Because I only use Twitter for golf-related stuff this time of year, here are some quick hit thoughts about what’s happening around the Chicago Bears as teams prepare for their only “vacation time” of the season.
- While I’ve been a seemingly lone voice against the Bears leaving Soldier Field, it is highly likely to happen now as the city is not budging when it comes to the organization’s needs/demands. Make no mistake about it, the Bears moving to Arlington Heights is not an inevitability. Chicago could stop the move. But right now, that’s simply not happening, and the team does not expect that to change.
- There has been discussion about the Bears being potentially sold. It’s not happening, certainly not while Virginia is alive, and certainly not before Arlington Heights is completed. Folks always think of the NFL team value in terms of the sport’s popularity, television contracts, etc. But they forget how important real estate can be. If the Jets had moved to the West Side of Manhattan, their value would be increased by $2 billion. Instead, they stayed in the Jersey swamp.
- It has been very funny to read about the number of reps Justin Fields is getting on the practice field. The same people who are salivating over it were criticizing DBB for harping on the subject – in reverse – a year ago. These were the “they’re not building the offense around Andy Dalton” fellas. Fields is getting the reps now because he needs them. New offense. New mechanics. New players around him. A lot for a young player.
- While the focus has been on the Bears passing game for most of this off-season, I think it shouldn’t be forgotten that the Bears were a good running team in 2021 and they’re going to be a better one in 2022. Sam Mustipher, their worst offensive lineman, has been replaced. Khari Blasingame, a battering ram at fullback, has been added. And they have implemented the most successful rushing system in the modern sport. No, it’s not a championship structure. But it is a structure that should keep the team competitive in year one of the program.
- Who is the early talk of practice? Braxton Jones. Don’t be surprised if Jones is given a chance to be the starting left tackle when the Bears return for camp.
