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
