“Before one studies Zen, mountains are mountains and waters are waters; after a first glimpse into the truth of Zen, mountains are no longer mountains and waters are no longer waters; after enlightenment, mountains are once again mountains and waters once again waters.” ― Dōgen
“Some Native Americans used 3 categories for humans. Red-blooded, Pale-blooded and Golden-blooded:
The red-blooded asks, “What’s for dinner?” The pale-blooded asks, “What is Truth?” The golden-blooded asks, ‘What’s for dinner?”
What should we make of the Bears’ decision to offer contract extensions to guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson?
Ben Johnson wants continuity on his offensive line.
Well, the Bears mostly have it now. Outside of left tackle, the Bears’ line, barring a major injury this year, is pretty much set for 2026. This may fall into the “give Caleb everything he needs” category, but it may also be an indicator that Johnson is looking beyond 2025 in terms of when the Bears may peak (assuming Caleb Williams is a legitimate QB).
The team has some cover for left tackle
If we can pencil in two solid seasons from Joe Thuney (Pro Bowl seasons would be a welcome surprise at his age), the Bears have some flexibility to try their hand at left tackle. Perhaps Braxton Jones benefits from some stability. If Kiran Amegadjie or Ozzy Trapilo is the starter on day one, the Bears have a veteran presence on the left side for multiple years to allow their new left tackle to learn and develop. The same applies if the Bears choose a left tackle in the ’26 draft.
The Bears are narrowing down their needs in the ’26 draft…for now at least
Setting aside the foolishness of talking about the ’26 draft before the ’25 season has commenced, the Bears may be able to focus on LT in the draft knowing that the rest of the line is set, with center/guard addressed in the ’27 draft.
Ben Johnson might really like Jackson and Thuney
We basically must hope this is the case. The contract extension for Jackson borders on lunacy – Jackson’s ’26 cap hit has been reported as the highest of any guard, having never come remotely closely to playing at such a stature. With that said, Jackson’s age makes him ripe for a contract extension that could reduce his cap hit in ’26.
Still slow, but below’s a vid of best available FAs
EDGE Za’Darius Smith, 6’4 270, 32
Last year the Lions traded for him when Aidan Hutchinson went down
Za’Darius isn’t the greatest vs run, but he is outstanding rushing QBs
“He had more pressures in ’24 than guys like TJ Watt, Maxx Crosby, Bryon Burns and Will Anderson”
Za’Darius would essentially play the Yannick Ngakoue/Darrell Taylor role as a pass rush specialist and little else, but as we saw with Taylor at least, that can be useful [esp if the price is right]
I suspect Poles is eyeing “Dark Horse” DEs to trade for as well
Your guess is as good as mine
JAY makes a case for Kayvon Thibodeaux, but honestly, I don’t believe he’s big enough at 6’5, 258, he’s about 20 pounds too light. Thibodeaux also played in a two point stance at ROLB not with his hand in the dirt. Besides, 7 sacks per season? ehhhh
Lambert over at Sportsmockery pitches for D.J. Wonnum. I give the author props for creativity, but Wonnum mirrors Thibodeaux at 6’5, 258, ROLB and Poles would have to take an INJ risk/upside gamble; that being said, Wonnum would be cheaper than more popular options
My target would be former #1 overall pick Jags DE Travon Walker [6’5, 272, 24]; some trade rumors flew around Walker pre-draft. Could’ve been something or nothing, but perhaps he’s attainable. He started slowly with only 3.5 sacks his rook campaign, but has racked up 10 sacks in each of the past two seasons and has played in both a two and three-point stance. The Jags have plenty of cap to extend him, but will they? The Jags excercised the 5th year option on Walker, and maybe he’s not going to be overly thrilled about that if he notches another 10+ sacks. Plus, Jags hired a new GM in James Gladstone alongside a new HC in Liam “Duuuvall” Coen. Maybe they want THEIR guys in a ‘soft remake.’ They seem determined in salvaging underwhelming Trevor Lawrence‘s career and may want picks to do so
In Walker, Poles could nab an ascending DE with an $11M cap hit this year which is more than manageable with some strategic cap magic
The rest of the FAs are the usual suspects, so friendly reminder, HB JK Dobbins and Nick Chubb still available though both come with major INJ history. I don’t believe there’s a knee ligament they haven’t torn between the two of them, and then some
Some interesting IOL can also be taken off the bargain-bin, but honestly, I kinda like where Bears are at there
Bill Murray intrigued me last season before he went down. I am a bit curious if Ryan Bates still has anything in the tank, while Luke Newman is getting groomed for C/OG. At OT, Ozzy Trapilo is the swing, so Bears appear relatively sound at oline all around
Tradition of haikus shall continue! However, as opposed to subjecting y’all to my terrible haikus, I will relay actual zen-esque literature since I was personally irrevocably influenced by that Eastern philosophy
Most of the quotes will be from essentially two books
The first which I can’t recommend enough is entitled
This book has likely influenced my life more than Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Spinoza, Kant, Hume, Paine, Mills, Nietzsche…
It doesn’t take a PhD in comparative religion, theology or philosophy to “get” it. Like the greatest works, it isn’t a manual or some detailed metaphysical castle built on clouds. It’s more akin to that anecdote about five blind people feeling different parts of an elephant. The one by the trunk is going to describe the elephant one way, while the one feeling the leg, another, or the one feeling the underbelly, or riding on top. It’s the same elephant, but their imaginings of what the ‘real’ elephant is will subjectively differ. As such, the best works, teachers, neighbors or strangers will provide perspective to take it all in. To step back from your ‘self.’ “Zen Flesh, Zen Bones” is mainly a collection of stories, anecdotes, plus some additional ancient material:
” 101 Zen Stories, a collection of tales that recount actual experiences of Chinese and Japanese Zen teachers over a period of more than five centuries
The Gateless Gate, the famous thirteenth-century collection of Zen koans
Ten Bulls, a twelfth century commentary on the stages of awareness leading to enlightenment
Centering, a 4,000 year-old teaching from India that some consider to be the roots of Zen.”
I will be quoting from this book more simply because the material is concise – essentially a collection of sayings, parables, meditations, haikus and poetry
I’ve actually come to this more recently, and while perhaps not as ‘transformative’, I do find myself reading between living
Honestly, it’s a fantastic ‘bathroom book’ as you won’t be reading Hegel in there unless you take painful 2 hours scheißes!
Besides, who knows? Maybe you’re doing your biz, read a line, reach for the last square of toilet paper, and attain enlightenment
There’s nothing more zen than ascending to Buddhahood while taking a dump
“A Cup of Tea“
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the [cup] overflow until he no longer could restrain himself.
“It is overfull. No more will go in!”
“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”
—
“Study of Two Pears“
The pears are not viols Nudes or bottles. They resemble nothing else.
If you were Poles, would you sign Aaron Rodgers for a $1?
Now, I know what you’re saying [or cursing]
‘Never happen, Butch’
But think about it. BOTH the Vikings and Packers spurned him, and as the saying goes
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”
Rodgers would get the chance to stick it to both teams in at least 4 games [+ playoffs]
Can you imagine anyone more motivated? Imagine Rodgers doing the WWF Belt Celebration as a Bear at Lambeau with Favre in attendance…
If thou protest, “This will totally piss off Caleb!” think again. Caleb said his idol was Rodgers and modeled his game after him. Who passes up a chance to play with his idol?
You wanted a vet QB to ‘mentor’ Caleb, there ya go!
Plus, stop me if you heard this before…this will allow Caleb to learn Ben Johnson’s O from the bench for however long Rodgers lasts
If Rodgers reverts to MVP form, great! Bears would be pulling a Packers in grooming QBs behind HOFers
If Rodgers keeps playing like an old woman, then who’s more popular than the backup QB? A prepped Caleb Skywalker to the rescue, flipping through mid-air whilst catching a light-saber
If ANY player would take a $1 out of petty vengeance, it’s Aaron “Darkness” Rodgers
Now that Joe Thuney has been extended until 2027 [a very reasonable contract if he remains healthy], does that mean the Bears cleared enough cap to trade for Trey Hendrickson? Well, yes, but mostly no unless Hendrickson is willing to play for that $16M/yr he’s currently on, then get paid next year
If Poles cuts Tremaine Edmunds and D’Andre Swift in ’26 that could clear about $18.7M. Restructure some contracts, convert a bunch to signing bonus, and voila, technically Hendrickson could squeeze into cap
The Bears would also have to count on the cap increasing by a good amount
However, given that Hendrickson will likely demand upwards to $35M/yr, it’s easy to see how the cap would be tighter than a nun’s…budget
Here’s a good breakdown on the situation
IMO, I absolutely wouldn’t turn over a 1st. In fact, I wouldn’t offer anything higher than a 3rd. In some ways a team would be doing the Bengals a favor for taking the headache out of their locker room. The more this Hendrickson fiasco drags out, the more this becomes a bigger distraction as the days turn to weeks, even months, the less the Bengals are going to demand. At some point, gotta figure they just cut their losses. Then again, this is the cheap-ass Bengals that make the McCaskeys look like Sinatra
Here’s another take on possibly trading for Hendrickson.
It’ll be slow for a while now, and I’m not about to write about practice ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ nor go in depth about camp bodies we’ll likely never hear about again
[shot out to the Joe Anderson fan club]
But here are some interesting vids discussing Caleb’s film watching
Kurt Warner perhaps more than anyone stresses ‘process’ the most. I remember last year during the whole QB draft debates Warner discussing “full field cover reads” [dissecting if the D is in Cover 2, Cover 3, blitzes, man, zone, going from left to right…] vs “pure progression” [what most colleges run presently]
“The more we have this pure progression stuff, the less these guys are really having to dive in and figure out the nuisances of tape” – Warner
Warner admits that every QB has his own tape-watching process. For Warner watching tape was not “coach-driven” it was “player-driven”
Dan Orlovsky argues that most colleges run a high tempo-no-huddle shotgun O where the QB doesn’t change formation or audible much while facing basic Ds
So some NFL coaches may simply assume QBs coming into the league know more than they actually do
Regardless, we can all agree the whole situation was a debacle last season
With that in mind, I am curious if Ben Johnson will make Caleb go old school full-read or play to his comfort with pure-progression?
Either way, Let’s just hope Ben Johnson rights the ship and quick
So, I was going to write something about the schedule, then this drops
You can hear the details and make up your own mind. Some thoughts:
This doesn’t shock me. Why WOULD any QB want to come to CHI? Carl Williams, Caleb’s dad, was right, CHI is “where QBs go to die” While keeping Flus [and Poles] and hiring Waldo only furthers his case As MB muttered in disgust on his way out “Bears are Browns North”
Caleb’s dad made some sound points about the rook CBA deal, but those old enough to remember the good ole days of paying Jamarcus “Purple Drank” Russell, Ryan Leaf, and Jeff George more $ than established vets know why a restructure was desperately needed, and I like it. Carl Williams may believe his son is “can’t miss” but Caleb hasn’t proven shit yet, and nearly everyone already accepts he is the 2nd best QB in that class [maybe even 3rd or 4rth for some NE and DEN fans]. For all we know, Bears drafted a slightly better Fields, but at least Caleb is not getting paid like Dak Prescott [$60M/yr. Think of all those FAs Poles can’t sign if that were the case]
I do wonder if college QBs can jump to the CFL for a year, sidestep the draft altogether, then choose any NFL team the following season. In this scenario, maybe Archie Manning can opt to go to CFL for a year [as opposed to staying at Texas], ghost the draft, then pick a team in ‘27. Albeit I suspect the NFL could simply throw Archie back into the ’27 draft. Not sure about the fine print here. That could be its own article with lots of subsections. NIL further complicates the issue; still, this might be the future
On earth 2, the Bears hire Klingsbury, and maybe Flus sticks around. We all know how this would end though. Spoiler alert, BADLY. It’s better the Bears vaporized instantly from a nuke than dying slowly over years from radiation poison
This is an odd situation. Carl Williams was correct, but what he couldn’t have possibly foreseen was that the Flus-Waldo meltdown may have been better for his son in the LONG run. It absolutely ruined Caleb’s rookie campaign, but look now. Rebuilt Oline. Plenty of weapons. The best OC available hired to HC. A proven DC, Def and Specials
Would Caleb and his dad still prefer to be in Minny or DC?
Doubtful. At worst, it’s about a wash, and one can seriously contend that the Bears have a brighter future
“You can’t always get what you want But if you try sometimes, well, you just might find You get what you need ”
This is a lot like life. Sometimes, you get dealt an awful hand, and somehow it works out for the better
My mom was unjustly fired from a job so her then boss could hire his niece. He himself later got canned for that, but didn’t help my mom at the time struggling as a single parent to pay her mortgage and raise two kids. She lost the house. She began smoking again. Almost began drinking again. I, a mopey teen, was completely oblivious to the stress, but it must’ve been immense; however, at her new transitional job as a roach-hotel receptionist, she met a young miner with long 70’s Pink Floyd hair. That miner ended up being my step-dad.
How did my step-dad stumble into that roach-hotel? Well, he recently moved from out of state. Him and his bud in their infinite wisdom decided to rent a cheap hotel by skid-row to save $. Apparently, they didn’t get the memo that ppl who look like them shouldn’t be walking around skid-row at 3am [after shift]. He was jumped by 3 guys trying to jack his wallet, but his jeans were so tight, and he fought back so hard, they couldn’t squeeze his wallet out [Wrangler commercial here]. They slunk back to the broken urinated streets
His friend took one look at him walking in the door, “We’re out of here”
So they ‘upgraded’ to a slightly better hotel away from skid-row where my mom just happened to work. Ding-Ding. He checked in, likely still sporting some fading shiners, fat lip, and lumpy skull… locked eyes, and that was that; they’ve been married ever since. House, chihuahuas, the whole 9 Two wrongs literally made a right
Of course at the time my mom would have chosen to NOT get terminated and lose the house. Naturally, my step-dad would have opted to NOT get beat the fuck up. Both happened, and here we are
