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UPDATED: Bear's Three Day Weekend Den & Open Thread, July 2-4

It's the weekend of the 4th of July, where all of the fireworks are off the field rather than on it in the NFL. We have a HUGE lineup of articles at WCG so keep checking back to see the updates, there will something new every day!

By Ken Mitchell

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The Chicago Bears were not feeling particularly Patriotic in 2014
The Chicago Bears were not feeling particularly Patriotic in 2014
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

This is an Open Thread, so please remember to thread responsibly.

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

BEARRRSSSS

Urben; Ranking the running backs in the NFC North - After Adrian Peterson how do the running backs in the NFC North stack up?

Jahnke: Bears contract with Miller one of top 5 TE deals in NFL - Pro Football Focus - There is certainly risk involved, however, since Miller has only performed well on a small sample size. For the next two seasons, however, he is set to be paid as if he were one of the worst starting tight ends in the league—which he most certainly is not,

Perez: Zach Miller may end up as the NFL’s most underpaid tight end in 2016 - Bears Wire - Perez puts his spin on PFF's Miller contract story, says Chicago Bears' TE Zach may end up as the NFL's most underpaid tight end in 2016

Ottochain: Creating the All-Time Bears roster - Quarterback - Bears Wire - The best quarterback for the All-Time Bears roster is the one currently taking snaps under center for the team on Sundays.

Perez: Bears RB Jeremy Langford will have 260 carries for 1,010 yards in 2016 - Bears Wire - Chicago Bears RB Jeremy Langford is poised for a breakout year despite the running-back-by-committee approach employed by coach John Fox

Cox: Matt Forte on Jay Cutler: ‘I feel bad for him’ - Bears Wire - Former Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte feels bad for Jay Cutler because of the way the media treats him in Chicago.

Lincicome: Buddy Ryan and Pat Summitt were tough coaches, but does that always work? - Chicago Tribune - Coincidence of passing of Pat Summitt and Buddy Ryan emphasizes their similarities - think demanding - when the differences are more important.

Pierson: Buddy Ryan certainly did it his way - Chicago Tribune - Coach of the Bears' famous and feared 1985 defense got those players to execute his "46" system with extreme efficiency.

WIltfong: Looking Back at my 10 Most Important Chicago Bears of 2015 - Windy City Gridiron - Which Bears players and/or coaches will be most critical to the team's success this year? Starting next week I'll kick off my series listing the Top 10 Most Important Bears of 2016, but before that we'll take a look back at who I picked last year.

Aruthur Arkush: 2016 Bear Necessities, No. 16 OLB Willie Young - Pro Football Weekly - Extension talks signal Bears think Young can carry over excellent second half of 2015

Mayer: Marcus Robinson Jr. now cancer free - ChicagoBears.com - Marcus Robinson Jr., the 11-year-old son of the former Bears wide receiver, is now cancer free after being diagnosed with leukemia in April 2015.

Stevens: Chicago Bears 2016 salary cap situation - Cover32 - When the 2016 off-season began, the Chicago Bears had more needs that needed to be addressed than anyone would have cared to admit...

Wiltfong: Looking Back at my 10 Most Important Chicago Bears of 2015 - Windy City Gridiron - Which Bears players and/or coaches will be most critical to the team's success this year? Starting next week I'll kick off my series listing the Top 10 Most Important Bears of 2016, but before that we'll take a look back at who I picked last year.

Householder: Matt Forte opens up about Brandon Marshall, Jay Cutler - Windy City Gridiron - Since Matt Forte left the Bears in free agency to join the New York Jets, not much has been heard from him. This should hardly come as a surprise to Bears fans because throughout his career Forte...

All Access: Frazier, Plank talk Ryan - ChicagoBears.com - Hosts Zack Zaidman, Jim Miller and Tom Thayer talk with former Bears defensive backs Leslie Frazier and Doug Plank about the passing of Buddy Ryan on the Bears All Access radio show.

Ken's Note - If circumstances (and the soon-thereafter-to-be-surgically-repaired torn meniscus in my knee allows) I am gong to try to make the first weekend's practices. Anybody interested in a get together meal afterwords?

Householder: Chicago Bears sign Connor Shaw, beat New Orleans Saints waiver claim - Windy City Gridiron - The hicago Bears added a fifth quarterback to their roster Friday in an odd transaction. That fear people have of accidently clicking "reply-all" on a mass email? Well, apparently the New Orleans...

WCG Staff: Windy City Gridiron Reader Mailbag #1 - Windy City Gridiron -The staff of the Windy City Gridiron answers  YOUR questions.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Sunday morning one-liners - ProFootballTalk
The Bills recently hosted Gold Star families at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Assessing where the Dolphins draft class stands heading into camp. Said Patriots WR Danny Amendola, "In our offense, especially at the wideout position, it's all about feeling.Sunday morning one-liners - ProFootballTalk

Florio: Second painkiller lawsuit survives early effort to end it - ProFootballTalk
With the NFL on verge (for the last three years) of putting the concussion litigation behind it for good, the NFL has a separate problem that eventually could end up being even more costly than the multi-million-dollar settlement negotiated in 2013 for head trauma.

2016 NFL training camp dates and locations - NFL.com - It's now July, and that means training camps are just around the corner. So what are the dates and locations of the camps for your favorite NFL teams this year?

2013 re-draft, who would you take with the No. 1 overall pick? - NFL.com - DeAndre Hopkins is the highest-ranked player (No. 19) on "The Top 100 Players of 2016" from the 2013 NFL Draft class. Would you take him as the first overall pick in a re-draft? Let's debate!

The New Generation, the evolution of offense - NFL.com - Through the years, numerous components have influenced offensive evolution in the NFL -- from strategies born within the league to schemes plucked from the college game to major rule changes.

Gantt: Martellus Bennett has written a children’s book, launching app to go with it - ProFootballTalk - It probably does not surprise anyone who has followed the exploits of the Black Unicorn over the years to know that he has a fertile imagination. But now, Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett is using it for educational purposes. Via Fitz Tepper of TechCrunch.

Smith: Marc Trestman says the Ravens are a run-first team - ProFootballTalk - The Ravens are paying Joe Flacco more than $20 million a year for the next six years, but they don't view Flacco as the focal point of their offense. That's the word from Ravens offensive coordinator Marc Trestman, who says Baltimore hopes to be a run-first team.

Robinson: Roger Goodell Earned MM For 2015 - Pro Football Rumors - NFL commissioner Roger Goodell earned $32MM in compensation in 2015.

Ex-Lion Stanley Wilson, found naked, shot, says he’s happy to be alive - Detroit Free Press - Authorities say Wilson was found naked and wounded in a water fountain in a backyard June 22. The homeowner had shot him in the abdomen.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Breitenbach: Worst 5 end rush contracts in NFL includes Julius Peppers - Pro Football Focus - PFF doesn't think highly of the value of Julius Peppers contract with "those people" in Green Bay.

Smith: NFL.com Ranks Vikings D-line 7th-Best - Vikings.com - The combination of Everson Griffen, Linval Joseph, Sharrif Floyd and Brian Robison wreaked havoc on opposing offenses last season. Add in Danielle Hunter and Tom Johnson and the Vikings defensive line is certainly a unit that keeps offensive coordinators up at night.

TALES FROM THE CRYPT

Welcome to a new offseason feature of The Bear's Den. We dig back through the Windy City Gridiron archives and share with you some history & some of the great articles from the past that you may not have seen before. We hope you enjoy it!

Let's start off with the biggest Bears news in the last 10 years... (since it's an open thread this weekend)

Adam T: April 3, 2009 - Welcome to Chicago, Jay Cutler! - Windy City Gridiron - Good morning Mr. Cutler; here are the keys to the city. I thought it would be appropriate to give the Bears' new QB a heads up as to what to expect here in Chicago. I've got a few, I'm sure the loyal here have more.

Adam T: April 3, 2009 Jay Cutler - Simply the Best? - Windy City Gridiron - So now we have to officially ask the question. Is Jay Cutler already the best QB the Bears have had in 20? 25? 30? years. Sadly, only one guy gets close and that was really on the strength of one year. I've pulled the Bears QB seasons back to 1995. I only kept ones in which a QB started for 7 games. That also (sadly) took out 4 seasons completely from the list.

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