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No The Packers Didn’t Catch Bears Off Guard With Kyle Fuller Offer

By
Erik Lambert
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kyle fuller

The hearts of Chicago Bears national stopped for a split second when news dropped that the Green Bay Packers extended an offer sheet to cornerback Kyle Fuller. Immediately there was speculation that GM Ryan Pace had made a mistake. He risked losing the teams’ best corner in 2017 but placing the transition tag on him and now he was going to their most hated rival.

Except there’s no way Pace or anybody with halfway common sense when it comes to football business didn’t see something like this happening. Fuller is a 26-year old corner coming off a Pro Bowl-caliber year (two INTs, 22 passes defended). Other teams were bound to be interested and would likely test to see if the Bears were serious about keeping him.

It turns out the Packers weren’t even the first offer Fuller got. Just the first one he liked and chose to accept. Now it falls to the Bears to decide whether they want to match. All indications are they will. The question is why did they go through this process with the transition tag? Why not franchise tag him and be done with it? There are a few reasons.

It accelerates Kyle Fuller long-term deal and also was a gamble on price

There were two potential benefits to this move. If the Bears had franchise tagged Fuller, it would’ve paid him $15 million for the 2018 season. However, there’s a strong chance he could’ve just played out the season that way and become a free agent again next year. By transition tagging him, the Bears allowed another team to set up the parameters of a long-term deal that Fuller will be open to signing now.

The other goal behind the move was a simple attempt to gain a discount. Pace didn’t want to pay Fuller $15 million a year. He was willing to bank on the likelihood that no other team was willing to do the same. Bill Barwell of ESPN claims this tactic is nothing new and is about how well a team can read the market on a player.

So the question now isn’t whether the Bears will match the offer. It’s whether they’ll get any sort of discount to keep Fuller. The Packers reportedly have somewhere around $22-23 million in salary cap space. So it seems rather shocking they’d pay Fuller $15 million a year or more. Especially with Aaron Rodgers’ anticipated pay raise right around the corner.

Odds are the deal is higher than the $13 million Fuller would’ve gotten this year on the transition tag with a setup of guarantees he liked. Now it’s a matter of the Bears seeing whether or not they saved some money. There was nothing surprising about this. It’s just the business of the NFL.

Willson Contreras Tees Off Against The White Sox

By
Aldo Soto
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Chicago White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez was cruising along his start against the Cubs until the fourth inning, when Willson Contreras teed off on a hanging curveball. The Cubs catcher launched a deep home run and then the floodgates opened against Lopez.

After the Contreras home run, Mike Freeman smacked a two-run home run to make it 3-0.

Yu Darvish even got in the hitting parade and then Ian Happ drove in the fourth run of the inning with an RBI-double to right field.

Packers Escalate Rivalry As They Look To Pry Kyle Fuller Away From Bears

By
Matt Eastman
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kyle fuller

During the NFL season, you will be hard-pressed to find a more heated rivalry than the one that exists between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. It’s quite common to see stickers featuring “Pissing Calvin” slapped onto the bumpers of the cars that pile into the parking lots on game day.  Why? Because nobody likes the damn Packers, no matter who the Bears are playing that day.

Well, here we are in the offseason and these damn cheeseheads are trying to sign the Bears former first-round draft pick, Kyle Fuller, to an offer sheet.

Image result for pissing calvin green bay

GM Ryan Pace isn’t interested in losing Fuller to free agency and as Brad Biggs illuded to in his tweet, things ought to get really interesting moving forward.

The transition tag gives the Bears five days to match the offer sheet that Fuller signed with Packers.

Related image

BEAR DOWN.

************************************************************************

UPDATE:

The Bears didn’t need long to make their decision. Upon seeing the parameters of the deal including a tolerable $18 million guaranteed, it was announced they would be matching the offer the Packers had made. In truth Green Bay did them a favor more than anything, accelerating the negotiations to get the most important long-term extension of this off-season out of the way.

Bears QB Additions Show Matt Nagy’s Brilliant Plan for Molding Trubisky

By
Erik Lambert
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matt nagy

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy used to be a quarterback. He understands the position better than many people. He understands how it functions, its level of importance and perhaps most importantly what it takes to learn an offense from its perspective. He’s about to face the biggest challenge of his coaching career.

To date, he’s never had to develop a young quarterback. His most notable work came in Kansas City where he helped Alex Smith reach four Pro Bowls. While that’s excellent, Smith was already a veteran by that point. Mitch Trubisky presents a major step up in terms of difficulty for Nagy. He doesn’t have years of experience to draw on. No understanding of how to properly absorb an offensive scheme and execute it.

So the first task was finding a way to help streamline that process for the 23-year old. Nagy didn’t take long in hatching an idea and it’s notable both for its brilliance and absurd simplicity.

Matt Nagy brings in two familiar faces to back up Trubisky

The past couple days the Bears have signed two new quarterbacks to the roster. The first was veteran Chase Daniel, a longtime backup who played under Nagy for three seasons in Kansas City. He’s widely known for his intelligence, preparation, and ability to get along with teammates. More recently they added Tyler Bray, another backup who worked with Nagy during his Chiefs run.

It might not be a surprise Nagy sought out QBs he knows and trusts to fill the backup jobs on the Bears roster. However, what could be lost is a key reasoning behind it. Something that could be immensely helpful to Trubisky.

Here’s the thing. It’s hard to learn an NFL offense. Few things in professional sports are more detailed or complex. Jay Cutler once said it takes three years to properly learn one and execute it at a high level. He never got that opportunity in Chicago. Nagy understands he also may not have that kind of window with Trubisky, especially given what Daniel had to say about the nature of this new offense.

So how could Nagy somehow accelerate the process, helping Trubisky to absorb it faster? Simple. Put two veterans on the roster who by this point know it like the back of their hand. Trubisky now has Daniel and Brady in the QB room whom he can pepper with any questions he may have. This was a resource he never enjoyed last year. Both Mike Glennon and Mark Sanchez had zero knowledge of Dowell Loggains’ system when they arrived in 2017.

It’s little wonder Trubisky took some time to start showing signs of progress. It wouldn’t be a surprise if that was different this year.

With Justin Grimm Gone, Who’ll Claim The 25th Roster Spot?

By
Patrick Mooney
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Yesterday the Cubs announced the release of reliever Justin Grimm, who was set to make $2.2MM this season after losing his arbitration case over the winter. Despite losing his case, the mere fact that he was tendered a contract after a rough 2017 seemed like good news for the 29-year-old right-hander.

Grimm’s salary alone was enough to make most people (myself included) assume that he was a lock for the team’s eighth and final reliever spot, but we were wrong.

Side note: Bruce was incorrect stating he won his arbitration case; Grimm filed at $2.4MM and the Cubs filed at $2.2MM.

The Cubs owe Grimm just $530K in early termination pay, so the money they saved puts them close to $14MM under the salary cap heading into opening day.

With Grimm gone, who’ll be taking that final opening day bullpen spot? There appear to be 3-4 different guys with a real shot.

DILLON MAPLES

The soon-to-be 26-year-old right-hander caught the attention of a lot of people in the organization last season, starting the year in High-A and finishing as a September call-up for the Cubs. It was his first season as a full-time reliever, and he posted a 2.27 ERA over 63.1 innings with 100(!) strikeouts. His fastball-sider combo isn’t just major league caliber, it’s high leverage, closing out playoff games caliber.

However, if his stuff is this nasty and he isn’t a lock for the opening day roster, there has to be some sort of caveat in his game.

Walks. He can’t stop walking people.

He walked 37 batters in his 63.1 minor league innings last season. The walks have plagued him in Spring Training as well, his 6 walks in 5.2 innings have led to a 2.65 WHIP and 14.29 ERA. Spring stats are mostly meaningless but Maples absolutely has to gain at least respectable control of his nasty stuff for it to work. Unless the Cubs feel that working exclusively with Jim Hickey is the only way to solve his command issues, Maples will likely start the season in Iowa.

ANTHONY BASS

This is a name that a lot of people are unfamiliar with, and for good reason. After five seasons of back and forth between the majors and AAA, Bass spent the 2016 season pitching in Japan. He returned stateside last season but threw just 5.2 innings in the majors with the Rangers before signing a minor league deal with the Cubs this past offseason.

Bass has struck out five and has yet to allow a single earned run over four innings this Spring, and Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic has heard enough from his sources to suggest that Bass is a serious opening day roster candidate.

“That leaves a sleeper candidate emerging as a strong possibility to open the season in the Cubs bullpen: Anthony Bass. Bass’ career numbers in the big leagues aren’t all that pretty. However, the Cubs saw something with him they felt could help him get better results.”

Sharma points out in the piece that Bass has only used his slider about 30ish percent of the time at the major league level. The Cubs are hoping that an increase in usage of the slider will lead to an increase in positive results.

Given the obscurity of Bass’ career path, I don’t think that one Spring training with half a dozen productive innings will be enough to earn Bass an opening day job, the Cubs would likely want to see him utilize the slider successfully at the AAA level for a bit first. However, with Pedro Strop’s opening day status up in the air, the Cubs might be forced to keep Bass on the 25 man big league club.

EDDIE BUTLER

The career-long starter is likely the favorite to latch on to the opening day roster, and there are four reasons why.

  • He is out of options. If the Cubs cut him, it’s highly likely that a rebuilding club will scoop up the former top prospect
  • His background as a starter will allow him to pitch 2-4 innings on any given night, which will take a lot of pressure and stress off of Mike Montgomery’s left arm. Given what we saw from Montgomery in the 2017 postseason, keeping him fresh for October is paramount.
  • Outside of command issues, Butler’s biggest problem has been missing bats, which is odd considering his stuff has always been highly touted. A move to the bullpen could help him refine his off-speed stuff, which could lead to more whiffs, which could lead to Butler finally having sustainable success in the majors
  • If Butler doesn’t perform well out of the pen, he’ll be gone by Memorial Day. Having him eat up innings for two months allows Maples to work on his command issues while giving the front office an extended look at former major leaguers like Bass, Dario Alvarez, Kyle Ryan and Shae Simmons at the AAA level. By that time, at least one of the pitchers from that group will emerge as a major league caliber reliever.

Regardless of who ends up taking Grimm’s spot on opening day, the chances that any of the players mentioned in this piece end up factoring in the October bullpen is slim. The Cubs were going to use upwards of 15 different relievers throughout the year, as they do every season, whether or not Grimm made the opening day roster.

So to me, yesterday was more about saying goodbye to 2016 world series champion Justin Grimm. Thanks to you, Grimmer, for everything you gave us over your four-year tenure on the north side.

 

Prince Amukamara Says Allen Robinson Is A Nightmare For The Defense

By
Sports Mockery
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allen robinson

The Chicago Bears are excited to have Allen Robinson signed and ready to become the number one wide receiver. The Bears signed Robinson to a three-year $42 million contract which is pretty exciting because he’s only 24 years old.

Prince Amukamara, also recently signed to a three-year deal by the Bears, is a former teammate of Robinson’s and apparently knows him pretty well. They practiced together often in 2016 when they were both on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Here’s some recent comments he made about Robinson’s skill level and practice habits.  

“Allen Robinson was a nightmare in practice, and I say that in the best way possible,” Amukamara said. “He’s very, very competitive. If he makes a play, he’s going to let you know it, and he just works extremely hard.”

At 6’3″, 220lbs, it’s easy to envision Robinson creating “nightmares” for opposing cornerbacks. He displayed this in 2015 when he had 1400 yard receiving and 14 touchdowns.

See Exhibit A:

Image result for allen robinson gif

Amukamara didn’t stop there, he went on to discuss Robinson’s future potential and his determination to get back to the top after tearing his ACL in 2017. Robinson won’t turn 25 until August and combined for 153 receptions, 2,283 yards and 20 touchdowns between 2015 and 2016.

“He’s so raw, he’s super young and I think he’s definitely what this team needs,” Amukamara said. “He’s a big-play guy. Not too long ago, he was one of the leaders in touchdowns and yards in this league and I know he’s excited to get back to that.”

Exhibit B:

Image result for allen robinson gif

It’s clear that Amukamara has a high level of respect for Robinson and he made that known.

Robinson recently spoke to Adam Schefter about his rehab and said he intends to be cleared “well before” training camp begins.

“It’s going really (well),” Robinson said of his rehab process. “For me now, being able to get back to doing some on the field stuff when it comes to sprinting, jumping, plyo, things like that, really getting back into some football movements has been exciting. When you’re out of your football element for a few months that could kind of be tiresome, mentally, just getting ready to get back to my old self. So it’s been fun.”

The confidence is a breath of fresh air with optimism bleeding through the streets in Chicago. A brand new coach in Matt Nagy, five new free agents in Robinson, Trey Burton, Taylor Gabriel, Chase Daniel and Aaron Lynch plus a second-year quarterback with limitless potential.

It’s an exciting time to be a Bears fan.

Prince Amukamara Literally Told His Agent He’s Not Leaving Chicago

By
Erik Lambert
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prince amukamara

Ryan Pace is a man of consistency at least. He said from the moment he took over as Chicago Bears GM his goal is to reach a point where he can focus the teams’ money towards rewarding their own players. He hasn’t reached that situation entirely yet, but he’s done a great job of upholding that promise. Several players he’s brought aboard since 2015 were rewarded for their efforts with lucrative extensions. Cornerback Prince Amukamara became the latest.

Chicago signed the veteran former first round pick in 2017, the lone bright spot of an otherwise awful free agent class. Amukamara became arguably their best cover corner, even more so than Kyle Fuller. Teams just didn’t throw his direction too often. When they did they tended to either not complete it or regret it.

It didn’t show up on the stat sheet (zero interceptions) but Amukamara showed enough that the Bears felt comfortable giving him a new three-year deal at $9 million per season. It was another reminder to him and others that if they did their jobs, they’d be rewarded for it. Amukamara wasn’t the only one making an impression on Chicago though. It seems they made one on him too.

Prince Amukamara didn’t even consider going to another team

Odds are at 28-years old Amukamara had solid options when he became a free agent. Quality cover corners are always in demand. However, it seems he had zero plans to shop himself on the open market. He explained during the team press conference introducing the free agents that it was Chicago or bust.

Clearly, Amukamara is taken with the Bears’ scheme under Vic Fangio. The corner reiterated how impressed he is with the veteran defensive coordinator and that Fangio was a big reason Amukamara committed to staying. Another reason? Getting a chance to continue pairing with Fuller, whom he’s become a big fan of in the past year.

Together with the return of Bryce Callahan at nickel, the Bears secondary appears set for 2018 aside from some depth issues to settle. If they can load up on some quality pass rushers, this defense could be just as good or even better than last year.

Bears Finally Get Some Help For Their Pass Rush Problem

By
Erik Lambert
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aaron lynch

There was a valid argument that edge rusher was by far the biggest problem on the Chicago Bears roster going into this off-season. Now that the team used their spending spree to secure two upgrades at wide receiver in Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, there is no longer an argument. Thankfully GM Ryan Pace seemed aware of the problem and took his first step towards a resolution by signing Aaron Lynch.

The former San Francisco 49er just turned 25-years old. He was drafted back in 2014 where he became a high-upside developmental project for then-defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. The results were promising as he had six sacks that year. He equaled that amount in 2015 but has since regressed in his ability to produce. No doubt the Bears are hoping a reunion with Fangio can reawaken his potential.

Lynch has only played 14 games the past two seasons. His role on defense gradually diminished as the schemes continued to change. One of the problems that bedeviled him was a simple lack of stability. One year he’s playing outside linebacker and the next he’s a defensive end. It’s hard to find any sort of groove when that happens to a young player.

He should get plenty of opportunities to prove his doubters wrong in Chicago. Outside of Leonard Floyd the team has no definitive starter on the roster. Lynch should be given every chance to earn it come training camp. Don’t expect the Bears to be done at that position though. Likely at least two more additions are coming with one expected in the draft.

Taylor Gabriel’s First Question to Mitch Trubisky Drew Epic Response

By
Erik Lambert
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mitch trubisky taylor gabriel

The Taylor Gabriel Mitch Trubisky dynamic is something Chicago Bears fans may fall in love with. GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy had a clear vision when the wide receiver was signed. Gabriel made a name for himself in Atlanta as a big play threat. He was quick, athletic and blazing fast. It wouldn’t be hard for Nagy to get instant visions of Tyreek Hill watching his tape.

The Bears offense has been trying to find a true speed threat ever since Pace became GM. Their most recent attempt, Markus Wheaton, was a total disaster. The hope is Gabriel can succeed where he failed. Or at the very least make more than five catches. One thing is for sure. Gabriel is already getting into the good graces of his quarterback.

In fact, the two didn’t waste much time in meeting. Gabriel was anxious to get to know Trubisky and even had a great first question for him. Yet that paled in comparison to the response he got.

Taylor Gabriel Mitch Trubisky connection will entertain on and off field

They say Trubisky has a bit of swag about him. Gabriel seems to respect guys who carry themselves with a bit of attitude. Safe to say the young QB passed the first test. They should be able to make some sweet music together. Gabriel might not be quite the talent Hill is, but he’s no slouch. The versatile game-breaking ability he has is rare, especially if utilized in the right system.

Few coaches likely have a better idea of what Gabriel can do and how to get the most from him than Nagy. For an example, in 2016 he was the fourth-most targeted receiver on the Falcons roster. Matt Ryan threw to him just 50 times. Yet he managed to put up 35 catches for 569 yards and six touchdowns. That was despite not being anywhere close to a feature target in the passing game.

Imagine what might happen if the Bears change that. Gabriel seems intent on making it happen. Becoming buds with Trubisky is a great means to that end. The fact Gabriel will have Allen Robinson and Cameron Meredith peeling away coverages from him makes the idea of his signing all the sweeter. At this point all Trubisky has to do is look his way and try to get the ball in his general vicinity.

Don’t be surprised if he and Tarik Cohen try to one-up each other all season long.

Allen Robinson’s Controversial Nickname Will Draw Critics From Everywhere

By
Sports Mockery
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chicago bears

Everyone in Chicago is excited about their newly signed WR1 Allen Robinson, or at least those who know who he is. The 24 year-old Pro Bowler is coming off an ACL tear but has already shown tons of potential throughout his first four seasons in the league. Very comparable to a young Brandon Marshall, minus the split personality, Robinson has over 200 career receptions along with 22 touchdowns.

As Bears fans flock to follow his Twitter account, Robinson’s nickname has become a topic of conversation and it could likely get much more attention very soon. As the entire nation watched high school students walk out of class yesterday to “protest guns,” Robinson’s twitter handle is @Thee_AR15 … or “The AR-15.”

This is simply a combination of his initials and his number….. but, unless you’ve had your head buried in a bottle of whiskey for the last few months, you’re likely very aware that the AR-15 weapon is one of the most debated topics in the country right now. Primarily related to politics, and the second amendment, there is a raging argument underway to ban the AR-15 from the United States as it’s been used in the last few school shootings.

How the hell can a professional athlete market themselves with a nickname like that?

You really can’t blame Robinson for this, he’s carried that nickname for a while and there was no way to know the weapon reference would take such a wild public turn. However, the nation is currently divided with the “AR-15” as the center of debate in relation to high school kids dying. Not quite something Robinson will want his name to be linked to.

That being said, we’ve come up with a new alternatives for him….

  • ARob
  • Trubisky’s Savior
  • BMarsh #2
  • AR
  • A Better Alshon Jeffery

Just a few suggestions, I’m sure you can come up with more. In any case, Chicago is one of the most liberal cities in the entire country, whether you agree with it or not, Robinson’s publicist is likely going to tell him to take a long hard look at that nickname and come up with something else. That’s the world we live in today.

F*ck politics.

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