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The Bear's Den: October 4, 2016

Join us as we start to transition from the afterglow of a win against the Lions into Colts week. Different team, and different challenges.

By Ken Mitchell

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Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

BEAR DOWN, CHICAGO BEARS, BEAR DOWN!!!!

HOYER VS. CUTLER

Shook: John Fox hints Brian Hoyer could remain Bears' starter - NFL.com - For the first time all season, Bears fans have something to smile about on Monday, and much of that is thanks to Brian Hoyer. John Fox might even keep him in the starting lineup moving forward.

Disdier: Chicago Bears Need to Move on From Jay Cutler - NFL Spin Zone - It's time for the Chicago Bears to move on from Jay Cutler after his long tenure in the Windy City. Here are four ways in which they can do so.

Fishbain: Chicago Bears starting quarterback situation still up in the air for when Jay Cutler returns - Pro Football Weekly - John Fox would not confirm if Cutler will get his job back from Brian Hoyer

Cox: What Brian Hoyer’s Week 4 performance means for Jay Cutler - Bears Wire - There are rumblings of a quarterback controversy in Chicago after Bears quarterback Brian Hoyer lead the team to its first win of the season

Finley: Jay Cutler or Brian Hoyer? Bears QB call 'performance-based' - Chicago Sun-Times - Bears coach John Fox sees little reason to pick a starting quarterback until both are healthy

Gantt: John Fox refuses to hand job back to Jay Cutler when healthy - ProFootballTalk - Bears coach John Fox is still describing Jay Cutler's thumb injury as "day to day." But after the day Brian Hoyer just had, it doesn't sound like the veteran coach is inclined to make a change at quarterback.

BEARRRSSSS

Hogan: PFF game grades, Hoyer-Royal connection leads Chicago’s offense - Pro Football Focus - Brian Hoyer earned his best grade since Week 6 of the 2015 season, and was excellent under pressure (six-for-eight for 44 yards, two touchdowns, and a 127.1 QB Rating when under pressure).

Hub Arkush: Chicago Bears' offense shines in win, but still a long way to go - Pro Football Weekly - Can Bears build off win over Lions next week vs. Colts?

PFW Pressers: Bears riding high following 17-14 win over Lions - Pro Football Weekly - Coach John Fox, DL Akiem Hicks, and RB Jordan Howard met with the media on Monday, following the Chicago Bears week 4 win over the Lions 17-14.

Mayer: Bears re-sign Wilson, waive Mostert - ChicagoBears.com - The Bears on Monday re-signed defensive lineman C.J. Wilson and waived running back Raheem Mostert.

Cox: Young Bears cornerbacks banding together, stepping up when they’re needed most - Bears Wire - The Chicago Bears' secondary is young and lacking experience, but the unheralded cornerbacks are coming together to play well as a unit.

Perez: John Fox says team won’t provide any Kevin White injury updates until Wednesday - Bears Wire - The Chicago Bears won't provide any injury updates on players like Jay Cutler and Kevin White until Wednesday

Smith: Brian Hoyer leads Bears over Lions for first win of season - ProFootballTalk - The Bears are on the board. After an ugly 0-3 start that made Chicago look like perhaps the worst team in the NFL, the Bears beat the Lions 17-14 today, taking an early lead and never looking back.

Breech: NFL Week 4 Grades, Patriots get an 'F' for imploding in 16-0 loss to Bills - CBSSports.com - Here are the Week 4 grades for every NFL team that played on Sunday. Bears get graded.

Performance Metrics: Week 4 - ChicagoBears.com - ChicagoBears.com takes a look at key performers, stats and game notes from the Bears' 17-14 win over the Lions at Soldier Field.

Fishbain; Replacements in Chicago Bears' front seven make big plays in victory - Pro Football Weekly - John Timu's tackle for loss sparked the Bears' 'D' in the second half

Thirty-nine things we learned from Week 4 - NFL.com - What a week! Matt Ryan and Ben Roethlisberger aired it out in a big way. Drew Brees came back against his former team. The Jaguars won! Check out our takeaways from today's games.

Biggs: 10 thoughts on the Bears' 17-14 win over the Lions - Chicago Tribune - 10 thoughts after the Chicago Bears broke into the win column with a 17-14 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

Meinke: Lions-Bears observations, Golden Tate's disastrous day, and defensive problems - MLive.com - The Lions lost to the Bears, 17-14.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Smith: Titans fire special teams coach Bobby April - ProFootballTalk - Veteran special teams coach Bobby April is out in Tennessee. Titans coach Mike Mularkey announced today that he has fired April, four games into a season in which the special teams have suffered mightily.

Bartelson: Baltimore Ravens fan in critical condition following altercation with 2 Oakland Raiders fans Sunday - Pro Football Weekly - The victim, identified as Joseph Bauer, has 30 percent chance of survival, per his sister

KNOW THY ENEMY

Alper: Jim Caldwell not discussing his job security - ProFootballTalk - For much of last season, Lions coach Jim Caldwell would spend part of his press conferences fielding questions about his job security. Caldwell kept his job after Bob Quinn was hired as the team's new General Manager and last year's experience gives him something to fall back on now that the Lions...

Ask POD: You still own the Bears - Pride Of Detroit - You. Yes, you. You’re winners in my book. Ken's Note: My good delusional Detroit friends, for you the hashtag is now #WeOwnLastPlace

Rogers: Bumbling performance vs. Bears drops Lions to 1-3 - The Detroit News - The Lions’ vaunted offense, which came into the contest ranked sixth in the NFL, could get little going against a Bears defense missing multiple starters.

Meinke: The Lions aren't very good, and don't have any answers - MLive.com - The Detroit Lions have lost three straight, which is bad enough. But they don't seem to know why, or how to fix it. And that's much worse.

Reisman: Fan fiction, Solid game-planning and good communication propel Lions to 4-0 vs. Bears - Pride Of Detroit - From the opening kickoff the Detroit Lions looked ready to take on the Chicago Bears. They definitely didn’t look underprepared with a subpar game plan. Nope. Instead, it was the Bears who looked completely unprepared. Brian Hoyer wasn’t on the same page with his receivers for nearly the entire game. By the third quarter, Hoyer’s frustrations had boiled over to a point where he simply marched off the field. In the post-game press conference Hoyer announced he was enrolling back at Michigan State to help turn around the Spartans.

Reisman: Lions Week 4 report card, offense & defense both turn in failing grades against Bears - Pride Of Detroit - But special teams did great!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Schweickert: Bears Vs. Lions Notes, Scribbles, and Things Jotted Down - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears picked up their first win of the year behind a solid defensive performance and an offense that struck first. We’re going over our notes from yesterday’s victory.

Noble: Three winners and three losers from Bears vs Lions - Windy City Gridiron - The Chicago Bears played a good football game on Sunday. Here are our winners and losers from that contest.

Wiltfong: Snap counts, stats and more, Chicago Bears starting to find their identity - Windy City Gridiron - We'll take a deeper look at the statistics, both individual and team, and also run down the playing time breakdown for the Chicago Bears in their first win of the year against the Detroit Lions.

Mitchell: Bears sign defensive lineman CJ Wilson, wave running back Raheem Mostert - Windy City Gridiron - The shuffling of the bottom of the Bears roster continues, as Chicago starts to prepare for the trip to Indianapolis this weekend.

FANPOSTS

Nomad30: Gravedancing, Bears vs. Lions, 2 October 2016 - Windy City Gridiron - Ordinarily I regard this kind of thing as crass. It's the sort of Internet tendency I don't usually have any part of, unless it involves a game the Bears really should have lost, but didn't (San...

FanPosts - Recent - Windy City Gridiron - Here's a link to our FanPost section, where YOU have the opportunity to contribute to Windy City Gridiron. Take a few minutes and write a post about what you are thinking about regarding the Chicago Bears, and there'a chance it will be linked right here in the Den.

THE RULES

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