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The Bear’s Den, November 7, 2018

It’s turn around day as we finish with our most successful Buffalo hunt and switch over to a safari to bag some Lions

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NFL: Chicago Bears at Buffalo Bills
A Chicago Bears fan shows a poster during the second quarter in a game against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field.
Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

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

BEARRRSSSS

Medina: Kevin White’s Healthy Scratch Isn’t Permanent, But It Did Send a Message - Bleacher Nation - Kevin White being a healthy scratch was unexpected, but it might not be a long-term thing. It all depends on the matchups ahead.

Dannehy: Bears Have Put Themselves in the Fight. Now They Have to Win it. - Da Bears Blog - By opening the season at 5-3, the Bears have put themselves in the fight. While they couldn’t win the NFC North in the first half of the season, they managed to put themselves in position to win the division or, at the very least, make the playoffs. They are in the fight. Now they have to win it.

Gabriel: Bears Offense’s Midseason Report Card - 670 The Score - Mitchell Trubisky and his cohorts have been solid but have room to grow.

5@5: Fair To Judge Trubisky By Bears’ Record? - 670 The Score - The Mully & Haugh crew debates a five-pack of questions every weekday.

Lunch With Larry: 11.06.18 - ChicagoBears.com - Bears Senior Writer Larry Mayer took fan questions during his usual Tuesday Q&A session to discuss topics such as Eddie Jackson’s play, the status of Khalil Mack and Allen Robinson and upcoming games against division opponents.

Fangio talks dominant defense in Bills blowout - ChicagoBears.com - Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio discussed the Bears’ dominant defensive performance against the Bills during a Monday night appearance on the Bears Coaches Show.

Biggs: Mitch Trubisky's big 3rd-down throws are the kind of plays he needs to make more often - Chicago Tribune - Mitch Trubisky had an underwhelming performance against the Bills, but the Bears quarterback made some impressive throws on third down.

Rosenbloom: Carpe Detroit - The Lions are just the defense to get Bears running back Jordan Howard going - Chicago Tribune - The Lions have allowed more than 100 rushing yards in six of eight games this season. They have allowed an average of 142.5 yards a game, third-worst in the NFL. They have allowed five runs of at least 40 yards, worst in the league. Looks like a great time for Matt Nagy to get Jordan Howard going.

Eddie Jackson, Kyle Fuller among PFF’s top defenders in Week 9 - Bears Wire - Chicago Bears defenders Kyle Fuller and Eddie Jackson were named to Pro Football Focus' Week 9 Team of the Week.

Bears QB Mitch Trubisky excelled under pressure against Bills - Bears Wire - Chicago Bears QB Mitch Trubisky excelled under pressure against the Buffalo Bills in Week 9's lopsided victory

Stankevitz' Bears film breakdown: Why two outstanding throws by Mitch Trubisky are 'vitally important' to his development - NBC Sports Chicago - Mitch Trubisky converted a number of third-and-long downs in the first half of Sunday's game, which are critical to his development as a quarterback.

Mullin: Ditka and Lovie were right, Bears, Nagy need to control their division first – or else | NBC Sports Chicago - The Bears' upcoming three games against Detroit and Minnesota take on added significance.

NFL writer goes in hard on Mitchell Trubisky, Bears: 'He can’t throw the ball inbounds half the time' - NBC Sports Chicago - Michael Lombardi, an NFL writer for The Athletic, went in hard on Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears during a guest appearance on the Follow the Money podcast.

Mullin: Bears at the ’18 halfway point - May have something historic in the making with Matt Nagy | NBC Sports Chicago - Assessing what the Bears have in Matt Nagy.

Chalk Talk: How have Bears coaches done in first season? - ChicagoBears.com - Senior writer Larry Mayer discusses how Bears head coaches have fared in their first seasons, safety Eddie Jackson entering last Sunday’s game in Buffalo on offense and how injuries to two tight ends will affect Adam Shaheen’s status.

Bears kick off 30th annual Coat Drive - ChicagoBears.com - As part of their 30th annual Chicago Bears Coat Drive, fans are encouraged to donate new and gently used coats at Chicago-area Jewel-Osco stores through Feb. 1.

2018 second-half predictions: Nine headlines from the future! - NFL.com - Will the Packers sputter out? What should we expect from Le'Veon Bell and the Steelers in the next eight weeks? Jeremy Bergman offers his predictions for the season's second half, revealing nine headlines from the future.

Jahns: Bears' first-half analysis, second-half predictions - Chicago Sun-Times - Halfway through the Bears' 16-game slate, here is a breakdown of the first half of the season and predictions for the second.

Finley: Bears' first-half analysis, second-half predictions - Chicago Sun-Times - Sun-Times Bears expert Patrick Finley breaks down the first half of the season and makes predictions for the rest of the way.

Finley: Bears want rookie Roquan Smith to chase a challenge that 'never gets solved' - Chicago Sun-Times - Glenn Pires set a high bar for the No. 8 overall pick, whom the Bears plan on quarterbacking the defense for years.

Potash: Bears look like contenders, but ’playoffs’ a dirty word at Halas Hall - Chicago Sun-Times - The Bears have lost 10 consecutive division games. They are 12-31 in the division since 2010, including 6-25 the last five seasons.

Finley: Could TE Adam Shaheen practice with Bears this week? - Chicago Sun-Times - The Bears have two tight ends in concussion protocol: Dion Sims, who was hurt Sunday, and Ben Braunecker, who suffered the injury the week before.

Campbell & Kane: 5 things we heard from Bears offensive coaches - Mitch Trubisky's pre-snap command, Anthony Miller's knowledge and more - Chicago Tribune - 5 things we heard from Bears offensive position coaches include Mitch Trubisky's command, rookie receiver Anthony Miller's knowledge base, quarterback coach Dave Ragone's two favorite throws of the season.

Campbell: 5 observations from rewatching Bears-Bills - Mitch Trubisky's hits and misses, the 2015 draft class, penalties galore and more - Chicago Tribune - The Bears trounced the Bills, 41-9, with an opportunistic defensive performance that outweighed difficulties the offense had in one of its toughest matchups this season.

Kane & Campbell: 5 things we heard from Bears defensive coaches, including how Khalil Mack is 'built different’ - Chicago Tribune - Bears outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley said he believes Khalil Mack is “at peace” with his recovery process from a right ankle injury.

Haugh: No Chicago sports executive is having a better year than Bears GM Ryan Pace, who is making the most of his 2nd chance - Chicago Tribune - Sticking with Ryan Pace offers a solid argument for patience so hard to find in professional sports. To Pace’s credit, he has taken advantage of his second chance to make a first impression by essentially hitting reset on his tenure as Bears GM.

Medina: Kevin White’s Healthy Scratch Isn’t Permanent, But It Did Send a Message - Bleacher Nation - Kevin White being a healthy scratch was unexpected, but it might not be a long-term thing. It all depends on the matchups ahead.

Dannehy: Bears Have Put Themselves in the Fight. Now They Have to Win it. - Da Bears Blog - By opening the season at 5-3, the Bears have put themselves in the fight. While they couldn’t win the NFC North in the first half of the season, they managed to put themselves in position to win the division or, at the very least, make the playoffs. They are in the fight. Now they have to win it.

Gabriel: Bears Offense’s Midseason Report Card - 670 The Score - Mitchell Trubisky and his cohorts have been solid but have room to grow.

5@5: Fair To Judge Trubisky By Bears’ Record? - 670 The Score - The Mully & Haugh crew debates a five-pack of questions every weekday.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Medina: Pass-Rusher Bruce Irvin Is Officially a Free Agent … Should the Bears Be Interested? - Bleacher Nation - You can’t have too many pass-rushers in this era of football.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Lions film breakdown: How much is Matthew Stafford to blame for 10 sacks vs. Vikings? - Pride Of Detroit - Was Stafford holding onto the ball too long?

Rich Gannon said something stupid about Lions’ Matthew Stafford - Pride Of Detroit - - Now’s the part where we get upset.

Lions waive Ameer Abdullah, sign WR Bruce Ellington, Zach Zenner - Pride Of Detroit - The Lions have a new receiver and it appears the Ameer Abdullah era is over.

NFC North Week 9 Recap: Top two contenders emerge in the division - Pride Of Detroit - It’s beginning to look like a two-horse race in the Black and Blue division.

Packers Transactions: Jermaine Whitehead waived, Geronimo Allison to IR - Acme Packing Company - One move was expected. The other was anything but.

Minnesota Vikings Trending in the Right Direction - Daily Norseman - The Bye Week Couldn’t Have Come at a Better Time

The Packers could fire Mike McCarthy no matter how 2018 ends - Acme Packing Company - At this point, the Packers head coach is the "This is fine" dog in the burning kitchen meme.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Householder: Stock up, Stock down - Chicago Bears-Buffalo Bills - Windy City Gridiron - Who is playing good and who needs to improve as the Bears move into a division stretch

Wiltfong's NFL Power Rankings: The Chicago Bears are on a roll, but will they move up? - Windy City Gridiron - Let’s take a trip around the NFL Power Rankings to see where the experts have the 5-3 Chicago Bears ranked.

Leming: Chicago Bears second quarter report card - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears are halfway through the season but just how good have they been? Our second quarter report card is here.

WCG CONTRIBUTORS BEARS PODCASTS & STREAMS

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

THE RULES

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