December 18, 2018: In the Zone

We’re keeping this Bears train moving here; what else do I really want to talk about at this point?  The Bulls?  Sure, they did show some fight the other night in OKC, but… we’ll get back to them at some point.  The Blackhawks?  Hey, they’ve actually been playing a bit better; surprising win vs Nashville at the UC, but they did lose Crow.  We’ll circle back to them in a bit too.  What about the Cubs?  They made their big offseason splash signing Daniel Descalso… we’ll check back in there later.  And the Sox?  Last we heard they were in on Bryce Harper and taking Manny Machado and his wife around Chicago; I hope they at least took them to Ricobenes…  No, for now, we’re staying put right here in the zone… the Bears zone. 

And why not?  On Tuesday, the Pro Bowlers were announced, and the Bears are well represented, as they should be.  Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Eddie Jackson, Kyle Fuller, and Tarik Cohen are the fab 5; too bad they won’t be playing in the actual game.  Like Nagy said, we’re not done.  It’s crazy.  A couple years ago, I remember having a hard time figuring out which current Bears jersey I would buy my son.  He had already had Urlacher and Forte; we started him young.  So I went with the no brainer; Walter Payton is never a bad choice.  But in looking at the current Bears roster back then, there was nobody; OK, maybe Kyle Long.  And now… choices are a plenty.  We went with Trubisky for him; yes, I bought that jersey LAST year.  He may be getting a Christmas gift which will increase his jersey collection… so many to choose from. 

Let’s start with Mack.  If this guy isn’t defensive player of the year…  His numbers are ridiculous, and he’s missed a couple games.  He probably leads the league in “most times being held without a flag being thrown” too.  We knew the defense was going to be good this year, but when Mack arrived… yeah, now this defense is special.  As far as Akiem Hicks goes, he’s been doing it; he did it last year on a defense that was pretty good before the injuries.  Interesting note that I read on Twitter: the 2017 Bears were the last team to hold Drew Brees without a TD in the Superdome.  Hopefully we get the chance to repeat that feat in about a month.  Then there’s Eddie Jackson; he has IT.  He has that knack for the big play, whether it’s a fumble recovery, INT return, or a bone jarring hit (yes, he did use his shoulder for that hit on Sunday, thank you very much refs).  The best comp for him in our recent history is Mike Brown.  He’s just always around the ball; what a steal the Bears got in this guy… thanks for breaking your leg Eddie; hope your ankle is OK.  Kyle Fuller…  I remember when we first got him; he was pretty good.  Folks were pissed that we didn’t draft Ha-Ha, but…  Kyle has been good.  He sucked for a bit there, but at this point, it’s pretty apparent that was due to his injury.  He has been awesome this year, and he’s finally catching some balls.  Guess it was a good move to give him that contract before the year started.  Finally Tarik… The Human Joystick is one of his nicknames; he is electric.  And yeah, he has been very good as a returner, which is how we got in.  No TDs I believe, but plenty of solid returns.  Maybe a return TD in the playoffs?

The thing about these Bears is it doesn’t stop here.  We can name more guys (Roquan, Amos, Floyd, Goldman, Prince) easily that have had really good years, and I’m not even talking about the offensive line, which is underrated in my opinion.  And yes, Mitch and his weapons are coming along nicely too.  It’s a good time to be a Bears fan; now go get a damn jersey!  The window is open.  Bear Down!!!