The Bear’s Den: December 9, 2017

In honor of our cover photo today...

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

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BEARRRSSSS

DeWitt: Bears-Bengals 5 Matchups to Watch (and 3 Keys for a Bears' Victory) - Da Bears Brothers - In this episode, Will DeWitt goes through the five matchups to pay attention to against the Bengals and the three keys that'll unlock a Bears' victory.

Mullin: Browns, Giants firings mirror critical Bears need: accountability - NBC Sports Chicago - What is the accountability plan of Chairman George McCaskey for the Bears, short-term and longer-term? Ken's Note: So we should take "how to run a franchise" advice from the Browns... right, Moon... right...

PFW Chicago Podcast 095: Which Bears should stay and which should go? - Pro Football Weekly - Forget previewing the Bengals and looking back at Niners. In a lost season, the guys take their first look at the Bears' most pressing offseason needs, working under assumption there's a new coaching staff and same GM.

Davis: NFL hot seat rankings: Who's next to follow Ben McAdoo to unemployment line? - USA Today - Bet that deposed Giants coach won't be last to be fired. John Fox is #2 on the list...

Players to watch: Bears-Bengals - ChicagoBears.com - Larry Mayer and Eli Kaberon of ChicagoBears.com discuss the Bears players they'll be watching on both sides of the ball Sunday in Cincinnati, including running back Jordan Howard.

Bears Barroom Presents Draft Dr. Phil’s Christmas Song Parody Let Him Go – Bears Barroom - When Disney released the movie Frozen, “Let It Go” because a global hit. It’s messages of liberation and acceptance are cited as part of its drawm Now Draft Dr. Phil Ottochian has taken that song and made a parody with messages of non-acceptance of Bears head coach John Fox and the need for fans to be liberated of him. He calls it “Let Him Go.”

Dickerson: Does Ryan Pace's draft history bode well for Bears' future? - ESPN - A look at the NFL draft record of Bears GM Ryan Pace for the past three years shows a few hits - but many misses.

Hawley: Sam Acho is the Bears’ nominee for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award again - WGN-TV - Whether it's a historic season of winning or a frustrating campaign full of losing, one name always manages to shine a positive light on Halas Hall. That's Walter Payton, whose toughness and talent remain a model for the franchise some 18 years after his death.

DaBearsPod Week 14: Why Firing a Coach In-Season Has Value [AUDIO] - Da Bears Blog - On this abbreviated DaBearsPod, Jeff hoarsely weighs in on why there’s a benefit to firing the coach mid-season & why the Bears are missing a big PR opportunity.

SUN TIMES

Jahns: Staying or going? What does future hold for Bears’ injured players - Adam L. Jahns’ “Inside the Huddle” appears in game-day editions of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Finley: Bears TE Zach Miller ‘I remember telling doc … Save my leg, please’ - The decision by Bears staffers to go to University Medical Center probably saved his leg from amputation Oct. 29, tight end Zach Miller said.

NFL Week 14 predictions: Bears at Bengals - The Chicago Sun-Times’ experts offer their predictions for the Bears’ matchup with the Bengals in Week 14:

Bears so banged-up, they can’t even play the kids down the stretch - Beset by injuries, the Bears were forced to play two 30-year-olds Sunday instead of young players who could be on their next half-decent team.

Potash: Bears’ Akiem Hicks has Pro Bowl credentials, but needs Pro Bowl votes - With or without the recognition, Hicks has been one of the biggest success stories on the team.

Rookie Tarik Cohen creating a Devin Hester-like excitement for Bears - But Cohen already has elicited that same kind of anticipation that Hester did — the feeling that anything can happen when he touches the football.

Finley: What did Marvin Lewis know about QBs that Bears’ John Fox doesn’t? - With the exception of Peyton Manning’s age 36-38 seasons in Denver, coach John Fox, now with the Bears, has never had an outstanding quarterback.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Kane: Bears' Zach Miller in first interview since injury: ‘I just remember telling Doc, “Save my leg, please” ’ - As Zach Miller was taken into surgery that scary October night in New Orleans, the Bears tight end remembers saying one thing. “I just remember telling Doc, ‘Save my leg, please,’ ” Miller said.

Bears vs. Bengals: Can Bears take advantage of beat-up Bengals? - Storylines, key matchups, predictions and more for the Bears vs. Bengals game Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati (noon, FOX).

Rosenthal: As Dick Butkus turns 75, Bears fans can embrace 51, who's more than media image - He remains, in the mind’s eye, forever menacing. Growling, he is a terror to anyone wearing another color football jersey, leveling those foolish enough to carry the ball. That was practically a half-century ago for the Bears’ No. 51, however, and he always has been deeper than his media image allowed.

Kane: Bears rookies such as Eddie Jackson, Adam Shaheen need to learn amid losses - Eddie Jackson has played football deep into December and even January before. But there’s a big difference between preparing for the college football national championship game with Alabama and trudging through a losing Bears season in his first year in the NFL. So the rookie safety has been asked several times about how he handles a five-game losing streak, the likes of which he hasn’t seen before in his career.

Kane: Bears' Kyle Fuller puts contract thoughts on back burner - The Bears and Bengals will limp into Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday diminished by a host of injuries and recent shots to their confidence. While the Bengals look to bounce back from a violent loss to the Steelers on Monday night, the Bears are trying to pull themselves up from a new...

Biggs: As some teams begin making moves, major decisions loom for Bears' George McCaskey - The Browns shook up their power structure Thursday morning when they announced they had fired Sashi Brown, whom they had promoted to executive vice president and general manager less than two years ago. Before the Saints-Falcons game reached halftime Thursday night, the Browns had hired John Dorsey as Brown’s replacement, evidence the wheels have been spinning in Cleveland for weeks.

Haugh: Pride all that's left for John Fox, but is this the end of his career? - without prompting the other day at Halas Hall, John Fox reminded everybody of something easy to forget watching him coach the Bears the past three seasons. “Playoff games are not easy to win — I’ve been involved in 15 of them myself,” Fox said proudly, answering a question about Bengals coach Marvin Lewis.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Berckes: Fantasy Football Week 14 Thread - Playoffs! - Windy City Gridiron - Your place for fantasy football discussion

Berckes: Five Questions with Cincy Jungle - Windy City Gridiron - Catching up with Cincy Jungle for five good questions

Infante: Sam Acho named finalist for 2017 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award - Windy City Gridiron - The seven-year vet is one of 32 finalists for the award.

NFL Week 14 Bengals vs Bears: Behind enemy lines with Windy City Gridiron - Cincy Jungle - We speak with Windy City Gridiron to learn about the Bengals’ Week 14 opponent, the Chicago Bears.

Wiltfong: Ryan Pace Approval Rating - Windy City Gridiron - It’s time for another WCG Chicago Bears Poll of the Day. What are your thoughts on general manager Ryan Pace?

Wiltfong: Bears vs Bengals Injury Report - Eddie Goldman and Pernell McPhee doubtful for Chicago, six starters out for Cincinnati - Windy City Gridiron - The Chicago Bears have three starters listed as doubtful after not practicing all week, Defensive tackle Eddie Goldman (hip), outside linebacker Pernell McPhee (shoulder) and safety Adrian Amos...

FANPOSTS

vs.cbears20: John Fox's Replacement: A Familiar Face - Windy City Gridiron - When the Bears were in the process of finding their next general manager in 2013, the first candidate that they interviewed was current Colts General Manager Chris Ballard. Ballard was considered...

vs.cbears20: John Fox's Replacement: The Leading Candidate - Windy City Gridiron - John Fox lost his job even before the 49ers game with his loss to the Rodgers-less Packers, a team that got shut-out by the Ravens a week later. He sealed his fate the Sunday after with a loss to...

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.

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