[REDACTED] is not some source I have cultivated through years of letter writing (yes, that’s how I started doing it) and emails. [REDACTED] is a guy from my neighborhood who just happens to be very high up in an NFL organization. We found ourselves together in our local this weekend and I took the opportunity to ask him some questions. I didn’t record him, but I did take notes. These answers are constructed from those notes.

____________________

DBB: Bears fans on Twitter seem obsessed with proving Justin Fields is good. What does the league think of him after his rookie season?

[REDACTED]: I was talking to [ALSO REDACTED, BUT HE INTERVIEWED FOR BEARS GM JOB] the other day and he might be Fields’ biggest fan. But man, even he can’t get a handle on the 2021 tape. The word he used was “nonsensical”. One of our pro personnel guys recommended we throw out his rookie year and start over with him in September. I think Bears fans would be wise to do the same.

____________________

DBB: You have been part of two organizations at this stage of their process. Twice you’ve come into a franchise and started a “rebuild”. But in both instances, you guys got to select your quarterback. How does having a first-round QB here already change the dynamic for Ryan Poles?

[REDACTED]: It doesn’t. They will evaluate Fields like they would any young player, and that evaluation started the second they walked into the building. Ryan could have taken the Minnesota job, convinced them to move on from Kirk, which wouldn’t have been that hard, and drafted his own quarterback next year in a great quarterback class. He didn’t. He thinks Fields can be his guy. I agree with him. But he has the luxury of being able to move on from Fields too.

____________________

DBB: What is the biggest concern for a team like the Bears in 2022? What will the front office be worrying about?

[REDACTED]: Great question.

DBB: Thank you. You want another Guinness?

[REDACTED]: Yea, one more.

DBB: Brogie, back up [REDACTED]!

Brogie: Ah, back your arse up!

[REDACTED]: The fear is everyone not buying into “the project” and that usually means older guys. Robert Quinn knows he’s not part of the long-term there and that’s why you’re hearing rumblings about him wanting out. Locker rooms can get away from you fast. The best course is just clearing out as many guys as you can when you arrive. You want a roster in that first year where all 53 think they are on the ground floor; that THEY are building something. Poles has done that pretty well. You get a young, hungry team that believes in their coaches and what they’re doing, you’ll end up winning more games than you expect. 

Training camp for the 2022 Chicago is now next week, and thus this seems the appropriate time to think about the questions that will need answering over the coming month. Do these questions require urgent reply? Not necessarily. 2022 is not an urgent season. But just because it’s not an urgent season – a season defined by lofty expectations – does not mean it lacks import.

Here are some questions worth considering.

____________________

Question #1. Can the offense resemble a professional unit? 

Dannehy did a nice job detailing the first-year struggles of this offense historically, and it would be unfair not to expect those same troubles here. The offensive coordinator has never done the job. The quarterback is on his third offense in three years. The team is going need solid production from a third-round wide receiver and a fifth-round left tackle. None of these elements are dealbreakers but they portend a period of struggle.

____________________

Question #2. Are the kids alright in the secondary?

The Bears are assuming Jaylon Johnson and Eddie Jackson will be just fine. (Jackson back into a defense that fits his skills is a huge bonus.) But if the same can be said for rookie Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker, the secondary goes from one of the team’s weakest units in 2021 to one of its strengths in 2022. There will be a lot of bullshit emanating from training camp about young players. There always is. But the narrative arc of a professional career usually begins that first summer. And expectations are high for Gordon and Brisker.

____________________

Question #3. How does the offensive line shake out?

This is probably the most pertinent question facing the Bears this summer because, right now, everybody is just guessing. Is Braxton Jones going to anchor the blindside? Is Larry Borom going to start over Teven Jenkins? If Borom usurps Jenkins, does that kick Jenkins inside? No franchise wants to enter camp with this much uncertainty across the whole of their offensive line but that is where the 2022 Chicago Bears find themselves.

Yep, I just posted

Haikus only, for a week

Are you not impressed?

Where does Teven play?

Will a fifth-round tackle start?

Big questions upfront.

Patience, tough to find

In a desperate fan base.

It is needed now.

Orlovsky believes

the Bears have failed Justin Fields.

Is Dan ever right?

HEY, LORI LIGHTFOOT!

Want to keep the Bears in town?

Answer your damn phone.

Football will start being relevant again in the coming weeks. But not yet. Here are some links.

• The tragedy at Highland Park left a two-year-old boy orphaned. Learn his story and read how you can lend a hand in helping his future is financially secure. A donation has already been made by DBB, on behalf of our readers.
• Apparently, Lori Lightfoot is finally (a) taking the threat of a Bears move seriously and (b) answering her damn telephone when Ted Phillips calls. The city is now preparing their pitch to keep the Bears at Soldier Field. Do I want a dome on Soldier Field? No. But I certainly prefer that to the team moving to Arlington Heights and a dome seems to be how Lightfoot will rationale the expenditure for the city.
• From John Dietz in the Daily Herald: “Nickol Knoll Golf Club, which opened in 1995, dedicated a spot on the third hole to former Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton. During Payton’s playing days he would spend his off-season training in this area, running up a steep vertical hill that stretched 50-60 yards.”
• Still mindboggling that Chicago is not hosting the World Cup in 2026, after withdrawing from consideration in 2018. The statement from Rahm’s government at the time still makes no sense: “FIFA could not provide a basic level of certainty on some major unknowns that put our city and taxpayers at risk,” the statement said.” Soldier Field’s intimacy – seen as a negative on the football side now – is a major boon for a soccer match. And the World Cup doesn’t just bring a financial windfall to host cities, it also brings an emotional energy and enthusiasm Chicago could certainly use.
• ACTUAL BEAR NEWS:
  • This bear took a dip in a backyard pool.
  • This bear is doing what many of us in this part of the world do during the summer: hanging down the Jersey shore.
  • This bear hitched a ride on his mama’s back.
  • Oh, and scientists now believe that climate change will decrease hibernation periods for bears and lead to more human interaction.
• Back to the Daily Herald: “Former Cubs and White Sox player Gene Hiser has been involved with the Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities golf event for 48 years. It’s back after a two-year hiatus and will be played July 14 at Twin Orchard Country Club in Long Grove.” The event benefits some great causes, including Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Children’s Oncology Services and the One Step at a Time Camp in Wisconsin. CLICK HERE to register.

There’s nothing going on. Watch some Jim McMahon stuff.