Alaskan Grizzly

Something to remember is that when Warren was with Minnesota there was talk of the Vikings leaving Minneapolis (possibly for LA of all places) when they were working to secure their new stadium in early 2012. Evidently the approval vote for the city to help in the cost and stay in Minneapolis occurred on the 11th hour. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vikings-clear-final-hurdle-to-get-new-stadium/#:~:text=The House passed it overnight,the best for this state." I also saw a recent social media post that said McCaskey was getting a bit irritated with the process taking longer than it should be for this to be finalized. And that Warren was mentioned as reason for his ire. Although some of the corroborating stories appear to originate from back in December.

I would say absolutely worth visiting. But only during the summer. It’s the only reason I’m still here…and I’ve got about 1-2 years to retire again. My wife says we are fortunate to live in a postcard but I take it all for granted. Been here since ‘77 and keep saying I’m gonna leave. Even when I joined the navy the plan was not to return…yet here we are. Lol. If you (or any TalkBears member for that matter) head this way lemme know. I live just a little bit outside Anchorage. I can hook you up with accommodations and might even be able to pull a fishing trip with my neighbor who has a 28 foot boat. He’s always trying to get me to go. He usually leaves like 0300 AM which is usually way too early for me. Anothe option that many like to do is a cruise up through Southeast Alaska. You can start at one end (north or south) and hit all the many communities along the islands there. Lots of awesome scenery and wildlife.

Bravo! 🙌

Amen brah.

Given your advanced age Im not surprised you know that. 😝. But yes that does provide me some comfort. Anything to get me out of my “feels”. Lol.

Can’t remember if I covered this but was born at the Great Lakes Navy Hospital (both parents were officers there - I returned 17 years later to begin my own naval career). Anyhow, mom and all her family were spread all over Illinois. Grandparents lived in Woodstock. When I was wee kid I could remember the drive to Woodstock from O’Hare was an eternity and. A lot more open country. More recently after my grandmother passed I made the drive and I swear the line between Woodstock and Chicago no longer existed. Crazy. Hell on the way back to the airport I stoped at a quick stop and there was GB shit everywhere. Talk about insulting. Anyhow put in the context of how much the urban sprawl of Chicago has swallowed up it makes sense that a podunk town like Wolf Lake might be just a Chicago suburb anymore.

Looks like you might have forgotten to write which alcoholic beverage supported your post. Lol.

Meh...beg to differ. Being a traditionalist it doesn't sit well. Yes I know as far removed as I am it shouldn't matter a bunch but having grown up as a CHICAGO Bears fan, its hard to accept the idea of them physically being a NW Indiana Bears team. Yes I know I was told nothing really would change but to me this seems like a slower motion relocation similar to what Modell did with Cleveland back in '95. Is my "cope" that technically they'll still be in the greater Chicagoland sprawl?

Is this for the potential move to Indiana or for the land they acquired at Arlington? I had heard some talk asking what the team would do if they ended up not going there.

Maybe Austin Reed? Interesting anecdote I learned about him on my last most recent vacation. My daughter's twin roommates told me that they went to High School with him in Florida. Said he was a real douche.

Another one for consideration. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1C3as23SB7/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Game was entertaining enough for me and the fam here in Hawaii . Most everyone here was for the Hawks and from what I heard, loved the halftime show. Darnold is the first Qb from the 2018 draft class to play in and win a SB. Maye is the first of the 2024 class to play in one. Stats be damned.

Oh yeah. I shoulda remembered. The National Champion Hoosiers (in Football) no less.

Spoken like a true Indiana-ite. I suppose at the end of the day what does someone from Alaska care? Not like I make it that way much anymore. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Fine with watching it on TV. Question. How do you think the helmet logo would be like? Still the iconic C?

Lol. Man the prices to have a professional team here would be exorbitant! We had a semi-pro hockey team for a few years but it was too much for them to maintain. Although I do have a couple friends running for office this November so I’ll ask around.

Not a fan at all of moving let alone ending up in Indiana. Have to re-evaluate my fandom if they move out of Chicago? It’s so weird.

For the record I love the posts with sponsors! The best. I’m with Mongo on this being a dead issue but not in agreement to who may have been in the wrong. That being said, since we’re here… Adam sorta said something similar to what I was thinking shortly after the game. It appears there was in fact a miscommunication but we don’t know about what it was. Regardlesss… I can’t help but heap praise on DJ for making all the other clutch catches he made throughout the season not to mention that incredible OT catch that helped the team beat GB (below). In my mind all those ‘ball out’ efforts offset any one play where he may have lagged a little…if he did at all. If he did, I’m sure Johnson and he will discuss at great length before next season begins. He has done some great things no doubt. He even commented earlier this week on how excited he is to come back next year. I hope that means something positive and he is part of the team again. I think he deserves it.

Fair. Ok unemployed after 2 years. 😆

Agree on the defense overhaul. But think the targeted guy (if they go that route) is Maxx. This post brought to you courtesy of Pendleton Whisky. 🥃

I have a feeling he’s a Ben Johnson coat tailer. Something tells me he’ll be unemployed by the end of next season. This post brought to you courtesy of Pendleton Whiskey.

Wait I thought Ryan Pace was the Falcons GM? 😏

Ben Johnson, I believe, was the one that set the bar for Caleb at 70% when he came to Chicago. Having worked with Goff he saw how much that could overall improve the game. Since Goff joined the Lions here's how he's trended: Interestingly, Johnson didn't start as the OC with Detroit until 2022 when you notice a dip from 2021-22 then back up again gradually until Johnson left at the end of the 24 season. Goff has always been a pretty decent passer. What kills him is his lack of mobility. He gets REALLY erratic after he's been hit a few times. I thought it interesting to see Williams had a 62.5% passer completion rate his rookie year (this despite his insane number of sacks). But then with his first year under Johnson dropped to 58%. I suspect he's tracking similar to how Lawrence is and get back to mid, maybe high 60% next year. And maybe in his third year of the system (like Stinger mentioned) we'll see him closer if not surpassing the 70% mark. NOTE: Drew Brees currently holds the record percentage rate at 74.4 (2018) so its not totally out of reach. A handful of guys have surpassed 70% in the 'modern era' in more than one season so again, nothing says Williams couldn't join them.

Interesting. So they hired a defensive minded HC in Minter. Hm.

Curious. How so? Could the same be said for Sean McDermott in Buffalo?

IMHO its gonna be hard to justify him staying around on the contract alone, as it currently stands. With his contract set to expire in 2027 his pay is commiserate to the Top-10 TEs in the game this last year. His contract currently ranks #8 among TEs tied with Jake Ferguson with the Cowboys and just behind David Njoku with the Browns. Production wise he was near the bottom overall: (*Note the stats above were from somewhere midseason as I think he finished in the top 5 for total TDS caught by a TE. Still he ranked low in most all the other categories). I'm with you in hoping they manage to find a way to keep him (are we both stricken with the good-guy syndrome of liking our players too much? 😉). I have to believe not only will they find a way to restructure his contract especially given his history as not only a fan of the team growing up but also literally growing up near Chicago...and for all the things you mention.