He is the talk of the town, a quarterback who has Bears fans on the edges of their seats as the 2023 season begins — sort of — with a preseason game against the Titans at Soldier Field.
Ladies and gentlemen, we give you P.J. Walker.
In this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter, we wanted to know how revved up you are for this Bears season. Sorry, make that this Bears preseason.
Walker will play more than Justin Fields does on Saturday. At least, he should. Did we mention it’s the preseason?
“I cannot wait until real games are played to see how Fields performs,” @00723maui commented.
We also asked what’s most important in August: finding an offensive rhythm, creating a defensive identity or avoiding big injuries.
Last, we pitted the White Sox’ Luis Robert Jr. against the Cubs’ Cody Bellinger: Which star would you rather have as your center fielder for the next five years?
On to the polls:
Poll No. 1: How psyched are you for the Bears’ preseason games, the first of which is Saturday?
It’s time for this week’s “Polling Place.” Let us hear from you! Selected comments will appear in Saturday's paper.
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) August 10, 2023
Q1: How psyched are you for the Bears’ preseason games, the first of which is Saturday?
Upshot: Football on the screen is going to be a welcome sight to all who partake, but don’t expect the city to be gripped by Bears fever just yet. Not even if that Walker fella absolutely kills it. Come on, you know he will. Wrote @Swtness34, “You need a ‘preparing for heartbreak’ option.”
Poll No. 2: What’s the most important thing for the Bears this preseason?
Q2: What’s the most important thing for the Bears this preseason?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) August 10, 2023
Upshot: If Fields looks sharp and the offense puts a bunch of 7s on the board, we’ll all be giddy even if it doesn’t mean squat in the season standings. Good things in the preseason must be taken with grains of salt, and bad things aren’t the biggest deals in the world, either, outside of the major-injury department. Anyway, these are the Bears — no disasters, OK? Please and thank you.
Poll No. 3: If you could have Luis Robert Jr. or Cody Bellinger as your center fielder for the next five years, whom would you pick?
Q3: If you could have Luis Robert Jr. or Cody Bellinger as your center fielder for the next five years, whom would you pick?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) August 10, 2023
Upshot: It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Robert — “You never know when he’s going to be too tired to run,” @KFin5674 points out — but he takes Bellinger down here by a huge margin. Isn’t Bellinger a former MVP? Hasn’t he been outstanding for the Cubs this season? Yes and yes, but maybe Robert’s talent is too great not to roll the dice on him.