The Bear’s Den: February 13, 2018

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

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Bocker: Why the Chicago Bears Must Draft Best Player Available - Da Bears Brothers - In order for the Chicago Bears to take that "next step" they must bolster their roster by drafting the most talented players no matter the position.

2017 Bears position grades: Quarterbacks - NBC Sports Chicago - Mitchell Trubisky is the future of the Bears, for better or worse. JJ Stankevitz ranks his play along with the rest of the Bears quarterbacks.

Mullin: Six degrees of Matt Nagy separation - Bears in sync with NFL undergoing QB sea change - NBC Sports Chicago - Matt Nagy has been around the NFL block and has had an impact on a number of current starters in the NFL.

NFL Draft: Greg Gabriel breaks down the 2018 class on offense - Pro Football Weekly - NFL clubs looking for RB and WR reinforcements in draft could be in luck

2018 NFL draft: 10 defensive sleeper prospects to know - The Draft Wire - These 10 defensive sleeper prospects could end up being huge steals in the 2018 NFL draft

Mayer: Travis Kelce thinks Nagy 'could be Doug Pederson 2.0' - ChicagoBears.com - Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce sees similarities between new Bears coach Matt Nagy and Super Bowl-winning Eagles coach Doug Pederson, having worked with both of them in Kansas City.

Huges: Final Thoughts on the 2017 NFL Season - Da Bears Blog - It was a bad season for the NFL and it all stems from mismanagement at the top. The fallout from injuries/head trauma, player protests, rules issues…etc. were manageable and fixable. But Roger Goodell once again showed himself to be the most flaccidly ineffective commissioner in the history of professional sports.

Eurich: Emmanuel Sanders should be a trade target for the Bears - 247Sports - Emmanuel Sanders would immediately become the best wide receiver on the Chicago Bears roster.

Eurich: Jim McMahon thinks Mike Ditka bet on Bears in Super Bowl XX - 247Sports
Jim McMahon gave an interesting take on Mike Ditka's gambling habits.

Gagnon's Way-too-early 2018 NFL power rankings: Where do the Eagles rank going into next season? - The Comeback - The 2017 NFL season just ended, but it's never too early to look ahead toward next season. The Bears are surprisingly high on the list in this one!

Monson: Baker Mayfield's tape, numbers say he should be No. 1 overall pick - Pro Football Focus - Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield's game tape and numbers are jaw-dropping, making further case for him being the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Boyd: How run/pass options work differently in the NFL than in college football - SBNation.com - College rules give RPOs more flavor, but as the NFL playoffs showed, they still work at every level.

Palazzolo: Updating the 2018 free agent quarterback marketplace - Pro Football Focus - Senior Analyst Steve Palazzolo examines the quarterback market this offseason after the Alex Smith trade and the Jimmy Garoppolo re-signing.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Smith: Pereira thinks Goodell told Riveron to change his standard on replay reviews – ProFootballTalk - The NFL appeared to change its standard for overturning calls in instant replay in 2017-2018, with head of officiating Al Riveron seeming to stray away from the "indisputable" standard in the regular season only to return to it in the postseason. Ken’s Note: Now give Zach Miller his touchdown back!

Video: Johnny Manziel ready to play again in NFL - NBC Sports - Johnny Manziel has done a media tour to get the word out that he is clean and ready to play again, but will a team take a chance on Manziel?

Sweeney: Dave Toub presumed safe in KC for ‘18 with Colts job off the board - Arrowhead Pride - The Indianapolis Colts confirmed the signing of their new head coach Sunday. FrankReich, the now-former offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles, is headed to...

Thorman: The Kansas City Chiefs did run that many RPOs - Arrowhead Pride - One thing I loved about adding Kent Swanson to our staff here at Arrowhead Pride this year is he quickly identified some of the run-pass options (RPOs) the Chiefs were doing in their offense.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Bukowski: What if everything we think we know about the Packers’ defensive personnel is wrong? - Acme Packing Company - Dom Capers consistently put his players in a position to fail, so what do we really know about how good they can be? Ken’s Note: Well, Packers fans, you found out that just about everything you thought about everybody on your team was wrong (except Aaron Rodgers) when your superstar went out and you were spent most of the rest of the season getting destroyed...

Just Say No Volume 1.0: 5 free agents the Lions need to avoid - Pride Of Detroit - 5 free agents the Lions need to make sure they don’t sign

Minnesota Vikings Podcast 225: DeFilippo - Pronounced dee-fah-LIP-oh - Daily Norseman - Norse Code returns with Arif and James discussing the recent Offensive Coordinator hire (John DeFilippo), the blocking of Kevin Stefanski, and our options if we decide to attempt to sign Kirk Cousins. Also (repeated) breaking news regarding the Colts and their choice of Head Coach!

Gates: Vikings sign offensive lineman Josh Andrews - Daily Norseman - At least, according to his agent, practice squad lineman signs futures deal with purple.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong: Chicago Bears Mocking the Mocks - Check out this 2 rounder from SB Nation’s Dan Kadar - Windy City Gridiron - From time to time, we’ll check in with some NFL Draft analysts from around the web to see how they have the Chicago Bears drafting in their mock drafts.

Wiltfong's Chicago Bears 2018 Roster Turnover: Attention Ryan Pace, FIND A KICKER! - Windy City Gridiron - In this 13 part series we’ll take an in depth look at each position group for the Chicago Bears with an eye towards the 2018 season. We’ll speculate on who stays, who goes, and some potential additions we’d like to see general manager Ryan Pace make.

Marquess de Sade: Making the Case for Dion Sims - Windy City Gridiron - To many WCG faithful Dion Sims is a dead man walking. He got a significant pay day after being an under the radar contributor in Miami over four years of his rookie contract and he...

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

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