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The Bears Den: September 3, 2012 - Week 1 News and Notes

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"...where we love a released fullback and #6 wide receiver more than we do our starting left tackle."

Larry Mayer summarises the 53-man roster and practice squad.

Urlacher says his knee is 'never going to be the same' - "Urlacher plans to play in the season opener. Just don't expect the same dominant linebacker we've always known."

USAToday team report - Roster cuts edition.

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Bears

Bears set 53-man roster - Brad Biggs: Roster remains a work in progress and the bottom of it can be turned over quickly. Okoye added, practice squad assembled. Depth chart.

Bears cut Josh McCown, go with two QBs - Roster roundup. Amobi Okoye returning to Bears. Armando Allen makes PS.

Breaking down the Bears’ 53-man roster - Adam Hoge: If the Bears had had a suitable backup for Cutler last year, they wouldn’t have needed three QBs.

Bears make “final” roster decisions, more changes coming - Moon Mullin: Corey Wootton is holding a spot in some part because of special teams because Ozougwu and the three other ends represent more rush threat.

Bears stay with their own on first practice squad - Moon Mullin: All eight players spent some or all of training camp with the Bears and provide a ready pool of quick fills for in-season roster needs.

[Video] Moon Mullin on the Bears roster - ManWhoLooksLikeKennyRogers is on his game.

Whatever the roster decisions, players know... - Moon Mullin: "When the cameras are off and the microphones are put away, the players candid discussions continue to revolve around those who performed well during the game." So... are there many Bears among J-Webb Nation?

Josh McCown wasn't a fit as Bears' third QB - Dan Pompei: Neither as good as Jason Campbell nor as young as Matt Blanchard, but veteran could get a call later this season.

Bears cut-down analysis - John Clayton: The most significant move of the final cut-down, and the entire offseason, is how aggressive the Bears were in trying to upgrade special teams.

DT depth chart still in a molten state - Moon Mullin: The defensive tackle group is plagued with injuries.

Bears release 53-Man roster - Maggie Hendricks: For the Bears to win a Super Bowl, they cannot be concerned with what players did for them in the past. They have to be focused on what those players can do for them in the future.

Ditka

Urlacher set to return to practice Monday - "Expects to start against the Colts on Sunday and play his normal amount of snaps." So... he'll stay on into garbage time when a more sensible head coach might consider benching an irreplaceable, aging veteran too valuable to risk in meaningless action, then?

#54 admits he doesn’t know about the future - "Before my knee was hurt (in training camp), I thought I could play four more (years). My knee just isn’t the same anymore. It’s never going to be the same.” Thanks, Lovie.

Urlacher's return to practice key in “Colts Week” - Moon Mullin: Paea, Conte the other Bears defensive starters on the mend.

10 thoughts on the Bears as regular season looms - Brad Biggs' thoughts in the aftermath of the preseason finale. Well worth a read.

5 Things We Learned: Preseason finale edition - Jeff Dickerson offers Five Things We Learned from the Bears' preseason finale.

[Video] Peter King's one minute drill: Bears - Big WRs will help offense; biggest question is whether team can coax one more Pro Bowl year out of aging core defenders.

[Video] Don Banks' division preview: NFC North - Discusses whether the Packers' defense has stepped up enough and if Brandon Marshall will help in Chicago.

Bears need better pass protection? Preseason says it is happening - Moon Mullin: The Bears offensive line was one of the focal points during training camp and the preseason. Improvement was made each week the past four weeks.

Briggs giving the game his all, and appreciating it more - Dan Pompei: Veteran LB doesn't want to miss anything the NFL has to offer as he builds upon his Pro Bowl legacy.

Bears just might be Super Bowl-bound - Mark Potash presents optimistic and pessimistic scenarios for ten key Bears players / units. It's like reading an ECD vs Lostradamus discussion.

Broadcasters eager to jump on Bears bandwagon - Fred Mitchell: Jon Gruden and Mike Tirico think the Bears are Super Bowl contenders if they stay reasonably healthy.

NFL.com's 2012 NFL Predictions - NFL.com and NFL Network analysts (plus Adam Rank) share their picks for MVP, rookies of the year, playoff teams and more. Elliot Harrison has the Bears to win the superbowl!

FOXSports analysts do the same - AJ Perez also high on the Bears.

Bears will see plenty of precocious QBs this season - Marinelli’s job will be to stunt that growth, if only for a week. Three dogs, one bone.

Polish sausage

What happens after a player gets cut? - Former NFL TE Nate Jackson walks us through the process and the pain of being released.

Playbook: A.J. Green vs. Asante Samuel - Matt Bowen uses video to break down the 'Double-Move'.

Playbook: Mosley's 'pick-six' vs. Denard Robinson - Matt Bowen uses footage from Alabama-Michigan to talk Xs and Os.

[Video] Chalk Talk: Alabama's goal line play action - Bowen gets whiteboard-happy.

Know thy enemy - ProFootballFocus: 4 questions on the NFCN, 4 analysts.

Know thy enemies - John Clayton's roster cut-down analyses for the Lions, Packers, and Vikings.

Know thy enemy - Kip Lewis: Vikings won't see much improvement this season.

Skip Bayless is Kim Kardashian of sports - Marshall from How I Met Your Mother Peter Schrager points out how the sports pundit ranter we love to hate is playing his notoriety-garnering role to perfection. Bonus: disturbing photoshop.

[Video] "Rap Is My First Love" - Spice Adams' Double-A's third video. Bang bang!

Hal David, longtime songwriting collaborator of Burt Bacharach, died at the weekend aged 91.