The Bear's Den: July 11, 2016

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

BEARRRSSSS

Cox: Four ways Dowell Loggains can improve Adam Gase’s offense - Bears Wire - Dowell Loggains takes over for Adam Gase as Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator, and he can build on their success from 2015.

All Access : Howard talks running backs - ChicagoBears.com - Hosts Zack Zaidman, Jim Miller and Tom Thayer chat with Bears running back Jordan Howard on the Bears All Access radio show.

Mayer: Vets give advice to rookie teammates - ChicagoBears.com - With the 2016 season looming, we asked second-year pros Jeremy Langford and Adrian Amos what advice they'd give rookie teammates to survive and thrive in training camp and beyond.

Orr: Franchise tag or long-term deal for Alshon, others? Deadline predictions - NFL.com - July 15 is the deadline for teams to forge new contracts with franchise-tagged players. Conor Orr predicts outcomes for all seven guys, including Muhammad Wilkerson, Von Miller and Alshon Jeffery.

Sevens: Bears need big year from Jay Cutler - Cover32 - Jay Cutler has shown more than once how great of a quarterback he can be. More than once he has stepped up and made the throw...

Infante: Bears Prospect, Iowa CB Desmond King - Cover32 - If Desmond King can even come close to matching his junior year production, the Bears should rush to the podium to get him come draft day.

LeGere: All eyes on Bears rookies - Daily Herald - All eyes will be on first-round draft pick Leonard Floyd when the first training camp practices begin July 28. But in their nine-man draft class, the Bears' largest since 2009, other rookies might make just as much of an impact as Floyd.

Perez: Bears are one of three teams that will make the NFL fun again in 2016 - Bears Wire - The Chicago Bears made several key additions to the defensive side of the ball that should translate into a fun product to watch this season

Lambert: The Chicago Bears and The Serious, No Joke, Very Honest Reasons They Can Reach Super Bowl - Sports Mockery - The Chicago Bears can win the Super Bowl. There, it’s been said. In truth every NFL team has the capacity to make a run, it’s just that most of them have too many odds stacked against them to do so. For some it’s talent, others a tough division and others just a couple of bad apples in the locker room who prove too much of a distraction to let everybody focus on the goal. Such is the reality of the NFL.

With six days until the deadline, Alshon Jeffery and the #Bears aren't close to a new deal:https://t.co/aotveFfwJQ pic.twitter.com/8OCeJF4MQ5

— Pro Football Rumors (@pfrumors) July 9, 2016

LIVING IN THE SEASON OF THE LISTS

Barnett- 2016 Fantasy Football Sleepers, Running Backs to keep an eye on in your upcoming drafts - Acme Packing Company - APC begins our fantasy football coverage for 2016 with a look at some under-the-radar running backs who should be on your roster depending on your league format.

2016 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Wide Receivers who should out-perform projections - Acme Packing Company - Jordan Matthews and john Brown are being undervalued in early fantasy drafts.

Urben: Ranking Each NFC North Team's Top Safety - Side Lion Report - The safety position is one that is evolving in today’s pass-happy NFL. Some teams elect to play linebacker-safety hybrids in order to help improve pass-coverage and some teams prefer guys that would typically play corner in the old NFL to move to safety, including Detroit’s Glover Quin. There are some talented safeties in the NFC North. Here is my ranking of each team in the division’s best safety.

Perez: Top 25 most important Bears of 2016, No. 21 Eddie Royal - Bears Wire - A look at the Chicago Bears' most important players of 2016 continues, focusing on slot WR Eddie Royal

POLISH SAUSAGE

Florio: All teams must now give 24 balls to the referee for pregame testing - ProFootballTalk - The #DeflateGate saga continues to percolate in the court system, and it continues to influence the rule book. Rule 2, Section 2 quietly has been revised to alter the pregame procedures regarding the submission of footballs for PSI testing.

Smith: Todd Gurley’s fantasy advice "Draft me first overall" - ProFootballTalk - Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley is expecting to put up very big numbers this season. Asked on NFL Network where he should go in fantasy drafts, Gurley said there's no question in his mind that he should be the top pick. "No. 1 overall for sure," Gurley said.

Smith: Michael Irvin thinks it’s J.J. Watt’s fault the Texans haven’t won a title - ProFootballTalk - Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin won three Super Bowl rings during his years with the Cowboys, and so he thinks players should be judged based on their postseason accomplishments. And that's where, Irvin says, Texans defensive tackle J.J. Watt falls short.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Plocher: Did Arizona benefit by Detroit drafting Ameer Abdullah? - Pro Football Focus - Did Arizona benefit from Detroit drafting Ameer Abdullah? All or Nothing shows the Cardinals' brass on the phone with former Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah during the 2015 NFL draft. The Cardinals are telling Abdullah that they are going to be picking him with their next selection. However, the Lions call Abdullah and interrupt that conversation, and subsequently draft Abdullah right before the Cardinals...

Kelley: Bredigwater was better in 2015 than you think - Pro Football Focus - Popular opinion would have that Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a pretty bad sophomore slump. After all, he averaged 14.5 fantasy points per game as a rookie in 2014, and not only did that number not grow in 2015, it actually fell to 13.3. On the other hand, he had a higher passer rating in 2015 than 2014, fewer interceptions despite more games played, and raised his number of rushing scores from one to three.

Silversteen: Hybrid linebackers part of Packers' defensive plan - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - The Packers no longer seem willing to accept anyone who isn’t at least 6-foot-4 or doesn’t have the arm length of a man that size and has the potential to slug it out at the line of scrimmage in the run game.

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