The Bears Den: April 25, 2014 - Chicago Bears offseason news & notes

Bears schedule - Jeff Dickerson takes a look at five key matchups on the Bears' 2014 regular-season schedule.

Bears mailbag - Brad Biggs answers readers' questions about the draft, Dominique Easley, Shea McClellin's position and Alshon Jeffery's future.

Fanspeak.com 2014 NFL Draft Guide - Your free-to-download guide courtesy of Fanspeak.com, featuring a 7-round mock draft, scouting reports, player rankings, team needs, interviews from Senior Bowl and more.

Follow WCG on Twitter; like us on Facebook (& click on 'Subscribed to'). Check out David "OSS" Taylor's CheekyMonkeyArt prints and t-shirts. Dat Orkman in hi-res.

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Bears 2014 schedule

Bears schedule - Michael C. Wright and Jeff Dickerson take a quick look at the Bears' 2014 regular season schedule, and take a crack at predicting the results.

Bears schedule - Moon Mullin's initial thoughts on the schedule, with early predictions and [Video]. More talking points.  Chris Boden: Bears must ride out the early road.

Bears' schedule front-loaded with reunions galore - Arthur Arkush breaks down the Bears' 2014 schedule, a unique one with its primetime slate. Hub: What does Bears schedule really mean?

[Video] CSNChicago discussion - Did the Bears get a favorable schedule? [KAPCON: 5]

Bears schedule - Kevin Fishbain: What's better than predicting the Bears' record in April? Ranking the games from 1-16 in terms of level of watchability, of course.

Bears schedule - Adam Hoge: The league had to work around a number of early season conflicts in and around Chicago, leading to the Bears playing five of their first eight games on the road.

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Bears 2014 draft analysis and prospect profiles

Draft preview: Safeties - Jeff Dickerson: Safety is clearly a position of need for the Bears after they lost both starters from last year.

Draft analysis - Dan Durkin: Will drafting 14th overall be early enough to secure the services of a top-flight safety? Moon Mullin: Kiper favors Pryor over Clinton-Dix due to Bama's NFL struggles.

Draft preview - Moon Mullin: According to Mel Kiper, interior pass rush shortage could trump Bears need at safety. Pryor not lacking confidence if Bears go safety first.

[Video] CSNChicago discussion - Should Bears go DT or safety in first round? [KAPCON: 5]

Draft profile: Notre Dame DT Louis Nix - #11 on Hoge’s Bears Big Board: The Bears need depth at DT, but it’s not like they need an immediate starter, and it might be smarter to go with a player with a higher ceiling.

Draft profile: Wisconsin ILB Chris Borland - Could the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season be a long-term option should the Bears decide to take a MLB in the middle rounds of the draft?

Draft profile: Notre Dame WR T.J. Jones - Jones could be an excellent value pick in the late rounds of the draft. He profiles well as a third receiver and has an incredibly high football I.Q.

Draft profile: Auburn RB Tre Mason - Skill-set should translate well to the NFL level, but the Bears have far greater needs on the defensive side of the ball than opting for a luxury pick like Mason.

Draft profile: Minnesota DB Brock Vereen - Vereen can play multiple positions in the secondary, and that could come in handy on a Bears team that has huge question marks at safety and an aging duo of CBs.

Draft profile: Oregon State DE Scott Crichton - An ideal 4-3 DE, Crichton wouldn't be a need pick if the Bears selected him in the 2nd round, but he could be a solid value pick in the 3rd round if he fell that far.

Draft profile: Georgia TE Arthur Lynch - Bears could use a blocking-first type TE, like Lynch, to improve a running game that was ranked 16th in the NFL pack last season.

Draft profile: Northern Illinois QB Jordan Lynch - Scouts question if he will stick at QB, as a switch to RB or WR could be his calling card to an NFL 53-man roster.

Draft preview: Running backs - Dan Wiederer: Bears could get steal of a pick in later rounds among Andre Williams, Tyler Gaffney, Charles Sims and Lorenzo Taliaferro.

Draft preview - Doug Farrar looks at what each NFC team is looking for: Expect the Bears to take one of safety, CB, DT with their first pick.

Mock Draft - Will Brinson: Big, strong, athletic and violent at times when pursuing the ball, Minnesota DT Ra'Shede Hageman can plug in the middle of the Bears line, which has a major void at this point.

Mock Draft - Pat Kirwan: The top two safeties are gone but a top corner in Michigan State's Darqueze Dennard is still on the board. Charles Tillman isn't getting any younger.

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Bearsss

Four Downs - Michael C. Wright and his fellow ESPN NFC North reporters discuss four issues in the division, including whether the Bears will be able to turn around the defense.

Roster notes - Aaron Wilson: Bears worked out kick returner Darius Reynaud, formerly with the Vikings, Giants and Jets.

[Video] CSNChicago discussion - Breaking down the Bears' backup QB situation. Kaplan isn't happy but calms down after the first couple of minutes. [KAPCON: 3]

2013 NFL Draft do-over - With Kyle Long having gone 7th overall to the Cardinals, Bucky Brooks has the Bears shoring up the middle of the D-line instead with the 20th overall pick.

Bears history - Larry Mayer has chosen the 1965 draft, highlighted by the selection of Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers with back-to-back picks, as the second best class in Bears history.

Bears history - James Neveau's all-time Top 30 Bears draft picks, #18: 18th round pick Jim Keane made some huge plays for the team as they won the 1946 NFL Championship.

Sun-Times Bears section here.

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Polish sausage

The Business of Football - Andrew Brandt: NFL agents must balance delicate nature of promises vs. realities.

'20 Fun Facts' about the 2014 NFL schedule - Jay Clemons brings you 20 nuggets of fun. The Bears are one of nine teams who play three consecutive home games at some point during the season.

Know thy enemy: Lions - Ben Goessling: The current state of the Lions' secondary could nudge them toward breaking their long-running habit of not taking a DB in the first round of the draft.

Know thy enemy: Vikings - Ben Goessling: Sternest test of Zimmer's ability to remake the defense will come Sept. 14 to Oct. 2, when the Vikings face Brady, Brees, Ryan and Rodgers. Vikings' secondary needs more turnovers.

NFL QB Disparagement schedule released - Mike Tanier: Compiled just hours after the NFL’s official schedule, it assigns predetermined weeks for criticizing and denigrating QBs for their real or perceived failings as athletes and/or human beings.

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