Bears
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Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune notes this exchange between safeties Danny McCray and Craig Steltz, who are competing for roster spots, on Tuesday at practice during kick return drills:
“Safety Danny McCray, who lined up on the return unit opposite Steltz, yelled to Steltz about how odd it was to see him on the scout team instead of the active team in that drill. Steltz was on the first-string kickoff return unit last season, but a groin injury sidelined him for most of camp.”
What seems odd is that McCray would mention it since he wasn’t with the team last year. Some would call that kind of trash talk being “competitive”. I call it being a jerk.
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Adam L. Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times quotes Bears head coach Marc Trestman on the back up quarterback competition:
“We grade them every day. We’re watching all the tape. We’re making the corrections with each of them. It’s still a competition, and they know it. We’re repping them that way.”
Speaking of reps it might be best for Trestman to make his decision sooner rather than later. Reps are scarce enough behind starter Jay Cutler without Jimmy Clausen and Jordan Palmer splitting them.
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Patrick Finley at the Chicago Sun-Times describes this typical scene:
“One day after receiving a rousing cheer when he intercepted a pass in practice, safety Chris Conte slipped on the wet grass on a pass play that resulted in a touchdown Tuesday.
“Fans grumbled loudly enough for one veteran to suggest, a bit too loudly, that the hecklers be quiet.”
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Finley goes on to quote Trestman after Tuesday’s playful practice:
“I don’t know that any of us have been in winning environments where the team didn’t have a sense of humor and know how to use it at the right time.”
Elsewhere
- Well, the Dolphins didn’t sign former Bears quarterback Rex Grossmn. So the Browns did it instead. Via Michael David Smith at profootballtalk.com.
One Final Thought
I thought this perspective on the popularity of fantasy football and the tendency of employees to spend company time looking up stats was unique. The study on lost wages comes from Chicago-based outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray and Christmas. Via Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz at the Chicago Tribune:
“With the economy still chugging along, and no chance that any measurable dip in GDP in the third or fourth quarter would be the fault of fantasy football ($13.4 billion [in lost productivity] is less than 1 percent of the $1.5 trillion in wages paid out during the same period), [CEO John A.] Challenger said companies shouldn’t crack down on the practice but instead recruit employees into company-wide leagues to build camaraderie and morale.
“‘An across-the-board ban on all fantasy football or sports websites is likely to backfire and cause a drop in morale, loyalty and, ironically, productivity,’ Challenger said. ‘The end result could be far worse than any loss of productivity caused by an hour or two of team management each week.'”
I’m not a fantasy football guy. But if the economy is “chugging along” you wouldn’t know it from where I’m sitting. More camaraderie is always welcome and seems to be in short supply these days.