The Bear’s Den: January 30, 2018

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

BEARRRSSSS

Roeper: Bears documentary shuffles '85 memories into a must-see time capsule - Chicago Sun-Times - Players and famous fans share hilarious anecdotes about that magnificent team, at first struggling and later unstoppable.

Finley: Will Bears great Brian Urlacher be a first-ballot Hall of Famer? - Chicago Sun-Times - The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s selection committee will meet in a ballroom in Minneapolis to decide whether Urlacher will be elected.

Jahns: Forget Alshon Jeffery, history says Bears can overhaul WRs quickly for 2018 - Chicago Sun-Times - At this point, Jeffery’s place in the Super Bowl shouldn’t be an example of what was lost for the Bears, but what they could be in the future.

Biggs: Offensive line decisions big dominoes at start of Bears' offseason - Chicago Tribune - One of the first things Bears GM Ryan Pace must do this offseason is make a decision on the futures of left guard Josh Sitton and right tackle Bobby Massie. The decisions will shape free agency and the draft.

Biggs' Dollars and sense: Contract details for the newest Bears - Chicago Tribune - Here is a look at the dollars and sense details of the contracts the Chicago Bears have signed players to in 2018.

Bocker: Making the Case for a Top-10 Bears Offense - Da Bears Brothers - Can the Chicago Bears offense take a leap into the top 10 with a couple new playmakers under head coach Matt Nagy?

Stankevitz: How Baker Mayfield’s rising stock at the Senior Bowl presents some interesting scenarios for the Bears - NBC Sports Chicago - If Baker Mayfield's stock continues to rise in the next three months, the Bears could be presented with some tantalizing scenarios involving the No. 8 pick.

Mullin: Lovie Smith - Not voting Brian Urlacher into Hall of Fame on first ballot 'would be an insult' - NBC Sports Chicago - Lovie Smith knows about Hall of Fame players, and the thought of Brian Urlacher not being voted in on a first ballot left the former Bears coach sputtering.

PFW Chicago Podcast 102: Gabriel and LeGere - Pro Football Weekly - Pro Football Weekly Personnel Expert Greg Gabriel and long time Chicago Bears Beat Writer Bob LeGere, join Hub Arkush to chat the latest in the Bears Coaching Staff build and the continued look ahead in the off-season. The guys also discuss Super Bow

NFL1000: Adrian Amos named top free safety of 2017 NFL season - Bleacher Report - The best free safeties cover the field like no other player can. They often start from the back of the defensive formation as the last line of hope on a deep pass... Ken's Note: The Bears don't designate "strong" and "free" safeties, but Amos mostly played more of a traditional "strong" role. Still, it's good people are starting to recognize the man's good play.

NFL1000: Hicks ranked #1 3-4 Defensive End of the 2017 Season - Bleacher Report - As is true with every offensive and defensive skill position in the NFL , the roles and relative values of the 3-4 defensive end has changed a lot in the last 10 to 15 years... Ken's Note: I missed this when it came out.

Mayer: Bears account for three of top Super Bowl moments - ChicagoBears.com -According to longtime NFL writer Rick Gosselin, the Bears account for three of the top 50 moments in Super Bowl history, including Devin Hester’s 92-yard kickoff return TD in the 2007 game.

Mayer: Taking a behind-the-scenes look at Hall of Fame process - ChicagoBears.com - Longtime football writer Dan Pompei, who will be presenting Brian Urlacher’s case for induction into the Hall of Fame this weekend in Minnesota, discusses the selection process with ChicagoBears.com.

Mayer: Urlacher’s career by the numbers - ChicagoBears.com - Hall of Fame finalist Brian Urlacher played all 13 of his illustrious NFL seasons with the Bears from 2000-12. Check out some numbers that defined his career.

Hughes: A Somewhat Incoherent Ramble on Why I Don’t Care Much For the Super Bowl - Da Bears Blog - I just don’t care all that much about the Super Bowl. To me the Super Bowl is to football fans what St. Patrick’s Day is to drinker: a chance for the die hards to step aside and let the amateurs have a go.

Hensley: Kevin Mawae - Brian Urlacher better middle linebacker than Ray Lewis - Baltimore Ravens Blog- ESPN - Mawae, one of the most decorated centers in the league, doesn't think Lewis is the top middle linebacker among Saturday's Hall of Fame nominees.

DRAFT / FREE AGENCY

2018 Senior Bowl: 10 takeaways from this year’s top performers - The Draft Wire - The 2018 Senior Bowl is in the books, and here's some of what we learned about this year's participants heading into the 2018 NFL draft

Stites: Senior Bowl 2018 - South Team QBs shine in 45-16 blowout - SBNation.com - Wyoming’s Josh Allen had a good day, but it wasn’t nearly enough for the North Team.

Kadar's 2018 NFL mock draft: 5 QBs in the top 15 - SBNation.com - Not much changed after the Senior Bowl, but quarterbacks remain popular picks.

NFL mock draft 2018: First-round picks, top players and order for the 2018 NFL Draft (1/29/2018) - The 2018 NFL Draft is once again expected to be loaded with talented players. A number elite players declared for the draft, such as Minkah Fitzpatrick,an

Duane Lively's 2018 NFL Mock Draft 1.0 - Football Dungeon - In my first official mock draft of the 2018 draft season, 6 quarterbacks are selected in the first round, including 4 quarterbacks taken in the top 6 selections.

NFL Draft: Complete 7-round Chicago Bears 2018 NFL Mock Draft - Bears Wire - 2018 NFL Draft: Complete 7-round mock draft for the Chicago Bears

POLISH SAUSAGE

Rosenthal: Return of Vince McMahon's XFL among many dead TV shows getting revived - Chicago Tribune - Of course WWE boss Vince McMahon's XFL is coming back. The dead live on TV. “Battle of the Network Stars,” “Will & Grace,” “American Idol,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “The X-Files,” all are familiar shows brought back.

Mullin: Love 'em or hate 'em, the Patriots are the best thing that could be happening to the NFL right now - NBC Sports Chicago - Love 'em or hate 'em, the New England Patriots are the best thing that could be happening to the NFL right now.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Packers Free Agency: Where does PFF see Green Bay’s free agents ending up? - Acme Packing Company - After looking at which free agents-to-be would fit in Green Bay, let’s see where PFF thinks the Packers’ free agents would work best.

Packers 2017 Roster Grades: Quarterbacks room disappoints after Rodgers’ injury - Acme Packing Company - The season started off well for the Packers’ QBs, then went worse than expected once Aaron Rodgers went down.

Western's Packers 2018 Free Agent Preview: Joe Callahan should return to compete for #3 job - Acme Packing Company - The Packers have one quarterback with an expiring contract in 2018, but we expect him to be back in Green Bay.

LaCanfora: Vikings expected to choose new OC early this week - Daily Norseman - Four names still on the list

2018 NFL Draft Profile: USC RB Ronald Jones could add home run threat to Lions’ backfield - Pride Of Detroit
The Lions need a weapon out of the backfield after four years of rushing futility, this USC back could add that and more.

Reisman: T.J. Lang destroys Packers fan on Twitter - Pride Of Detroit - If you come at the Lang, you best not miss.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Silverstein: Olin Kreutz - Football’s Ultimate Defender - Windy City Gridiron - How the Bears legend and youth football coach became an advocate for the game he loves

Link: Which Chiefs Free Agents May Interest the Bears - Windy City Gridiron - With the hiring of Head Coach Matt Nagy, we take a look at a few Chiefs free agents that could interest the Bears.

Zeglinski: WCG Radio, Episode 17 - The Bears' Super Bowl blueprint - Windy City Gridiron - It's Super Bowl week. That means discussing how the Bears get back to the big game, the future of some of their stars, and the future and sanctity of football itself.

Infante: Chicago Bears small-school prospect watch 2018: Humboldt State OT Alex Cappa - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears could use an upgrade at offensive tackle. Alex Cappa could be that upgrade.

Zeglinski: WCG Bears Mailbag Call: Super Bowl LII week - Windy City Gridiron - Another year, another big game the Bears aren't playing in. But perhaps, that run of horror is almost over soon. Let's get down to the nitty gritty.

WCAssasin106: Simple offseason plan to get the Bears back into the playoffs - Windy City Gridiron - 1) Make the defense elite...

PowerTool: Prospect Comps - Windy City Gridiron - Let's have some fun with the upcoming 2018 draft class and find comparable players, past and present. Add your comps in the comments.

BearsFutureChamps: The Perfect Bears Off-Season, Part 1 - Windy City Gridiron - The 2017 regular season is over and for most fans of teams that were basement dwellers, let alone the teams not making the playoffs, the end couldn't have come soon enough. For the Bears, the...

Brandon Mceowen: Iowa CB #15 Josh Jackson - Windy City Gridiron - Is CB an option at #1? If so is Jackson the answer tape looks impressive, and I'm from Iowa so I've seen him beast. He had the most single season interceptions 8 in 2017 then any other corner in...

WCG CONTRIBUTORS BEARS PODCASTS & STREAMS

2 Minute Drill - Website - iTunes - Andrew Link; Steven’s Streaming – Twitch – Steven Schweickert; T-Formation Conversation - Website - iTunes - Lester Wiltfong, Jr.; WCG Radio - Website - Robert Zeglinski

THE RULES

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