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  • Zen

    Zen

    Preface

    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

    Zen Flesh, Zen Bones

    Edited by Paul Reps

    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.”

    The second book is entitled

    “The Little Book of Zen“

    by David Schiller

    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.

    – Wallace Stevens

  • Embrace the Darkness

    Embrace the Darkness

    Here’s a poll:

    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


    Spark up the ayahuasca!



  • Thuney Tunes

    Thuney Tunes


    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.

  • Film Master

    Film Master

    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





  • Cruel World

    Cruel World

    “Out to lunch”

    Gonna be celebrating all weekend, so here’s a few songs from some of the bands

    Club Doom

  • Can’t Always Get What You Want…

    Can’t Always Get What You Want…

    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:

    1. 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”
    2. 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]
    3. 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
    4. 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

    Here we are, Caleb. Make the most of it

    Transcend tragedy

  • ’25 Bears’ Schedule

    ’25 Bears’ Schedule

    [Trumpets blaring] Official schedule

    Have at it

  • Baby Got Half-Back II?

    Baby Got Half-Back II?

    Should Bears sign an FA HB like Chubb, Dobbins, Edwards?

    No.

    Needless to say, trading for a HB is not optimal either though we all know Poles loves to trade away his 4rth RDers

    D’Andre Swift is not ideal, but he’s not nearly as awful as some make out

    Swift YPC

    ‘22 Lions: 5.5 [with BJ]
    ‘23 Eagles: 4.6
    ‘24 Bears: 3.8

    Don’t need to be a genius to conclude that the better the oline, QB and OC, the better YPC
    I mean, just look at that endzone picture!
    How many yards do you think Jeanty would’ve gained on that play?

    Can you live with 4.6-5.5 per carry from Swift? I sure can

    True, Swift is not Barkley [newsflash – few are], and he def isn’t a great goal-line back, but short-yard backs aren’t all that difficult to find

    Remember CJ Anderson? You likely don’t and for good reason

    Well, in 2018 he was cut by THREE different teams: Broncos, Panthers and Raiders

    No games with Donks
    Across seven games for Panthers he AVGed 3.8 per carry. Cut. Raiders picked him up. Inactive. Cut again
    Rams basically picked him off the street in week 15. Boom. 167 yds. Week 16? Boom 132 yds [that’s a whopping 7 YPC if you’re keeping score]

    CJ Anderson remained the main HB for the Rams’ playoff push

    So did the ghost of Earl Campbell suddenly possess CJ Anderson once he joined the Rams?

    Or were the McVay 13-3 Rams simply FAR superior to the other teams?

    Rhetorical question…

    “What did everyone miss about him that the Rams capitalized on?

    “That’s something you’ve got to ask (Broncos football czar John) Elway or (Panthers general manager) Marty Hurney or (Raiders coach) Jon Gruden or (GM) Reggie McKenzie,” Anderson said. “It wasn’t cause of talent. I don’t want to over-(talk) it, but it wasn’t a talent issue. It’s timing and circumstances.”

    https://www.patriots.com/news/c-j-anderson-is-the-one-of-the-most-unlikely-super-bowl-participants-ever

    As such, let’s give Monangai, Wheeler and gang a shot to flash in camp. Never know; if they don’t, or if an INJ strikes, well, kick the tires on the FA HBs

    Here we’re just going to have to trust BJ and Bieniemy, two excellent coaches by most accounts, to ascertain the HB talent

    If they go Chubb, OK

    But hopefully they give the kids, upstarts and grinders a chance first

    ***I’ll leave this post up ‘til about 8PM EA WEDs, then relay the schedule

  • Baby Got Half-Back?

    Baby Got Half-Back?

    I’m hearing lots of Bears’ HB chatter. Let’s start with the draft.  
     
    IMO, the Bears were serious about trading up for Jeanty, but then Jags traded up with Browns. Remember, everyone was mocking Jeanty to the Raiders at #6, so a popular scenario was for the Bears to trade up with the Jags at #5. 
     
    Of course, NOBODY predicted that the Jags would fly over the cukoo’s nest and trade all the way up to #2 with the Browns 
     
    This threw a wrench to get Jeanty in two ways 
     
    1. The enormous price Jags paid may have set a precedent Poles wasn’t willing to pay. For those like me who were hoping Poles would stay put [unless it was for Abdul Carter], we must credit Poles for remaining disciplined and not trading away a future 1st or something akin  
     
    2. The Browns now sat at #5, and they likely weren’t willing to drop again in a draft where true ‘blue-chippers’ were rare. They likely graded DT Mason Graham in that tier and weren’t willing to move off 
     
    Raiders now on the clock at #6. To nobody’s surprise, they draft Jeanty. There goes #1HB target 
     
    The rest of the draft can best be summed up by this tweet: 
     
    Adam Hoge@AdamHoge 

    [No. 36 – CLE drafts RB Judkins] 
    No. 38 – NE drafts RB TreVeyon Henderson 
    No. 39 – Bears draft Luther Burden 
    No. 41 – Bears trade back 

    No. 104 – JAX drafts RB Bhayshul Tuten 
    No. 105 – NYG drafts RB Cam Skattebo 
    No. 109 – Bears trade back 

    No. 147 – SF drafts RB Jordan James 
    No. 148 – Bears trade back 
    ————————— 

    I have no ‘inside source’, but my intuition tells me that Bears really coveted Treveyon Henderson. Either way, many Bear fans were clamoring for Judkins or Henderson, but once they were stolen, Poles did what most good GMs do. Stuck to his board 
     
    Now, could Poles have traded up with SEA at #35 to jump both CLE and NE? Yes, but it takes 2 to tango. SEA either asked for too much or weren’t willing to move off S Nick Emmanwori who many judged a 1st rder and 2nd best safety with insane upside 
     
    And just like that, the ‘top HBs’ were gone. The Bears could’ve drafted RJ Harvey [he’s 24 btw, so by the end of his rook contract, be 28], but preferred OT Ozzy Trapilo at #56. Broncos drafted Harvey at #60, then Bears at #62 drafted DT Shemar Turner 

    One may argue, “Poles shoulda drafted Harvey or some other HB at #56” yet these are likely the same fans who want to fix the lines. Can’t draft Harvey and Trapilo with one pick. Poles decided that the Oline was more important at that point no doubt eyeing the $25M/yr Braxton may demand next season

    I also don’t believe Poles miscalculated. After Bears drafted Trapilo, a team didn’t pick another true OT for basically a whole round, so Trapilo was likely the last in that tier
     
    The Bears didn’t own a 3rd, but the only HB drafted in that RD at #83 was Kaleb Johnson. Unless you were a yuge Kaleb Johnson fan and  willing to trade away draft capital, this missed chance didn’t anger many. Either way, evidently the Bears weren’t that high on Kaleb because if they were, they easily could’ve traded back from #62 to get into the 3rd and nab Kaleb, but they didn’t. Poles preferred Shemar Turner at #62 over Kaleb [or other HBs] .

    The 4rth is where I personally had my last hope. My ‘value’ pick all along was Bhayshui Tuten who I saw as Jeanty-lite. A fast, explosive runner with tremendous upside. However, the Jags sniped him with the 2nd pick of the 4rth. Now, I was praying Cam “White Thunder” Skattebo lasted 3 picks. That hope was crushed immediately as Giants drafted Skattebo right after Tuten. It is also debatable if Poles even drafts slow Skattebo at that draft slot. Bears then traded out of pick #109 with the Bills who drafted DT Deon Walker. I may have stayed put at #109 and drafted HB Dylan Sampson, but maybe Poles viewed Sampson as too similar to Swift. Other HBs drafted in the 4rth: 
     
    Trevor Etiene, Woody Marks, Jarquez Hunter 
     
    Bears likely saw the rest of the HBs as dice rolls, and by this point one can argue that available FAs like JK Dobbins or Chubb are better options requiring no draft capital 
     
    Which brings me to the endless Twitter debate: 
     
    Should we sign Dobbins or Chubb? 
     
    I’ll answer that on next post…
     

  • Opener ’25

    Opener ’25

    The official NFL schedule isn’t announced ’til Weds 8PM EA
    So I was musing which opponents I’d like the Bears to face for their opener. Here’s a few

    @ Philly. Thurs Night coronation. If you wanna be the best, you gotta beat the best. This will be like when Rocky wanted to fight Drago in Russia
     
     vs DET. Yeah, I know, div opponents normally don’t play ea other ‘til late season, but c’mon now. BJ and the Loins are already trash talking ea other. This might be too enticing to pass for the opener 
     
    @ Wash. Caleb-v-Daniels will always be a thing. Let’s just hope it’s an Elway-v-Marino thing and not a Ken O’Brien-v-Marino thing. What better way to exorcise Flus’ fail-Mary than this? Christen a new regime! Be awesome if the Pope attends and Bears win with their own Hail Mary. The internet would explode
     
    Home-v-Steelers. It’s Aaron “Darkness” Rodgers. Need I say more? 
     
    ‘C’mon Butch, gimme an easy “4” at closing time! ‘

    Butch pulls out ole faded Roledex… 
    Well, dealer’s choice:  
    Home-v-Gmen, Browns or Saints

    Opening up against a ‘weak’ opponent def has its perks – namely, building confidence and a winning culture from game 1 [theoretically]

    However, we’ve seen dogs score major upsets in week 1. Last year the Pats beat the Bengals at Cincy 16-10. How many lost mula on that one?

    I know the 9ers ended up playing with a backup bust QB in a monsoon; still, they were heavily favored and on paper shoulda beat the Bears week 1 in ’22

    Sometimes those big dogs aren’t ready for the chihuahua bite!

    So who you want as Bears’ opener?