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GREEN BAY – Towards the end of the seven-minute conversation, after uttering Khalil Mack's name no less than a dozen times, Akiem Hicks stopped.
"Can you say how excited I am to have my new teammate?" Wondered Chicago Bears' seventh-year defense.
Yes, Akiem. Yes, we could. And while Hicks was having a little fun on his Wednesday conference call with reporters who regularly covered the Green Bay Packers – especially with Mack, his new teammate, at the training table adjacent to the headquarters of Green Bay Bears 'Halas Hall in the suburbs of Chicago – Who could blame Hicks' teammates and his Bears for their stunning?
Certainly not the Packers, who were part of the teams that pursued Mack before the Oakland Raiders traded it to the Bears last Saturday and Mack signed a $ 141 million extension over six years later in the day. Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst refused Sunday to confirm that he had made a commercial offer to the Raiders and GM Reggie McKenzie, his former colleague with the Packers. But several sources have confirmed to several media that the Packers were in the mix.
Gutekunst's players clearly had their hopes. And now they have to face Mack in the opening game of the regular season on Sunday night instead of having them on their side.
"I thought he was coming here. I thought I had to wake up and find out we had it, "said receiver Randall Cobb, recounting how he learned via Twitter on Saturday morning that the Packers were not getting Mack. "Some things have happened and it's obvious that he's found himself in Chicago. That's part of it. It's part of the business. I went to bed reading Twitter like, "Dang, man. I see him now twice a year. "
When he was disappointed that the Packers did not have Mack and he felt compelled to confront him during his weekly question-and-answer session with reporters at his locker, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers , replied: I do not need to give my opinion about it. Brian and his staff do a good job of acquiring players and we play with the guys we have.
The Bears are thrilled to have Mack, who gave them a confidence boost after finishing 5-11 a year ago. Even though he was half joking because Mack was right next to him, Hicks talked a lot about the former defensive player of the 2016 NFL and the damage he could to talk to Rodgers and the Packers.
Hicks explained how Mack would be ready to play despite the fact that he did not have a training camp to prepare ("He will go out and have some buttocks"); on the transformation of his addition ("it's going to be phenomenal"); on how the Packers offensive line has no chance ("I know these five guys can not block Khalil Mack"); and how right tackle Bryan Bulaga, who returned from an ACL tear in his right knee last November, will be out of action on Sunday night ("I do not think he had a chance to block Khalil Mack").
"He seems excited to have Khalil Mack as a teammate and he should," said Bulaga about Hicks's remarks. "(Mack) is a hell of a football player. We will have to report where he is at all times. That's the type of guy that he is. I mean, it's the case. Hicks is not bad either. So we must also account for it. … Cheek in the cheek, whatever. He's having a good time and we have to be ready to play good football on Sunday. "
Asked if he liked the Packers' chances of leaving – despite a disjointed preseason that prevented starters from playing together because of injuries – Bulaga replied, "I think we are the people we are have in the room too. I think we feel good about it. Every week is a new challenge, I understand it, and we have to get things done to win this type of big game against very good defensive lines.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy said the acquisition of Mack adds another layer of intrigue to the hunt, even though the Bears still have the same defensive coordinator (Vic Fangio) after hiring Matt Nagy to replace John Fox .
"I mean, it's a unique opener. It's a divisional rival, they have a new offensive system, a new head coach, obviously a leading player that has been acquired, "McCarthy said. "The story of how the first three games of the season are played, there will be (approximately) 35% – or maybe even (more) with the uniqueness of our opponent – undisclosed looks. This is what we are preparing for. "
Meanwhile, McCarthy prays for his five starting line players to stay healthy. Bulaga is not only knee operated, but left forward David Bakhtiari (ankle), left guard Lane Taylor (ankle, quadriceps) and right guard Justin McCray (calf) have all missed their time during the pre-season.
"I'm optimistic," McCarthy said. "I think it's obvious that we have not worked much together – the offensive line that should start in this game. Hopefully, the good Lord has touched us and we have eliminated the phase of our wounds. "
Bonus points
Security Josh Jones (ankle) was the only player not to train on Wednesday. … Inner linebacker Oren Burks, who is trying to recover from a shoulder injury during warm-ups prior to the Packers pre-season game on August 24 in Oakland, has played a limited role, as has linebacker James Crawford (thigh).
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