The Bear’s Den, October 21, 2017

Ken’s Note: I state this about every three months to keep the heads of the grammar fanatics from exploding. Yes, I am fully aware that the word Bears is plural, and that using the apostrophe as I do denotes a single Bear, not a plural group of Bears. This is not a grammatical error on my part, I assure you it’s quite intentional. I am a (i.e. ONE) Bear, this is MY Den. Therefore, this is The Bear’s Den.

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

BEARRRSSSS

Potash: Eddie Goldman, Bears’ D have full head of steam but long way to go - Sun Times - Despite losing Freeman, Young and Demps, the Bears are in a better situation defensively than they’ve been in during Fangio’s three seasons.

Finley: 10 Bears questions: On John Fox’s ties, Tar Heels, Steph Curry & more - Sun Times - While we wonder if Fox holds Panthers interim GM Marty Hurney’s former job against him - he was a sportswriter - here are 10 more Bears questions...

Stankevitz: How Tarik Cohen is thriving as the Bears continue to put more on his plate - NBC Sports Chicago - Tarik Cohen has handled everything the Bears have asked of him in 2017, and that's been a lot.

Wiedman: Can the Bears Make it Two Wins in a Row? - Our Turf Football - The Chicago Bears locker room must have been electric. Players who were told they were finished rose up to the challenge and balled out better than they had in years. Coaches who wondered if this team would ever win were finally seeing progress in themselves…

Wiederer, Campbell & Kane: Bears injury tracker: Nick Kwiatkoski cleared to fully practice, questionable for Sunday - Chicago Tribune - The latest look at all of the Bears injury news.

Bears vs. Panthers: Will the Bears win a 2nd straight game for 1st time since 2015? - Chicago Tribune - Key matchups, players to watch, predictions and more for Sunday's Bears-Panthers game at Soldier Field.

Hoge & Jahns Podcast: Can the Bears really upset the Panthers - Sun Times? - The Chicago Sun-Times’ Adam L. Jahns and WGN Radio’s Adam Hoge break down the Bears’ Week 7 matchup against the Panthers at Soldier Field.

NFL Week 7 predictions: Bears vs. Panthers - Sun Times - The Chicago Sun-Times’ experts offer their predictions for the Bears’ matchup with the Panthers in Week 7:

Potash: Panthers rookie Christian McCaffrey a ‘tough matchup’ for Bear - Sun Times - The son of former Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey has 37 receptions for 293 yards and two touchdowns. He is tied for sixth in the NFL in receptions.

Jahns: look at the incremental process of developing QB Mitch Trubisky - Sun Times - Adam L. Jahns’ “Inside the Huddle” column appears in game-day editions of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Finley: What ‘Pretty Boy Assassin’ Mitch Trubisky’s OT throw means for future - Sun Times - “’Pretty Boy Assassin’ — that’s what we call him,” outside linebacker Pernell McPhee said.

Cox: Bears had high draft grade on Christian McCaffrey but John Fox ‘didn’t see him play at Stanford’ | Bears Wire - The Chicago Bears had a high draft grade on Christian McCaffrey, but John Fox admitted he "didn't see him play at Stanford."

Emma: Bears Defense Beginning To Reveal Growth - CBS Chicago - The Bears rank sixth in yards allowed through six weeks of the season.

Monk: It's Time To Let Mitchell Trubisky Loose - Cover32 - For the first time since 2005, the Bears have started a rookie quarterback. And it's fair to say the risky trade and selection of the UNC product Mitchell

Game Preview: How the Chicago Bears Can Beat the Carolina Panthers - Da Bears Brothers - Listen as Da Bears Brothers go through their weekly in-depth Bears' game preview. This week they explain how Chicago can beat the Panthers.

HOT NOT TAKES

Seifert: Brady talks trash, Eli overrated, Cutler hated, Flacco 'living off' Super Bowl win - ESPN - NFL Nation polled 155 players to gauge their opinions on QBs. Players were asked to identify their favorite rookie, the most overrated and more.

POLISH SAUSAGE

2017 Expert NFL Picks Week 7 - NFLPickWatch.com - 2017 Week 7 Expert NFL Picks from every analyst at ESPN, CBS, FOX, Yahoo!, PFF, USA Today. Straight up and against the spread, for free!

Jackson: Coaching Carousel - Jim Bob Cooter - Cover32 - By trading up in the 2017 draft to take Mitch Trubisky, the Bears set forth a plan for the future. Now that they hopefully have their quarterback of the future

Patra: Steelers president Rooney says Martavis Bryant not on trade block - NFL.com - Regardless of whether Martavis Bryant wanted out of Pittsburgh, the Steelers have no plans to move the him. Team president Art Rooney II said Bryant has potential to be a bigger contributor.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Marshall: Looking at the Chicago Bears’ common run and pass concepts - Cat Scratch Reader - The Bears have had a pretty basic game plan since starting rookie Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback. Let’s take a look at the film to see what the Panthers should expect on Sunday.

Smith: Kyle Rudolph says Vikings can win with any of their three quarterbacks – ProFootballTalk - No team in the NFL has more uncertainty at the quarterback position than the Vikings, who are starting Case Keenum now but could go back to either Sam Bradford or Teddy Bridgewater when their respective knee injuries are fully healed.

Sessler: Steve Bisciotti defends Flacco, Harbaugh, Newsome - NFL.com - The Baltimore Ravens have struggled of offense this season. Steve Bisciotti hasn't lost trust in his core hires, though. The owner defended his quarterback, general manager and head coach amid a 3-3 record.

Smith: Packers DT Kenny Clark is quietly dominating opposing offensive lines - Acme Packing Company - Here’s a reason for optimism in an otherwise bleak season: DT Kenny Clark is living up to his first-round talent.

2017 NFL Week 7: Baltimore Ravens at Minnesota Vikings - Daily Norseman - The Vikings face a tough AFC foe in Joe Flacco and the Ravens

Simon: 10 things I think I know about the Lions heading into the bye week - Pride Of Detroit - Everyone needs a week off to heal up.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong's Bears vs Panthers injury report: Markus Wheaton out for Chicago, Luke Kuechly out for Carolina - Windy City Gridiron - Do you guys remember last week when the Chicago Bears gave up two special teams touchdowns? Do you know who wasn’t on the field for either of those? Special teams’ captain, Sherrick McManis.

Wiltfong: Chicago Bears name Kyle Long recipient of the 2017 Ed Block Courage Award - Windy City Gridiron
- The Chicago Bears have announced offensive lineman Kyle Long as the 2017 Ed Block Courage Award Winner. Ed Block was the Head Athletic Trainer of the Baltimore Colts from 1954-1977, and his off...

Berckes: Fantasy Football Week 7 Thread - Windy City Gridiron
- Your place for fantasy football discussion

Zeglinksi: Defining Trubisky's success, trade targets, and backup quarterbacks - Bears Mailbag Week 7! - Windy City Gridiron
- What's considered "successful" for Mitchell Trubisky? Would Martavis Bryant fit in Chicago? This week's loaded Bears mailbag.

FANPOSTS

Joker28: What Was He Thinking?? (Part 1 of 5) - An Attempt to Separate Procedure from Payoff in Ryan Pace’s Decision-Making History - Windy City Gridiron - Of all of the topics that we discuss as a community, nothing seems draw scrutiny quite like any decision made by the man at the franchise's helm. This makes total sense, because if the Chicago...

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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The Bear’s Den Specific Guidelines – The Bear’s Den is a place for Chicago Bears fans to discuss Chicago Bears football, related NFL stories, and general football talk. It is NOT a place to discuss religion or politics or post political pictures or memes, and any posts that do this will be deleted and the poster will be admonished. We do not allow comments posted where the apparent attempt is to cause confrontation in the community. The staff of WCG are the sole arbiters of what constitutes “apparent attempt to cause confrontation”. We do not allow the “calling out” of other members in any way, shape or form. Posts that do this will be deleted on sight. Bottom line, it’s fine to debate about football, but personal jabs and insults are strictly prohibited.

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