The Bear's Den, January 2, 2017

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

BEARRRSSSS

Moreano: Bears Secure Third Overall Pick (And Need to Ensure its a Home Run) - Da Bears Brothers - The Bears were flat out humiliated by the Vikings, but retained the third overall pick, which the franchise needs to ensure is a home run.

DeWitt: Da Bears Brothers Chicago Bears Podcast and Postgame Show - Da Bears Brothers - Da Bears Brothers is the place where Bears fans across the globe hang out after every Chicago Bears game, and where Bears fans go to get their fix of Chicago Bears talk in the offseason.

Fishbain: Jordan Howard shines again, but Chicago Bears overmatched in ugly season finale - Pro Football Weekly - Bears get 13th loss of the season despite 135 rushing yards for Howard

Mayer: Pace speaks before Vikings game - ChicagoBears.com - Bears general manager Ryan Pace discussed several key topics in an interview with Jeff Joniak Sunday morning on the WBBM Newsradio 780 AM and 105.9 FM pregame show.

Fishbain: Chicago Bears Notes: Back-to-back blowouts end franchise's worst season since 1969 - Pro Football Weekly - Bears had kept games close until their final two, culminating in Sunday's bad loss to the Vikings

Perez: Chicago Bears secure 3rd pick in 1st round of 2017 NFL draft after Week 17 loss - Bears Wire - The Bears will pick third in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft after going 3-13 in 2016

Finley: How Charles Leno became the only Bears player to take every snap - Chicago Sun-Times - Twice a week, Charles Leno drives to Highland Park to freeze his body into survival mode.

Mayer: Bears routed by Vikings 38-10 - ChicagoBears.com - The Bears' disappointing 2016 season mercifully came to an end Sunday with a 38-10 loss to the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Finley: Bears GM Ryan Pace throws support behind John Fox - Chicago Sun-Times - Bears GM Ryan Pace threw his support behind coach John Fox on Sunday.

Performance Metrics: Week 17 - ChicagoBears.com - ChicagoBears.com takes a look at key performers, stats and game notes from the Bears' 38-10 loss to the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Bears Talk Podcast: What should the team do in the offseason? - CSN Chicago - On the latest edition of the Bears Talk Podcast, Chris Boden, Alex Brown and Jim Miller reflect on the Bears' 3-13 season.

Hub Arkush: Chicago Bears have many holes to fill before next season - Pro Football Weekly - QB Matt Barkley has shown he should not be in team's plans

Campbell: Jordan Howard not in mood to celebrate rookie rushing record after Bears loss - Chicago Tribune - Jordan Howard breaks Matt Forte's Bears rookie rushing record, but not in mood to celebrate after another loss

Morrissey: If 2016 proved anything, it's that Bears have a talent deficit - Chicago Sun-Times - Jury is out on whether GM Ryan Pace can turn this around.

Finley: On Bears' trick play, turnovers and who slept in - Chicago Sun-Times - Three observations from the Bears' 38-10 loss to the Vikings.

Potash: Humble Jordan Howard breaks Matt Forte's rookie rushing record - Chicago Sun-Times - Amid the rubble of another dreadful loss that concluded a dreadful Bears season, Jordan Howard broke 2 rookie rushing records, most yards in a season and most 100-yard games.

Jahns: Alshon Jeffery promises Super Bowl win; will it be with Bears? - Chicago Sun-Times - Receiver Alshon Jeffery made a very bold prediction about next season after the Bears were walloped 38-10 by the Minnesota Vikings.

Finley: Bears lose finale to cap worst season in modern franchise history - Chicago Sun-Times - The worst season in modern Bears history reached its merciful, fitting finish Sunday: a 38-10 loss to the Vikings.

Emma: Bears’ Alshon Jeffery ‘Guarantee We’re Going To Win The Super Bowl Next Year’ - CBS Chicago - Shortly after the Bears finished an abysmal 3-13, Jeffery made a bold proclamation.

Jahns: An awful season finally ends for Bears ... so now what? - Chicago Sun-Times - Year 2 of the Bears’ rebuild has mercifully concluded

Emma: Fox On Status As Bears Coach ‘A Lot Of Different Things Can Happen’ - CBS Chicago - Fox was mum when asked whether he expects to be back as the Bears' coach.

PGL: Moon and Kip reflect on Bears season - CSN Chicago - John 'Moon' Mullin and Kip Lewis breakdown the Bears season finale and sum up the season after a tough loss to the Vikings on Sunday.

BTL: Jordan Howard puts his name in the Bears' record book - CSN Chicago - Bears running back Jordan Howard had another big day on Sunday, rushing for 135 yards in the team's loss to the Vikings.

Emma: Bears’ Brutal Season Ends At Rock Bottom - CBS Chicago - The Bears were hardly competitive in their season-ending 38-10 loss to the Vikings. Ken's Note: What, we are back at 'rock bottom' again. You don't get two rock bottoms per season. Sorry, not allowed.

Mullin: Defense finishes 2016 season with third straight game giving up 30-plus points - CSN Chicago - The Bears defense struggled in the season finale, surrenduring 38 points to the Minnesota Vikings.

Hidden Stat of the Day:
The 150th pick in the draft, Jordan Howard, was second in the NFL in rushing, with 1,313 yards.

— Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) January 2, 2017

LeGere: Bears lose to Vikings, finish at 3-13 - Daily Herald - The final score in the Bears' 38-10 season-ending loss to the Vikings represented just some of many depressing numbers facing a franchise near the bottom of the NFL barrel.The Bears' 3-13 record is their worst since the NFL went to 16-game schedule in 1978.

Biggs: Bears keeping company with Bills and Browns in decades-long struggle - Chicago Tribune - In the last 20 seasons the Bears have four playoff appearances with only the Bills (two) and Browns (one) having fewer.

Mullin: Bears finish historically bad season with expectations that John Fox stays as coach - CSN Chciago - The Bears finished their 3-13 season with a blowout loss to the Vikings on Sunday, and according to a report, John Fox will be coach in 2017.

Mullin: Turnovers, quarterback errors unravel offense one final time - CSN Chicago - Matt Barkley regressed in his second straight game as the Bears offense struggled in a lopsided loss to the Vikings on Sunday afternoon.

Haugh: McCaskeys need to give Bears fans something they can believe in again - Chicago Tribune - Has the disconnect between the Bears and Chicago ever been greater? The relationship is impossible to measure but just as hard to ignore.

Week 17: Bears' season ends with a thud as they fall 38-10 to Vikings - Chicago Tribune - The end. Join us as the Bears face the Vikings in Week 17.

Marx, Yoder: A data-driven analysis of the Bears - Chicago Tribune - A breakdown of the game looking at how the Bears' probability of winning changed. The 10 most impactful play - the plays resulting in the largest swings in win probability, are described below.

Wiederer & Campbell: Protesters create spectacle at Bears-Vikings game - Chicago Tribune - protesters climbed to a catwalk near the roof of U.S. Bank Stadium in the second quarter of Sunday afternoon’s Bears-Vikings game, released a banner and did lots of other stupid things. Ken's Note: Do NOT take this link as an indication to talk about political issues in the Den. It's not.

Rosenbloom: Stop the Bears before they make a Jimmy Garoppolo deal - Chicago Tribune - To become relevant beyond next season’s opener, the Bears will need a new quarterback. They also need a new coach.

Wiederer: Matt Barkley's turnover for touchdown fitting end to brutal Bears season - Chicago Tribune - The final play of Matt Barkley's season was a turnover. Returned for a touchdown. In a 38-10 division loss that left the Bears with an 0-8 road record.

Rappoport: Coaching roundup - John Fox set to stay with Bears - NFL.com - It's been a frustrating couple of seasons for John Fox but all signs point to the head coach returning to Chicago. Ian Rapoport looks at some of the changes teams might or might not make.

Wiederer: Matt Barkley's turnover for touchdown fitting end to brutal Bears season - Chicago Tribune - The final play of Matt Barkley's season was a turnover. Returned for a touchdown. In a 38-10 division loss that left the Bears with an 0-8 road record.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Alper: Kirk Cousins throws late pick, Redskins won’t make playoffs - ProFootballTalk - Kirk Cousins once asked "How you like me now?" On Sunday evening, the answer is that they like him just fine in Green Bay and Detroit. The Packers and Lions will square off on Sunday Night Football with the NFC North title in the balance, but both teams will live to see Wild Card weekend.

Oh, Clay...#GBvsDET pic.twitter.com/Gg73rdHxBU

— NFL (@NFL) January 2, 2017

Orr: 2017 NFL Coaching Carousel Team-by-team rundown - NFL.com - Will Anthony Lynn get the permanent job in Buffalo? Is John Fox on his way out of Chicago? Could Ron Rivera end up in Los Angeles? Conor Orr's coaching tracker has the intel you need to know.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Zeglinski: When winning means losing and losing means a brighter future - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears won’t outright "tank" on Sunday, but there’s a lot more to be lost should they come out on top.

Wiltfong: Bears sign OLB Josh Shirley to the active roster - Windy City Gridiron - Bears add an outside linebacker to the active roster, leading to speculation that one of their three injured OLBs will miss the game against the Vikings.

Noble: Jordan Howard sets Chicago Bears rookie record for rushing yards, surpasses Matt Forte - Windy City Gridiron - Jordan Howard just became the all-time leading rookie rusher in Chicago Bears history

Noble: Guy in Brett Favre jersey hangs from banner protesting North Dakota Pipeline (PICS) - Windy City Gridiron - Infinitely more entertaining than the football game.

Noble: Bears lose 38-10 to Vikings to close out abysmal 2016 season - Windy City Gridiron - The Chicago Bears couldn’t get out of their own way in their season-ending game versus the Vikings.

FANPOSTS

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.

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