The Bear’s Den, January 8, 2019

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

BEARRRSSSS

Wiedman: Full Chicago meltdown after heartbreaking loss in Wild Card Game - Our Turf Football - OTFB’s Wanda Wiedman goes over the loss to the Eagles. Despite the loss, she’s still proud of her team.

5@5: Has Cody Parkey Played His Last Game With Bears? - 670 The Score - The Mully & Haugh crew debates a five-pack of questions every weekday.

Emma: Bears Doomed With 10 Men On Eagles’ First Touchdown - 670 The Score - ”It’s just a hard deal,” Bears safety Adrian Amos said of the mishap.

Pompei: Observations From Bears-Eagles - 670 The Score - The Bears’ loss wasn’t an ending. It was a beginning.

Hughes: Five Thoughts on 2018’s Final Game From Inside the Building - Da Bears Blog - Sunday’s loss to the Eagles is going to be discussed for a long time and Cody Parkey will remain the centerpiece of that conversation. But here are five (I think) unique observations from inside the building.

Dickerson: Matt Nagy - Bears ‘lucky’ to have Mitchell Trubisky - ESPN - Mitchell Trubisky took major steps in his first season with Matt Nagy, who is excited for the future with his young quarterback.

Under Center Podcast: Wrapping up the Bears’ season after locker cleanout - NBC Sports Chicago - JJ Stankevitz, John “Moon” Mullin and Cam Ellis report from Halas Hall after Bears players cleaned out their lockers on a somber Monday. Where do the Bears go from here?

Stankevitz: Trey Burton explains how his injury happened and why he didn’t play vs. Eagles - NBC Sports Chicago - Trey Burton said he initially felt stiff after Friday's practice, and then his groin was "completely locked" on Saturday.

Stankevitz: Stunned Bears struggle to grasp abrupt end to such an enjoyable, successful season - NBC Sports Chicago - The Bears didn't expect the season to end so soon and now head into an offseason trying to regroup and build on 2018.

Hoge: In The Toughest Of Defeats, Nagy Shines Bright Light On Bears’ Future - WGN Radio - The head coach — the man who preaches “Be You” — was himself all the way to the end, even as a promising and successful Chicago Bears season came to a crashing halt on the foot of its biggest weakness

Mayer: Burton sheds light on injury that sidelined him - ChicagoBears.com - Speaking to reporters Monday, Bears tight end Trey Burton provided details about the groin injury that prevented him from playing in Sunday’s wild-card game against the Eagles.

Mayer: Tough playoff loss will motivate Bears players - ChicagoBears.com - A day later, Sunday’s bitter 16-15 wild-card playoff loss to the Eagles didn’t hurt any less. But it will serve as motivation for Bears players who enjoyed a resurgent 2018 season.

Mayer: Bears teammates support Parkey after miss - ChicagoBears.com - There’s no better evidence of the culture that coach Matt Nagy has created with the Bears than what transpired after Cody Parkey missed a potential game-winning field goal in Sunday’s wild-card loss to the Eagles.

Inside Slant: Nagy vows Bears will learn from loss - ChicagoBears.com - Sunday’s 16-15 wild-card loss to the Eagles at Soldier Field will sting for a while, but coach Matt Nagy vowed that it will help the Bears in the future.

Medina: Eddie Jackson Wanted to Play – And Could Have in an Emergency – But Just Wasn't Healthy Enough - Bleacher Nation - The Bears missed Eddie Jackson's playmaking ability in the secondary.

Medina: Well, Hey … Robbie Gould Is a Free Agent - Bleacher Nation - The best kicker in Bears history is scheduled to be a free agent in March.

Biggs: Vic Fangio interviews with the Broncos. Could the Bears soon have to contemplate who will run the defense in 2019? - Chicago Tribune - With Vic Fangio meeting with the Broncos, the Bears could soon have to search for a coordinator to take over the league's No. 1 scoring defense from this season. Other changes are possible at Halas Hall as secondary coach Ed Donatell is coming out of contract.

Wiederer: Trey Burton on groin injury that kept him out of Sunday's playoff loss - 'It's just my body trying to protect itself' - Chicago Tribune - Bears tight end Trey Burton was a surprise scratch from Sunday's playoff game against the Eagles, declared inactive after a groin injury popped up earlier in the weekend. Burton is now ultimately left to cope with his unfortunate absence from a season-ending loss.

Kane: 10 things we heard from Bears players on locker clean-out day, from Allen Robinson's view of 2019 to Adrian Amos' free agency - Chicago Tribune - As Bears players packed up their lockers Monday afternoon at Halas Hall, they still were trying to make sense of a 16-15 loss to the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs. Here are 10 things we heard from the players.

Greenstein: NBC's Al Michaels on Cody Parkey's tipped kick - 'Someone must have done some forensic accounting on that one' - Chicago Tribune - The Bears’ 16-15 loss to the Eagles drew a massive TV rating for NBC — 35.9 million viewers. It was television’s most-watched show since Super Bowl LII.

Haugh: Tough playoff loss could spur a Super Bowl season - like it did for past Bears teams - Chicago Tribune - Sunday’s setback against the Eagles will make the Bears better. They just scratched complacency from their 2019 schedule. The anguish all over players' faces after Cody Parkey’s miss steeled a team that will report to Bourbonnais in July with high expectations.

Brad Biggs' 10 thoughts on the Bears' season-ending loss: Did the Eagles deflect Cody Parkey's kick? What will the coaching staff look like next season? - Chicago Tribune - Brad Biggs' 10 thoughts after the season ended with Sunday's 16-15 loss to the Eagles in the wild-card round. Some of this kicker stuff is mind-boggling. Mitch Trubisky played well enough to win. The coaching staff could have some changes, including a name you had not thought about yet.

Wiederer: Just like that, an unbelievable and crushing climax ends the Bears' special season - Chicago Tribune - No way. There’s just no way. There’s no possible way Sunday’s playoff game at Soldier Field ended the way it did. There’s no way the Bears’ magical season and an electric afternoon by Lake Michigan ended with a struggling kicker trotting out to either salvage or torpedo a city’s Super Bowl hopes.

Biggs: 'One of the worst feelings in the world' - Bears' season ends in cruelest way with Cody Parkey's missed field goal - Chicago Tribune - Cody Parkey did what has become an impossible trick turned nightmare for the Bears, something that has been a joke for weeks, a very bad one for the organization. His 43-yard field-goal attempt clanked off the left upright, banked off the crossbar and bounced back toward the field of play.

Stankevitz: One day after double-doink disaster, Bears’ attitude toward Cody Parkey hasn’t changed - NBC Sports Chicago - The Bears remained supportive of their embattled kicker even as they cleaned out their lockers at Halas Hall on Monday.

Bears grades: Evaluating Mitch Trubisky's playoff debut against Eagles - Sun Times - Mitch Trubisky had a game of extremes, throwing for 300 yards but taking too long to get going in a one-point loss.

Morrissey: Trubisky's up-and-down playoff loss a lot like his season - Sun Times - After the quarterback's up-and-down game and season, Bears coach Matt Nagy and others are trying to win the PR battle over the Trubisky narrative. Ken's Note: No, it's more like three quarters full and one quarter empty... My Morrissey glass is 99 percent empty.

Finley: Can Cody Parkey return after miss? 'Glad I'm not the one making that decision' - Sun Times - The Bears owe Parkey $3.5 million next year whether he plays a down for them or not.

Finley: Bears TE Trey Burton - Had tough time walking Saturday after groin 'locked' - Sun Times - Trey Burton tried to explain how he woke up Saturday with a groin injury so severe that it forced him to sit out of his his team’s biggest game.

Eagles fans are sending money to 'Cody Parkey' via Venmo after Bears' loss | Chicago Sun-Times - In an attempt to thank Cody Parkey for missing the Bears' game-winning field goal, Eagles fans are sending the kicker money through Venmo. Ken's Note: I guess batteries were too hard to ship?

Kenney: Dwyane Wade, others come to defense of Cody Parkey after Bears' loss - Sun Times - What started as a good night for Cody Parkey took a drastic turn during the last play of the game.

Price: Robbie Gould and his kids were in the stands for the Bears' playoff loss - Sun Times - The former Bears kicker brought his game to the playoff loss that ended on a missed field goal attempt.

Good, bad and worst: How the Bears fared in playoff loss to the Eagles - Sun Times - Some weeks are better than others for the Bears. Here’s how the Bears fared in Sunday’s season-ending 16-15 playoff loss to the Eagles:

Finley: Why did the Bears' Tarik Cohen get the ball only 4 times on offense? - Sun Times - “Four touches is not enough," Bears coach Matt Nagy said.

Finley: ‘It seemed like it was meant for us’ - Bears' defense comes up one play short - Sun Times - But the final drive and coming so close to a goal-line stand that would have been celebrated in franchise history left an empty feeling.

Kane: As NFL changes Cody Parkey's missed field goal to a blocked kick, the Bears are left to ponder the ending that went awry - Chicago Tribune - The social-media storm swirling around one of the most infamous moments in Bears playoff history rumbled all day Monday. But in the Bears locker room at Halas Hall, it was quiet.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Bruce Arians’ Tampa interview included a physical – ProFootballTalk - As the Buccaneers prepare to potentially hire coach Bruce Arians, more details are emerging regarding his weekend interview in Tampa. Via JoeBucsFan.com, Jay Glazer of FOX explained on Colin Cowherd’s radio/TV show that the Arians interview included a trip to a local hospital.

Potash: Despite heartbreak, Bears’ arrow pointing straight up heading into 2019 - Sun Times - But while the pain is real, so is the optimism for a Bears team that took a big first step in Matt Nagy’s first season ... from 5-11 to 12-4.

Morrissey: Bears’ wonderful season leaves a sudden, jarring void - Sun Times - The most jarring part of their playoff loss to the Eagles was the abruptness of it, the lasting emptiness. There was supposed to be so much more.

Kenney: Make Cody Parkey’s 43-yard field goal attempt and you can get beer for a year - Sun Times - Think you would’ve made the Bears’ game-winning field goal? Well, now’s your chance.

Jahns: Bears 2018 season: Five takeaways, including a look at Mitch Trubisky’s development - Sun Times - From Mitch Trubisky’s development to Matt Nagy’s culture, here are our final takeaways from the Bears’ turnaround season.

Patra: Cody Parkey’s missed field goal officially ruled block - NFL.com - Video footage shows the Eagles’ Treyvon Hester deflected the missed field-goal attempt by the Bears’ Cody Parkey that sent Philadelphia to a 16-15 win on Wild Card Weekend.

KNOW THY ENEMY

The Packers compounded their early timeout problem by being awful on the following play - Acme Packing Company - Green Bay found an entirely new way to fail with their already-poor use of timeouts early in games.

Packers not expected to receive compensatory picks in 2019 NFL Draft - Acme Packing Company - This should be the first time in a decade that Green Bay does not receive any additional picks.

Packers hire Matt LaFleur – ProFootballTalk - And then there were seven. Eight days after the conclusion of the 2018 regular season, the first of eight head-coaching jobs has been filled. The Packers, PFT has confirmed, have hired Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur.

Packers to hire Titans OC Matt LaFleur as head coach - NFL.com - Green Bay has found its new man. The Packers are hiring Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur as their next head coach, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.

Detroit Lions not projected to receive any 2019 compensatory draft picks - Pride Of Detroit - Looks like the Lions won’t have any additional picks in 2019.

Detroit Lions continue to shake up coaching staff, front office; fire VP of football operations - Pride Of Detroit - Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn are making some serious changes.

The Lions knew they weren’t contenders when they turned down Patriots’ offer for Golden Tate - Pride Of Detroit - Why choose an NFC contender over an AFC team?

Report: Kevin Stefanski not returning to Vikings; Mike Mularkey atop wish list - Daily Norseman - Not sure what to read into this

Packers 'zeroing in' on hiring Matt LaFleur as New head coach, per report - Acme Packing Company - The former Titans OC appears to be the pick for Mark Murphy and Brian Gutekunst.

A disastrous 2018 was exactly the season the Packers needed to make necessary changes - Acme Packing Company - When Brett Hundley struggled and it was clear Green Bay lagged behind in talent, Mike McCarthy shook up his coaching staff and Mark Murphy made a GM change. But it took another year of failure to bring us to this important moment.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong: Snap counts, stats, and more - Windy City Gridiron - We’ll list out the complete playing time breakdown, and spotlight a few individual and team statistics from the Chicago Bears in their 16-15 playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Schmitz: Trubisky Then, Trubisky Now - The Growth of Chicago’s QB - How Chicago’s Quarterback has Grown In The 2018 Season - Windy City Gridiron - In lieu of the season’s end, Robert S. takes a look at the struggles Mitch Trubisky endured in his first three weeks of the season and investigates how he’s grown since.

Infante: Notes from a heartbreaking 16-15 loss - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears’ season has come to an unfortunate and ironic end.

Wiltfong: Cody Parkey’s field goal was blocked - Windy City Gridiron - The Eagles got a finger on Cody Parkey’s last second field goal.

WCG CONTRIBUTORS BEARS PODCASTS & STREAMS

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THE RULES

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