimum, the 2024 Bears have a bunch of new eyes on old problems.
Purchasing Caleb Williams jerseys comes up in the group chat every so often. As much as I’d like to jump on the bandwagon immediately, I’ll admit I’m a little broken after the last two QBs. So I’ve drawn a line in the sand. When Caleb Williams beats the Packers, I’ll get a jersey. And it’ll be the one above because I truly love the block numbering that much. If the Bears ever change direction on the uniform front, I’d demand block numbering be the most notable switch.
Let the record show that Khalil Herbert won the Ground Player of the Week award rocking these bad boys last year:
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
The Cincinnati Bengals announced the re-signing of wide receiver Tee Higgins. This means Higgins will be at camp and ready to go for the season. In other words, we’ll see Higgins when the Bengals show up for joint practices with the Bears later this summer.
I made a mention of it in Bears Bullets on Sunday, but this ABC News story has everything you need to know about the class-action lawsuit filed against the NFL by “Sunday Ticket” subscribers.
In news that got a mega-eye-roll out of me: The Boston Celtics won their 18th NBA title on Monday night. Now, the real fun can begin as the negotiating window for key Chicago Bulls free agents is set to open. (BN Bulls)
Something nice from our friends at BN’s Cubs wing: Michael Busch has been really good.
The Chicago Blackhawks are tied to four top forward trade targets. (BN Blackhawks)
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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