The Bear’s Den, July 17, 2018

*Except Roquan Smith

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

BEARRRSSSS / DRAFT / FREE AGENCY

Eurich: Roquan Smith's motor is unlike anything Taylor Gabriel has seen - 247Sports - Roquan Smith has already made an impression on the Chicago Bears wideout.

Eurich: Taylor Gabriel saw the Bears as his No. 1 option in free agency - 247Sports - Taylor Gabriel saw the Chicago Bears as his top option this offseason.

Wood: How Inconsistent was Chicago’s 2017 Ground Game? - Da Bears Blog - On the surface, the Bears’ running game didn’t change much from 2016 to 2017. In 2016 they ran for 1,735 yards (17th in the NFL) and averaged 4.6 yards per carry (6th). In 2017 that shifted to 1,788 yards (16th) and 4.2 yards per carry (11th).

Medina: The Bears' Pass Rush Might Be in a Whole Heap of Trouble Entering the 2018 Season - The Ten Yard Line - The Bears' pass-rush will likely rely on Akiem Hicks being excellent again.

Getting to Know the 2018 Chicago Bears: Quarterback - The Ten Yard Line - The Bears have two new quarterbacks behind Mitch Trubisky.

11 questions to see how well you know the 2018 Bears - ChicagoBears.com - Test your knowledge of the current Bears roster as the team gets ready to report to Bourbonnais for training camp this week.

McGuinness' NFL pass-rush rankings: Bears near bottom of all 32 team's entering 2018 - Pro Football Focus - Senior Analyst Gordon McGuinness unveils PFF's 32-team NFL pass-rush rankings for the 2018 NFL season.

Bears training camp preview: Cornerbacks - Bears Wire - The Chicago Bears retained all their cornerbacks from last season. The battle at the bottom of the depth chart will heat up at training camp.

Arkush: Chicago Bears top pick Roquan Smith remains unsigned, won't report to camp Monday without deal - Pro Football Weekly - Bears' Smith one of 14 unsigned first-rounders, but Bears going camping early this year

Chicago Bears Admit They're Watching Jay Cutler's New Show - NBC Chicago - Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is living his best life as the husband of reality star Kristin Cavallari, and his former team is certainly paying attention.

Gabriel's Bears Positional Breakdown: Special Teams Trying To Rediscover Difference-Making Form | 670 The Score - The punting job will be an open competition in training camp.

Shepkowski: Jay Cutler Keeps Living His Best Life - 670 The Score - Cutler is so easy to relate to in "Very Cavallari."

Tanier: Bears Top NFL's Most Underrated Teams List Entering 2018 Training Camp - Bleacher Report - In a world where hundreds of large and small media outlets produce thousands of predictions and zillions of words of commentary, who really decides which teams are "underrated" or "overrated" anymore? The oddsmakers; that's who...

Eurich: Jay Cutler keeps up the funny in 2nd episode of 'Very Cavallari' - 247Sports - Jay Cutler continues to emerge as a reality TV star.

Eurich: Allen Robinson is in top-10 of deep receptions since 2015 - 247Sports - Despite missing a year, Allen Robinson is still among the league's best when it comes to the deep ball.

Eurich: Recapping the Bears biggest offseason stories before camp - 247Sports - The Chicago Bears were one of the busiest teams in the entire NFL this offseason.

Eurich: Why Eddie Goldman is a breakout candidate for the Bears in 2018 - 247Sports - The Chicago Bears have a burgeoning star in Eddie Goldman along the defensive line.

Stankevitz: Three questions for Bears pass rush - What is Leonard Floyd's ceiling? - NBC Sports Chicago - Leonard Floyd has shown flashes of greatness but has struggled to stay on the field. When healthy, just how good can the team's best pass rusher be?

Stankevitz: Three questions for Bears D-line - Does Akiem Hicks have another gear? - NBC Sports Chicago - We're getting you ready for training camp with three pressing questions about Akiem Hicks and the Bears' defensive line in 2018.

Perez: 15 Most Important Bears of 2018 - No. 8 - Eddie Goldman - NBC Sports Chicago - For the Chicago Bears defense to reach elite status in 2018, nose tackle Eddie Goldman must take that next step in his development.

Kane: The 10 Bears offseason headlines that mattered most, from Matt Nagy to Roquan Smith - Chicago Tribune - As the Bears prepare to open training camp this week, here are the offseason headlines that mattered the most to the 2018 team.

Biggs: Roquan Smith unsigned as Bears rookies report to training camp - Chicago Tribune - Bears first-round pick Roquan Smith was unsigned as of Monday morning as his fellow rookies reported to training camp in Bourbonnais.

Bears questions and answers - Chicago Tribune - Bears burning questions: Chicago Tribune writers address key issues

Finley: Who makes the team? Handicapping the Bears' roster on the eve of training camp - Chicago Sun-Times - Bears coach Matt Nagy will have plenty of time to sort through his first preseason — and, along with general manager Ryan Pace, pick his first roster.

Morrissey: He might not be saying it, but this is Mitch Trubisky's camp -- and year - Chicago Sun-Times - He has changed the minds of many of the people who thought the Bears were crazy to take him with the second overall pick of the 2017 draft.

Potash's Bears position breakdown: The defensive line - Chicago Sun-Times - Hicks has exceeded expectations in both seasons with the Bears and is motivated to take the next step — a no-doubt-about it Pro Bowl season.

Finley: Should Bears fans worry about Roquan Smith’s contract? - Chicago Sun-Times - Bears quarterbacks and rookies are set to report to camp on Monday, but there's one noticeable player who reportedly won't be there.

POLISH SAUSAGE

T.O. activates 10-day CFL clause – ProFootballTalk - When receiver Terrell Owens began to indicate that he’s interested in playing football again, the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos moved quickly to call dibs on him, adding T.O. to their negotiating list. Apparently, T.O. is now interested. According to 3downnation.

Report: Steelers offered Le’Veon Bell a five-year, $70 million deal – ProFootballTalk - It’s a tradition unlike any other. First, the deadline passes for doing a long-term deal between the Steelers and running back Le’Veon Bell. Next, the Steelers leak the value of the deal on which Bell passed.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Ezekiel Ansah, Detroit Lions don’t come to long-term agreement - Pride Of Detroit - Ziggy will play in 2018 on his one-year franchise tag deal.

Minnesota Vikings Training Camp Preview: What I Like; What Concerns Me - Daily Norseman - There is a lot to like about the Vikings heading into 2018. There’s also cause for concern.

Packers roster prediction: Daniels, Clark again top depth chart - Acme Packing Company - Welcome to the prediction section of the offseason. Through the rest of the week, Acme Packing Company will present our overall roster predictions for the Green Bay Packers’ season-opening 53-man...

Aaron Rodgers would ‘love to play to 40’ for Packers - NFL.com - Aaron Rodgers’ contract situation has been one of the major storylines of the offseason, and the quarterback says his “dream situation” would involve staying in Green Bay and playing until he’s 40.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Zeglinski’s Bears 2018 training camp preview: Akiem Hicks needs a helping hand - Windy City Gridiron - Hicks and Goldman make up a fine duo. They need at least one more Bear to emerge.

Wiltfong’s Chicago Bears 2018 Position Battles: Expect all three quarterbacks to make the roster - Windy City Gridiron - We kick off our 11-part position by position look at the Chicago Bears’ training camp battles with the quarterback spot.

Wiltfong: Don’t call it a holdout, but Roquan Smith isn’t reporting to Bears camp yet - Windy City Gridiron - Almost half of the first round draft picks from the 2018 NFL Draft have yet to sign their contracts, so the fact that the Chicago Bears’ Roquan Smith is without a contract isn’t that alarming. But,...

BP: Bearbonnais!! - Windy City Gridiron - We’re under one week away from the 2018 Bears training camp. It has been a long and action packed “off” season, for sure. What would we really like/need to see from camp that will start the...

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; Aaron Lemming; Andrew Link; Ken Mitchell; Steven Schweickert; Jack Silverstein; EJ Snyder; Lester Wiltfong, Jr.; Robert Zeglinski; Like us on Facebook.