Still Gotta Come Through Chicago

A Still Gotta Come Through Chicago Summer

Happy Friday Chicago!

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is not another summer where I’m only living for the end of the week.

The Cubs have given meaning back to Tuesday nights. There’s ups and downs, but those beat flatlining through June, July, and August ten out of ten times.

What I can’t get over, though, is the Bears offseason. I know new Jaguars coach Liam Coen has an acronym he likes to say, and I know new Jets head coach Aaron Glenn is already talking about toughening his team up during camp.

The thought of those coaches and those storylines being with us in Chicago right now, it visited me Thursday like the ghost of Christmas future visited Ebenezer Scrooge.

As Juneteenth was celebrated as intended — with a bunch of white kids getting drunk and going to the Cubs game — I sat at my desk considering that alternate universe. I considered what it would feel like to be alive right now, knowing the Bears hired another run-of-the-mill coordinator who was sure to fail here.

I was reminded how grateful I am for what has transpired since January. The emotional load that’s placed on a fan who has to whip themselves into excitement for a football season is under-appreciated. That load not being there this summer hit me today like a cold beer does when my socks are off.

Imagine right now trying to convince yourself that Thomas Brown does have a special connection with Caleb Williams; that Liam Coen is the right guy to unlock the offense; that Aaron Glenn will actually “toughen up” a soft group.

Imagine getting excited about any of that. Because you and I, we would be. We’d be trying.

Here’s the obligatory caveat that this all may not work out for Johnson and the Bears. Now let’s move on.

I’m so thankful I don’t have to feign optimism this offseason. I don’t have to manufacture in my head a 1 out of 1,000 narrative that end ups with a positive result for the upcoming Bears season.

If you’re a Cubs fan, that gives you even more reason to be thankful. The next few months will be filled with glee and hope, or at least some of the latter. Then comes football. If you’re a Sox fan, you know there’s at least a reason to be excited about what’s on the other side.

When you rescue a dog and let them out in the open grass for the first time, they initially hesitate. They slowly sniff and walk around, scared and hesitant. There’s a lag.

Then, all of a sudden, their tongue hangs out. They sprint around and roll in the grass over and over again. They don’t stop until exhaustion wipes them out.

A few months later the same dog is being tucked into his bed with a blankie, and your brother and his fiance are asking him who the best boy in the world is, and he can’t go to sleep without that. But that’s besides the point.

That scared hesitation is where I’m at right now. I almost don’t know what to do with myself. The Bears got the best coach on the market, paid him adequately, and upgraded their roster up and down.

I’ve examined the misery that’s not mine with Coen and Glenn. I said I don’t know what to do with myself, so we’re going to roll around the grass a little bit. It’s time to get a belly rub full of some football talk here as the summer solstice nears.

Let’s get into it.

---

After finishing my media cleanup of the first Ben Johnson-led OTAs in Chicago, I’m throwing out my former rule that we don’t talk OTAs here at Still Gotta Come Through Chicago.

Everything that Johnson is selling, I’m buying.

Every quote of his, every story about his steely-eyed focus, every article about his intensity and attention to detail — I’m throwing it down my gullet and then looking for more.

The one anecdote that has already been told far and wide is Johnson admonishing Cole Kmet for lining up a yard away from where he was supposed to.

He later told Kmet that he’s just making sure he’s in position to get the ball. But I think there’s more to it.

Yes, Johnson is a psychopath that is obsessed with details that other Bears coaches ignored. But I also think he knew what he was doing. He was sending a message to his team through a veteran that could handle it.

“I think what sticks out (with) Ben and this staff … is just how detail-oriented they are,” Kmet said. “You can feel that in the meetings; they’re relentless on the details. I think that’s something that may be a little unique from what I’ve had in the past. Not saying other coaches weren’t detailed, but it’s like an obsession with the details. … He just can’t let it go. You feel that from him. Whether it’s on the field, in the meeting room, he brings that with him wherever he’s at.”

I also think Johnson may see Kmet as some of us do, a media darling with a podcast that’s been a little too loved in Chicago just based on the fact that he is one of a few guys who has been on the team for a while and hasn’t been horrible. That may be reading into it too much, but I like knocking guys down a peg who frankly haven’t earned anything.

“I don’t think you can let things slide,” Johnson said.

That’s such a simple thing to say, but it’s the exact right thing to say to that team, and to this fanbase.

The Bears ended OTAs with a fun drill where receivers and linemen were throwing balls to non-receiver position players. It was a seamless way to end the offseason period on a high note, sure, but Johnson was apparently locked in, looking for guys with other talents who could contribute to a trick play later in the year.

That’s the kind of stuff that just fires me up.

Speaking of coaches and “fun.” Was the biggest production error in the history of Hard Knocks spotlighting Matt Eberflus for an entire August? This note from the Sun-Times reminded me of our old friend this week, and how in over his head he was.

Eberflus gave players nicknames — cornerback Jaylon Johnson was “Dragon Slayer,” safety Jaquan Brisker was “Mako Shark” and defensive tackle Gervon Dexter was “Dino Dex.”

Remember when I was saying how lucky we are earlier?

Back to the topic of things you like to hear. This, from Rome Odunze: “I just turned 23,” he said. “I don’t have many things to focus on other than getting better.”

Odunze admitted he felt stiff last year, and not like himself. It showed.

Under Johnson, I’m as high on Odunze as I was after he was drafted. You don’t lose all of that ability in just one year. By all metrics, he was fine last year. He was productive for a rookie. But I think he can be a star, and I think he has all the tools at his disposal to be that now.

Caleb Williams also showed up to rookie OTAs. All of the practices are voluntary, but the rookie OTAs especially are. Since the non-story about his pre-draft reservations about the Bears, he has hit every note perfectly.

And he also has justifiably and predictably drawn the ire of Johnson in practice, which I appreciate no matter the context.

“He’s committed to learning the offense,” head coach Ben Johnson said. “We’re not where we need to be yet as a team and he understands that. Any chance he gets to get a few more full-speed reps, it sounds like he wants them.”

Odunze was also at rookie OTAs.

A day after Johnson was asked who he was most impressed with during OTAs, he came back with an answer. (He asked for a day to think about it, which I loved). His answer: rookie linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II; rookie running back Kyle Monangai; tight end Joel Wilson; and defensive end Dominique Robinson.

Hyppolite may start at Sam linebacker in Week 1. He was the fastest linebacker in the draft, but certainly not someone I thought would be playing this year, outside of special teams.

Robinson has played well on special teams up until this point, but hasn’t found his footing as a playmaker defensively.

Monangai was a monster in college, and I thought the perfect non-reach for a running back late in the draft. Barring injury, he’ll get plenty of time this year.

Joel Wilson — another MAC guy — bounced around practice squads last year and has apparently made a genuine connection with Williams.

Ozzy Trapilo has also won the praise of Johnson, and the rookie second-rounder could be starting at left tackle come Week 1. He’s in competition with Kiran Amegadjie, who didn’t impress in tough situations last year. Braxton Jones is the incumbent, but he’s still recovering from an offseason ankle surgery.

I bought stock on Trapilo and Monangai post-draft, and I’m holding as it soars. I’m also buying Gervon Dexter stock, who apparently is more comfortable in Dennis Allen’s scheme than he was as the 3-technique in Eberflus’. Dexter is a guy you always want more from, but he’s shown plenty of flashes in his first two years.

I’m also holding my stock on D.J. Moore, who turned in multiple great seasons with bad quarterback play before last year. I know Johnson and receivers coach Antwaan Randle El will put an end to his bad body language, and so too will sensical play calls that give him a chance to showcase his talents.

I’m selling, or not buying, Luther Burden stock right now. I still think the draft pick was a good one, and that he can be great. But he hasn’t practiced since the first OTA session with a “soft tissue” injury.

He’s hurt, so what? Well, Johnson’s comments on him make it seem like there’s more than that going on.

“He misses a lot,” Johnson said. “Any time you’re not out there, if you’re in the training room when the rest of the guys are practicing, you’re losing valuable time; valuable time with your coaches, valuable reps with your teammates, the ability to build the trust that we’re talking about.”

That doesn’t seem like something you’d say about a player out with a legitimate injury.

Burden has not yet signed his contract. But, it’s worth mentioning, the other second-round picks haven’t signed either.

A potential reason for that, and for other second-round picks around the league not signing? The Cleveland Browns guaranteeing the money in their deal with second-round pick Carson Schwesinger.

The agents smell blood in the water.

I personally think one of the biggest signings of the offseason, Dayo Odeyingbo, is set up for a great year on the defensive line. But he, too, has been sidelined with an injury, one that Robinson has apparently taken advantage of.

I’m also holding my stock on D'Andre Swift, who I think was unfairly maligned last year for a poor performance more to blame on circumstance.

As for who I’m selling on, the first is Tyrique Stevenson. Need I say more? Stevenson apparently has already been reprimanded in practice because in a simulated end-of-game situation, he picked the ball off and then continued running with it, as opposed to going down.

Yup, that sounds like Tyrique Stevenson.

I’m also selling on Jaquan Brisker. It hurts to say. Brisker has apparently been flying around practice, with a little more muscle on him.

He also had what’s now being called a “vestibular concussion,” meaning he had to go through extensive therapy to just get his brain to work again.

“I want to hit right now,” he said.

And I’m sure he does. But after three bad concussions, I don’t think the Bears can bank on him being the difference maker he has been for 17 games or more in the coming seasons.

Johnson did remark that Brisker was one of the guys hardest to gameplan for while he was in Detroit.

I hope I’m wrong on him, and I hope he stays healthy for his sake, but I’m just not putting my chips in there.

Ben Johnson has been great with the media thus far. I love hearing and reading his interviews. But make no mistake about it, the dude is a special kind of mentally ill that only serves you well in a few professions, and namely American football.

I’m going to enjoy my summer. But I can hardly contain my excitement.

#BEARDOWN

---

After Pete-Crow Armstrong made a near-impossible catch look easy Tuesday, and then hit a 452-foot home run off the right field scoreboard — the first time that’s been done this year — Jim Deshaies began to speak, and then stopped.

Boog Sciambi told him to go on.

Then, J.D. carefully said — with caveats — that watching PCA must be similar to what it felt like watching Mickey Mantle.

Indeed, players like PCA don’t come around often — if ever. He’s arguably the best defensive player in the game and has 20 home runs with more than a week left in June.

His defense has been 12 outs above average, second-best in the league and the best for an outfielder. He’s caught nearly 10 balls this season that had a 0% to 25% catch probability, according to Statcast, for what it’s worth.

He’s on track to have more than 50 stolen bases and more than 40 home runs.

There’s no other way to put it. We’re witnessing history.

Already, he’s my favorite player to watch since Javier Baez. And if you take nostalgia out of it — and therefore Corey Patterson and Mark Grudzielanek — he’s one of my top-5 favorite Cubs to watch of all time.

Not only is he on a historical pace statistically, he just conducts himself on the baseball field like no one else in the league. I’ve written this before, but he’s one of the few players that seems to realize he’s living a childhood dream. He’s also a guy who makes every game look do-or-die, but the Cubs are full of players like that.

It took him 73 games to reach 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, which makes him the fastest Cub to do so by 23 games. Sammy Sosa reached that mark 96 games into the 1994 season.

“He’s playing at as high a level as I’ve seen a center fielder play,” Craig Counsell said. “We’re 70 games in, but how he’s playing it, it’s as good as I’ve seen. The pitchers that have been around, like Caleb Thielbar — he’s had some pretty good center fielders behind him as well — would tell you that.”

From J.D. and Craig Counsell — two very understated and measured guys — that’s some high praise.

The Cubs beat the Pirates in three of four games over the weekend, but in very underwhelming fashion. That made the PCA show that led to a 5-3 win Tuesday feel especially important.

After a rainout, Jameson Taillon and Génesis Cabrera buried the Cubs in a large hole Thursday before they almost climbed out of it, but ultimately fell 8-7.

Cabrera has been one of the only lowlights of the Cubs bullpen of late. The usual suspects have continued apace, including Drew Pomeranz, who still hasn’t let up a run after not pitching in the big leagues for multiple years.

Ryan Pressly has also not allowed a run in 16 appearances since that awful showing against the Giants in early May.

What the Cubs need is help in the starting rotation. Shota Imanaga is likely to be back against the Cardinals next week, if all goes well.

In the meantime, we hope that Colin Rea and Ben Brown can turn in quality starts here or there, and that Jameson Taillon doesn’t reel after Thursday’s performance.

Then, we wait for the Cubs inevitable trade for more starting pitching, and hope it doesn’t take the monstrous return that some baseball writers are predicting. No, I don’t want to give up Cade Horton and two good prospects for a “good” starting pitcher.

The Cubs have multiple stars. They are still the second-best offense in baseball. They have a 5.5-game lead in the NL Central.

Put that in front of me in March, and I’m giddy.

Did I mention the Bears nailed the offseason too?

It’s feeling like a Still Gotta Come Through Chicago 📈📈 summer.

---

Thank you for reading another edition of the newsletter. If you enjoy it, please spread the word today — new subscribers can sign up at the top. Comment below.