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  • Rapid Fire Post PS Game #2 – Bills

    Rapid Fire Post PS Game #2 – Bills

    My overall impression?

    Excellent. I think only one starter [Dalman] committed a penalty while Caleb played.

    BJ came out swinging with a 12 personnel PA Boot/pass to Loveland.

    Boom.

    Clean. Effective. Message sent.

    Then Caleb lined up in shotgun, barking calls, which answers some of my questions about who’s going to be making line adjustments, him or Dalman.

    Seems like Caleb.

    Wide open seam route. Boom.


    In fact, that could be the title of the PS Game for Bears:

    EVERYONE WIDE ASS OPEN!

    It was astonishing to witness. We’re used to seeing this from GB or other quality teams.

    For Bears getting a reception was always like pulling teeth.

    In this game it felt that every receiver, not just the starters, were open at will.

    Then Olamide Zaccheaus runs a beautiful route, catching the ball in stride, shaking the defender on his way to a 36 yard TD.

    Couldn’t have scripted it any better.

    1st drive [92 yds]
    Every receiver WIDE fucking open.
    Caleb hitting them in stride
    A bit more shotgun than I expected, but Caleb is on fire
    Loveland and Olamide look like they can separate

    Game Highlights

    Other thoughts.

    – Tori still can’t coffin corner. Needs to work on that.

    – Returners and gunners concerning me

    – Bagent sharp, instinctive, mobile

    – Hankins did ok but left. Brown/Wheeler performed well at HB, but I doubt they make the 53.

    – Neither Swift nor Monangai suited up; the latter was a surprise, but Poles during the in-game interview stated nothing to worry about

    – Booker looked ok but went to the blue tent then walked back to locker room [update]

    – Burden blocked his ass off in goaline. BJ set him in motion, and he drove the Safety back twice. He’s big, physical and twitchy. The type of WR Irish always pined for every August [RIP Cameron Meredith, Kevin White, Daniel Brown, Wims…]


    – On a down note, CB Terrell Smith carted off. CB is the one position Bears had depth, but with JJ nursing an INJ, and whatever the hell was going on with Zah Frazier [who played and nearly blocked a punt]; it’s something to monitor

    – Also, Greg Olsen is 1000X better than Brady

    I also believe this is the first time in 31 years the Bears have shut-out a team in PS.

    However, as Dr. Rev Huge Bear Penis reminded us in the last thread ‘Bears beat the Bills last year in PS 33-6‘ [How’d that turn out?].

    Oh, and Eberflus was 8-2 in PS, so, maybe we need to slow down on the circle-jerk.

    Still, seeing the offense click that way was sooooooo cathartic.

    No back-to-back TOs, whiffed blocks, delay of games, stupid challenges, cutesy bubble screens getting blown up on 3rd and 1, presnap dumbfuckery, or in general, no ‘WTF moments’

    Everything appeared purposeful, logical and lethal.

    Great momentum to ride to MNF.

  • Preseason GameDay Thread #2: Bills

    Preseason GameDay Thread #2: Bills

  • What I’m Looking for in PS Game #2

    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

    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

  • Post PS Game #1

    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…

  • PS Game Day Thread #1

    PS Game Day Thread #1

    You know the routine. Overreact to every minute detail down there! ↓

  • What I’m Looking for in Bears’ PS Game #1

    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!

  • Doubles Troubles (The Year of the Tiger, Part 1) by guest writer IBNO

    Doubles Troubles (The Year of the Tiger, Part 1) by guest writer IBNO


    SETTING:

    A late-1980s football practice field, next to a Frankenstein high school patched together with multiple annexes over multiple decades. The school sits near the center of a conservative former farm town, now wealthy western suburb of Chicago. In the distance behind the field is a small Jewel grocery store. Above the Jewel sign, the town clocktower can be seen. The clock gongs 8 o’clock on a dewy August morning that promises to turn the dirt-spotted practice field into a brick oven well before noon.

    CHARACTERS:

    John Towne, Chemistry teacher and Head Coach of the varsity football team. Short of stature and stern, unless actively smiling he appears quietly furious–with the pent-up rage of a church pastor who found out his daughter enjoys servicing the basketball team under the bleachers. JT’s close-set eyes are piercingly blue, and he wears his ballcap pulled low to shade his eyes from the morning sun.

    Ross Horn, Athletic Director, Offensive Line and Assistant Head Coach of the varsity football team. With a haircut that only recently graduated from a Beatles Bowl, and a mustache that would do Ron Jeremy proud, his deep baritone is incapable of anything below “too loud for a small room.” The team will soon come to fear three simple words spoken from the man in charge of their conditioning: “On the ball.”

    Ron McTavish, P.E. teacher and Defensive Coordinator. A young Mike Ditka–minus a neck–he is plain-spoken and an extremely effective communicator to young men. A graduate of the Christian college across the train tracks from the high school, he neither wears his faith on his sleeve, nor judges his players by theirs–but the strongest epithet he is ever heard to utter is “gosh darn it!” And even then, he blushes.

    Billy “Sky” Walker, Defensive backfield coach. The most junior of the coaches. When not wearing mirrored aviators, he appears to be staring off at clouds. No one is entirely sure what he teaches at the high school.

    THE BACKGROUND:
    The school has legendary graduates, including football luminaries, but the football program has fallen on hard times. Last year’s Varsity team had great potential scuttled by a teachers’ strike (and resulting forfeited games) and reckless personalities. During the prior school year, an alcohol-fueled party resulted in several seniors and then-juniors getting caught with or near alcohol–a violation of the school’s rigid Athletic Code. Several of this year’s seniors were banned from sport, and several more were allowed on the team only on the strictest probation. It is suspected that even more seniors–including football players–were at the party and escaped Athletic Code justice.

    THE SCENE:

    Somewhere around 80 varsity recruits are lined up in rows, facing the four captains. The first day of practice, every player is in helmet and practice jersey color-coded for offense and defense–and for many, late-80s neon shorts. The captains call out the order of warm-up stretches and calisthenics. Jumping jacks. Hamstring stretches. Then push-ups. Captain Dan calls out “down!” and “up!” and the team counts each push-up until they reach 20.

    COACH JOHN TOWNE [Loudly]: That was awful! Out of synch. Do it again!

    [The captains look at each other, mentally hit rewind, and call out the instructions. Captain Dan again calls out “down!” and “up!” and the team again counts out 20 push-ups.]

    JT [Louder]: Those aren’t push-ups! Jurgens isn’t even going all the way down! Do them again!

    [Jurgens, a hulking sophomore defensive lineman elevated to varsity during equipment pickup the prior day, starts to protest, but thinks better of it after immediately being shushed by the teammates near him.]

    JT: Start over! All the way down, all the way up, as a team!

    [The captains call out the cadence for another 20 push-ups. After 20, some players put their knees down to rest or to stand up. John Towne calls out:]

    JT: Still out of synch. Sloppy! A bunch of individuals! Do it again–as a team!

    [The captains look at each other again, wordlessly converging on the realization that their first day of leadership will cast them as the soldiers guarding the trains going to Auschwitz. The fourth set of push-ups begins, this time the count stopping at 10.]

    JT: Carpenter’s back isn’t straight! He’s got his butt in the air. You guys expect to play football when you can’t even do 20 push-ups? Everyone straighten out your backs! All of you!

    [The team holds a plank through a minute or more of denigration from the head coach before
]

    JT: Start over!

    [The count makes it to 15 before John Towne again interrupts with a shout. Players freeze in the plank position, many with arms shaking already. Ross Horn looks on, his jaw clenched. Ron McTavish keeps his head down, and continues scuffing a hole in the dirt with his cleats. Billy Walker stares off into the distance.]

    JT: You have to decide–right here, right now, if you want to be a football team. Or if you want to be Mr. Hot Shot, star of your own show. To be on this team, you don’t have to be the fastest, or the strongest–Lord knows, just about the only guys who passed qualifications are your captains–but you do have to put the team before yourself and give 100 per cent every day. That’s the rule. And you have to follow the rules! Start again!

    [The captains call out the instructions and start the cadence. Again, the count gets to 10 before interruption. The team again holds a plank. Most players are breathing hard. Some are gasping.]

    JT: Weller isn’t going down all the way, start over!

    [A pattern seems to be emerging, with Head Coach John Towne singling out the younger players as failing. The seniors avoid critique. The captains start the count over.]

    JT: Stop! Half the receivers don’t have their backs straight. Maybe it’s because none of you made qualifications in bench press


    [Sweat streams liberally from player’s faces while they hold planks and attempt more sets. Gasping and grunting and coughing comes from most players; some sound like they’re beginning to retch. No one knows the total count for certain, but somewhere north of 180 push-ups, Ross Horn’s stoic mask cracks.]

    ROSS HORN [muttering loudly]: Jesus, John, I think they get the point.

    [John Towne glares daggers at Ross Horn, who returns the stare without flinching. Ron McTavish suddenly looks up from the ground and shouts.]

    RON MCTAVISH: OK, we’ll save the rest for the afternoon! Let’s break into position groups. Front seven, on me! D-backs, follow Coach Walker to the south fence. Offensive line, with Coach Horn at the sled. Backs and receivers, with Coach Towne


    [The players get to their feet, shakily, and head towards their coaches. Joe Fisher, a junior tight end, is the first to vomit that day, noisily through his face mask.]

  • Zen 6

    Zen 6

    We already have everything we need.

    —– Pema Chodron

  • Special Edition PT 2: “CTE Victim” Guns Down NFL Central

    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…