Still quiet on the Northern front. I think I read that once the Bears lost Khari Blasingame, their season went down hill, so that just gives me an excuse to post Mike “Juggernaut” Alstott highlights. I do wonder if Ben Johnson will utilize a full-back, or if he’s trying out linemen to do spot FB duties like Doug Kramer last season.
The other football – U.S. vs Mexico was entertaining. I never played much soccer growing up, so like many Americans, didn’t give it much thought ’til the World Cup hit Pasadena in 1994; then I experienced first hand the electric atmosphere it could generate. I saw a bunch of Germans, Brazilians, etc getting on top of lampposts waving their flags, just jubilant having a good ole time. Of course if they do that now they’d likely get deported, but I digress…
Something about soccer lends itself to international pageantry. The low scores might turn-off a lot Americans, but I think they build up tension. I mean, imagine shouting “Gooooooooaaaaallll” 15 times a game…just not the same. Besides, hockey and some baseball games can be just as low-scoring, yet equally entertaining as long as the teams are good. Just takes a bit more nuanced appreciation like a stout beer.
One thing that caught me off guard. [spoiler alert]. Mexico scored a goal, but was flagged “offsides,” so goal didn’t count. In the past, this would’ve been an international incident and in some countries motivated rioting and conspiracy theories.
MEXICO TAKES THE LEAD 🇲🇽😱
After a VAR check, the goal is confirmed and Edson Álvarez puts Mexico on top 🔝 pic.twitter.com/5bNm5Ymsnm
However, soccer now implements replay. It’s a rather fast process too. I wish the NFL would streamline its replay system like soccer instead of showing us every angle in slow-mo like it was the Zapruder film.
Still, it’s hard for me to get TOO invested in soccer because of one MAJOR flaw.
FLOPPING
I mean, sometimes it’s like a whole team of Vlade Divacs out there, and it just kills it for me. Hard to respect “world class athletes” who go down faster than Mia Khalifa.
But when there’s not too much flopping, international soccer games can be a lot of fun, though I’m not waking up at 6AM to watch matches – that’s for damn sure!
I was also surprised that Alexi Lalas looks like this now.
Signing a UDFA this late into camp likely isn’t going to turn many heads, but hey, it’s a Bear move and piques my interest. He’s not a RAS champ, that’s for sure, but at 6’5, 273 with 34″ arms, gives something Dennis Allen can mold.
Here’s some pertinent twits on him:
The Bears are signing Cal edge rusher Xavier Carlton as an UDFA. Fits the mold of a Dennis Allen DE at 6’6 275 pounds with almost 35 inch arms pic.twitter.com/LWKcOHyGXZ
— Steve Letizia (Formerly CFCBears) (@CFCBears) April 26, 2025
Xavier Carlton’s athletic numbers might not turn heads, but here’s why he’s one of the rare UDFAs destined to make the roster by camp’s end. Curious? Watch the video to see what sets him apart 👀👇https://t.co/lb43c4hm8Upic.twitter.com/CwNFK1qN9E
You may not like either of these guys on a personal level, but at least they squeeze out some interesting sport’s talk.
Some Spark-Notes from Lach
‘I loved playing against Michael Vick, Culpepper, or any QB who can move really, to show off my stuff’
I still recall Lach chasing down a prime-Vick. It was a sight to behold. Lovie Smith’s Cover-2 was almost custom made to stop running QBs. Everyone attacked their gaps. ‘DE just had to get a hand to slow down QB’. All 11 eyes were in the backfield, so the second a QB split, all 11 rallied to the ball, and under Lovie, they closed with good angles and tackle discipline. On top of that, any runner had to worry about getting Peanut-punched by every defender amped to create a turnover.
This might be why the Cover-2 is back in fashion with so many running QBs though they’re a bit more exotic than the Lovie-2
‘Favre would give us 2-3 chances [for INTs], but he threw it so damn hard, hard to pick-off sometimes’
‘Rodgers knew our checks. You play any team enough, they’re gonna know. So we had to change our pirate checks [that started with “P”]…so one play Lance [Briggs] starts yelling, “Big Pussy! Big Pussy!” and Aaron just started laughing before the snap.”
‘2006 was unbelievable…but I think we had a better team in 2010’ [the year Jay Cutler messed up his MCL vs GB in the NFC Championship and Caleb Hanie came off the bench]
Who did the media get wrong? Jay, Bmarsh?
‘Julius Peppers. The media [in 2010] put out a narrative that he didn’t practice hard or took plays off. That dude showed up to work every day and busted his ass off in practice’
‘Bmarsh said some crazy things, but a lot of people do. He was out there on the jugs machine 45 minutes before the game. Jay simply didn’t care, so it doesn’t matter if the media got him wrong’
Dooooon’t Caaarrrrrre…
Lach talks about hating players kneeling during national anthem, and how he tuned out of the NFL during that time.
‘2005 we had four players who got Defensive Player of Year votes. Me [Lach], Briggs, Alex Brown and Nathan Vasher”
“There’s pre-season, regular season, and post-season speed”
‘SB, opening kickoff, Devin Hester takes it to the house. Then, Chris Harris picks off Peyton Manning on their opening drive. Then, we just shit the bed’
‘Some fans accuse Rex Grossman of playing badly, but he didn’t play that bad. We gave up 250 yds passing, and 190 yds rushing. That’s not good, not when all season long we were giving up like 300 total.”
I’m a little surprised by this, but perhaps I shouldn’t be. For starters, Lach is a leader, and not about to throw anyone under the bus. But, c’mon, Lach, there’s a reason Sex Cannon washed out of the league. Too bad Manziel didn’t mention Lovie’s baffling decision to stop running Thomas Jones and instead insert Cedric Benson who proceeded almost immediately to fumble it away…
“I had 21 different QBs in my 13 seasons”
‘Lovie was like your dad, a guy you wouldn’t want to disappoint. In one game when we were down to the Lions with a backup QB, at halftime, Lovie said ‘crap, darn and dang’ in the same sentence, and we knew it was go-time. We beat the crap out of them in the 2nd half.’
“They should’ve never fired Lovie”
‘I didn’t like the way they [Halas] handled the offer they made me though I’m glad I didn’t return [to endure the Marc Trestman era].’
“I had TOO much fun spending $ in college” – Johnny Manziel “I was happy when my mom gave me quarters for laundry. Now kids are getting $100K a month”
Same here, Lach. I always hoped an extra quarter or two slipped in so I can play Shinobi or Double Dragon! 100K? I could buy the whole damn laundromat with that.
“What are dos and don’t of training camp?” Manziel Lach, ‘You learn what to take up there, what to do in your off-time, what you shouldn’t be doing. We first went to Platteville about 4 hours away. Then Bourbonnais. I liked going away.’
‘I knew I wasn’t going to be a 6’4, 250 lb safety. They first tried me at SAM, but I was terrible. Rosi [Roosevelt Colvin I’m guessing] beat me out in 2 weeks. They had me line up directly over the TE and jam, but I didn’t know how to use my hands. I’m now a draft bust. Barry Minter gets hurt in week 2. Greg Blache [Then current Bears’ DC] says, ‘Go in and play MIKE’, I told him, “I never played MIKE’ Blache, ‘just run to the ball and we’ll figure it out’ Lach, “and I started every game after that at MIKE’
Reminds me of the saying, “don’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree”. To the outside world, SAM and MIKE seem nearly identical, but those few yards were the difference between a draft bust and a HOFer. In college, Lach’s coach played him at Rover, which allowed Lach to show off his athleticism and versatility. Something to think about with Bears’ new coaching staff and life in general
‘I wasn’t even going to run the 40, but Greg Blache challenged me, and I ran a 4.56 at 258 which opened a lot of NFL eyes at the combine.’
‘I love Caleb. If you put him in a different situation like Jayden with Klingsbury or Bo with Sean Payton, I think Caleb could’ve been ROY’
‘Ben Johnson’s the man’
‘Before Lovie got there, we played fast, but once he was HC, we played hard and fast. He kept track of loafs. You know how embarrassing it is to get in front of the whole team and be called out for loafing?’
Still slow. Nothing really to report . Only real “news” is that Colston Loveland is expected back sometime during training camp. What that means – who knows? Doubt Loveland is full-go from the start.
However, a big story dropped that no one really seems to care about [no, the OTHER story].
The NFL has essentially been found to be colluding, though no ‘smoking gun’ was definitely discovered , so they keep on trucking.
—– “In a decision dated Jan. 14, 2025, Judge Christopher F. Droney, head of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, concluded NFL teams did not collude with one another to ensure other veteran players did not get similar fully guaranteed deals in the aftermath of Deshaun Watson’s $230 million contract with the Cleveland Browns.
However, he did clarify: “There is little question that the NFL Management Council, with the blessing of the Commissioner, encouraged the 32 NFL Clubs to reduce guarantees in veterans’ contracts at the March 2022 annual owners’ meeting.”
I mean, is anyone shocked? What’s more telling is that the NFLPA hasn’t aggressively used this for some sort of leverage, even if it’s just PR ammo for down the line when they have to renegotiate.
I imagine NFL owners meeting like the NY Five Families, speaking in code to avoid prosecution. Maybe they should hold their future meetings at their lawyer or doctor’s office like the “Sopranos”
Mike Florio, a former actual lawyer, over at PFT has been on it like white on rice.
If you want a layman’s [and sometimes not so lay] explanation of it, here’s his take:
In some sense it DOES pertain to the Bears because ole Butcho strongly suspects ‘passive collusion’ in the owners trying not to pay guarantees to 2nd rounders, three of which are unsigned by the Bears as of today.
I’m curious how this issue will get resolved. It only takes one owner to cave – could it be George McCaskey with the most to lose?
I love Bill Burr. He’s a funny fuck. I could link a thousand clips of him, and not just his stand-up but even his interviews.
And as it so happens, Burr is an avid football fan. Not like the ‘only watches the SB’ or ‘casually for FF’ type of celebrity fan, but an actual hardcore NFL fan with tons of opinions, knowledge, and history of the sport.
However, Burr is not some Rainman pod like Warner or Brady, so he’s a great listen.
Anyways, I never saw this clip before. It seems everyone has a crazy Lawrence Taylor story, and his might be the most nuts!
Colin Cowherd apparently dined and talked with Kevin Warren. Here’s the thing about Cowherd. He’s basically an L.A. guy now, and as such, pretty plugged in with the L.A. sport’s scene, especially USC, so he’s relatively reliable when relaying L.A. gossip. The usual is covered – Caleb Williams struggled, but still played a solid rookie campaign despite disastrous coaching, yada yada. More interesting is what I pointed out in my 2-part Caleb piece. Namely, that Caleb’s college bad habits indeed carried over, and perhaps worsened with terrible coaching and interior Oline.
“The first year at USC, Caleb Williams was absolutely magical. The first 6 games in his 2nd year at USC he had 21 TD’s and 1 INT. If you look at his first 18 games at USC he was unbelievable. Then the last 6 games it was a disaster, so what happened? Notre Dame sacked him 6 times. USC had been doing smoke and mirrors in pass protection and it all unraveled against a really good coach and Notre Dame defense. That point forward Lincoln Riley knew he had the #1 draft pick and didn’t want him to get hurt. He went into protection mode with Caleb. He shrinks the playbook, didn’t allow him to run certain stuff. And then Caleb, knowing he’s going to be the #1 pick, went into survival mode. He was just trying to get into the season. He ends up in Chicago with a staff in survival mode. Caleb Williams was in survival mode. There’s no growth in survival mode. So Ben Johnson’s job in Chicago is extreme QB makeover. The talent is all there but they’ve gotta renovate the house.” – Cowherd
Oct 29, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt (57) intercepts the pass by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) during the third quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
So I mentioned (LB) Germaine Pratt before. Bengals cut him likely to make room for (DE) Trey Hendrickson. He’s 29, 6’3, 250, racked up 143 tackles in ’24 plus has a knack for making clutch plays
On the negative side, he may not have the wheels Ben Johnson and Allen seem to covet NTM Poles may be keeping his powder dry for a possible DE
There’s been some chatter about a possible trade to acquire picks to turn into a DE
Like I said in the pre-draft piece, how B.J. judges any of the leftover Flus roster is an unkown unknown. He may love D.J.; he may have seen him check out since Caleb arrived or jogging off the field mid-play
J.T. O’Sullivan [former NFL QB and Founder of “The QB School”] watches about as much film as any Chicago superfan ever has especially last year His specialty is evaluating QBs, but in the process analyzes everything else
His breakdowns last season showed a lot of details, some of which was unpleasant, like the baffling route concepts, D.J. Moore loafing, and Keenan Allen looking old and hurt All of which carried over into the regular season ColeKmet looking like a stud in PS sadly did NOT carry over
The Score catches him a year later and asks “What went wrong?” J.T. seems like he pulls some of his punches but still offers some insight
Some notes.
1.‘How can this guy not have the resources to go out there and be successful? but also, if you’re unhappy, and you’re the guy, walk in there, put your fist on the table and demand help’
2. ‘I was in systems where the starter is responsible for watching film on corners- the backup would be in charge of watching film on safeties – the 3rd guy responsible for the nickel’ [Seems obvious this wasn’t the type of system Waldo ran though Warner puts film watching squarely on the QB]
3. ‘PS loafing was a big red flag for Eberflus’ culture.’ [as was skipping on Jalen Carter, but that’s for a future post]
Once the PS games kick-off, J.T. is someone you may want to follow
I found this curious. I actually don’t know exactly what to make of it since many believed Brock Purdy was Captain Checkdown and according to PFF, he is not
OTOH, Caleb Williams and Purdy went a combined 11-23 in ’24 season, so that isn’t ideal
Particularly when one considers that Caleb was terrible going deep, sacked a whopping 67 times and likely scrambled instead of checking down….meanwhile the 9ers just guaranteed Purdy a cool $185M! Go figure
Fret not though. In 2022 Jalen Hurts [yes, the same who went bombs away in two SBs] checkdowned 3.3%, and if you read the comments, they’ll sound awfully familiar
“We are what we habitually do; therefore, excellence is a habit” – Aristotle
A father took his young protege son to get taught by a master. “He’s great now. I can imagine how much better he’ll be after the master’s tutelage” The protege played for the master. “You undeniably play well, but alas, I cannot help you” The father, shocked, inquired, “Why?” “His technique is beyond repair”
“Cutler was ruined before he even entered the NFL. Running for his life on a weekly basis at Vandy ingrained terrible habits he never unlearned. He was throwing from his back foot ‘til his very last NFL game” – a quote I always remembered back when the Jay debate was raging
It’s OTAs, and the circle-jerkathon is in full force. We already got the spunky 7th rounder from Rutgers. Now all we need for the annual Bears’ summer is some lil known try-hard to win the Joe Anderson Trophy
So it’s important to keep everything in perspective without rose-tinted glasses. Get past all the Ben Johnson honeymoon bouquets, FA stars and draft ‘studs’…
This season will MOSTLY depend on the most vital position in all of sports:
Quarterback
It’s hard to quantify where great coaching ends and great QBing begins. Belichick/Brady make a fascinating study. However, I do believe that a superb coach, like a good parent, master or teacher can make a difference IF the learner is caught early.
As Frederick Douglass once expressed, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
The #1 question for the foreseeable Bears’ future:
Is Caleb broken beyond repair already or can Ben Johnson still build him up?
Greg Cosell, Senior Producer at NFL Films, wonders this very question
Few points from the vid
– Pocket awareness
“NFL goes back years and years, and often guys who get sacked a lot in college – who tend to retreat backwards – don’t do well”
“Shadeur Sanders retreats a lot too. It might be innate. A longtime coach said that’s going to be really hard to fix”
[Notice how all, Cutler, Caleb and Shadeur, played behind porous college olines? Does this create irreversible “happy feet” esp if they are thrown into a similar setup in the NFL which only reinforces it?]
‘Often QBs create their own sacks. Feel pressure that isn’t there. I don’t know if you can teach a QB to hang in the pocket and hit a receiver with defenders barreling down’
– Assessing Ds [the Kurt Warner angle]
‘In the NFL it can’t be pure progression [where the D almost doesn’t matter]. In the NFL knowing how the D lines up is a BIG factor, and it’s hard to diagnose a D if there’s only 4 seconds on the clock’
Those are two YUGE areas Caleb MUST solve, and quick. The third I would add is consistency Caleb Williams creates many ‘wow’ plays. But so did Jay Cutler Then the next play he throws it right into the gut of a DT or 4 INTs to DeAngelo Hall Rex Grossman won NFC Offensive Player of September, and look how that ended…
Can’t win a SB like that Caleb must show up for the first 3 QTRs
On the bright side, Cossell asserts BJ will at least help Caleb unlike the previous regime:
‘Ben Johnson does a great job of creating separation to make it easier for QBs [think prime GB with Rodgers when Jordy Nelson and gang ran free on crossing routes]
But in the end your kid has to swim; your kid has to ride down the hill without training wheels; your kid has to drive on his own with his buddies acting like maniacs…
As Caleb must himself ascend to that near mythic and ever elusive ‘generational QB’ and not flatline into another Bad Rex or Smoking Jay
I knew it would be my last game; I saw no future in it for me – only finality. We were a sub-500 Division III team ending the season on a low note. So deeper meaning largely escaped me.
With less than 3 minutes to go, we were down 20-3, and the other team had all their subs, scrubs, and seniors playing instead of their starters. In the defensive huddle, our SAM spit blood onto the ground. He had lost his mouthguard a few plays back and bit his lip during a tackle. I remember pulling my foot out of the way; for some reason I didn’t want to get my weathered shoe bloody. We broke the huddle and I laughed at myself: why should I care? I was going to throw those cleats away before nightfall.
The offense lined up in an inverted wishbone. I was Rover–a strong safety who could line up in a number of different places, depending on the offensive formation and down/distance. Our SAM set up on the inside shoulder of the tight end, acting like he was going to rush. I bounced around his outside shoulder a yard off the line, faking like I would blitz, too. The QB took the snap and after a half step forward, the SAM and I both dropped into coverage–he dropped to his hook zone, and I zoomed toward the flat.
Sure enough, the tight end looked to block someone, but no one was engaged with him. The offensive line stuttered, then let the defensive rush through. The strong-side halfback snuck forward, and I felt like the rest of my team knew with as much certainty as I exactly where the ball was going.
The backup playing QB didn’t have a speck of dirt or grass stain on his uniform, and for all I know hadn’t played in a game before this one. He was hyped up, and his pass rainbowed way too high, over halfback and over even the linemen setting the center screen. Our SAM caught the overthrow against his shoulderpad, took one step and caught the arm of one of the offensive linemen, who was diving to make the tackle.
I knew that fireplug of a SAM, all 5’10” and maybe 230lbs, could break that arm tackle. The play had started from about their 20 yard line; there was a chance we could actually score on defense! one last burst of glory. I saw the tight-end in his pristine jersey, still not engaged with anyone, and knew my SAM would need help getting past. I ran to block so my SAM could score.
I popped the tight-end and tried to drive him as I felt my cleats catch in the cold turf. In spots, the mud was half-frozen and plastic.
And then my SAM broke the tackle, but not clean. He fell into my right leg. All 230 lbs of him, right into the side of my knee. Somehow everything was moving slowly enough that I felt him hit, and knew the only way I wouldn’t blow my knee out would be to collapse it, so I did.
But my cleats were stuck in the mud and grass, and could not release–especially with my weight, the goon tight end’s weight, and now 230 lbs of linebacker pushing everything down.
I felt the bones grinding together in my ankle and screamed, but that didn’t help, and the pain didn’t end. What I remember the most was the feeling of tension–of things being pushed and pulled in ways they aren’t supposed to go–and a grinding that sounded in my brain like massive stone blocks being dragged over each other. I remember squeezing my eyes shut and seeing bright red against the backs of my eyelids, despite the late-afternoon shadows on the field.
The next thing I knew, I was crawling off the field, refusing to look back. I was certain my foot had been ripped off my leg, and at best was dragging behind me by my sock… but more likely, it had been pulled clean off and was still stuck in the turf. The pain was immense, but the fear was even bigger. How long before the amputated foot couldn’t be reattached?
I got to the sideline and I guess I was whimpering something about my foot being gone, and before the trainers got to me, someone told me no, everything’s still attached.
“Is it hanging there limp?” I asked, still not bearing to look.
No, they reassured me. Looks like it’s pointing the right direction and everything.
The trainers got me into a seated position and I risked a look. It was already swelling, and they cut my shoe off, but it didn’t look as hideous as it had felt when it happened. It was bad–very bad–but I wasn’t going to lose my foot.
I didn’t find out until much later that the interception had been for nothing. The game ended 20-3.
For years, I avoided the fate my original ortho predicted–that the bone was degenerating and within 10 years I would need my lower leg unzipped from both sides and a graft from my hip put into the tibia.
But this past spring, my new ankle doc gave me the bad news from a new MRI. Next week I get a bone graft in the talus, and cadaver cartilage to replace all the stuff that got ground away 33 years ago.
This is the price we pay for fleeting glory on the gridiron – in a forgotten game at the end of a meaningless career, on a frozen field. The last time I took off my helmet wasn’t some moment of meaning that I kept crystallized in my memory; I tore it off and tossed it aside while injured and never saw it again.
My buddy and I had a saying: “broken bones heal; pain is temporary; chicks dig guys with scars.” I add another one to the collection in June.
