Bear Digest

Emotional Bears Hard Knocks Episode Seems Anticlimactic after Cuts

Analysis: HBO's Bears Hard Knocks took an emotional turn during the fourth episode, looking at the season-ending injury suffered by undrafted rookie running back Ian Wheeler.

Gene Chamberlain

Ian Wheeler makes a cut looking for an opening in Thursday's Bears win over the Chiefs.
Ian Wheeler makes a cut looking for an opening in Thursday's Bears win over the Chiefs. / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
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The shadow of coming roster cuts on hung heavily over the fourth episode of HBO’s Bears Hard Knocks.

The cuts are always a big part of the show but in this case it all seemed almost anticlimactic as the 53-man roster was formed by the Bears in the afternoon and the fourth episode aired about five hours later without being able to air anything about the actual cuts.

There’s nothing HBO could do about when those roster cuts came, short of changing their broadcast schedule.

Still, the drama was real and the laughs and jokes in other episodes in the series were replaced by the somber mood generated by one season-ending injury.

The show focused in on several players’ attempts at Kansas City to make good on their roster bid, including Velus Jones Jr with his conversion to running back, running back Ian Wheeler, quarterback Austin Reed and safety Adrian Colbert.

The show is known for telling some of the backstories of players who normally receive little publicity and Colbert’s tale is one of their best. HBO went into how Colbert was riding a bike as a 9-year-old, who was a star for his youth football team, but then was blindsided on his bike by a woman driving 55 mph.

Colbert had a broken collarbone and nose and numerous other injuries, was in a coma for two weeks and then was told he wouldn’t play football again. Yet, there he was at Halas Hall telling people he needed every rep possibl in the Chiefs game to make the roster. They showed his touchdown-saving pass breakup and then safety blitz to create the easy pick-6 for Reddy Steward.

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Of course, it all went for naught as Colbert was among those cut on Tuesday, like with Reed after his most extensive playing time of preseason and a strong performance.

If those two were losers in the drama, the tie went to Wheeler. It was a painful draw, and HBO caught one of the most emotional moments of preseason involving him after the game.

Wheeler gets paid for being with the team this year but doesn’t make the active roster as he was put on injured reserve after tearing his ACL in the game.  

Earlier in the week running backs coach Chad Morton and assistant backs coach Jennifer King were giving Wheeler what was called a “good cop-bad cop” coaching regimen, with Morton constantly trying to drive him as the drill sergeant and King being more up-beat.

The brawl at the end of practice last week that came about after Gervon Dexter’s big hit on Wheeler was shown in all its brutal majesty, and afterward King says to Wheeler, “I told you in this league playing high is a self-correcting problem.”

She and Morton had been telling Wheeler to run lower throughout the first few episodes during his quest to make the team..

“Your growth In three weeks is incredible,” Wheeler was told by King, who then pointed out he is running too high still. “I just don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

He did.

After the knee injury in the game, Wheeler was hugged for a long time by his mother, Beaura in an emotional moment after the Bears brought her down to the locker room area. In the final scene for Wheeler, Ryan Poles tells him he’s going on IR and will get another chance next year, but needs to stay mentally involved to improve as a back.

Running lower will have to be one of his goals.

The clear winner on game night and, as it turned out, on roster cutdown day was Jones. He broke a couple of runs, including the winding 39-yard TD. And the man they are calling the Ferret King because of his late pet ferret Crash, did make the team.

HBO couldn’t get the cuts into the episode because of deadline for producing the episode and no doubt it will be a major part of the final episode next Tuesday as the Bears begin preparations to face the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 8.

There were more light-hearted moments in the episode, like Tyson Bagent's father's big night at a Kansas City bar arm wrestling and Reed telliing everyone in the huddle that they'll remember the unbeaten 2024 preseason Bears right up there with the Legion of Boom and the 1985 Bears.

They set up a finale next week with Caleb Williams sitting out the final preseason game and being told by Chiefs receiver Mecole Hardman that he’ll be nervous for the opener even though he said last week he’s never been nervous.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.