Five Things I Think Will Happen:

• The Bears will continue their offensive progression, and this week Chase Claypool will be a big reason why.  Claypool is a big-bodied receiver who can operate over the middle of the field, but lives on the barrier. He certainly won’t be able to operate the full playbook but I expect the Bears to use him enough to excite their fans.
• Tyreek Hill won’t get the Bears deep. Jaylen Waddle will dominate them underneath. Matt Eberflus will sit Eddie Jackson in centerfield and Jackson will pick off Tua early. After that the Miami quarterback will pepper short crosses to Waddle and Waddle’s speed/YAC will wreak havoc on the Bears. 11 catches. 141 yards. 2 touchdowns.
• This is a good Dolphins run defense. And the Bears will still eclipse 150 yards rushing.
• It won’t quite be “The Trevis Gipson Game” but he will swarm Tua’s blindside consistently and create a game-changing sack fumble in the fourth quarter.
• Cairo Santos makes a 51-yard field goal as the clock expires.

Chicago Bears 29, Miami Dolphins 27

The Bears are selling off their best defenders and about to face one of the most explosive offenses in the league. So…

Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears this week?

I.

Always.

Like.

THE.

Chicago.

Bears.

So, who are the Chicago Bears Now?

The answer to that question is simple. They are their quarterback.

This franchise will no longer, at least in the short term, be defined by the question, “Can they get enough from the quarterback position to be competitive?” Their quarterback is settling into a groove, the coaching staff is building their plan around his abilities, and that combination of groove/plan is going to be the Chicago identity for the foreseeable future.

The Bears scored 33 against the Patriots. Because of their QB.

The Bears scored 29 against the Cowboys. Because of their QB.

As they trade off pieces, especially on defense, winning and losing will almost be arbitrary. If the Bears can steal a few takeaways, they can win almost every game left on their schedule. If they don’t, they are destined to lose some shootouts.

Shootouts.

The Chicago Bears.

Because of the quarterback.

Justin Fields eludes Cowboys D for designed run TD. He’s up to 32 yards and a score rushing as Bears narrow deficit to 14-7pic.twitter.com/TCB3lsdYty

— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) October 30, 2022

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🚨 SPOILER ALERT 🚨

We already made our 2019 first round pick. Hope you like him. pic.twitter.com/tXjlcgDC79

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 25, 2019

It was just about the most boring evening of television I’ve ever endured. And yes, I endured it on the off-chance Ryan Pace made some ridiculous move back into the first round. Here are some thoughts on what transpired, starting in-division.

• Packers added Rashan Gary (DL, Michigan) and Darnell Savage (S, Maryland). Like the latter player a lot. Don’t like the former, who comes into his rookie season with major injury concerns. Green Bay has been trying to rebuild their defense for a few years. Have they finally done it? (No.)
• Vikings drafted a center. Yes, he’s supposedly the best center in the draft but he’s still a center. To quote Andrew Dannehy’s Twitter feed: “Sensible pick, but, again, doesn’t concern me. He’s not gonna block Mack, and they still don’t have anyone who can.”
• Lions got their tight end. I look forward to T.J. Hockenson being an All-Pro tight end for the Colts in five years.

Tweet of the Night

The Bosa family – father and two sons – are the only such trio to all be drafted in the first round since the Mannings. The Mannings win the tiebreakers for not being open racists on social media.

If my dad wasn’t such a scrub we would all be first rounders smh 🤦‍♂️

— 75 (@Ky1eLong) April 26, 2019

More Thoughts

• The biggest story of the night was the breaking news surrounding Tyreek Hill. And I don’t know how any team, after hearing Hill openly discuss abusing his son while threatening his girlfriend, could respond differently than the Chiefs. “Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach announced the team has suspended wide receiver Tyreek Hill from all team activities pending an investigation.” is the first headline. His release is coming next. From a humanity standpoint, this is a good development. From a football standpoint, this is a huge development for the AFC.
• Lou Riddick, unsurprisingly, had the best take when it came to the Raiders taking Clelin Ferrell to the Raiders at four: “If he’s productive, nobody will care where he was taken.” The rookie wage scale has changed everything…except the commentary surrounding the NFL Draft.

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