Category: Sports
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What I’m Looking for in PS Game #2
Basically the same as the 1st PS Game.
However, the plot has thickened as Caleb, Thuney, Dalman and Jackson [?] are set to start and play MAYBE a QTR?
Bills are a SB caliber team. They’re at their pinnacle. Vet coach, experienced playoff team, MVP QB, solid D.
All eyes will be on Caleb. Every throw, every snap, every ‘hut’. His every gesture will be micro-dissected. This is a given.
What I’m more curious about is who calls the line protections at the LOS? Will that be Dalman, Caleb – Thuney?
I’m wondering if Caleb is allowed to audible, go hurry up, or call TOs?
Can Caleb hit anyone DEEP? Lemme repeat that: Can Caleb hit anyone DEEP?
Where is his chemistry with the new guys like Loveland, Burden and Zaccheaus?
Remember last year, after a slow start for Keenan Allen, it seemed that after midseason, Caleb was targeting him a lot. I wonder if he continues being comfortable throwing to the slot, or if he was just comfortable with Allen specifically who is an excellent route runner.
On D, I want to see if anyone can pressure or sack Josh Allen. If they can rush in disciplined, not allowing Allen to break contain and extend plays with his legs. Are Dayo, Sewell, Dom Rob and Austin Booker athletic enough to chase Allen down?
On that note, obviously we’ll want to see if Austin Booker and gang can remain dominate vs the varsity, heck, even the JV.
Misc.
Theo Benedet, aka, “The Canadian Eagle” has been causing waves [in more ways than one].
Dan Roushar threw a lil shade at Wright, and doesn’t seem all that ecstatic about Braxton Jones or Trapilo.
Benedet had a nice outing in PS game #1, and has seemingly followed it with strong practices, moving up to play with the twos.
So he’s someone to keep an eye on
[Hey, move your eyes UP !]
Other misc…
I suspect Brisker will play. Man, I almost don’t want him to. Last thing he needs is another concussion in a PS game…
I hope Monangai and Wheeler get some reps with the 1st team.
We know what we have in Swift. RB is grueling. Save him some hits and see if the youngsters can provide anything vs starters.
This is also going to be a night game. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but at least it’ll give the team some experience with it.
Hopefully, the Bears will get flexed into more night games after they start 6-0! -
PS Game #1 Plays
In case some of you guys missed the game, this dude Mattydubs puts in the grind for us and shows us some highlights from our rooks.
And if you missed the Austin Booker bonanza.
Twit of Tues
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Post PS Game #1
It went about as well as one can expect a PS game to go.
#1 thing is that no apparent serious injury hit any Bears unlike that poor Lion.
Some bad, but a lot of good; it’s hard to judge 2nd, 3rd and 4rth stringers in the 1st PS game, in a new system, with new coaches plus lots of new faces. Rule of thumb is about 4 REAL NFL games to even get a clue.
But my overall general impression of the Bears’ outing?
Professional.
Us Bear fans are fed so much BS; it’s sometimes hard to remember that for all the handies BJ gets, this was still his first NFL game [or scrimmage] as the head honcho, and nothing really prepares you for the big chair til you sit on it.
Or at least that’s what countless hours of Star Trek has taught me!
For those who missed the game, you can easily check out Da Blog’s general impression and live input here
Interesting twits:Though for sure the belle of the ball was Austin Booker.
Now, before we get too ahead of ourselves, I actually watched the game. Booker definitely looked fast, and hustled his ass off, but he still seems to lack that powerful anchor that can get him in trouble vs run. He also didn’t seal off the backside to one of MIA’s goaline runs that resulted in a TD.
Dom Rob however did look stronger at least to my untrained eyes. If any of this will translate vs starting linemen when games count, who knows?
Nice to see though, and tip o da hat to them.This is a bit premature. I get wanting Jimbo Covert at LT, but more often you end up with Webbnation. Braxton Jones is a proven average starting LT who’ll likely get paid by some team. Whether that’s the Bears or not is up to Trapilo.
Another tip o da hat goes to Noah Sewell. He was Neo in the Matrix – seemingly everywhere including shooting in like a scud missile to stuff a goal line run. Allen essentially used him as a 5th Dlinemen which is smart since he’s not exactly nimble in coverage.
While Kyle Monangai looked like he belonged. Monangai doesn’t look special, but rather a meat-n-potatoes RB who can get tough yards. His low center of gravity makes him hard to get down. Kinda reminds me of Maurice-Jones-Drew [MJD] in that sense.
All-in-all, a solid showing for Ben Johnson’s debut.
Misc… -
What I’m Looking for in Bears’ PS Game #1
Little to TBH.
I don’t even expect the starters to play much, if at all. Matt Eberflus didn’t set much of a high standard, so Ben Johnson only has to avoid looking totally lost.
Speaking of which, history has empirically proven that winning/losing in PS is mostly irrelevant.
So, in no particular order:
1. Look sharp.
No sloppy PS penalties – illegal motions, delay of games, offsides, subs running in/out late, lining up wrong, terrible TOs…
Get the basics right. Football 101.
2. On D, some sort of pressure from the Dline. I don’t care who, but SOMEBODY must crush. Word is Sweat has been making Oline sweat, so it would be sweet if he returned to form. However, I’m very curious about the new crew:
Dayo, Jarrett, even UDFA Carlton Xavier
[Too bad about Shemar Turner].
Naturally, zero in on Booker as well.
3. Oline? Well, Moses Christ – it’s basically all rebuilt, so all of them?
Well yes, but in particular I wanna see if Trapilo isn’t weak or cement-footed. I need to see he belongs [no Kiran 2.0].
Same for Kiran – at this point he’s gotta prove he’s not a lost cause.
Also of interest will be how Newman handles himself and if he plays Center.
I loved the edge Bill Murray brought. See if he’s still got that fire.
4. HB, well, we all want to see if Monangai is too small/slow/brick-handed, or if he can be our Pacheco.
Everyone forgets about Ian Wheeler, but he’s going to be battling for a roster spot.
They both need to be able to pick up a blitz.
5. WR – All eyes on Burden. If he’s healthy and up to date. Can he separate at the NFL level? Will his YAC translate? Never know. Every year we seemingly get a new “Deebo” yet it never materializes [hello Treylon Burks].
Been hearing mucho about Olamide Zaccheaus , so draw a Madden circle on him.
6. TE. C’mon now. LOVELAND. The first “wow” pick of the draft. He better look at least as good as Greg Olsen. No pressure.
7. LB/Secondary is more or less set, still Hyppolite was a big head-scratcher for many, so highlight him on program. Will his 4.4 speed translate? Can he stack and shed? Does he flash instincts?
I was curious about Frazier who allegedly knocked the socks off Halas brass on his rookie visit; however, he’s missed a lot of camp [personal reasons], so I don’t believe we’ll see much of him.
8. On specials. Just don’t fuck up. Can Taylor nail a coffin-corner? Cairo make anything beyond 53? [he ended on a high note, that’s for damn sure].
WTH are our returners again?
9. Misc. Bagent!
10. Whatever the new rules are. From the HOF game, it seems they’re finally implementing some sort of chip system.Mostly though, I can safely speak for all Beardom when I say the overriding goal of all PS Games:
STAY FREAKING HEALTHY! -
Special Edition PT 2: “CTE Victim” Guns Down NFL Central
I don’t know much about the gunman Shane Tamura. From what I gather, he was a ‘normal’ dude:
“Now, his former teammates are speaking out after learning Tamura is accused of the killings.One teammate described Tamura as a “goofball.”
Another, who didn’t want to be identified, said Tamura was a good guy.
“He was a great teammate. He was a great guy in general. He didn’t cause any problems actually at all in the locker room or on the field,” he said. “He was just a guy who really enjoyed the sport, not problematic at all so when I found out the news, I was really shocked, I really couldn’t believe it.”
There are also reports that one of Tamura’s parents may have been a retired Los Angeles Police Department member.”
I don’t know how in roughly 9 years you go from THAT to this.
Now, I know what the general reaction is
‘Oh, here we go again, making more excuses for scum…”
But if you only take away ONE lesson from Butch, let it be this:
The more science advances, the more causes [not excuses] are discovered.
This might terrify some who TOTALLY believe in absolute free will, but you can’t WILL yourself out schizophrenia, borderline personality, dementia or Alzheimers.
If you were to time travel to the medieval ages and yell, “Stop! She’s not a witch! She’s just a paranoid schizophrenic who needs meds!”
They would burn YOU at the stake next to her.
When I was in college, I read a story about Phineas Gage.
Probably the most famous person to have survived severe damage to the brain. He is also the first patient from whom we learned something about the relation between personality and the function of the front parts of the brain[…]Some months after the accident [a rod through brain], probably in about the middle of 1849, Phineas felt strong enough to resume work. But because his personality had changed so much, the contractors who had employed him would not give him his place again. Before the accident he had been their most capable and efficient foreman, one with a well-balanced mind, and who was looked on as a shrewd smart business man. He was now, Harlow said, fitful, irreverent, and grossly profane, showing little deference for his fellows. He was also impatient and obstinate, yet capricious and vacillating, unable to settle on any of the plans he devised for future action. His friends said he was “No longer Gage.”
So what happened to poor old Phineas? He just “decided”, coincidently, one day to totally devolve?
No, much more likely is sections of the brain that contained parts of “Phineas” shot out of his skull with that rod never to return.
It’s a bit macabre to think about, but we also see this in the lobotomized.
You can’t just snap out of a lobotomy.
It’s almost self-evident now that definite parts of the brain contain more than we assumed to the point where identities can alter drastically.
And if I took ONE thing from Antonio Demasio’s book “Descartes’ Error,” it’s that a WHOLE LOT more ppl than imagined might be walking around with a degree of brain damage [insert jock, celebrity and politician joke here].
If you google, “behavioral symptoms of CTE” this appears.
Behavioral symptoms of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) can include aggression, impulsivity, depression, anxiety, mood swings, and personality changes. These symptoms can significantly impact an individual’s behavior and relationships. Additionally, some individuals may experience suicidal thoughts or engage in erratic behavior
And as we have sadly seen in Junior Seau, Dave Duerson, et al, CTE can indeed change a person irrevocably and tragically.
Or as the NYT wrote:
What scientists — from such diverse fields as psychiatry, neurology and substance use — can say is that the arrows seem to be pointing in the same direction. A number of brain states raise the risk of acting out violently, and the evidence so far, while incomplete, suggests that C.T.E. may be one of them.Dr. Samuel Gandy, director of the N.F.L. neurology program at Mount Sinai Medical Center, said his research showed that rage and irritability “are far and away the most prominent symptoms” among former players with likely C.T.E.
The tricky part comes when crime enters the formula as with Aaron Hernandez, Kellen Winslow and possibly Shane Tamura as correlation may not equal causation.
A combination of photos showing sections from a normal brain, top, and from the brain of former University of Texas football player Greg Ploetz, bottom, who had Stage IV chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E. An autopsy of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez revealed severe C.T.E.
Credit…Ann Mckee/Boston University, via Associated Press
So where does this leave us as football fans?
Well, pretty fucking confused since many of us aren’t neurologists, psychiatrists, biologists or epistemologists, and even they’re still sorting it out.
As of now, we don’t even know if the gunman actually suffered from severe CTE while the NFL is trying to paint him as a barking moon lunatic.
However, for a nut, Tamura sure found a rather NICHE cause to fly over the coocoo’s nest, and given some previous social media posts from him, he had to devolve relatively quickly.
I suppose I’ll just keep my antenna up on the subject and see where it goes. It could lead me to sadly quit watching the NFL if the data keeps getting worse.
However, medicine advances at seemingly warp-speed; maybe science finds a way to mitigate, or drastically minimize, concussions and CTE.
So for now, I’ll crack open some beers and root for Da Bears to lay clean rib-crushing hits.
Hey, at least I’m not watching bum fights or betting on FanDuel for this… -
Special Edition PT 1: “CTE Victim” Guns Down NFL Central
I told myself I wasn’t going to post political or social issues here.
It seems a little self-indulgent for the head of a football blog.
Besides, that’s why the comments exist.
However, this isn’t ‘just another school/walmart/church/concert shooting’.[How fucked up is this country to be thinking that way?]
This shooter deliberately targeted 345 Park Avenue, i.e., NFL Headquarters.
This shooting is football and NFL related as the motive is preliminarily cited as CTE.
More specifically.NEW YORK (AP) — A gunman who killed four people at a Manhattan office building before killing himself claimed in a note to have a brain disease linked to contact sports and was trying to target the National Football League’s headquarters but took the wrong elevator, officials said Tuesday.
Furthermore, the assailant played football at Granada Hills, maybe a 30 minute drive from L.A., so it hits close to home.
Needless to say, condolences to the victim’s family, friends and community, but refraining ‘condolences’ and ‘prayers’ for the Ntheen fucking time feels empty and frankly self-serving.
So here we are – AGAIN – with a myriad of emotions.
And the bigger question: what can we do about it?
Well, I’m not going to pretend I can solve everything. Honestly, I’m torn on the gun issue.
Here’s my stream-of-thought inner debate when a shooting occurs.
‘Fuck. AGAIN – who are these sick cucks!?’‘There’s gotta be a way to stop this’
‘Take away the guns’
‘oh yeah, well EVERY government has eventually turned on its own ppl. Taiwanese would probably like to own some ARs for when the Chinese come a-knocking’
‘yeah, like ARs are going to do much against Apaches, state of the art drones, artillery, 4rth gen jets, satellites, aircraft carriers, and a co-ordinate professional military’
‘AKs beat the U.S. in Nam…’‘This ain’t Nam, and it ain’t 1968’
‘True. Those gangsters down the street strapping and staring me down wouldn’t mind if I can’t legally buy a gun cuz their AK is hot anyways’
And round and round we go… at the end of the day, it’s just more cold bodies, warm tears, and a societal sense of numbness, futility and failure.
If you don’t recognize the man above, I can’t say I blame you.
Yet he’s the Dr. who the NFL tried to ruin because of his research on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) which the NFL, much like Big Tobacco, KNEW was far more dangerous than they admitted publicly.
“After Omalu published his findings, league doctors assailed his research — even going so far as to issue a letter calling for a retraction. Omalu said he was stunned to learn about the demand, afraid his career was coming to an end. He poured himself a shot of Johnnie Walker Red and “just gulped it down” before reading the letter.” – PBS
Dr. Bennett Omalu even had Will Smith play him in “Concussion.”
The NFL considered Omalu an existential threat:“The doctor’s response, according to Omalu: “He said, ‘Your work suggests or is suggesting or is proving that football is a dangerous sport, and that if 10 percent of mothers in this country would begin to perceive football as a dangerous sport, that is the end of football.’” – PBS
Most of us know the gist of the NFL trying to bury the CTE consequences, but in short
It was evil.
Just like Big Tobacco.
The NFL hacks sold their Hippocratic oath for 30 pieces of silver, vacations and country club memberships.
Though if you want a refresher, check out the doc:
League of Denial: the NFL’s Concussion CrisisIt was a punt return. Our backup center/long snapper somehow broke free like a cheetah in the Serengeti, or more accurately, like the freaking Juggernaut.
The punt returner made a move then bolted.
Craaaaaackkkk
Everyone collectively gasped, “ooooooooh…”
You can hear that collision in the nosebleeds.
It’s the type of hit that gets everyone amped and used to make the ESPN highlight reels.
Then our teammate began jogging to the sideline.
THEIR sideline.
You can see them initially confused, then start waving at him, pointing to us.
He stops for a second or two, then does a 180.
Right away our coaching staff knew.
The assistant coach [not a Dr.] began asking him questions.
“Do you know where you are?”
“Do you know your name?”
“Do you know your birthday?”
“Follow finger…”
You can see the visible frustration in his glazed eyes. The hamster wheel in his brain was spinning but going nowhere.
He KNEW he knew the answers to the questions yet couldn’t answer.
He kept muttering, “Fuck. Fuck.” disappointed in himself, likely terrified.—
Oddly enough, I’ve seen nearly this exact same reaction before – in a car accident.
That was the first time I can remember [or not] losing consciousness. One second I was waving goodbye to a girl from the back seat.
Next second I wake up with 3 other ppl in the truck groaning with the driver still out.
I shook everyone and told them to get out. I had no idea if we were trapped, or if the truck was on fire, or what. I just saw the hood of the car was crunched like a candy wrapper.
The driver took longer as he was beyond dazed.
Apparently I had flown and cracked the windshield with the back of my head which ended up needing stitches.
The paramedics arrived and asked the driver basically the same questions as the coach.
Place – name – DOB…
Similar reaction as our Center: blank stare. Searching eyes. Exasperation almost to point of tears.
They wrapped us in neck-braces, loaded us on gurneys and ambulanced us to the hospital.
——
Our center/long-snapper was pulled for the game.
Come Monday, he was back at practice ramming his helmet in Oline drills considering himself “lucky” he didn’t suffer any “real” injury.
In high school, he was pretty square. Not a nerd or soft, just meat and potatoes with a side of feisty like most centers. I was probably a bigger fuckup than him at that point – flunking classes, wearing torn jeans against dress code, hitting up ditching parties, beer runs, etc.Years after high school, I heard he got into some trouble. Rumors of violence and prison.
Sometimes, I wonder… -
Camp Took a Bad Turner
Padded practices are here, but unfortunately whatever rosy reports we’re getting has been somewhat dimmed by the news that Shemar Turner, the Bears’ 62nd overall pick, severely injured his ankle and is out for a minimum of a month.
That’s a bummer since many like myself had high hopes for his rookie campaign. Heck, Greg Gabriel comped him to Tommie Harris!
Won’t be T-Harris on one ankle, and ankles are notoriously easy to re-injure especially if rushed back.
I had a friend who seemed to sprain his ankle every other month once he suffered his first severe sprain. I’m no Dr., but from my experience they seem to work like concussions or shoulders popping out. After that first major one, it seems much easier to reaggravate going forward.
I’m not so certain where this leaves the Bears at DT. They aren’t exactly thin, but Andrew Billings is big, 30, and coming off an injured ’24 season. If he or Grady Jarrett go down, we’ll be seeing way more of Zach Pickens or the immortal Chris Williams in the mix.
Last week I would’ve bet Pickens wouldn’t even make the cut. Now? Not so sure.
Maybe Christian Wilkins, freak or not, becomes more of an option.
I mean, Charles Haley used to jerk off in the locker room and meetings while talking about teammate wives!
What’s a little Wilkins’ forehead kissing from time to time?
[Guess we should ask WHICH head Wilkins was trying to kiss though…nttawwt]
In other news, here’s Greg Gabriel’s in-depth breakdown of padded practices.Transcribing or even summing up would take too much writing, but Gabriel basically echoed what I wrote yesterday.
Don’t get too carried away by the micro.
For instance, we heard over the weekend that Montez Sweat came in practically untouched.
Oh oh, time to worry about Darnell Wright!
Then later it was reported that was by design.
Oh, NVM!
A lot of times the coaches are making it harder than it might otherwise be. It’s like Maverick hitting Mach-10 then pushing it. Sometimes gotta crash and burn to find out where the limits are.
That’s what summer practices are for.
Other tidbits.
1. Vets tend to pace themselves in July. Roberto Garza was an infamous ‘pacer’. He asked Lovie once, ‘You want me to last 16 games? During the season is when I’ll give it all’
2. Gabriel seems to think that Kiran Amegadjie won’t make a good OG. ‘He’s got 36+” arms. In my experience, olinemen with arms that long tend to struggle inside. It’s that much harder to get their arms up in a split second’
3. Thinks Austin Booker’s frame is a bit too slim, and deep dish ain’t going to change that.
4. Georgie ain’t bringing back the Honey Bears; however, the obscure trivia I didn’t know?
Apparently the Bills would only hire cheerleaders [the Jills] who were married!
I guess the logic was – cut down on player hanky panky.
That’s funny.
If you prefer a quick concise Bears’ update, view this one instead.Tweet of the day:
RIP
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Camp, July 28th
We’ll likely get more info today, but not much happened over the weekend. More of the usual ‘camp reports’ which should be taken with a gigantic grain of salt since no one really knows the coaching agenda.
I once heard a story that Bill Parcells warned the coaching staff the day BEFORE practice that he was really going to lay into the offensive line because, well, for Bill Parcells’ reasons.
Sure enough, practice ensued, and of course some olinemen fucked up because, ya know, it’s practice, and Parcells right on cue just goes off on the hapless mark and punishes the line.
Parcells shoulda got an academy award for it.
The coaches all must’ve been dying inside, but they played their part.
Now if you were covering the Gmen in the 80s and saw this, you’d write some headline like:
“Parcells Furious with Underperforming Offensive Line! Is it time to worry?”
I mean, it was theatre. A lot of coaching IS micromanaged theatre.
So keep that in mind next time Ben Johnson goes off on the offense, or throws some shade at a player on the podium. Sometimes it’s just a way to motivate or squeeze the most out of talent, nothing more.
With that in mind, here’s some camp catch-up.But perhaps the biggest ‘Hot Take’ was Dan Orlovsky arguing that it’ll likely take YEARS for Caleb Williams to master Ben Johnson’s offense, so fans shouldn’t expect much out of him this season. Lotta Bear fans didn’t want to hear THAT.
In non-Bears news, the Christian Watkins saga got freakier. Apparently he wasn’t cut just because of meds, but some odd incident with a teammate no one really wants to talk about. Same ole Raiders…
Twit of the day
