Rule of thumb is one needs at least 5 years to properly judge a draft, but I think we can grade it now [Philly also just paid Jalen Carter four-year, $152-160M].
What say ye?
A.
B.
C.
D.
F.
Comments
-
’26 Camp Day 2
Things heating up literally and figuratively. Back at the height of DBB, we used to have a few locals who actually attended some of the camp sessions. Can’t remember exactly, but I think both GP and Data provided some boots on the ground intel, and that’s good, cuz Jeff, like moi, lives out of state.
Not sure camp these days are quite as fun as they once were. I saw some reporters grumbling that teams, for the most part, no longer allow them to observe their true stuff. I think before they were with the understanding that they can’t provide too much detail, film or photograph – in other words – to become defacto spies for opponents. Murky about how that dynamic works now.
TBH, I never really dug into the weeds here since like most, I barely cared and simply relied on the local reporters [or regs] to relay camp info.
As such, here’s such a summary from the best Bear beat IMO – Clay Harbor. Since he’s a former NFLer, he knows the Xs and Os, but he also provides much needed context always with the macro in mind. So here’s his Camp Day 2 [Weds] impressions.‘It was more competitive…Rome, Burden, Raymond, good showing…O seems ahead of D…Ton of motions, double shifts [bit surprising for this stage of install. Might be a good sign how in sync they are already]…Caleb excellent”
‘Dennis Allen ain’t slowwalking either. For playing a new FS, SS, LB, Nickle [more on that later], Rook CB – he’s running a bunch of diff coverages, man, zone, blitzes, and Caleb went to right place every time’
‘Spider Man out in theatres, just not Chicago camp. NB major concern w/out Gordon. It’s like you’re waiting on the Redline. You need to have a backup up plan cuz you don’t know when it’s showing up or IF it’s showing up. A lot of those catches were on NB. Cam Lewis a lot like Gardner-Johnson. Jack of All, Master of None. Rookie Malik Muhammed played 93% of college snaps on the outside; NB might be hardest position outside QB. [Let’s not forget how GB ruthlessly attacked a half-powered Gordon last season, over and over and over again].
Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Ammon-Ra, J.Jefferson, Jordan Addison…gonna be licking their chops attacking slot.
Might need to hit the market if Gordon is out-out or crippled.
Bush got beat too [hehe]
[It’s ONLY one camp, but something to stash because while Edmunds wasn’t S-tier slashing down-hill, he sure as fuck could cover]
Dayo seems healthy, at least. That’s the good news. The bad? Well, motivated or not, Dayo has notched 1 sack in last 18 games [including with Colts], and that 1 sack was vs a backup OT.
To quote The Irishman, “I’m more than a little concerned.”Here’s another take from ESPN and Thayer. Apparently, Caleb has slimmed 15 pounds and feels great. Sometimes I worry about QBs being a lil too svelte. Some chunk can cushion hits. Did you know that in Ancient Rome the Gladiator wasn’t some cross-fit freak. He was much more likely to resemble a 50s wrestlers than say, The Ultimate Warrior! Reason being – Girth=protecting vital organs more. If you get shanked, some blubber between can save. Then again, Gladiators didn’t own flak-jackets. Be interesting to see if Caleb runs even faster because I think he hit 20MPH on a dead sprint last season. He’s one of those players like Jerry Rice whose gameday speed clocks faster than his timed 40.
I also love how BJ apparently sat Caleb down and reviewed EVERY incomplete and assigned blame. How great is that if true? Finally, some accountability. Caleb has the type of personality to take it too. He won’t see it as an attack but as a diagnostic tool to make him win those 6+ rings he craves. Holy smokes, imagine if a Martz did that to Cutler!Dooooon’t caaarree!!!
It’s important to remember they’re padless right now. Come MON, padded practices, then game on, esp for the bigguns. Unfortunately, that’s also when INJs skyrocket, so gotta track that too.
Can almost smell the freshly cut grass.
Bear Down. -
Brief Season Preview ’26
Camp kicked off, and it appears everyone is posting season previews. Seems waaaay too early at this point; I prefer doing them late Aug after INJs, trades, bottom of barrel signings…but hey, who am I to argue with the industry?
They make a good point about Bush. We assume he’ll be at least on par with Edmunds, but maybe we should slow our roll.
Edmunds was too reactive for my taste. He made more sense with the original HC/DC Flus whose D in general was more passive. Allen by contrast likes attacking D. We saw how the LBs, despite being backups, flew around more when both Edwards and Edmunds were out. Hopefully Bush and Co fit that mold more, but was Bush merely a byproduct of Gym Shorts’ very specific scheme?
Thieneman is definitely a high-upside prospect, but that’s all he is right now – a hard 7. He’s more of a fit than cautious Brisker, that’s for sure.
Byard was a proven commodity, leader, and secondary general – maybe the best since MB at FS.
That’s a lot for anyone to fill, esp in the TO dept, but I expect FA Coby Bryant to hold his own. Besides, I trust coach Harris to squeeze the most out of that secondary. That being said, I have been refraining this since last summer: TRADE Gordon ASAP before he tears his hammy rolling over in his sleep.
I won’t go over the Dline since it’s beating a deadhorse, but Steve and Sam both agree that Sweat can’t carry it by himself. He’s no Garrett, and both wonder aloud if the run D will improve.
Vito Vea demanded a trade, and many are connecting him to the Bears because of their shaky run D, albeit Vea allegedly wants to play his back 9 on the west coast, so who knows where his head is at – is he still chasing a championship, or cruising the rest of the way?
We know the deal on O. It should match last year’s production; however Braxton at LT and whoever replaces Dalman could be viewed as a step down. Everyone’s counting on Caleb’s 2nd year in BJ’s system to make up for it, but never know. Still, many studies have shown that great QB play affects Olines more than the other way around – that’s why it almost didn’t matter who the Colts drafted at oline during the Peyton years because that sack rate was going to be low, and comp% high almost regardless.The ever mercurial DJ Moore is gone, so I guess we don’t have to see him dog it during the summer, or late season routes, yet make miraculous catches on one good leg. Nevertheless, I believe in Harvey Dent-Burden! Rome with one foot is another issue [I doubt Rome gets extended], and maybe this is why BJ wanted insurance in Khalif Raymond and Zavion Jones, ntm TE Sam Roush. BJ will scheme em open, and Caleb will hit em, and the machine should keep rolling.
The over under is currently set to 9.5 wins for Bears. If you don’t think the TOs and miracle comebacks can be replicated, or that Caleb stalls at sub-60% comp, then take the under.
If you Bearlieve that TOs don’t fall off too much, that the late game magic continues, and that Caleb enters the S-tier of MVP convo, then take the over and book the playoffs.
I wonder how much a long snapper moves the line…
-
Monday Minutia
Camp is about to kick off, so when there’s something to update more than summer names we’ll never hear again, I’ll report. For now, some random twits.
Wright seems like he’s one of those players who’s always dealing with some nagging INJ, nevertheless, still trucks through it. If we ever get a truly healthy season from him, watch out. Could be our Sewell.
Look how young and skinny Peppers looks! Man, forgot that he actually split time between basketball and football, and still the Panther’s drafted him #2 overall. What a stud.
Caleb modeled his game after Rodgers, and the TD/INT ratio is DEF great to emulate. Although some critiqued Rodgers for being TOO cautious at time, accusing him of caring more about his stats than winning. I doubt we have to worry about that with Caleb.
Some Burden goodness!
Oof – this is a hard choice. Of those 4, I may vote for Maximus. HOWEVER, I’d like to give honorable mention to the armor [esp the golden one] in “Excalibur”
[TMI “Excalibur” is what my Ex called my wang!]
We always go down this road. The athletic try-hard underdog. Maybe we can rename it the Theo Benedet-Jesper Horsted – Sanzenbacher white chocolate hopium effect.
“Never tell me the odds.” – Han Fucking Solo
Austin Powers flashbacks sounds….friendly reminder to take all the hype with a GIGANTIC grain of salt – and if you’re Romo, use that salt for Tequila shots.
-
Odyssey: Sea Peoples
Read this before you watch The Odyssey: [Spoiler? I mean, you had 2K+ years to read Homer or watch “Troy”. GTFO!]
- Agamemnon was the most powerful king in Greece.
- His brother, Menelaus, was the king of Sparta.
- Menelaus was married to Helen, whose beauty was legendary [“White armed”] across the ancient world.
- In the city of Troy lived Prince Paris and his brother Hector, Troy’s greatest warrior.
- Paris met Helen and the two left Sparta together for Troy.
- Menelaus saw this as a grave insult and asked the Greek kings to help him bring Helen back.
- Agamemnon united the Greek kingdoms and launched a massive invasion of Troy.
- This conflict became known as the Trojan War.
- Many legendary heroes fought in the war, including Achilles, the greatest Greek warrior, and Odysseus, the clever king of Ithaca.
- While Achilles [& Ajax] was famous for his strength, Odysseus was famous for his intelligence and strategy.
- The war lasted 10 years and neither side could win.
- Finally, Odysseus came up with a brilliant plan: the Trojan Horse.
- The Greeks hid soldiers inside a giant wooden horse and pretended to sail away.
- The Trojans brought the horse into their city, believing it was a gift.
- That night, the hidden Greek soldiers opened the gates of Troy, and the Greeks captured the city.
- The Trojan War was over. End of Iliad start of Odyssey.
- After that, Odysseus begins his long journey home.
- That journey filled with gods, monsters, shipwrecks, temptation, and loss is called The Odyssey.
- And that’s what the film is about.
Needless to say, I watched Nolan’s “Odyssey” earlier this week. I went on supersaver Tues, assuming we’d have the theater to ourselves. NOPE. It was actually packed. I also assumed this would be a total dad-flick with the majority of the audience being bearded and bifocaled, old arcane classical, lit majors or history buffs – like moi – also wrong. The crowd was mixed. Young, middle aged, elderly, of every persuasion, even a few hotties. My nephews went with their friends to watch it on opening night, so still hope my fellow grumpy erudite kin!
That being said, I had VERY mixed feelings about the movie itself, and it basically kicks you in the nuts in the very first scene before you even get a good hand of popcorn; however, more on that in the actual review.
For now, I came across this fantastic doc on the ever mysterious “Sea Peoples” which the film alludes to. They were more or less like the Bronze Age Vikings, and much like the Vikings, were expert sea terrorists, ravaging, raping and pillaging wherever they landed, and not much was really known about them for centuries. This is a concise history of them.Here’s another by the ever-excellent Kings & Generals channel.
In the movie, they were casted as the archetype of chaos which would consume the ‘civilized’. They were Vandals, the Vikings, The Barbarians, the Eastern Horde…every culture has their ‘other’ which they fear will doom their way of life. The Sea Peoples where the Bronze Age boogeymen, an alien savage threat from beyond the outer-rim.
But “clever” Odysseus realizes that they were only an external threat, and external enemies can be combatted. Odysseus recognizes, too late, that the TRUE enemy of civilization is internal – namely, the erosion of goodwill, honor, hospitality to the stranger – keeping “Zeus’ Law.” Odysseus knew when he built the horse that he essentially sacrificed all that was “Greek” to win, and his ‘victory’ exacted a tremendous cost to himself, his crew, his home, and ultimately, Golden Greece itself: the Sea Peoples were the avenging instruments to the Gods much in the same way the ancient Hebrews casted the Assyrians, Babylonians, and even Romans. Odysseus and Greece betrayed their covenant in Troy, and for that they were smoted and never again the glory of the world.By William Butler Yeats
A sudden blow: the great wings beating still
Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed
By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,
He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.How can those terrified vague fingers push
The feathered glory from her loosening thighs?
And how can body, laid in that white rush,
But feel the strange heart beating where it lies?A shudder in the loins engenders there
The broken wall, the burning roof and tower
And Agamemnon dead.
Being so caught up,
So mastered by the brute blood of the air,
Did she put on his knowledge with his power
Before the indifferent beak could let her drop? -
TOP 10 Bears’ HBs
Camp is about to kick off, and maybe we can get something to talk about. That being said, here’s a pretty cool vid on top 10 Bears’ HB.
Obviously Beattie Feathers was before my time – heck, maybe even before Al’s!
However, I crunched his rookie numbers. He AVGed 8.44 yards per rush! That’s insane.This record stands as the highest single-season average for any NFL player with at least 100 rushing attempts. Feathers achieved this efficiency while rushing for 1,004 yards on just 119 carries, making him the first player in NFL history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in a single season. [1934]
To put that in perspective, Gale Sayer‘s highest YPC=6.2 before fucking up his knee, so much love to Feathers.
Here’s some updates and speculation [7/22/26].
I agree with Hawkin’s prediction that Luther Burden is going to pop. When Ben Johnson says to buy Burden stock, ya know shit’s about to get real. It’s always been my contention that he was drafted to replace Rome whose foot may hinder becoming a star WR1. I know if I still played FF, I’d want Burden in as many teams as possible. The only ‘drawback’ to him in FF is that BJ wants to run the ball a lot, but Burden’s been efficient, and with a porous D, may be in more 9er-style shoot outs then we’d prefer. -
Don’t Cry for me Barfintina…
I’m a casual soccer fan, though an avid World Cup connoisseur, as such I have basically watched every WC since ’94 [except the Qatar one], so despite no PHD in soccer, I have a good idea of how it rolls.
This was a FANTASTIC World Cup. Plenty of memorable moments, personalities, story lines – too many to detail here. Besides, this might be the first WC to deliver on the hype – and by that I mean, FIFA like any sport tries to manufacture “superstars” – Messi, Mbappé, Haaland, Bellingham, Kane…with the exception of American Christian Pulisic, most of the stars didn’t disappoint.Lots of fun times. Lots of goodwill to mankind. For a brief summer, we were reminded that countries across the world can actually get along. Egypt, Iran, various African nations – heck even centuries’ old rivalries like England v France were relatively gracious. We had Scotts literally drinking the Philly bars dry. Koreans crowd surfing in Mexico City. Canadians Viking rowing… then we had, Argentina.
The douchebag that ruins every party. You know the guy everyone wonders who invited over – who doesn’t bring shit, but drinks up the good beers, yaps endlessly about who he knows is somehow simultaneously a victim [despite being born with a silver spoon up his ass] yet still aggressive to the nerdy keyboardist who brushes his shoulder …In NFL terms, Argentina has the douchebaggery of Aaron Rodgers, the dirty-play of Charles Martin, the pencil-dick corruption of Favre plus the vague racism, homophobia, etc. and desperate energy of John Gruden.
Let’s say you can forget their racist history, or that they believe they’re Italian [“We came on boats!”], or that, ya know, they welcomed Nazis with open arms,
Preach self-reliance and austerity while begging the world for money like a welfare queen…
Argentina has received 23 bailout programs from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since joining in 1956, making it the Fund’s largest debtor and the most frequent recipient of such aid in history.
Are under FBI investigation for FIFA moneylaundering [which sure as hell makes that cupcake schedule and favorable non/calls sus AF],or are cozy with Israel, Trump and FIFA…let’s table all that, and just examine them ‘football’ wise cuz this isn’t just Ole Butch on a soap box.
“Argentina were a complete and utter disgrace. Both with their performance and their antics. We expected the antics. We expected the thuggery, but we were also expecting more on the ball. They were in utter shambles. Disgusting, disgraceful.” – Craig Burley, Prima Nocta Descendent
“It is part of their culture”
“But it doesn’t make it right”
“They will blame somebody because that’s who they are.”[It should also be noted that ESPN UK was WAAAY more objective than the handjobs Fox was giving to Argentina and other Fox darlings].
Many thought Argentina were terrible winners, but somehow, not surprisingly, they are WORSE losers – because, ya know, they are the Steven Seagal of SoccerSo, Spain winning wasn’t just ‘another win’ – it was literally the entire world outside Argentina – JUBLIANT that the Argentina lost; you know it’s bad when Mexico, genocided by Spain, is CHEERING for the colonizers! It was like if Mike Tyson knocked Jake Paul da fuq out, then boned his GF on TIk Tok. It was the collective unconscious prevailing. It was Luke blowing up the Death Star. It was Patrick Bateman axing Paul Allen. It was Aldo Raine carving a swastika on the tender forehead of Hans Landa.
It was the restoration of order, belief in a just god and karmic universe.
And for that, Spain, Gracias. Bravo. Ole!O.T.
Now, I know what my readers are thinking, “Soccer! Soccer?!”
I feel ya.
I told the gal I was watching with who grumbled, “Still 0-0? booorring”
“This might be my last World Cup, so if I’m still around in 4 years, you may not have to endure this.”
This is why. I HATE FLOPPING.
TBH, I think most Americans naturally find it objectionable. Just something in us. Maybe it’s that frontier ruggedness. That puritan honesty. That western toughness, or pull yourself up by boostrap can-do attitude. I don’t know. I’m no a sociologist. Alls I know is that flopping is anti-American, and perhaps that in all simplicity is why it won’t really catch on.
Basketball perhaps is the American sport most known for flopping, but fuck, soccer makes Vlade Divac [a European, btw] look like Clint Eastwood. I played through a fractured wrist in basketball for a whole year. I couldn’t even bench properly, which didn’t thrill my football coach, but I trucked through it, even in the game it happened [I got low-bridged]. But I’m not special. I’ve seen others tough out way worse shit, not complain, and keep on practicing or playing, and we weren’t getting paid millions. Nobody had to tell us, “man up” or “don’t be a pussy”. It was just engrained like yawning, pissing or removing hat for anthem.
During the WC Championship, highest stage, world wide audience of billions, a game-winning thrilling goal got called back because a Spanish player accidently stepped on an Argentine player’s foot, and that ‘macho’ Argentine acted like someone sniped his toe with a Barrett M82A1.
I mean, give me a fucking break. We’re Bear fans. I still remember when TE Zach Miller‘s knee bent the wrong way, nearly exploded, close to amputated, and he still wasn’t rolling around the ground like an emo screen-ager. Moses Buddha Christ. Try having your foot cleated by a 300+ pound Samoan whose arms are bigger than your thighs, then come back at me.
I also kept a close eye on their VAR [replay] system to see if it’s any better than the NFL’s.
In short – no.
It has some advantages. They have a team to quickly review a play with continuous dialogue with the ref. That seems, in theory, ideal. That is unless of course you get this team.FIFA’s replay system seemed just as fallible as the NFL’s, however, I’ll give them this much, at least when they fucked up, they did it quickly – they didn’t take it to microfractions like the Zapruder film. Maybe the NFL can adopt some of the streamlining.
The other FIFA aspect I focused on was their chip tech. We’ve all been calling for years now, to CHIP THE FREAKING PIGSKIN.
Well, in soccer they do, but that still didn’t end all controversy. For instance, in the Croatian game, despite the MILLIONS watching, the hundreds of cameras, VAR team, slow mo, or James Webb Telescope zooming in to magnify the Big Bang, FIFA still couldn’t really state definitively if the ball was touched or not.You see the lil graph at the bottom? So, that jump is where the tech, not eyes, states the ball WAS touched. So case closed, right? Well, surprise surprise, apparently Soccer has its own conspiracy theorists who argue the evidence was faked, or that the ball whiffed by his hair, so it inputted like a hit, but wasn’t.
Back, and to the left, back and to the left…
And if you believe this won’t happen in the NFL, you’re higher than Cbear on 4/20 during a Chic and Chong marathon.Still, I assert FIFA has the right idea in implementing the latest tech, and yes, maybe it’s going to experience growing pains, but it’s the inevitable path the NFL SHOULD adopt – like ya know – GRASS on all fields year round.
TLDR.
Still slow
Bear Down. -
Bears’ History from 70s
Concise Bears’ history post-70s, so unless you’re William Shatner’s age, this should cover most of our adult memories!
For you OGs, feel free to add anything to the vid.These guys do a good job of breaking down draft classes, and they look back on Caleb.
-
Twitter Weds July 15
Nothing to see still. This is good. I’m sure the Lions’ and Pats’ blogs have lots of material.
So, just gonna goof around.I still haven’t gotten around to watching “Moneyball.” “League of Their Own” should get a shout out, “There’s no crying in baseball!”
Being in the same area code as the Browns and Jets ain’t ideal. Fielding a functional QB with a decent coach and good D usual prevents last place finishes.
Warren Sharp@SharpFootball
·8h
4th place division finishes since 2010:10 – CLE
9
8 – NYJ
7 – TB, WAS, CHI, ARI
6 – JAX, TEN, DET
5 – DEN, CIN, CAR, SF, LV, NYG
4 – BUF, LAC
3 – HOU, PHI, LAR, MIN
2 – ATL, MIA, KC, NE, NO
1 – BAL, SEA, DAL, IND
0 – PIT, GBO.T.
Spain beating France is like if the 90s Jazz beat the Bulls. Sure, Stockton+Malone were formidable, but a tier below Jordan+Pippen+Rodman. However, the Jazz were well-coached, precise and disciplined. Spain was tougher than France, and they simply out-executed for one game. If this was a 7-game series, no doubt France wins, but much like the NFL, World Cup is do-or-die, and Spain dissected Le Bleu like frogs.
England-v-Argentina should be epic. Anyone familiar with history knows why. The FBI has found some shady shit going down with FIFA and Argentina, Miami dummy bank accounts, etc, Didn’t the U.S. just ‘loan’ them a few billion? All in the up-in-up, certainly…Coincidently, Argentina has been given every break humanly possible. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the entire world outside Argentina will be rooting against them. Go England!
-
Smoking Jay
I can probably [and might] do a whole series on Smoking Jay Cutler. Jeff never really did a proper send off of him or that era. Cutler’s career ended not with a bang but a whimper. The forever “what-if” QB of our generation. He wasn’t Jeff George Lite like many detractors argue; however, no denying he never consistently lived up to his ceiling while his floor was Glennonesque [see, 4 INTs to DeAngelo Hall].
Anyhow, Bears aren’t the only ones left befuddled with blue-balls. Bronco fans too are left wondering, “WTF!”
Every time I googled Jay Cutler… This is a pretty good biopic of Smoking Jay.
TLDR. DOOOOOON’T CAAAAARRRRE!!!