Fanshops » The Safeway Open had traditionally been the season

This season Chicago Bears Customized Jerseys , Matt Nagy did something that had not been done in years: he made the Chicago Bears dangerous again.The first-year head coach of the Bears was named the 2018 AP NFL Coach of the Year at the NFL Honors award show on Saturday. He received 24 of 50 votes to win the award, with other notable vote-getters including Anthony Lynn of the Chargers (10), Frank Reich of the Colts (8) and Nagy’s mentor, Andy Reid of the Chiefs (5). Nagy now joins the likes of George Halas, Mike Ditka, Dick Jauron and Lovie Smith as Bears coaches who have won the award.Nagy, 40, was hired by the Bears on January 8, 2018 after the franchise suffered its fourth consecutive last-place finish in the NFC North. With an aggressive offseason that filled nearly every one of their needs to perfection, Chicago underwent a transformation, both on and off the field.The Bears finished the 2018 season with a 12-4 record, winning nine of their last 10 regular season games en route to their first division title since 2010. Under Nagy’s watch, they went 5-1 in NFC North matchups, their first winning season against divisional rivals in eight years.Chicago’s offense saw a major turnaround with Nagy at the helm. After finishing 30th in the league in points per game in 2017, they placed ninth this past season. Mitchell Trubisky made considerable improvements in his sophomore season, improving his completion percentage, passer rating Chicago Bears T-Shirts , yardage total and touchdown-to-interception ratio. The likes of Taylor Gabriel, Tarik Cohen and Trey Burton all had the most productive seasons of their respective careers, while players like Allen Robinson, Jordan Howard and Anthony Miller all made sizable contributions to the team. The Bears’ offensive line also had a great season, allowing just 33 sacks and finishing as Football Outsiders’ seventh-best pass blocking offensive line. Cody Whitehair and Charles Leno Jr. both made Pro Bowl appearances as alternates, Bobby Massie had the best season of his tenure with the Bears, and James Daniels put together an impressive rookie campaign.Defensively, the Bears were nearly unstoppable. They led the league in takeaways (36) and allowed the fewest points per game (17.7), and allowed the third-fewest yards per game (299.7). Football Outsiders ranked them as their best defense in the league, finishing first as a pass defense and second as a run defense.Chicago had eight players named to the Pro Bowl and four named All-Pros, a testament as to how good they were in 2018. But it wasn’t just their on-the-field success that defined Nagy’s first year as their head coach; rather, the positive culture and attitude established in the locker room shows how big of an impact he made this year.From their viral ‘Club Dub’ post-victory celebrations to their numerous touchdown celebrations, the Bears established an identity for the first time in years. Nagy’s post-game speeches - often ending in his trademark ‘boom!’ - displayed his passion and energy for the game of football, and that vibe was contagious, as made evident by his players’ attitudes.Though their season ended prematurely with a loss in the wild card round to the Philadelphia Eagles, what Nagy did in his first year as the Bears’ head coach was remarkable. With the level of talent and camaraderie they have, the future is bright in Chicago. Justin Thomas didn't get much rest during the four weeks between seasons. The 2017 FedEx Cup champion helped raise money for hurricane victims in the Bahamas https://www.thebearsfanshop.com/hats , spent two weeks recovering from minor skin cancer surgery, then flew cross country to California to male his season debut in the Safeway Open.With the obvious exception of the skin cancer, it was about as perfect a break as Thomas could have expected."It really was," Thomas said Wednesday. "I feel very refreshed. I was excited to come here, when in past years I probably wasn't excited to come to the first event because I was still kind of over golf. But I'm very, very ready to get this season going and feel like it could be a great year."Thomas got an early read on the par-72, 7,166-yard north course at Silverado Country Club while pairing with former NFL quarterback and current CBS analyst Tony Romo in the pro-am. The duo shot 1-under 71, seven shots off the lead.Romo will also be playing in the Safeway Open on a sponsor exemption. Because he's scheduled to work Sunday's NFL game between the Vikings and Bears in Chicago, Romo will bypass his day job to play the final two rounds if he makes the cut.Asked if he's spending his evenings studying the Vikings and Bears or the greens at Silverado, Romo smiled. "I do both. I've got enough time."Phil Mickelson and NBA star Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors were four strokes better at 5-under 67. Teams led by Corey Conners and Marc Leishman finished tied for first at 8-under 64.Curry and Mickelson drew the biggest crowd as several hundred fans lined the fairways, many of them wearing Warriors jerseys and screaming out Curry's name as the two-time MVP walked past."You saw him dropping all kinds of bombs off the tee, just hellacious bombs, deep and very accurate, certainly straighter than what I have," Mickelson said about Curry. "He was in the fairway most of the day and played exceptional. That's why he's such a good golfer and can compete at a very high level."Thomas is looking to get back on top.He felt he played some of the best golf of his career in 2018-19 yet only had one win to show for it — at the BMW Championship at Medinah in August. That came the week before the season-ending Tour Championship where Thomas entered with the overall points lead but left without a second title following a disappointing tie for third.Eager to put that behind, Thomas heads into the Safeway Open as one of the favorites to win among a field that includes Mickelson Chicago Bears Hoodie , defending tournament champ Kevin Tway and Hall of Famer Fred Couples."It's a ball-striker's course," Thomas said. "You have to be smart, and that's something that I think I've gotten a lot better at. When you get out of position, just don't force it. That's when you start making bogeys."That Thomas chose to make his debut at the Safeway Open after skipping the tournament the previous two years seems appropriate as he tries to put the disappointment of last season behind.In four previous trips to the picturesque course nestled at the foot of wine country in Napa Valley, the 26-year-old has had mixed results. He placed 72nd in 2013, missed the cut the following year, placed third in 2015 and was eighth in 2016.The Safeway Open had traditionally been the season opener after the PGA Tour went to wraparound schedule in 2013. This year it was moved back to the third stop, making it easier for Thomas to return after skipping the event the past two years.Still, Thomas expects some rustiness after his offseason was disrupted by a skin cancer scare following a routine visit to a dermatologist. A mole on Thomas' left calf was discovered to be in the early stages of melanoma and treatment was done quickly, putting his offseason on hold.Thomas called it an eye-opening experience."They cut a pretty good-sized chunk off my leg," said Thomas, who has a long scar to remind him. "I couldn't do nothing, like literally nothing, for two days. I couldn't put in any kind of long days of practice. Then I got the stitches out (Monday)."Tway is trying to become the second player in tournament history to win in back-to-back years after he beat Ryan Moore on the third playoff hole last season.Tway played a practice round Tuesday when he re-lived the memory of winning at Silverado a year ago."I was like, 'I'll always make this putt,'" Tway said. "It was fun relishing in the moment again."