–Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky will wear a protective sleeve on his throwing arm against the Dolphins like he did against Tampa Bay. Some fans suggested he keep wearing it because he threw well with it on, but it was more a matter of necessity after the Sept. 23 win at Arizona.
“I had a little cut on my arm a few weeks ago, and then it reopened in Arizona on the first drive and was just gushing everywhere,” Trubisky said. “And I didn’t want that to happen, and I covered it up (against Tampa Bay).”
Naturally, after throwing for a career-best 354 yards, he had fans saying there was something special about that sleeve.
“And then you play pretty well, some superstition, call it what you want,” Trubisky said. “I also got a lot of threats (from fans) that I have to wear it. Yeah I’m going to keep it on. We’ll see what the color is, but it feels comfortable, gives me a little more swag or whatever.”
–When Jordan Howard refused to talk to reporters after the Bears’ win over Tampa Bay, it set in motion a series of events leading to rumors he could be trade bait. None of it had merit.
Howard said he simply had nothing to say because the win was easy, and stressed he wasn’t frustrated about getting only 11 carries for 25 yards.
“With a game like that, you don’t have nothing to complain about,” he said. “You’ve just got to be happy about a win.
“No, I wasn’t frustrated. I was happy. We won. You see how much we won by. So there’s not really nothing to complain about.”
Asked if he wanted a bigger role, Howard added, “Whatever helps the team out.”
Howard was rumored in February to be on the trade block, specifically for Jarvis Landry, but those reports proved unfounded.
Howard is tight with running back Tarik Cohen, who had 13 carries and caught seven passes in the win.
“I was very happy for him,” Howard said. “Every time he scored, I was out there on the field celebrating with him. So I was very excited for him.”
–The Bears were relieved when they found out defensive end Akiem Hicks would not be suspended for shoving an official during the win over Tampa Bay. He was fined $33,000.
It’s especially important to have Hicks going against an opponent more capable of establishing a running game against their defense than Tampa Bay was.
“You’re talking about one of the leaders on this defense,” linebacker Khalil Mack said. “Just knowing that he’s going to be out there is going to boost morale for sure.”
–Adjusting to sudden success is a nice feeling for veteran Bears who’ve been through the struggles of the John Fox era. It even got linebacker Danny Trevathan to start talking with other veterans about how to handle it.
“That’s the whole motto right now, not letting that thing slip away, and staying hungry, staying on top of things, and not letting little things slip away,” Trevathan said.
Trevathan probably has more idea of what it takes than anyone on the roster since he won a Super Bowl in Denver.
“It would be different to win here,” Trevathan said. “It was a great feeling, great vibe. Same story, it’s all about how you finish now so we can write that end story and have a great fairy tale ending at the end.”
–Khalil Mack doesn’t have a history of plaguing the Miami Dolphins, but considering how he’s forced four fumbles in four games this season it should be a concern – especially because quarterback Ryan Tannehill has a history of fumbling.
“You watch the film (of fumbling) but you also know that he’s a good athlete and he makes a lot of plays for that offense,” Mack said. “So it’s going to be another challenge. You can’t really get caught up in all of that. It’s going to be a new week and a new challenge.”
Mack has no sacks against Miami in two career games.
–used his bye week to take care of moving family members and himself into a home in Chicago, and did some shopping. In the process, as fans came up to him “at random,” in stores, he found out the Bears could mean more in the Chicago area than the Oakland Raiders meant in California.
“Here in Chicago, it’s real aggressive, it’s real aggressive right here in Chicago,” Mack said of fans. “Yeah, everybody kind of recognizes you. It’s a good feeling.”
He didn’t want to rip Oakland, though.
“Oakland it was football love, but it wasn’t … I don’t know how to explain it,” Mack said.
Then he talked about running into fans in a Target store in the Chicago area.
“Yeah, it’s everywhere, it’s everywhere,” Mack said. “That’s the difference (from Oakland). It’s everywhere.”
It’s often said pro athletes in Chicago are the city’s version of Hollywood. Mack agreed that it’s a different beast in Chicago.
“To me, it has been,” he said. “For me, and my family, it has been. They (family members) can tell. Absolutely, off the bat, how it is definitely different.”
–Rookie second-round guard James Daniels impressed in his debut with the first team against Tampa Bay, and for now will share the left guard position with starter Eric Kush.
“They’re playing the way we want them to play and so we’re continuing to try and evaluate the starting spot,” head coach Matt Nagy said.
Kush played 37 snaps and Daniels 27. Kush didn’t mind playing the role of team-oriented mentor.
“I thought Kush did a great job last week at … you know, handling the situation,” Nagy said. “He was very positive helping guys out on the sideline, energetic and about the team not about himself. That can be a hard position sometimes.
“James was the same way, he came in, he played well, you know he’s going to have room for growth, but right now the situation that we’re in is a good situation, having two guys and then we’ll just kind of whether it’s game by game, play by play, series by series we’ll just kind of feel it out and see where we go.”
Coaches often claim continuity of personnel on the line is critical to establish blocking schemes, so it’s unusual to see offensive linemen coming in and out of the lineup like defensive linemen. Nagy isn’t so sure alternating guards is a problem.
“I would say there would be more (of a problem) if it was at center,” Nagy said. “Yeah, but at guard they’ve done a good job with that and that’s credit to those guys.”
–While wide receiver Kevin White still hasn’t been targeted with a pass, it was hard to miss the 2015 first-round draft pick’s contribution against Tampa Bay. Twice he threw vicious downfield blocks to spring teammates for bigger gains.
“He had around 25 plays and they were productive plays,” Nagy said. “I’m really proud of him right now because he made some great blocks.”
Nagy expects White will eventually get involved on the receiving end.
“He had an unbelievable attitude all week in practice and I think what you’ll see in him is just a continued growth within this offense,” Nagy said. “Whatever that role is. I thought he did a great job when he was in there.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 0 — The number of sacks by Khalil Mack against Miami in two career games.
