NFL Schedule/Draft Sandwich

Wednesday April 21, 2010: the day sandwiched between two of the NFL’s biggest "off-season" days. Not since the first couple of days of free agency has there been much news in the NFL.

Yes, we have the ongoing Ben Roethlisberger incident and the Donovan McNabb trade, but not much coming from Halas Hall.

Now all of a sudden, within a few days of each other, there is the Bears mapped out road to the Super Bowl and the possible rookies who will be lucky enough to join the Bears and win a ring in their first season. It’s OK to be optimistic, right?

As a writer, you wait for times like this. FINALLY! Something to write about. No more racking your brain to come up with new and original material to convey to your readers. The NFL powers that be have given us more than enough material to discuss.

Yet, I’m stumped. Do I write about how the Bears finally get to open the season at home for the first time in six years? Or how Julius Peppers returns to Carolina for a showdown with his old teammates? How about the hopefully easy stretch in the middle of the year when we face the Seahawks, the Redskins, have our bye week and then travel to Toronto to face the Bills? It's great having our bye in the middle of the season and the mere 436 miles between Chicago and Toronto should not keep our great fans from making the Rogers Centre, 'Soldier Field, Ay'. 

Then there’s the Prime Time Thursday match-up between Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall. As the Bears travel to Miami, the two former Broncos get a chance to show Denver what they’re missing in front of a massive audience. And who can leave out the tough final four games of the season that might make or break our year: home against the Patriots, on the road against the Vikings, back at home for the Jets and closing out the season in Green Bay.

So much intrigue, so many possibilities, so much to look forward to…

So much intrigue, so many possibilities, so much to look forward to….yes, I meant to write that again.
These words not only describe the Bears schedule, but also define the other ‘slice’ of our sandwich, the NFL Draft. The Bears don’t pick until Friday, but with all of the activity going on thus far in the beginning of the calendar year, who knows what might happen in the hours leading up to the draft. Will the Bears trade up? Will the Bears trade down? Will our very own Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. prove once again that he is indeed smarter than all of those ‘experts’ and get most of the picks right in his mock draft?

The Bears have proved over the last two years that they are no longer afraid to make big personnel moves. This coming year is a so called desperate one for Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo. There is no telling who could be trade bait for a first or second round pick. With the draft being spread out over three days, this gives teams the chance to wheel and deal between days. The possibilities are endless!

Now, I think Wednesday April 21, 2010 felt a little left out. News from Halas Hall this morning is that Bears Chairman of the Board Michael McCaskey will step down at the conclusion of the 2010 season and be replaced by his younger brother George, who has been a member of the Bears board of directors since ’04.

Does this change really mean anything to the Bears? Does Michael know something we don’t and doesn’t want to be around when the axe comes down on Lovie and Jerry regardless of what the Bears do in 2010? Is George going to follow exactly in his older brother’s footsteps or is he the rebel in the family that will do the exact opposite of his brother?

Meanwhile, the Bulls return to the United Center to defend their home court against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Blackhawks try not to embarass themselves against the Nashville Predators. 

I think my head is going to explode! So much going on, in such a short amount of time!

I’ve talked so much, but really have said nothing at all…..I think I need to shut my mouth for now, got to have something to write about next week…