👋 Good morning!
What’s your favorite throwback jersey in Bears history?
I had this thought last night because the New York Giants are sporting their classic helmets this weekend:
Do the Bears even have a decent retro look?
Remember, the team is taking the year off from alternate styles to honor the late Virginia McCaskey, so you won’t see the orange helmet or jersey this season.
But for the Bears, there really isn’t much to pull from when the team’s primary jersey has gone essentially unchanged for nearly 70 years.
Luckily, the classics never go out of style.
They Might Be Giants
Despite playing a team with a losing record for the fourth consecutive week, the New York Giants won’t be a cakewalk for QB Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears.
Coach Ben Johnson referred to the G-Men’s defensive front as possibly the best the Bears have faced all season. Yet they’re allowing the most yards per carry in the NFL.
What can we expect come Sunday?
Ground & Pound: Despite being limited participants in Wednesday’s practice, both D’Andre Swift (groin) and Kyle Monangai (ankle) were full participants on Thursday.
That’s big news for a Bears team that ranks second in yards on the ground per game (144.4), going against a porous Giants run defense that allows 150.0 rushing yards every week.
Only the Cincinnati Bengals are allowing more (166.4/game) — a number that spiked after the Bears totaled 283 yards on the ground last week.
Bears OC Declan Doyle on the Giants’ defense: “When you look at their talent level on defense, especially with the front, their record isn't very indicative of the talent level. On the other side of the ball there, (LB Brian Burns) is leading the league in sacks. He's done a good job. And (LB Kayvon Thibodeaux) and (DT Dexter Lawrence II) inside. Those guys are guys that provide challenges. But obviously, statistically, they just haven't played quite as well as they probably would've liked to.”
Well, Look: Dennis Allen’s defense allowed the Ghost of AFC Championship Games Past, Joe Flacco, to collect 470 passing yards in last Sunday’s wild win over the Bengals.
Plain and simple, that cannot happen again. Granted, Flacco had Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Giants rookie QB Jaxson Dart has Wan’Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton. Not exactly Murderer’s Row as far as receiving corps go nowadays.
Allen needs more from his unit, and Sunday could be the perfect “get-right” opportunity.
Bears DC Dennis Allen on Dart: “You can be in really good pass coverage and yet, if rush lanes get out of whack, now all of a sudden, (Dart) is running for first downs. The job of the offense is to stay on the field, maintain drives and score points. His feet give them the ability to do that a lot. That’s a big part of what we're going to have to face.”
Feeling Stronger Every Day: Thursday’s injury report was much kinder to the Bears, with S Kevin Byard III, WR Rome Odunze and WR DJ Moore returning in a limited capacity. LB T.J. Edwards (hand/hamstring) did not participate for the second consecutive day.
Those extensive Wednesday injury reports shouldn’t be cause for too much alarm at this point. The Bears have preached heavy caution during the practice week throughout the season, giving guys every chance to heal from the previous game.
However, things are about to get a little more complicated during the practice week, as pads come off for most of the rest of the season as mandated by the league. After Week 11, the Bears will have just three padded practices remaining.
Does that change things throughout the week, especially when expecting a physical matchup against a high-quality defensive line?
“It doesn't change the way we want to prepare,” Declan Doyle said Thursday. “The biggest thing is we need to be able to go out and practice at a high level without pads, and that's always a challenge.”
“As you get later into the year, you find out really how mature your team is by how much you can get done during the week. That’s really the same goal. You're striking the balance between taking care of our guys, making sure they're ready to go on Sunday, and yet at the same point in time, understand that this is going to be a physical battle that we're going in to handle. And so, it really is a mentality of how we're practicing more than anything.”
Qualified: The Cubs tendered qualifying offers to OF Kyle Tucker and LHP Shota Imanaga on Thursday. This year’s offer is worth $22.025 million.
Tucker will almost certainly decline and receive a large payday elsewhere this winter. Imanaga could accept, considering the price tag likely exceeds what he’ll make per season on the open market. However, if Imanaga would like to explore having more security than a one-year deal, he could reasonably decline.
The deadline for players to accept or decline the offer is November 18th. Should Tucker or Imanaga turn it down, the Cubs would be in line for a compensatory pick, likely after the second round in next season’s MLB Draft.
Silver Sluggin’: Tucker was named a National League Silver Slugger award winner among outfielders on Thursday. Despite a rough, powerless stretch through July and August, Tucker still hit 22 home runs with a .464 slugging percentage.
The award is Tucker’s second win, having last taken home the honors with the Houston Astros in 2023.
Nearing a Return: Coby White will travel with the Bulls to Milwaukee tonight. White hasn’t played this season after suffering a calf strain later in the summer.
White said Thursday: “I feel good physically; no setbacks. I’ve been running a lot and a lot and a lot, so it’s been good just trying to stay with my conditioning. I’ve been pushing it just to build the tolerance in my calf, so it’s been good.”
If all continues to progress well, White could return to action in less than two weeks.
“You remember when you were at Halas Hall? That was awesome.”
🐻 Hoge & Jahns
12:00 on YouTube
🏀 Bulls at Bucks
7:00 on CHSN
📺 CHGO Blackhawks
Pregame at 7:30 on YouTube
🏒 Blackhawks at Flames
8:00 on CHSN
📺 CHGO Bulls
Postgame on YouTube
📺 CHGO Blackhawks
Postgame on YouTube
Something on your mind? Rate this issue and leave a comment, question or topic to discuss!
Talk to you next week!
– P.N.
