Thoughts on Thursday’s Practice (Closed to Public)

• Jason Peters practiced for the first time and Larry Borom returned to practice. Strong chance these are the starting tackles Week One, if Ifedi is unable to return on time.
• Andy Dalton is slated to play a quarter and a half Saturday, per Nagy. That means Justin Fields will see a ton of useless action. Having Fields play with backups, against third stringers, achieves nothing. (I hope my disappointment is resonating in those sentences.)

Looking Ahead to Saturday’s Practice Game

• Dalton is the story. The Bears could name Justin Fields the starter right now and that decision would be entirely warranted. Fields has done everything a rookie quarterback needs to do in the off-season to start on day one. The reason he’s not the starter is the presence of Dalton but that presence has to come with production. If Dalton plays poorly Saturday, the volume of the Play the Kid Chorus will grow louder, and louder, and louder.
• There really aren’t that many positional battles to watch on this roster, but there are a few areas possibly worth looking at:
  • With Khalil Herbert receiving Matt Nagy’s praise this week and having a strong camp, his roster spot is safe. Will they end their open call for kick returners and let Herbert settle into the gig this week? Does Artavis Pierce have any path to this roster?
  • Is Dazz Newsome ready to start returning punts? If not, this is a battle worth watching.
  • Robinson, Mooney, Goodwin, Byrd and Dazz are locks for this roster. Is there space for another wide receiver? Are these the final days in a Bears uniform for Wims and Ridley? Can Adams or Johnson make their way onto the practice squad? (You would think an endorsement from Fields would almost guarantee it.)

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Years ago, I got an email.

It was from JQ of the Q Brothers Collective, a troupe of hip hop theatre artists I had admired since my years at New York University, when I discovered their hit, The Bomb-itty of Errors. These guys were doing hip hop musicals more than a decade before some other folks who’ve gotten rich off of it. It turns out JQ was a fan of DaBearsBlog and just wanted to share that with me. I was fucking jazzed.

Years later, his friendship is one of my favorite things to have come from this site. He and his brother have been to Josie Woods for a Bears game. I’ve had beers with him all over Chicago. I’ve spent Christmas at his family’s house. The whole crew are some of my favorite people on the earth.

So who cares, Jeff?

When I decided to start building partnerships with DBB, I thought about Chicago institutions I love. Malnati’s (check). Billy Goat Tavern, and Old Style Beer (pending). Then I thought of the Q Brothers and their family’s legendary pharmacy, Merz Apothecary. (You can read the remarkable history of this institution by CLICKING HERE.) I am by no means expert when it comes to any of the products they sell. However, the woman I live with is. When Sarah and I travel anywhere – East Hampton, Paris, Trenton – I know she’s not going to be able to walk by the local pharmacy without at least a 20-minute venture inside. If she swears by Merz, Merz is the real fucking deal.

Recently I bought these things they sell called Shambars. They look like bars of soap but they replace shampoo and conditioner. I was dubious. This made no sense to me. Then I tried them. And they’re pretty fucking incredible.

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Episode II in our series is a brief chat with JQ of the Q Brothers Collective. The Q Brothers are geniuses and their hip hop adaptations of classic works have been killing it with audiences for decades. Othello: The Remix. Q Gents. Q Brothers Christmas Carol. The Bomb-itty of Errors. All brilliant. Ever since he cold-emailed me years ago, he’s become one of my favorite people on the planet and a solid drinking partner. (Hell, he’s been to Josie Woods!) One day we’ll work together on something that goes up on a stage. One day.

DBB: The Q Brothers are a theatrical institution but you’re constantly on-stage when the Bears play. Does the score ever creep in your mind when performing? 

JQ: I usually keep my phone on mute and streaming live backstage. If I have an opportunity to freestyle and update the audience on the score, they really appreciate it. That said, if the Bears are getting crushed I usually just turn it off because I don’t want it to negatively affect the performance.

DBB: Your family’s pharmacy – Merz Apothecary – is one of the coolest fucking stores in the world. Is there a homeopathic remedy (non-booze) to handle a Chicago Bears loss?

JQ: According to the famous European herbalist and author Maria Treben – who wrote “Health Through God’s Pharmacy” (translated into 20+ languages) – we work off disappointment through the kidneys and one of the best for kidney health is goldenrod. So you could make some tea out of that I suppose. I also recommend reminding yourself that it’s football and we’re lucky to have the luxury of caring about stuff like that.

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A lot seemingly going on in the land of the Bears. Let’s take a look at some of it.

Kyle Fuller, Transitioned

There was much debate this off-season about the best approach to Fuller, a player with one of the most tumultuously bizarre starts to an NFL career many can remember. He’s been at turns terrific and terrible, including missing an entire season for injury reasons the organization did not believe were valid.

Ryan Pace had to answer a simple question: did Fuller’s 2017 performance convince him the corner was worthy of top corner money? Applying the transition tag answers that question with a definitive NO. The Bears like Fuller. But if they valued him as a top corner, there were plenty of deals struck at the position last off-season to set the market.

The Bears will now see how the marketplace values Fuller. And they’ll know that if they want him on their 2018 roster, it is fully in their control.

Three Thoughts on the Draft

The official email account of DBB receives more action in the lead-up to the draft than at any other time. And thankfully there are now people like Data and Andrew writing here because my god do I find the whole draft process to be a colossal bore. Here are three general thoughts.

(1) Unless a team has designs on one specific player (Bears with Trubisky, Falcons with Julio…etc.) they almost ALWAYS want to trade back. GMs and scouting departments live for this shit. The more times they can get on the clock, the more opportunities they have to pad their resumes. (So stop emailing me and asking me if the Bears want to trade back.)

(2) Ryan Pace has made three first-round picks. Kevin White, a freak athlete who can’t stay on the field. Leonard Floyd, a freak athlete who struggles to stay on the field. Mitch Trubisky, quarterback of the future. But there’s more pressure on this off-season for Pace than any previous one. Don’t be surprised if his approach veers more conservative on draft weekend.

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On the Christmas episode of DBB’s Weekend Show:

• Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer talks about devoting special interest to the women and children in the County’s criminal justice system this holiday season and beyond. To help out this worthy, please visit the website (www.bridgetgainer.com/holidaydrive) or see the image below.
• O Holy Night by Trombone Shorty from Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
• A brilliant clip from Scrooged
• Reverend Dave pays a visit to the Christmas Story house
• Q Brothers Christmas Mixtape!
• (Secret Christmas cover)
• A Tom Waits “Christmas” finale (with explanation)