Chicago Bears Draft: Eddie Jackson throws serious shade on Instagram liveon April 30, 2021 at 2:30 pm

Chicago Bears (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

When the Chicago Bears moved up and selected Justin Fields, you better believe there were plenty of in-house text conversations between teammates.

This was a move that not only got the city of Chicago talking, but the entire sports world talking. General manager Ryan Pace made arguably his biggest splash since trading for Khalil Mack.

The Bears have struggled with quarterback dilemmas for far too long. They have suffered too many inconsistencies at the position for the entirety of their franchise’s existence. Fans had seemingly given up on the Bears ever being able to land a top-tier quarterback — until now.

The Ohio State product comes to the Bears as maybe the second-best quarterback in this year’s draft, yet the fourth one off the board. For whatever reason, Fields slid and the Bears pounced.

Chicago Bears safety Eddie Jackson was one of the more excited players in regards to the Fields pick.

Eddie Jackson was so excited, in fact, that he went on Instagram Live and said something every single Bears fan can completely relate to.

“It’s about time we get ourselves a real… you know what I’m sayin’.”

“About time we got us a real quarterback.” – #Bears safety Eddie Jackson on Instagram Live

??? pic.twitter.com/Dk9fiQNKkz

— PFF (@PFF) April 30, 2021

Very few players should be allowed to complain about their own team’s inconsistencies, as it’s sometimes viewed as unprofessional. However, Jackson is a guy who should definitely be able to voice his frustration.

Over his four-year career, Jackson has come up with 31 passes defensed, 10 interceptions, seven forced fumbles, six defensive touchdowns and has been voted an All Pro as well. This guy doesn’t mess around. He wants to win. He’s as competitive as they come.

The fact that he’s elated over the Bears’ selection of Fields shouldn’t come as a surprise. Furthermore, the fact that he threw both Foles and Dalton under the bus shouldn’t be looked down upon either. Jackson wants this team to win, and he clearly believes Fields gives them the best chance — as do the fans.

Jackson, along with plenty of his teammates, will be a main reason why Fields gets his chance sooner rather than later. He knows this team is ready to compete. He knows this defense has been waiting for a quarterback like Fields, so that the Bears’ offense can sustain drives and the defense gets their necessary rest. Fields impacts so many players right from the get-go.

Fields gives Jackson and company the ability to be far more aggressive, which best suits his style of play. Jackson is a ball hawk. He needs to be allowed to play more freely, and with the offense being able to put up more points now, he certainly will.

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Chicago Bears: Best available players heading into day twoon April 30, 2021 at 12:30 pm

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As the Chicago Bears continue to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft, the Bears will enter day two slated to pick at 52nd and 83rd overall. After trading up to 11th overall for Ohio State Quarterback Justin Fields, the Bears will look to round out day two by adding to the roster.

With the future being Fields, Chicago would be wise to spend its second and third-round by continuing to add talent, whether it’s on offense or defense. What the Bears decide to do in round two will be impacted by what goes on during the early portion of the second round.

Chicago’s two biggest needs now include cornerback and offensive tackle. In an ideal scenario, the Bears come out of day two with future starters at both positions. Chicago could also decide to address wide receivers, bringing in someone to push Anthony Miller, Javon Wims, and Riley Ridley.

Luckily for the Bears, day two is expected to be filled with plenty of starting-caliber offensive tackles, cornerbacks, and wide receivers. Another intriguing position that Chicago could address includes tight end, which is expected to have the talent available to complement 2020 second-round pick, Cole Kmet.

Day one of the 2021 NFL Draft was filled with many surprises, that included the Bears NFC North rivals making surprising moves. The Green Bay Packers selected cornerback Eric Stokes (Georgia), adding to the defense. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings selected Penei Sewell (Oregon) and Christian Darrisaw (Virginia Tech), adding to the offensive line with future franchise left tackles.

Chicago could also explore the option of trading back in the second-round, potentially accumulating some extra third, fourth, or fifth-round picks in the process. As the NFL and the Bears gear up for rounds two and three, who are the best available players that the Bears should be targeting as the 2021 NFL Draft continues? Let’s examine some names and find out.

Next: Number One

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Chicago Bears 2021 NFL Draft: Day 2 best case scenarioson April 30, 2021 at 1:00 pm

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(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The Chicago Bears hit the mark after trading up in the first round to take quarterback Justin Fields. The Bears traded their 20th overall pick, 2022 first-round pick, 2022 fourth-round, and 2021 fifth-round pick to move to the 11th pick in the draft for Fields. An A+ start to the Bears draft, taking advantage of the Ohio State product surprisingly slipping out of the top ten.

Justin Fields arguably has the easiest path to being one of the oldest franchise’s best quarterbacks of all time. Chicago Bears fans should be excited that they may finally have their franchise quarterback.

The Chicago Bears put a lot of stock into this first-round pick that they made.

However, to quote the late-great Kobe Bryant, “Job not finished.”

Blessed ?? https://t.co/Sb2bBy2Y5f

— Justin Fields (@justnfields) April 30, 2021

The Bears still have work to do. The offensive line is key for them at this point. If they hypothetically were unable to draft a quarterback in the first round, they were undoubtedly going to go offensive line with the 20th pick in the draft.

That would have left them with some solid names still leftover in the first round like Christian Darrisaw and Teven Jenkins. Now, they have to sift through the rest of the names to get that job done.

Outside of that, other holes to fill include cornerback, wide receiver, safety, and interior offensive line. The loss of Kyle Fuller and the need for a running mate with Eddie Jackson are glaringly imperative at this stage for general manager Ryan Pace. It is time to dive into the day two draft strategies the Bears should take on. The Bears will have picks in rounds two and three on Friday night.

Next: Round Two

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Silent condemn racism and violence with gothic postpunk on Modern HateJamie Ludwigon April 30, 2021 at 11:00 am

There are probably a dozen memes circulating right now that chart punk subgenres and the philosophical leanings they supposedly embody, and without even finding one, I’m confident saying that goth rock and postpunk would get tagged as the nihilists of the bunch. But that stereotype downplays the social and political histories of these gloomy genres.…Read More

Silent condemn racism and violence with gothic postpunk on Modern HateJamie Ludwigon April 30, 2021 at 11:00 am Read More »

Response to coronavirus outbreak ‘inefficient and chaotic’ at LaSalle Veterans’ Home where 36 died, report findsJohn O’Connor | AP Political Writeron April 30, 2021 at 11:49 am

Terry Prince, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s designee as director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, discusses changes in administration, communication, policies and infection control that he and others at the agency are implementing in response to a COVID-19 outbreak last fall at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home | (AP Photo/John O’Connor)

The report by the inspector general of the Illinois Department of Human Services said little was done to devise protocols for preventing or managing infections.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Consistent statewide procedures and ongoing drills that target infection response and other emergencies will be routine at Illinois veterans’ homes after COVID-19 caught the LaSalle Veterans’ Home unprepared and claimed 36 lives last fall, the state’s newly appointed director said.

Terry Prince, a 31-year Navy veteran and former senior adviser to the U.S. Surgeon General, has issued a six-point plan for improving readiness at the state’s veterans’ homes in Anna, Manteno, Quincy and LaSalle. The plan follows a blistering investigative report that laid out a string of miscommunications, lax policy and missed opportunities when the pandemic hit the home in LaSalle, 94 miles west of Chicago.

The report by the inspector general of the Illinois Department of Human Services, released Friday, noted that despite escaping all traces of the deadly respiratory illness for eight months after it entered Illinois, there was little done to devise protocols for preventing or managing infections. After the first four cases were reported Nov. 1, the virus spread to 60 residents and 43 employees as confused staff operated in an environment that was “inefficient, reactive and chaotic,” the report said.

“We need to train as if it’s always happening,” said Prince, who arrived in Illinois on April 1 from his post as superintendent of the Ohio Veterans Homes, where he administered three facilities. “When there is an absence of the virus we train even harder, so that when something does come to fruition, our people know exactly what to do and how to do it.”

The review found ineffective, alcohol-free hand sanitizer in abundant use and no one responsible for replacing it, staff members reporting for duty by taking their own temperatures and initialing results, and scant availability and use of personal protective equipment such as face coverings.

Confusion over evacuating a wing to prepare it for quarantining and other errors such as placing residents who tested positive for the coronavirus in a room with others who were not sick, then not monitoring the newly exposed residents afterward, compounded the problem.

Among Prince’s other initiatives are plans to develop clear, statewide policies applicable to each home; restructuring senior leadership with chain-of-command clarity and assurances that the homes are receiving proper clinical and administrative direction; filling key positions whose vacancies have doubled work for others; and providing all employees with an email address for receiving agency-wide notices and communicating their concerns.

Infection control will be a priority with the hiring of a director and creation infection-control committees at each home following standardized guidelines, Prince said.

“It’s always been important but it did come to light, over the course of this crisis, the significant amount of work that’s involved in being an infection control specialist,” Prince said. “Prior to COVID-19 you would deal with things like pneumonia, flu, MRSA … they were often a case-by-case basis. When COVID hit, you’re not only monitoring residents you’re monitoring every staff member who works there.”

The crisis struck LaSalle well into the period of COVID-19 entrenchment, and a year-and-a-half after a state audit recommended adopting consistent statewide policies as a result of a Legionnaire’s disease outbreak at the Quincy Veterans’ Home which led to 14 deaths and sickened more than 70 others. In December, the home’s director, Angela Mehlbrech, was fired and at Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s behest, the investigation was underway.

After three hours of critical questioning by a House committee in early January, director Linda Chapa Lavia, an Army veteran who had been a long-tenured member of the House herself, resigned.

LaSalle was not alone. There have been 15 COVID-19 deaths at Manteno and 25 at Quincy. Prince noted the enormity of dealing with “a worldwide virus that doesn’t play fair.”

“It spread across the country with a fierceness that no one could have ever predicted and unfortunately veterans homes across the nation were struggling in the same situation,” he said.

Response to coronavirus outbreak ‘inefficient and chaotic’ at LaSalle Veterans’ Home where 36 died, report findsJohn O’Connor | AP Political Writeron April 30, 2021 at 11:49 am Read More »

Chicago Bears: Grading NFC North 2021 first-round pickson April 30, 2021 at 12:00 pm

CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 29: A fan holds a jersey after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Justin Fields being selected 11th by the Chicago Bears during round one of the 2021 NFL Draft at the Great Lakes Science Center on April 29, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) — CLEVELAND, OHIO – APRIL 29: A fan holds a jersey after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Justin Fields being selected 11th by the Chicago Bears during round one of the 2021 NFL Draft at the Great Lakes Science Center on April 29, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

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The Chicago Bears had a really nice time at the 2021 NFL Draft. They traded up to select Justin Fields in the first round. They moved up from pick 20 to pick 11 after a large deal made with the New York Giants. Justin Fields was one of the five quarterbacks that people had pegged as the elite first-round talents this year. You can even argue that he was the second-best and the Bears were able to land him. It was an incredible night for Chicago.

Justin Fields

QB, Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears made a very nice first-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The Chicago Bears might have their quarterback. They haven’t had an all-time great one in the history of their historic franchise. A century has gone by and nobody sticks out as the clear number one guy. It has been sad but the hope is that Fields will change everything.

Ryan Pace messed up royally in 2017 when he traded up to select Mitchell Trubisky with the second overall pick. His job is on the line with this current pick but it has the feeling of a move that will work out for everyone involved. He was brilliant in his time with the Ohio State Buckeyes. He had good showings against good teams in high leverage moments and could simply be described as a winner.

The Bears signed Andy Dalton over the offseason which was not a popular signing at all. We don’t know who will be the week one starter but Fields will be the guy eventually. It is hard to predict how this will impact their 2021 season but it was a great draft all around.

First-Round Grade: A

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Illinois-record shorthead redhorse: Olaf Nelson’s shorthead may be the heaviest one verifiedon April 30, 2021 at 10:57 am

Shorthead redhorse make notable spawning runs, but the path of Olaf Nelson’s Illinois-record shorthead was extreme: a Fox River tributary to Brookfield to Virginia.

On April 9, Nelson was fishing a redworm on a small hook and a couple split shot, “nothing fancy.”

Then came the moment, as he described on moxostoma.com.

“A bad cast into the pool under the bridge scared some shortheads downstream, so I quickly re-cast to where I thought they might stop,” he posted. “I couldn’t see through the reflection, couldn’t be sure of the depth or the structure of the creek bed. I must have guessed correctly, though, because for the first (and so far only) time this year I felt the signature redhorse tap, tap, TAP! and made a solid connection. . . . Weighed in the bag of my net she was an inconceivable 6-6.5 pounds.”

He said as he landed the fish, he “knew it was a record. Ever since I caught one and blew it a few years ago, I’m really attuned to that particular record.”

Indeed. Nelson founded moxostoma.com (moxostoma is the genus of redhorse).

“In 2007, I was looking up something about fly fishing in Minnesota,” he said. “I heard about fly fishing for bigmouth buffalo near Northfield [Minn.].

“Then I found Roughfish.com and that changed my life. I was getting bored with bass and trout and I found I was fishing right over top of more hard fighting and interesting fish.”

As a lover of redhorse, Nelson had a dilemma late that Friday afternoon.

“I wanted to keep it alive, so I could release it, but selfishly I also wanted to get that record and wanted that fish to be official,” he said.

He had good reason for wanting the fish officially certified. Some shorthead records are so far off as to deserve to be in absurdist theater.

He tried to reach an Illinois Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist, but it was too late. So he put it on ice. The next morning he weighed it on the certified scale at Tischler Finer Foods in Brookfield at 4.8 pounds (4 pounds 12.8 ounces). Illinois fish records are kept by pounds and ounces.

A couple days later, streams biologist Steve Pescitelli certified it. Nelson completed the paperwork and sent it to Springfield, He froze the fish, then sent it to the lab of the redhorse authority, Robert Jenkins, professor emeritus at Roanoke College. Jenkins measured it as a total length of 533 mm, virtually 21 inches, and is preparing the skeleton as a museum specimen and will age the fish.

One of the cool things redhorse do is run up streams, then build nests when spawning and one female is usually attended by several males. Credit: Illinois Department of Natural Resources — One of the cool things redhorse do is run up streams, then build nests when spawning and one female is usually attended by several males.

“They are cool fish and there is nothing like them that run up the creeks and build nests,” Pescitelli said. “Shorthead are like salmon, build nests and run back out to the river. I am sure the larvae coming down provide food for lots of other fish.”

Pescitelli emailed photos of redhorse on their spawning runs on a Fox tributary, where they “fanned the finer gravel out (with their tails) to expose the larger cobble where they lay the eggs. The water circulates down through that larger stone to keep the eggs well oxygenated.”

Nelson’s record supplants one of the coolest tales in Illinois fishing. On April 25, 2008, Andrew Chione, then 15, caught the previous Illinois-record shorthead (3-11.8) from virtually the same area of the Fox as where his brother John caught the Illinois-record silver redhorse (6-11.4) the day before.

Andrew Chione with the previous Illinois record shorthead redhorse, caught April 25, 2008, a day after his brother John caught the Illinois record silver redhorse. Provided — Andrew Chione with the previous Illinois record shorthead redhorse, caught April 25, 2008, a day after his brother John caught the Illinois record silver redhorse.

“I do not believe my new Illinois state record was the biggest shorthead that ever lived,” Nelson wrote. “Until I see some evidence to the contrary (and I am actively seeking it), however, I will say that she might be, as one biologist suggested, the biggest verifiable shorthead redhorse on record.”

Another look at Olaf Nelson's Illinois-record shorthead redhorse. Provided — Another look at Olaf Nelson’s Illinois-record shorthead redhorse.

Illinois-record shorthead redhorse: Olaf Nelson’s shorthead may be the heaviest one verifiedon April 30, 2021 at 10:57 am Read More »

Report: LaSalle virus crisis response ‘reactive and chaotic’on April 30, 2021 at 11:49 am

Infection control will be a priority with the hiring of a director and creation infection-control committees at each home following standardized guidelines, Prince said.

After three hours of critical questioning by a House committee in early January, director Linda Chapa Lavia, an Army veteran who had been a long-tenured member of the House herself, resigned.

LaSalle was not alone. There have been 15 COVID-19 deaths at Manteno and 25 at Quincy. Prince noted the enormity of dealing with “a worldwide virus that doesn’t play fair.”

“It spread across the country with a fierceness that no one could have ever predicted and unfortunately veterans homes across the nation were struggling in the same situation,” he said.

Report: LaSalle virus crisis response ‘reactive and chaotic’on April 30, 2021 at 11:49 am Read More »

Chicago Bears Draft: Eddie Jackson throws serious shade on Instagram liveon April 30, 2021 at 2:30 pm

Chicago Bears safety Eddie Jackson was one of the more excited players in regards to the Fields pick.

Bears: 3 players impacted most by Fields selection

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Chicago Bears: Best available players heading into day twoon April 30, 2021 at 12:30 pm

Chicago Bears 2021 NFL Draft: Day 2 best case scenarioson April 30, 2021 at 1:00 pm

The Chicago Bears put a lot of stock into this first-round pick that they made.

Silent condemn racism and violence with gothic postpunk on Modern HateJamie Ludwigon April 30, 2021 at 11:00 am

Response to coronavirus outbreak ‘inefficient and chaotic’ at LaSalle Veterans’ Home where 36 died, report findsJohn O’Connor | AP Political Writeron April 30, 2021 at 11:49 am