Two Polls in Two Days: Who Quarterbacks the Opener?
When you get to the bottom of the Bears roster, you see a lot of familiar names who, for one reason or another, have never stuck as starters in the league. Many of the players in this grouping have stuck on as specialists but some are late-round draft picks who just haven’t had a chance to prove themselves yet.
There isn’t a lot to say about Bray at this point. He won’t get any significant reps and is just about a lock for the practice squad. As far as emergency quarterbacks go, though, it could be a lot worse. Bray knows the offense and played well in the fourth preseason game last year. I’m still not convinced he isn’t better than Chase Daniel.
If you’re looking for a candidate to be this year’s Nick Williams, Anderson might be a good bet. The former UDFA has impressed during camp and preseason and could be ready to crack the rotation. Appeared in six games for the Bears and got one sack.
DHC doesn’t have the speed to ever be an effective safety, but he has been a regular contributor on special teams since his rookie season.
The Bears obviously didn’t trust their rookie kicker in 2019 and he didn’t give them much reason to. He started strong and finished strong, but can he regularly make kicks beyond 40 yards? Can they even fathom 50-yarders? He has to prove it.
He’s a long snapper.
His nickname “Pig” was almost enough to get him higher on the list. A big, raw athletic guard who might be able to play right tackle.
Hambright’s athleticism and college experience make him interesting. He fell off the radar more than anybody who played left tackle in college and showed a good athletic profile should. As of now, the Bears aren’t giving Simmons or Hambright a shot to compete at right guard, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if either ended up starting there in the near future.
The quotes came from new Bears quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo.
“At the end of the day, which guy’s raising the other ten guys’ level.”
“At the end of the day, it’s who moves our football team and converts on third down.”
Question. One word. When?
When is this raising of the other ten guys’ level happening?
When is the football team being moved?
When are these third downs being converted?
I might be having an Allen Iverson moment but…practice? We talking about…practice?
Quarterbacks are always the story in the NFL and a quarterback competition over the summer is the juiciest story there is for hungry football writers. But there are three things fans must consider before investing too much into this battle.
(1) Without preseason games, there won’t be anything resembling an obvious winner. Preseason games would have allowed the whole of the football world to evaluate the play of these two men and accurately assess which gave the Bears the best chance to win. Preseason games would have made fans active participants in the competition, enabling them to generate their own thoughts and opinions based on the palpable data of performance.
(2) The media will have their say on the competition but most of the important moments in camp practices, the parts where the actual game plan is installed and executed, happen after the media is sent away. You’ll learn far more from Adam Jahns’ insider reporting on Nagy’s thoughts than Brad Biggs’ impressions from a few passing drills.
It was from JQ of the Q Brothers Collective, a troupe of hip hop theatre artists I had admired since my years at New York University, when I discovered their hit, The Bomb-itty of Errors. These guys were doing hip hop musicals more than a decade before some other folks who’ve gotten rich off of it. It turns out JQ was a fan of DaBearsBlog and just wanted to share that with me. I was fucking jazzed.
Years later, his friendship is one of my favorite things to have come from this site. He and his brother have been to Josie Woods for a Bears game. I’ve had beers with him all over Chicago. I’ve spent Christmas at his family’s house. The whole crew are some of my favorite people on the earth.
When I decided to start building partnerships with DBB, I thought about Chicago institutions I love. Malnati’s (check). Billy Goat Tavern, and Old Style Beer (pending). Then I thought of the Q Brothers and their family’s legendary pharmacy, Merz Apothecary. (You can read the remarkable history of this institution by CLICKING HERE.) I am by no means expert when it comes to any of the products they sell. However, the woman I live with is. When Sarah and I travel anywhere – East Hampton, Paris, Trenton – I know she’s not going to be able to walk by the local pharmacy without at least a 20-minute venture inside. If she swears by Merz, Merz is the real fucking deal.
Recently I bought these things they sell called Shambars. They look like bars of soap but they replace shampoo and conditioner. I was dubious. This made no sense to me. Then I tried them. And they’re pretty fucking incredible.
Bubbles work. (Basketball)
Non-bubbles don’t. (Baseball)
The NFL should scrap the 2020 schedule, and move it to 2021.
Create a bubble for each division – 8 in total. For instance the NFC North bubble could be in Chicago. Then have the teams play each other four times each, 12 games total, starting in early October.
The 8 division winners enter a new playoff bubble come January. (Since there’s a likelihood of a tie or two, let point differential break the tie. Or…just play another game.)
This would give the season legitimacy and could actually be fun.
The Bears reported to training camp last week with a large number of guys you probably don’t need to know.
This is my fifth year ranking the entire roster and the bottom of the roster is as much of a guess as it’s ever been. There are a few names on this list that fans know, but none who can be relied upon in 2020. What you can tell by looking at the list is that GM Ryan Pace values physical talent at the bottom of the roster. It’s unlikely that any of these players will make an impact in the NFL, but they’re in Chicago for a reason.
A local product from Peoria and Western Illinois. Has great size (6’5”, 280), but wasn’t really exceptional, even as the small college level.
The former Georgia product clocked a 4.31 40-yard dash time ahead of the 2017 NFL draft, but has never produced on the field. He caught just three passes in preseason last year and never had more than 12 in college. He did have a punt return for a touchdown at Georgia, but had otherwise pedestrian numbers as a return man.
A 2019 first-team All-Ivy Leaguer from South Africa. Probably a long shot, but certainly sounds like a good story.
Yet another tight end. Clark is a 26-year-old former college basketball player from USC. He’s 6’7” and 220 pounds, but seems like a long shot to make the roster.
A UDFA in 2019, Boyd spent time on the Chiefs, Bengals and Bears practice squads last season. He’s short (6’3”), but had nearly 35-inch arms.
Great size (6’6”, 285), but little production at Duke. Finished his career with 7.5 sacks and 12 QB pressures. Did have five forced fumbles.
The Bears latest attempt to find a kicker from nowhere led them to the 25-year-old who played at Nevada. He has a shot to beat out Piniero, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s good.
There’s a popular opinion shared among Bears fans (and certain media types) that Nick Foles isn’t good. Because of this belief, these individuals have reached two conclusions: (1) it’s in the best interest of the Bears for Mitch Trubisky to “win” the starting job this summer and (2) the Bears won’t be any good in 2020.
Here’s where I differ: I think Nick Foles is good. Great? No. A franchise quarterback? Of course not. But Nick Foles has led a franchise through a miraculous postseason and won Super Bowl MVP. Nick Foles has thrown twice the number of touchdowns as interceptions in his eight seasons. Nick Foles has pitched to a career QB rating of 88.2, more than two points better than that Cam Newton with whom everybody seemed so enamored.
And Foles’ goodness goes beyond statistics. I remember seeing him look absolutely dominant running Chip Kelly’s offense in Philly. I remember the calmness he brought to the huddle after Carson Wentz’ injury. I’ve seen him for what he is: a stabilizing force within an organization.
That’s what stood out when he and Mitch Trubisky addressed the media Friday. Trubisky seemed immature, still spouting well-rehearsed cliches and insinuating – somehow – that he’d never make mechanical adjustments before. Trubisky seems like a good enough kid but the act is tired now. He wants to “prove everybody wrong” but the opinions of everybody are based solely on one thing: his wretched play.
This organization, city, fan base is lost in the quarterbacking desert, so thirsty for good play from the position they’ll enthusiastically believe any watery mirage is real and pretend to be quenched after consumption. Trubisky couldn’t even satisfy the most delusional among us.
Tuesday, Eddie Goldman opted out of the 2020 NFL season. He wasn’t alone. He was joined by essentially the whole of the New England Patriots.
So why are players punching out of this season? A few things to remember about Covid-19.
First, this disease disproportionately impacts black and brown communities and roughly 70% of NFL players are black. While most of these young men will be unaffected by the disease, we still don’t know what the long-term impacts on the body come from the diagnosis.
Second, it’s not only about the health of the players themselves. These are young men and they have parents and grandparents dealing with the exact comorbidities that make them gravely susceptible to this virus. And cutting off from those relatives for a five-month period is simply a non-starter for most.
When a receiver in peak physical condition is exposed to the virus, he’ll likely see little to no health impact. When his diabetic mother is exposed, her life is at risk. That’s the decision these athletes face heading into 2020.
Does it suck for teams and fans? Of course it does. The NFL’s tight salary cap does not allow for depth at most positions. When Goldman opts out of the coming season, there isn’t another Goldman in the wings.
Does it suck for writers like me? It sure does. It’s getting a awfully difficult to engage this season with any real intensity when it feels like we’re one bad news story from the whole thing collapsing.
