There once was a fella called Flus.

Whose coaching had minimal use.

Year after year,

Fans would show up to cheer,

But leave with their necks in a noose.

Deidre and Colleen are seated in their golf start, waiting for the group ahead of them to tee off at Talking Stick. Deidre smokes cigar. Colleen sips a gin and tonic. It is 6:30 AM.

Deidre: It’s a dry heat.

Colleen: Then why am I drenched at six o’clock in the morning.

Deidre: I hate that word.

Colleen: What word?

Deidre: Drenched.

Colleen: What word would you prefer I use?

Deidre: I don’t care.

Colleen: Sweaty? Saturated? Moistened?

Deidre: Towels are moistened, not human.

Colleen: I’ve been moistened.

Beat.

Deidre: How do you know?

Colleen: How do I know what?

Deidre: When it’s time to go, when it’s time to stop doing something.

Colleen: What are you talking about?

Deidre: We do things, human being. We do things because we’re supposed to, because that’s what you do. But how do you know when to stop doing a thing?

Colleen: You’re talking about Eberflus.

Deidre: I’m talking about Eberflus.

Colleen: It’s time.

Deidre: Is it?

Colleen: Time.

Deidre: Okay.

Beat.

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There once was a coach called Eberflus.

Whose neck was well in the coaching noose.

Some wins were the suture,

He drafted his future,

And now Matt is rockin’ like Bruce.

Training camp is an interesting part of the NFL calendar. It is part fan excitement. Part organizational misinformation. Part media scrambling to find stories where stories do not exist. Part me arguing on social media about the complete lack of value in preseason game reps. But it’s all…interesting? It gives us something to do. And sometimes we learn things.

So, what did we learn about the Chicago Bears during this 2022 camp?

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Item #1. The H.I.T.S. Concept Works

It drew a lot of laughter at the introductory press conference of the coach/GM, but Eberflus’ H.I.T.S. concept has been remarkably visible on both the practice field and preseason pitch. These players run. They flock to the football. They gang tackle. This is not going to be the most talented roster in the NFL, by any means, but it looks to be a roster that will rarely be outworked on game day. And those types of teams are very easy to get behind.

_____________________

Item #2. Cole Kmet Might Take “The Leap”

I texted someone inside the building and asked one question. “What player is having a killer summer that no one is talking about?”

Text back, one word. “Kmet.”

Here are my thoughts when it comes to Kmet:

• He doubled his production from year one to year two.
• His touchdown numbers were heinous in 2021 because Matt Nagy was obsessed with Jimmy Graham in the red zone.
• Justin Fields has a definitive rapport with Kmet.
• Getsy’s offense is going to incorporate the tight end screen far more and Kmet is uniquely built to be productive on those calls.
• Darnell Mooney is a very good receiver but isn’t every defensive coordinator going to try to take him away? The Bears don’t really have a second receiver. Kmet will fill that void.

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