The Bear’s Den: December 30, 2016

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

BEARRRSSSS

Fishbain: Fangio, Fox see encouraging signs for defense moving forward - Pro Football Weekly - The 'D' has struggled lately, but Bears pleased with building blocks

Mayer: Barkley vows to learn from mistakes - ChicagoBears.com - Matt Barkley is convinced that watching tape of his five-interception outing in last Saturday's loss to the Redskins will ultimately make him a better quarterback.

Hub Arkush: Three big questions for the Bears to answer in 2017- Pro Football Weekly - With the 2016 season coming to an end this Sunday in Minnesota, the Chicago Bears will have a number of questions to sort through and answer before continuing the process of rebuilding the football team.

Kwiecinski: Should the Bears pursue Saints head coach Sean Payton? - Bears Wire - The Saints are expected to make head coach Sean Payton available for trade this offseason and depending on John Fox's status, the Bears could be in the mix.

Campbell: Vic Fangio senses defensive improvement, repeats he plans to return - Chicago Tribune - Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio reiterates he intends to be around to help the defense continue in its rebuild.

Wiederer: Fifty questions with no clear answers for Bears - Chicago Tribune - The 2016 season was supposed to provide answers, a year in which the Chicago Bears figured they could learn a lot more about their identity and overall

Zeglinski: Bears in a giving, patient mood - The Rock River Times - Apathy and hope. Two inherent opposite concepts, that have played as the tune for the 2016 Chicago Bears.

Wiederer & Campbell's Halas Hall Pass: Vic Fangio's future with the Bears - Chicago Tribune - Tribune writers Dan Wiederer and Rich Campbell discuss defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's future with the Bears.

Wiederer: Coroner confirms former Bears running back Rashaan Salaam's death was a suicide - Chicago Tribune - The death of former Chicago Bears running back Rashaan Salaam has been ruled a suicide, according to a release Thursday from the Boulder County Coroner.

Kaberon: By the Numbers Bears at Vikings- ChicagoBears.com - Running back Jordan Howard needs 61 yards to become Chicago's single-season rookie rushing leader while wideouts Alshon Jeffery and Cameron Meredith look to continue hot trends against the Vikings.

Mayer: Bears to be challenged by Bradford - ChicagoBears.com - The Bears defense will be challenged in Sunday's season finale by Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford, who leads the NFL in completion percentage and has thrown only four interceptions all season.

Perez: Kyle Long on the mend, says he lost 30 pounds after injury - Bears Wire - Kyle Long tweeted that he lost 30 pounds since injuring his right ankle.

Finley: Vic Fangio sees 'some brightness' in rebuild, plans Bears return - Chicago Sun-Times - Akiem Hicks settled in for some relevant reading a few days ago: an article about how to build a stalwart NFL team.

Jahns: Bears QB Matt Barkley says 'I've learned from five-pick game' - Chicago Sun-Times - Bears notebook: Bears special-teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers pays his respects to Bruce DeHaven.

Podcast: Patrick Finley and Mark Potash debate the Bears' needs - Chicago Sun-Times - In the latest episode of Halas Intrigue, the Chicago Sun-Times' Patrick Finley welcomes Mark Potash to debate the Bears' needs this offseason,

Finley: How can the Bears improve their defense? - Chicago Sun-Times - In this week's edition of 'Take 2', Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times and Kevin Fishbain of Pro Football Weekly debate the biggest needs.

LeGere: Fox says Bears' McPhee showing improvement - Daily Herald - After missing the first six games due to a longer-than-expected rehab from off-season knee surgery, outside linebacker Pernell McPhee has shown flashes of what made him the Chicago Bears' top free-agent acquisition in 2015.

Imrem: Chicago Bears show bad is better than mediocre - Daily Herald - Good news, Chicago Bears: Being bad isn't as bad as being mediocre

Mullin: Bears will learn first-time lessons about Matt Barkley vs. Vikings - CSN Chicago - The Bears' final matchup against Minnesota represents a more meaningful case study of Matt Barkley, who will start against a top NFL defense.

LeGere: Fangio on Chicago Bears defense "I think it's improved" - Daily Herald - Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio declined to put a grade on his defense but said it has improved in two years. "I don't know what grade you want to put on that," Fangio said, "but when you've won as few games as we've won (three), our fingerprints are on that, too."

Campbell: Bears rookie Leonard Floyd tried to play through latest concussion - Chicago Tribune - Rookie outside linebacker Leonard Floyd didn't come out Sunday until after he failed to execute a makable play that went for a touchdown.

Finley: Former Bears top pick Rashaan Salaam committed suicide - Chicago Sun-Times - Former Bears first-round pick Rashaan Salaam committed suicide Dec. 5 by shooting himself in the head, per the Boulder (Colo.) County Coroner’s Office.

Emma: Differences Aside, John Fox Knows Vic Fangio’s Impact On Bears - CBS Chicago - Will the Bears be looking for a new defensive coordinator at season's end?

POLISH SAUSAGE

Greenberg: Northwestern wins its second bowl game in 68 years - Chicago Sun-Times - - Northwestern came, saw and kicked butt in New York. Running back Justin Jackson had the best game of his career in a 31-24 win over No. 23 Pittsburgh.

Cimini: New York Jets teammates irked by WR Brandon Marshall's halftime rant - ESPN - Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall got under the skin of some of his Jets teammates with comments he made during a "boisterous" halftime rant, according to sources.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Potash: Vikings find out the hard way that nothing fails like success - Chicago Sun-Times - The Minnesota Vikings’ plane skidding off the taxiway in Appleton, Wis. last week, stranding the team’s players.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong: How close are the Chicago Bears? - Windy City Gridiron - In Lester’s latest T Formation Conversation Podcast he talks about the young talent on the roster and how their improvement could lead to more wins in 2017.

Householder: Week 17 Game Preview Bears-Vikings - Windy City Gridiron - A clash of two teams dying to have their season end,

Mitchell: Important Off-Season Dates for Bears, NFL - Windy City Gridiron - We all know that the Chicago Bears have a massive rebuilding project this off season, so I thought I would take a look at some important "league year" dates coming up starting early in 2017.

FANPOSTS

Ryan Wetnight: Do The Bears Have a Multi-Year Injury Problem? - Windy City Gridiron - One of the most cited reasons for our team's on-the-field failures is that the players can't get on the field. It certainly seems like this year has seen more Bears injuries than normal, but what...

x160630: What Coulda Been - Windy City Gridiron - With all the lamenting on the recent WCG boards in regards to Aaron Donald (and several others), I felt it necessary to give you the "What Coulda Been Bears" in regards to the current roster. Of...

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's a chance it will be linked right here in the Den.

THE RULES

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