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Here’s Why Cameron Meredith Is Special and Nobody Notices

By
Erik Lambert
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cameron meredith
SAN DIEGO, CA - NOVEMBER 09: Cameron Meredith #81 of the Chicago Bears takes the field before a game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium on November 9, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

The Cameron Meredith value to the Chicago Bears can’t be overstated. With Alshon Jeffery gone the former undrafted free agent is needed more than ever. His 888 yards in 2016 was a revelation. Something nobody saw coming. It’s a testament to the work done by the front office to scout him and the coaches to develop him that it came to be.

That and the man’s own natural competitiveness and work ethic to succeed. It’s incredible to think that just five years ago he was playing quarterback in college. Now he has a chance to become the best wide receiver on an NFL roster. Another reason the game of football is such an amazing thing to watch at times. The question is though do people really see why this young man is so good?

Dan Durkin of The Athletic (subscription required, but worth it) did a superb breakdown of why Meredith was the best receiver the Bears had in 2016 and why he could be poised for a career year in 2017. Among his many notes there was one he raised that may be the most undervalued about him. Something that many receivers today don’t show enough of.

Cameron Meredith value lay in willingness to go over the middle

“Meredith’s willingness to operate over the middle of the field combined with him being a natural hand catcher allowed him to turn short throws into run-after-the-catch opportunities. When a receiver catches the ball with his hands, he has a chance to make a move after he’s secured the ball, which can lead to missed tackles.

By my charting, Meredith averaged nearly 10 yards per catch (32 receptions for 304 yards) on high-percentage, quick throws — bubble, drive, hitch, now quick out, spot, tunnel and whip routes. This is a testament to his elusiveness to make the first tackler miss and his open-field vision to find a crease in the secondary.”

Meredith is not some fluke

This is clip shows a bit of what Durkin is talking about. Though not a short throw, Meredith showcases his willingness to cut back towards the middle of the field. He has three defenders converging on him. If the route or throw are wrong, there is a good chance he gets absolutely blasted. Instead the timing is perfect, he catches it with his hands and immediately becomes a runner looking for the first tackler to dodge.

According to Sporting Charts, Meredith had 287 yards after the catch in 2016. That’s an average of 4.3 extra yards on every reception. For those who might like to know that was a better average than A.J. Green, Larry Fitzgerald, Alshon Jeffery, Antonio Brown, T.Y. Hilton, Demaryius Thomas, and Jordy Nelson.

Pretty good company to keep. He’s got size and speed and his experience is growing every day. Why do people continue to see him as an afterthought? They won’t for much longer.

NFL Experts Think Bears Actually Can Make Playoffs in 2017

By
Erik Lambert
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2017 chicago bears playoff run

A 2017 Chicago Bears playoff run? The laughter from most people upon hearing that can be deafening at times. The thing about the NFL is it’s a fickle beast. People think whatever happened one year is going to remain that way the next. This despite constant evidence to the contrary. Specifically teams going from obscurity to contention almost overnight.

In their mind it’s simple. The Bears were 3-13 last year. That means they aren’t making the playoffs this year or any year in the near future. Is that all? No other reasons? Sure they mention the questionable quarterback and wide receiver situations, but the truth is most of the predictions are based on half-assed research into the team itself.

Maybe that’s why it was a bit of shock hearing two respected NFL analysts both say they can see the Bears making the playoffs this year.

A 2017 Chicago Bears playoff run starts with good health

It’s so easy to forget how banged up the Bears were last year. Saying they ended up with 21 players on Injured Reserve sounds bad, but it doesn’t quite convey the depth of the carnage. These weren’t just any players. A great deal of them were key players. Starters. In fact here is a list of names who missed at least five games in 2016 with various ailments.

  • Jay Cutler
  • Eddie Goldman
  • Kyle Fuller
  • Lamarr Houston
  • Kyle Long
  • Pernell McPhee
  • Zach Miller
  • Eddie Royal
  • Danny Trevathan
  • Kevin White

All of those men were expected to be primary contributors last year. When on the field they showed flashes of helping the team win too. So not only missing them, but missing them for long stretches of time made it almost impossible for the Bears to pull out close games. It should be considered a minor miracle they were able to play so many good teams down to the wire.

Fans kept wondering how different it might’ve been had even some of those guys managed to stay healthy. It’s why head coach John Fox and GM Ryan Pace remain so optimistic. If their reserves could put up such strong efforts, it stands to reason the starters can take it to the next level. Everything comes back to them avoiding the injury bug.

The team has embraced every method possible to help prevent such problems this season. Sometimes though it comes down to plain old luck. At some point one would have to think it will swing their way.

Every Jose Quintana Trade Scenario You Need To Know About Before The Deadline

By
Emmet McClain
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Some baseball fans can argue that the weeks leading up to the trade deadline are some of the most exciting of the entire regular season. Whether it’s a team looking to add that one missing piece, or a team looking to sell and plan for the future, no one team can be considered completely out on mid-season trades. This especially is true for the Chicago White Sox, as they fall into the latter category of the rebuilding teams. With a top three farm system in all of baseball already, the White Sox will look to be No. 1 come August. They have the assets, leverage and a man with a plan in Rick Hahn. First, we tackle all of the potential trade candidates for the White Sox ace Jose Quintana.

Quintana is far and away the White Sox top asset on the team. After a slow start, he dominated in June, posting a 1.78 ERA over 30 1/3 innings. It seems Quintana is finally back to normal, and that should be music to both the White Sox, and a handful of other teams’ ears.

Most Likely Landing Spots

1) New York Yankees

New York is my number one destination for Quintana for a handful of reasons. For one, the Yankees are familiar with Q, being the team that originally drafted him. They also have numerous players in the farm system that need to be added to the 40-man roster by November 20th. If not, those players will enter the Rule 5 Draft and be picked up by other teams.

Those players are Gleyber Torres, Albert Abreu, Domingo Acevedo, Tyler Wade, Zack Littell, Thairo Estrada, Clint Frazier, Dustin Fowler, Ian Clarkin, Billy McKinney and J.P. Feyereisen.

All, but two of those players are in the Yankees top 30 prospects. In short, it would be better to move some of those players and get Quintana in return, than not trade for him and lose some top prospects for nothing.

Finally, the Yankees are clearly ahead of schedule with their rebuild. The Baby Bombers have been mashing baseballs all season, but have slumped recently. Severino has been great for New York, but Tanaka has been inconsistent. Trading for Quintana would give them another front-line rotation starter that is cost-controlled for another 2 1/2 seasons. It makes too much sense for both sides, and it should come to fruition soon.

Prediction: Quintana traded to the New York Yankees for OF Blake Rutherford, SS/2B Jorge Mateo, and RHP Chance Adams. 

2) Houston Astros

The Houston Astros come in at two on the list. So far this season, the Astros have simply obliterated everyone in their path. At 57-27, they have essentially punched their ticket to the postseason already. In fact, the Astros magic number already stands at 64! If the Astros keep up this pace, the Angels would have to go 67-7 to catch them before the season ends.

So yeah, they’re looking pretty good. However, all of that changes in the playoffs. With Houston just recently losing David Paulino for the next 80 regular season games and all of the playoffs, the Astros suddenly could use an arm. And with their franchise having never won a World Series, or a World Series game for that matter, now is not the time to stand pat.

They have no reason to not go all in.

If it does end up being the Astros trading for Q, I expect it to be something along the lines of this…

Prediction: Q for OF Kyle Tucker, RHP Forrest Whitley, and another high-upside prospect. 

3) Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers were a team out there this past offseason that was heavily tied to Jose Quintana. Obviously the two teams were not able to come to an agreement, and Q has stayed put on the South Side for now.

The Dodgers are in the middle of a three-team race with the Diamondbacks and Rockies in what is the tightest division race in baseball. Obviously the Dodgers have Clayton Kershaw, a top three pitcher in all of baseball. They also are getting major contributions from Alex Wood, who owns a 1.83 ERA in 12 games started and Brandon McCarthy, who has a 3.25 ERA in 13 games started. If Jose Quintana were to come in, he would theoretically be their No. 4 starter ERA-wise, which as talented as he is, is an incredible value.

The Dodgers have not won a World Series in 30 years. Their window of opportunity is there, it is up to them if they want to really go all in. We saw last year the Dodgers starters crumble in the NLCS after they held a 2-1 series lead against the Chicago Cubs. If this trade comes to fruition, that will not happen again.

Prediction- Jose Quintana Traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for RHP Yadier Alvarez and OF Alex Verdugo 

4) Colorado Rockies
The Rockies are the second team from the N.L. West that makes too much sense for a Quintana trade. Each and every year Colorado seems to put off a rebuild, adding a few pieces and going for it. Not so unlike the White Sox actually.
This year though, it actually worked. With 3B Nolan Arenado leading the charge, the Rockies seem to be legit. Greg Holland is dominating as their closer, and the Ian Desmond signing seems to be working perfectly (aside from his stints on the DL).
The Rockies would see themselves in the playoffs if the season ended today, but they would be one of the Wild Card teams, and a potential one and done. Obviously they would much rather go out and win the division to guarantee home field in the Division Series. One way to do that is to add a top-tier starter like Quintana. While his numbers would take a hit playing in hitter-friendly Coors Field, he would also be pitching in front of one of the most potent lineups in all of baseball. Q would undoubtedly get the run support he has so desperately longed for in Chicago.
As for what Chicago could ask for in return, it all starts with SS/2B Brendan Rodgers. With a Rockies infield featuring Nolan Arenado, D.J. LeMahieu and Trevor Story, Rodgers is essentially blocked at every position he is capable of playing. He is a perennial 5-tool player with the ceiling of an All-Star and the floor of an everyday regular. The No. 10 prospect in baseball would move to third in an infield already featuring Tim Anderson and eventually Yoan Moncada.
If the Rockies want to really go for the division crown, adding Quintana would be a step in the right direction. After Rodgers, it gets tricky. The Rockies also have RHP Riley Pint and OF Raimel Tapia in the top 100 prospect list. Tapia is already in the MLB, and would be harder to move. That leaves Riley Pint. The No. 41 prospect is not expected to be Major League ready until 2019. He sits at 98 with his fastball and it has touched 102. With that he can pair a plus curve and change and a decent slider as well.
Getting Quintana might not be worth giving up the top two prospects in the Rockies system, so in this scenario, the White Sox throw in Anthony Swarzak to sweeten the deal.

Prediction: Jose Quintana and Anthony Swarzak traded to the Rockies for SS/2B Brendan Rodgers, RHP Riley Pint

5) Sleeper — Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are currently ahead of schedule in their own rebuild, holding a 4.5 game lead in the N.L Central after today’s beat down of the Cubs. Milwaukee is not against adding a stud pitcher at the deadline for a playoff push. They did that two past separate occasions by adding C.C Sabathia and then Zack Greinke.

Quintana would give this surprising Brewers team a stud starter that could push them to the playoffs in a year where the Central looks to be wide open. If the Brewers decided to pull the trigger, they could offer what the White Sox want, as they have five prospects in the top 54.

Prediction: Jose Quintana traded to the Brewers for OF Corey Ray and LHP Josh Hader. 

Summary

In short, the White Sox will have no shortage of suitors for Jose Quintana in the upcoming weeks. While there are four to five legitimate teams that could make a move for his services, I would be shocked if he ended up anywhere but the Yankees.

Kris Bryant Rightfully Doesn’t Win Final Vote For 2017 MLB All-Star Game

By
Aldo Soto
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PHOTO: chicagotribune.com

It’s official, the Chicago Cubs will only have one player going to Miami for the 2017 MLB All-Star Game next Tuesday, as Kris Bryant fell short of winning the final vote contest. Justin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers received the most fan votes out of the five candidates in the National League and rightfully so is now an All-Star.

Wade Davis will be the lone Cubs representative for the National League team.

Bryant finished second in voting.

Good try, good effort Cubs fans, but Turner currently has a 3.9 fWAR compared to Bryant’s 2.5 fWAR. The better player got voted in.

This is the first time the reigning MVP has not made the following year’s All-Star Game since Jimmy Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies.

REPORT: The Cubs Are Interested In Marcus Stroman – No Shit

By
Aldo Soto
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chris ballard

We’re about three weeks away from the MLB trade deadline and the Chicago Cubs desperately need to make a move or two, especially to the starting rotation. ESPN’s Buster Olney is reporting that the Cubs, among other teams, are interested in Toronto Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman. Shocker.

The Cubs are interested in literally every single starting pitcher that’s under team control for several seasons right now. I still don’t know why they’d want to take on Justin Verlander’s huge contract, but the Cubs have also been connected to him in a possible trade with the Detroit Tigers. Anyway, back to the Cubs and Stroman, I fucking hope they’re interested in him because as bad as the offense has been the rotation has been terrible too.

Mike Montgomery got rocked by the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, but he’s still probably the third most reliable starter on the roster right now. The Cubs need all the help they can get and it’s not only about 2017 either, because as we know Jake Arrieta and John Lackey are out the door after this season.

So, back to Stroman. The Blue Jays are in last place in the American League East, sitting at 39-45, 9.5 games back of first. Olney said Toronto is ready to strip things down at any moment.

Stroman is obviously one guy that can bring the Blue Jays several top prospects in a deal. So, really all these trade talks, rumors and reports that you’ll see in the next few weeks will all revolve around whether or not the Cubs want to deal their No. 1 prospect Eloy Jimenez. That and a few more prospects is what it’s going to take to get a guy like Stroman, who’s a free agent until 2021. He’s 26-years-old and in 17 starts this year the righty has a 3.42 ERA and 1.26 WHIP.

For his career, the former first-round pick has a 3.80 ERA in 467 innings.

Again, getting a guy like Stroman is important for the Cubs because not only does he immediately help this season’s rotation, but also adds some stability in the rotation for next four years. And who knows, maybe Theo Epstein pulls off some magic and somehow gets a top-level starter without having to package Jimenez, but that’ll be extremely difficult.

Also, Cubs fans shouldn’t worry about the front office unloading guys for rentals. That’s not happening. If anything, look for more of a Mike Montgomery type of trade than the blockbuster deal to get Aroldis Chapman last year.

That is, if the Cubs make any big deals at all.

Epstein talked with the media before Thursday’s game against the Brewers and kind of down played making any major moves.

Via Jesse Rogers:

“Our biggest fixes are inside the clubhouse,” Epstein said before Thursday’s makeup game against Milwaukee. “This is largely the same club that won 200 games, averaged 100 wins over the last two years. There’s not a player that we can realistically bring in from the outside that can spur us to play at that level.

“We’re going to get to that point of playing to that level because of the guys that are here.”

“Some years it’s relatively easy to make small upgrades or big upgrades and some years it’s virtually impossible,” Epstein said. “You can get in trouble when you tell yourself you have to force something. You can’t force anything.”

“You can’t put too much stock in rumors,” Epstein said. “Every player out there on a team that isn’t in first place will come up in rumors. Sometimes there is something to it, sometimes there’s not.”

“The talent rests inside our clubhouse, inside players who are wearing Cubs uniforms right now,” Epstein said. “We’ll do what we can to look to augment that, but there’s not going to be a fundamental shift in the player personnel that we have.

Well, this current roster, although not at all healthy in the first half, is 4.5 games back of first place in the division.

Everyone is still waiting for this team to turn it on and given their second-half surges in 2015 and 2016, that should still be the expectation.

Also, stop with the dumbass talk about the Cubs being sellers. Fuck, some fans are stupid.

Watch The Rams Brass React To Bears Drafting Mitch Trubisky

By
Erik Lambert
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The moment the Chicago Bears drafted Mitch Trubisky, it lit off a storm of reaction across the NFL world. Mostly because almost everybody didn’t see it coming. More than a few experts wondered what GM Ryan Pace was thinking. Why would he trade away extra picks to move up one spot for a quarterback with only 13 college starts? That’s incredibly risky. Some even felt it was beyond stupid.

One thing Chicago fans wanted to hear was what other teams thought of the move. There were only anonymous rumors from the occasional scout, executive or GM. Hall of Famers Bill Polian and Ron Wolf loved the boldness of it. They understood the reasoning behind it. Without a quarterback that team is going nowhere.

For the first time now people can see how at least one team reacted when it happened. The Los Angeles Rams were the subject of the new hit series “All or Nothing” on Amazon Prime. It follows a team for an entire NFL season. Cameras got an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the Rams draft, including their impressions of the Bears pick.

Rams were surprised but understood why Bears drafted Mitch Trubisky

Initially GM Les Snead seemed a bit put off by the idea of the move. After time to reflect though he began to understand it. After all, he was in the exact same boat just a year ago. The Rams, sitting at #15, gave away a bounty of picks to move up to #1 overall and draft Cal quarterback Jared Goff. When a team needs a quarterback, you need to be bold.

Perhaps the most interesting nugget was when Snead mentioned Ron Turner. Apparently the former Bears offensive coordinator felt strongly that his ex-team weren’t going to pull the trigger. Something he no doubt has experience with. After all he was with the team in 2005 when they passed on Aaron Rodgers.

If nothing else it was a mixed reaction, pretty much like everywhere else in the NFL. Some were perplexed by it. Some questioned it and others completely understood. Only Trubisky himself can show whether the Bears were right or wrong to make that move. When will that time come? Impossible to tell. It most definitely is coming. Whether it’s this season or next season, Trubisky is going to get on the field.

Then it will be about whether he can play the game at NFL speeds and whether the Bears can build a proper roster around him.

Vegas Releases Win Projection For Bulls & It’s Really Ugly

By
Matt Peck
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vegas releases nba win projections bulls

Let the rebuild begin.

The online sports betting site BetOnline released their win projections for NBA teams in the upcoming 2017-18 season. For those Bulls fans not looking forward to the first stage of the rebuild, you might want to look away now.

The Bulls’ over/under for wins next season is 29.5. For some context, that would be 11.5 fewer wins than their 41-41 campaign that ended with the East’s 8th seed and a first round playoff exit. Only the Brooklyn Nets (21.5) and Phoenix Suns (25.5) are projected to win fewer games than Chicago.

Assuming that Gar Forman and John Paxson are serious about this rebuild and are looking for a high lottery pick next season, this is actually good news. There will be plenty of bad teams – especially in the East – next season. If the Bulls manage to finish with the third worst record and third most ping pong balls for the #1 pick in 2018, that’s a win.

The other objective for next season (other than losing lots of games) is developing the young talent on the roster. That includes newcomers from the Jimmy Butler trade Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine. Paired with returning youngsters like Denzel Valentine, Cameron Payne, Jerian Grant, Cristiano Felicio and Paul Zipser, head coach Fred Hoiberg will have a tough time squeezing 30+ wins out of that crew. But don’t tell that to the newly re-signed center Felicio.

How good is “pretty good”? More than 29 wins?

Vegas doesn’t think so. But for the first year of a rebuild, that’s exactly as it should be.

Peanut Tillman Salty At Latest NFL Rankings of Best All-Time Corners

By
Erik Lambert
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charles tillman

Former Bears cornerback Charles Tillman is not a happy man right now. Okay that’s laying it on a little thick. All signs show the man is enjoying his retirement. It’s more accurate to say he’s a little bit perplexed and annoyed. Always a man to stay active on social media, particularly Twitter, he knows what’s going on around the football landscape.

That’s why it no doubt interest him when former pro scout and current NFL analyst Gil Brandt released his rankings of the 31 best cornerbacks ever. There were obvious inclusions such as Deion Sanders, Charles Woodson, Dick “Night Train” Lane and Mel Blount among others. There is just no way to argue against them

No what no doubt irked Peanut wasn’t who was on the list, but more who wasn’t on it. Namely himself. He didn’t come right out and say it, but he made it known with a simple tweet that he was more than a little confused.

Not having Charles Tillman on that list is a joke

Truth is he has every reason to be angry. If it were just the top 10 names on that list then it would be a different thing. However, just one look at those occupying the bottom half of the list and it becomes laughable. Eric Wright? Antoine Winfield? Malcolm Butler? With all due respect to those men, they don’t touch the individual accomplishments of Tillman.

Wright

  • 18 INTs
  • 2 defensive TDs

Winfield

  • 27 INTs
  • 4 defensive TDs

Butler

  • 6 INTs
  • 0 defensive TDs

Tillman

  • 38 INTs
  • 9 defensive TDs

The numbers certainly don’t add up. Tillman blows each of those men out of the water in head-to-head comparisons. So why are they on the list while he’s left out in the cold? For Wright and Butler it’s the fact they played on great teams and have lots of Super Bowl rings. Winfield? He might be the worst inclusion. He has worse numbers than Peanut and no ring to counterbalance the argument.

All in all it’s a bad list that shows a lot of favoritism to guys who have not or never did earn it. Not like Tillman did.

Mitch Trubisky Gets Ringing Endorsement From Bears All-Time Great

By
Erik Lambert
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mitch trubisky doubters

Mitch Trubisky doubters haven’t stopped in their criticism of him or his new team. There are plenty of people out there, including several experts who think the Chicago Bears made a huge blunder drafting him. Not only that but compounding their mistake by trading up for him? Unforgivable. Suffice to say that the pressure is stacked squarely on the kids’ shoulders.

Not easy given he’s yet to take an NFL snap. Do these people really know what he’s made of? No, and that’s the problem they can’t let go. Trubisky started just 13 games at North Carolina. That’s such a small sample size. Not nearly enough to make a definitive judgment. Then again there have been plenty of QBs to come out with loads of experience and still flopped.

So really it’s a glorified guessing game. There’s just no way to predict how the career of Trubisky will unfold. All that can be said is GM Ryan Pace liked was he saw in the kid, heard the same from his staff and so pulled the trigger. The rest is having faith that they can build the right system around him to maximize his potential.

Don’t count Brian Urlacher among Mitch Trubisky doubters

One person who has positive feelings about who Trubisky is and could be is none other than Brian Urlacher. The former Bears eight-time Pro Bowler saw his fair share of great quarterbacks during his time in the NFL. He played against the like of Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. So for him to say what he did to CBS Sports Radio in a recent interview is encouraging if nothing else.

“I hope this kid is unbelievable,” Urlacher said. “I hope Mitch Trubisky is the best quarterback of all time. He looks like a stud. He’s 6-2, 6-3, put together, good-looking kid, he seems really nice – I hope they do really well.”

Of course Urlacher didn’t come right out and say Trubisky is going to dominate. Any man with common sense wouldn’t do that. Not when the guy hasn’t played a single NFL snap yet. He simply indicated that all the pieces are in place for that to happen. The size, the talent, the attitude and the personality. The rest is up to a mix of hard work and good luck.

Trubisky seems to have the first part handled given the numerous reports of him putting in extra time before and after practices. So now it’s about when the Bears give him the keys to the car.

Brian Urlacher Offers His Prediction for 2017 Bears Defense

By
Erik Lambert
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bears defense

Brian Urlacher knows defense. Specifically he knows the Bears defense. What he’s been watching the past few years since he left in 2013 is a mere shadow of the great units he played with from 2000 to 2012. Though things ended on a bad note for him in Chicago, he wishes for nothing more than to see the Bears make the defense great again.

Well it has to be a good thing hearing his opinion on the new unit being built by John Fox and Vic Fangio. Urlacher appeared on CBS Sports Radio recently to talk his latest projects and of course his thoughts on the state of Bears football. After stating why he thinks Cutler flopped in Chicago and why Lovie Smith may have cursed the franchise, he made an interesting, if subtle statement about what’s to come in 2017.

“Their defense is going to be good this year. They were good last year and they had so many young guys play that it’s only going to help them this year.”

Urlacher knows better than to get lost in the stats. He trusts his eyes and indeed the Bears defense did look good in 2016. This despite a myriad of injuries to key guys like Leonard Floyd, Eddie Goldman, Pernell McPhee and Danny Trevathan. With most of those men back healthy, it stands to reason the unit can perform even better this year right?

Urlacher knows the 2017 Bears defense is under the radar

If anybody knows about exceeding expectations for a young defense, it’s Urlacher. As a rookie in 2000, his unit was decent but hardly great. They finished 20th in points allowed and 16th overall. He was the lone true standout to make the Pro Bowl. It’s almost a carbon copy of 2016, which finished 24th and 15th in those respective categories. Both defense had some individual standouts but hadn’t yet learned how to play together.

A year later in 2001 that all changed for Urlacher. The Bears made some quietly good offseason additions and with a run of good health became one of the most suffocating units in football. They ranked 15th overall but 1st in points allowed. The team went from 5-11 to 13-3 and won the division.

Urlacher wisely knows that if they could do it, why can’t this new group? They certainly have an array of talent capable enough. It’s all about staying healthy and playing within the system. This will be the third year under Fangio as a defensive coordinator. By now the play speed should really start to pick up for guys. They no longer have to think about what they must do. They already know it.

When a defense can play fast without thinking? That’s when good things happen.

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