The Bear’s Den, February 15, 2018

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

BEARRRSSSS / DRAFT / FREE AGENCY

Biggs' Roster rundown: Bears forced to juggle as injuries hit outside linebackers - Chicago Tribune - Injuries forced the Bears to use five different starting outside linebackers during the 2017 season. While that hurt, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio managed keep that group productive.

Biggs: Bears hire Andre Tucker as head athletic trainer, Jason Loscalzo as strength coach - Chicago Tribune - The Chicago Bears hired Andre Tucker as their new head athletic trainer multiple sources have told the Tribune. He replaces Nate Breske, who was fired last month after three years. The Bears have also hired Jason Loscalzo as the new strength and conditioning coach.

Talarinco: Dissecting the Curious Case of Calvin Ridley - Da Bears Brothers - Should the Chicago Bears draft Calvin Ridley in the first round? Mark Talarico explains why it's a complicated decision.

2017 Bears position grades: Tight ends - NBC Sports Chicago - JJ Stankevitz ranks the Bears' tight ends from 2017, which featured a handful of underwhelming performances from a deep group.

Gabriel: Bears Have Crucial Decisions To Make On Some Of Their Own Free Agents - CBS Chicago - Will Chicago bring back cornerbacks Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara? Could the Bears cut Pernell McPhee?

Emma: Incumbent Running Backs Will Give Matt Nagy Creative Options - CBS Chicago - New coach Matt Nagy sees some interesting possibilities in utilizing his Bears running backs.

Emma: Weak Receiving Core Needs Addressed - CBS Chicago - Bears receivers lacked the ability to separate and produce game-changing plays in 2017.

LeGere's Chicago Bears offseason positional analysis: Running Backs - Pro Football Weekly - Bears have formidable duo in Howard and Cohen but could seek a No. 3 running back

Mayer: Howard ranked as league’s fourth most elusive back - ChicagoBears.com - After ranking as the NFL’s most elusive running back as a rookie in 2016, Jordan Howard finished fourth in the same category this past season.

Mayer: Carr thinks Trubisky 'poised to take the next step' - ChicagoBears.com - In an article on NFL.com, ex-NFL quarterback David Carr includes the Bears' Mitchell Trubisky as one of five quarterbacks whose stock is on the rise heading into the offseason.

Dannehy: Bears Should Think Bigger Than Chiefs - Da Bears Blog - When Matt Nagy was hired as Bears head coach, comparisons to Kansas City – both their talent and approach – were immediately made by fans and media alike. How would the Bears find their version of Chiefs Player X? Who would the Bears target to run Chiefs Concept Y? But the Bears should be thinking bigger — literally and figuratively.

Schein: Ranking NFL coaching hires - Jon Gruden, Matt Patricia top board - NFL.com - All seven NFL head-coach openings have been filled. So, how do the hires stack up against each other? Adam Schein provides his rankings. Ken's Note: Dear Mr. Schein, you are an idiot. Your last three guys are the three best hires of the group.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Gallery: Pro Football Hall of Fame Game through the years - Chicago Tribune - Take a look back at the past 10 years of the annual preseason classic and the players who were inducted those seasons.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Wagner: Will Joe Philbin’s return bring potency back to the Packers’ tight ends? - Acme Packing Company - Since the departure of Philbin and Jermichael Finley soon after, the Packers’ tight ends have lacked a punch.

Western: Potential EDGE cap casualties who should interest the Green Bay Packers - Acme Packing Company - There’s no guarantee that these players will indeed be cut loose by their current teams, but if they are the Packers should be on the phone immediately.

Wednesday Walkthroughs - Who’s your biggest crush for the 2018 NFL Draft? - Acme Packing Company - APC writers reveal who they’re hoping for in the NFL Draft.

Quarterback Thunderdome 2018: What should the Vikings do with Case Keenum? - Daily Norseman - There are several options that the team could exercise

Quarterback Thunderdome 2018: What should the Vikings do with Sam Bradford? - Daily Norseman - The forgotten man in this year’s quarterback debate

Quarterback Thunderdome 2018: What should the Vikings do with Teddy Bridgewater? - Daily Norseman - Probably the biggest mystery of them all

Reisman: Pro Football Focus calls Le’Veon Bell a ‘dream splash signing’ for Lions - Pride Of Detroit - Will dreams come true?

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Zeglinski: Bears free agency preview 2018 - Back-up quarterbacks - Windy City Gridiron - At minimum, someone's going to have to hold the clipboard for Mitchell Trubisky. Examining the back-up quarterback market.

Sunderbruch: Experts vs Outcomes - A Look Back at the 2013 Draft-Offense Edition - Windy City Gridiron - For the next couple of months, a number of people are going to make assertions about the potential of young men to succeed in the NFL. Five years ago, how accurate were they in their predictions?

Zeglinski: A (football) healing - Bears hire Jason Loscalzo as strength coach - Windy City Gridiron - Loscalzo is hired in tandem along with new athletic trainer Andre Tucker as Chicago seeks better health and injury prevention.

Wiltfong's Chicago Bears 2018 Roster Turnover: Who will step up on the defensive line this year? - 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.

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

Windy City Gridiron Community Guidelines - SBNation.com - We strive to make our communities open and inclusive to sports fans of all backgrounds. The following is not permitted in comments, FanPosts, usernames or anywhere else in an SB Nation community: Comments, FanPosts or usernames that are intolerant or prejudiced; racial or other offensive epithets; Personal attacks or threats on community members; Gendered insults of any kind; Trolling; Click link for full information.

The Bear’s Den Specific Guidelines – The Bear’s Den is a place for Chicago Bears fans to discuss Chicago Bears football, related NFL stories, and general football talk. It is NOT a place to discuss religion or politics or post political pictures or memes, and any posts that do this will be deleted and the poster will be admonished. We do not allow comments posted where the apparent attempt is to cause confrontation in the community. We do not allow gender-directed humor or sexual assault jokes. The staff of WCG are the sole arbiters of what constitutes “apparent attempt to cause confrontation”. We do not allow the “calling out” of other members in any way, shape or form. Posts that do this will be deleted on sight. Bottom line, it’s fine to debate about football, but personal jabs and insults are strictly prohibited. Additionally, if you keep beating the same dead horse over and over and fail to heed a moderator’s warning to stop, you will be banned.

Click on our names to follow us on Twitter:

WCG Contributors: Jeff Berckes; Patti Curl; Eric Christopher Duerrwaechter; Kev H; Sam Householder; Jacob Infante; Andrew Link; Ken Mitchell; Steven Schweickert; Jack Silverstein; EJ Snyder; Lester Wiltfong, Jr.; Robert Zeglinski; Like us on Facebook.