The Bear's Den: May 5, 2017

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

BEARRRSSSS / DRAFT / FREE AGENCY

Wiederer: Bears Q&A: RB Tarik Cohen eager to start making 'Chicken Salad' for Bears - Chicago Tribune - Ryan Pace sees Tarik Cohen as a change-of-pace option in the backfield, a third-down back who can use his speed and elusiveness to ignite the offense.

Campbell: Bears sign veteran defensive lineman Jaye Howard to 1-year deal - Chicago Tribune - After the Bears used only one of their five draft picks on a defensive player last week, they signed veteran lineman Jaye Howard to a one-year deal.

Finley's Podcast: After draft, how does Bears roster compare to NFC North? - Chicago Sun-Times - The Chicago Sun-Times' Patrick Finley looks at the Bears' roster, post-draft, and wonders how it stacks up with the rest of the NFC North:

Perez: Bears RB Tarik Cohen among 14 named as instant impact rookies | Bears Wire - Bears RB Tarik Cohen was named one of 14 rookies expected to make an immediate impact in 2017

Finley: Bears sign former Chiefs DL Jaye Howard to a one-year deal - Chicago Sun-Times - The Bears agreed to sign defensive lineman Jaye Howard to a one-year contract Thursday, one day after he left Halas Hall without a deal.

Cox: Bears’ 5th-round pick experienced odd contest at NFL Combine - Bears Wire - Chicago Bears fifth-round pick Jordan Morgan was put through a staring contest by a scout at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Finley: Kyle talks Bears draft, Mike Glennon & medical scare - Chicago Sun-Times - Kyle Long was sitting at the Old Orchard Shake Shack, watching the first night of the NFL draft on television with a buddy.

Mayer: White to wear No. 11; Trubisky No. 10 - ChicagoBears.com - Receiver Kevin White will switch jersey numbers from 13 to 11 as he looks for a fresh start and first-round draft pick Mitch Trubisky will wear No. 10 just like he did at North Carolina.

Finley: Would fans 'fall in love with Jay Cutler again' as TV analyst? - Chicago Sun-Times - Unable thus far to find a starting job, Jay Cutler might go the Tony Romo route.

Mayer: Bears ink DT Howard to 1-year deal - ChicagoBears.com - The Bears on Thursday signed free-agent defensive lineman Jaye Howard to a one-year contract. Howard spent the past four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brooks' NFC North draft grades: Bears put Mitchell Trubisky in hard spot - NFL.com - The Bears might be in the spotlight after their shocking move for Mitchell Trubisky -- but don't overlook the potential of new Vikings RB Dalvin Cook. Bucky Brooks has draft grades for the NFC North.

Garafolo: Jay Cutler exploring potential career in TV broadcasting - NFL.com - Jay Cutler has yet to find a new home in the NFL, and the former Chicago Bears quarterback is exploring a potential career in broadcasting, Mike Garafolo reports.

Zierlein's 2017 NFL Draft class power rankings: Teams 21-24 include the Bears - NFL.com - The host of this year's NFL draft departed the event with the best haul of any team. Yes, the Eagles lead Lance Zierlein's rankings of each team's class. Ken's Note: The Lions, who's fans were laughing at the Bears draft recently, are ranked 8 spots lower. These rankings are entirely meaningless, still I thought you folks would like that little FYI.

Mayer: Polian, Wolf laud Pace for bold trade - ChicagoBears.com - NFL Hall of Fame general managers Bill Polian and Ron Wolf have both praised Bears GM Ryan Pace for his bold decision to trade up in the first round of the draft to pick quarterback Mitch Trubisky.

Mamola: General manager Ryan Pace is now on the clock - FOX Sports - The Chicago Bears and general manager Ryan Pace had a wild 2017 NFL Draft. Pace's future will forever be tied to the five players he drafted.The Chicago Bears made quite the splash on draft weekend when they traded up for North Carolina quarterback Mitchell (or Mitch) Trubisky in the first...

Alcaraz: 5 Prospects Bears should have drafted instead - FOX Sports - Based on the way the Chicago Bears spent their picks during the 2017 NFL Draft, things definitely could have gone better for Ryan Pace and Co.There were a lot of dumbfounded Chicago Bears fans after the 2017 NFL Draft came to a close. Based on the immediate reaction from Chicago faithful and analysis... Ken's Note: This report based on Fansided's 40 full time college scouts, tens of thousands of man hours worth of tape watched, extensive interviews and pre-draft workouts Fansided made with each player considered, their comprehensive medical reviews of all players actual medical files & exams by the Fansided medical staff, etc. Or... it's some guy just spouting his mouth off on the internet to get clicks. You decide.

Dickerson: Should Bears trade Mike Glennon after the season? - ESPN - No matter what happens with Mitchell Trubisky, Bears fans should root for Mike Glennon's success in 2017.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Lester's Sackwatch 2015: Week 5 vs Kansas City Chiefs when Howard sacks Jay - Windy City Gridiron - Every week I'll break down the pass protection of the Chicago Bears in my Sackwatch series and I'll keep a running total. This week the Bears only allowed 2 sacks to the Kansas City Chiefs behind their re-worked offensive line.

Florio: Potential overtime change still percolating - ProFootballTalk - In March, the Competition Committee recommended that owners reduce overtime from 15 minutes to 10 minutes during the preseason and regular season. Not enough owners agreed. So with another ownership meeting looming, where do things stand? Cowboys COO, executive V.P.

Reuter:Top QB talents in CFB pipeline for 2017 - NFL.com - There's already a lot of buzz about the talent at the quarterback position in college football, and for good reason. With the 2017 NFL Draft in the rear

KNOW THY ENEMY

Western: Predictions for the Packers’ 2017 draft picks - Acme Packing Company - APC’s writers try to predict how Green Bay’s draft class will fare in their rookie years and beyond.

Reisman: NFL.com - Detroit Lions had the 3rd-worst draft in the league - Pride Of Detroit - Lance Zierlein is not impressed with the Lions’ nine draft picks.

Wludford: Revamping the Vikings Offensive Line - Daily Norseman - Now that the NFL Draft and free-agency is over, or at least largely so in the case of free-agency, we have a pretty good idea of which offensive linemen the Vikings have to work with.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Zeglinski: Eddie Jackson is the center fielder and leader Chicago needs - Windy City Gridiron - Jackson fell to the fourth round due to injury and the Bears pounced to grab him. It looks like they made the correct move.

Wiltfong: Tarik Cohen conference call transcript - Windy City Gridiron - Check out what new Chicago Bears’ running back, Tarik Cohen, had to say after the NFL Draft.

Silverstein: Ranking the last 25 years of 1st round Bears draft picks - Windy City Gridiron - Let’s take a horrific stroll down memory lane and decide how we feel about the last quarter century of Bears 1st round picks.

Wiltfong: Which 2017 Chicago Bears draft pick was your favorite? - Windy City Gridiron - The Chicago Bears made five picks in the 2017 NFL Draft, but which one was your favorite?

Zeglinski: The Trub(isky) card, ways the Bears can develop their young quarterback - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears are prepared to be patient with Mitchell Trubisky. Let’s take a look at contexts as to how his rookie season could play out.

Zeglinski: Bears sign Jaye Howard to one-year deal - Windy City Gridiron - The former Kansas City Chief defensive end is on his way to bolster Chicago’s defense.

Sunderbruch: The Real Value of Draft Picks - Windy City Gridiron - Okay, we get it. Draft trades are complicated. Still, all smart teams use the analytics charts, right? Nope. Teams have actually updated the old chart, and one observer seems to have cracked the code.

Zeglinksi: Bears announce jersey numbers: Mitchell Trubisky to wear No. 10 - Windy City Gridiron - Chicago officially revealed the number of their franchise quarterback among other uniform duty Thursday afternoon.

FANPOSTS

IOftenPanic: IOP's Inappropriately Early Look to the 2018 NFL Draft - Windy City Gridiron - If you're going to write about the NFL Draft in some forum these days, you need lists that come out months before common decency dictates. I tend to be much more optimistic in my pre-season...

ADClock: What are the chances Adam Shaheen will be the best tight end the Bears drafted in the Super Bowl era? - Windy City Gridiron - A great tight end has been missing since Ditka left, and that was a million year ago. Have the Bears finally found the tight end they've been looking for? On April 27th the Bears drafted a...

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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