by MADDIE TOPLIFF
Beardown, baby! It’s Maddie — back and better than ever. I’m raring to give you the skinny on the Chicago Bears all season. If you’ve never read my column before, welcome! I provide an entertaining, relevant commentary on my favorite NFL team. Not a Bears fan? That’s a bummer, but you should keep reading. You’ll laugh and learn something about your team along the way! If you walk away with more appreciation for the Bears then I’ve peaked.
The Kicker Tea
Chicago has been on the prowl — sidenote: do bears prowl? — for a new kicker ever since they did away with Cody Parkey. I thought Robbie Gould would swoop back in until he and the 49ers came to a new agreement and crushed my dreams. Eddy Pineiro and Elliot Fry were vying for the spot and getting reps in, but on August 18 the Bears announced via Twitter the team was waiving Fry leaving Pineiro as the only kicker on the roster. Risky? Yes. Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy justified the move in favor of getting Pineiro more reps in practice and the preseason.
Long Starts Swinging
Long-time Bears offensive linemen Kyle Long had a troublesome set of practices, getting into fights with teammates at training camp with a particularly violent eruption last week. Nagy expressed disappointment over Long’s behavior. In a press conference, Long expressed remorse for his actions stating he was doing his best to take care of the issue internally and to move forward from his uncharacteristic behavior.
Panthers put up a Fight
The Bears lost their first preseason game to the Carolina Panthers 13-23, but fans had a lot to be proud of. Big turnovers — one courtesy of a big-time interception from safety Deon Bush — and a handful of sacks did well to foreshadow another season of defensive dominance. The offense got to show off a bit too with rookie running back David Montgomery’s first career TD impressing even Chicago legends like Matt Forte. Montgomery has since been named a rookie to watch out for this season by the Washington Post. To me, the biggest issue with the Carolina matchup was the offensive line’s effort allowing our QB to get dropped four times. I reminded myself that most starters sat out and the QB mobility also contributes to sacks. I’m fine, really.
Small effort against the Giants
The Bears managed to put 13 on the board again but that paled in comparison to the Giants’ 32. Analysts were mostly frustrated with the Bears’ special teams performance, especially after a good showing the week before. Starters warmed the bench, including RB Montgomery, a decision I agree with Matt Nagy on. We can’t show all of our cards too early.
WINdianapolis
The Bears traveled to Indianapolis and stuck it to the Colts with a final score of 27-17. To quote one of @ChicagoBears’ Instagram posts they were not “horsing around”. Pun definitely intended. Standouts included Deon Bush’s 91-yard pick six and Eddy Pinheiro’s 59-YARD FIELD GOAL!
Also, QB Andrew Luck is retiring…? Not a highlight or anything, but I thought everyone should be aware in case I’m their only source of NFL news. You never know.
The Bears have one more preseason game left hosting the Tennessee Titans. Going to miss the game? Guess you’d better pick up a paper next week! Next week’s article will also include a deep-dive into the Green Bay matchup — which is being dubbed the biggest kickoff in history — and a look ahead to the rest of the regular season. See you then.
Bye-bye for now, and Beardown!