The Bear’s Den, October 14, 2019

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

Bye weekend at the Denmaster’s house be like:

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

BEARRRSSSS

Taylor Gabriel Hints He Will Be Back Next Sunday - Bleacher Nation - A sluggish Bears offense could see the return of one of its key players as soon as next Sunday when they return to the field to play the Saints. Here is the

The Bears’ Offensive Line Shakeup to Begin By Placing Kyle Long on IR - Bleacher Nation - Change is coming to the Chicago Bears offensive line, and it appears as if it will begin by moving its longest-tenured player out of the lineup. Check it out:

Rival Roundup: The Bears Are Good, But Must Be Better to Win the NFC North - Da Bears Blog - We’re just over a quarter of the way through the 2019 season, and the bye week makes it the perfect time to assess where the Bears stand, both as an individual unit and in relation to the rest of the NFC North.

Report: Chicago Bears to place Kyle Long on IR - 247Sports - The Chicago Bears will likely put guard Kyle Long on Injured Reserve coming out of the bye week.

Bears’ offense needs more from their tight ends - 247Sports - There are a lot of problems with the Chicago Bears offense but they are getting virtually nothing from the tight end position.

Listen: Hub Arkush Takes Bears, NFL Calls - 670 The Score - Hub Arkush takes listeners’ calls on the Bernstein & McKnight Show every week.

5@5: Trubisky Be Better If Drafted By Another Team? - 670 The Score - The Mully & Haugh crew debates a five-pack of questions every weekday.

Monsters of the Midway Comic Strip - Rest & Recover - ChicagoBears.com - This season, follow along as we continue the story of the Monsters of the Midway defending Chicago from a weekly nemesis drawn from the 2019 schedule.

Kyle Long's reported move to injured reserve would be a difficult call for the Bears - NBC Sports Chicago - The Bears reportedly are "likely" to place Kyle Long on injured reserve, a difficult move that could be the first step toward fixing their lagging offensive line.

Guess which highly-paid NFL kicker is only making 58% of his field goals? - NBC Sports Chicago - The curse of Chicago Football Madness continues on.

Bears fans got to spend the bye week watching Pat Mahomes and Deshaun Watson be transcendent football players - NBC Sports Chicago - It's actually NBD because the offense is about to click, right? RIGHT?!? Ken's Note: "Transcendent - You Keep Using That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means" . They were anywhere from "not bad if you don't mind all the turnovers" to "pretty good, again if you don't mind a few interceptions..." Neither had 300 yards, Mahomes hit just a little over 50 percent completion rate and they had a combined 1/1 TD/INT ratio (3TD’s / 3INT’s including two in the red zone for Watson). Effective? Yes, but transcendent? Not Sunday. This one wreaks of a pre-write shoehorned in to kinda-sorta fit the facts afterwards. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Mahomes & Watson fan, but yesterday we didn't see either of them's best.

Aaron Rodgers has high praise for Bears' legend Lance Briggs: "There is just no comparison" - NBC Sports Chicago - The Packers' QB had a bunch of nice things to say about Briggs.

Bears at the Bye: Eddy Pineiro has been Matt Nagy's best decision of 2019 - NBC Sports Chicago - Bears coach Matt Nagy has experienced some struggles in Year 2 on the job, but he made the right call by naming Eddy Pineiro the team's starting kicker.

Football Aftershow analyst Olin Kruetz was all over the Kyle Long-to-the-IR story - NBC Sports Chicago - Kruetz knows a thing or two about offensive line play.

If Bears decide to make a trade, which QBs could they look to pursue? - NBC Sports Chicago - If Mitchell Trubisky goes down again, could they look to add a former Super Bowl MVP to play quarterback?

Report: Kyle Long Headed to IR for Fourth Straight Year - SI.com - Hip injury will land Bears guard Kyle Long on IR, and could bring his future in Chicago into question

Grading Bears at The Break: Triumph and Failure - SI.com - The Bears have had their key moments but the grades overall at the bye week break reflect the degree of uncertainty surrounding their direction.

Why Time Away Is Never a Good Thing for Mitchell Trubisky - SI.com - Mitchell Trubisky calls himself a "reps guy," and statistics show he has only a 74.63 passer rating when he's been away from the field for more than your standard seven- or eight-day NFL work weekZeglinski:

Will Mitch Trubisky return vs. Saints? Players of intrigue after the bye - Chicago Sun-Times - Even at 3-2, the Bears have a long list of players to keep an eye on when they return from the break: Akiem Hicks, Kyle Long, Roquan Smith and Charles Leno among them.

Mike Ditka to receive special honor during Super Bowl - Chicago Sun-Times - The legendary Bears coach will be honored by the NFL as one of the 100 greatest football players of all time when it celebrates its 100th anniversary at the 2020 Super Bowl in Miami on Feb. 2

Jason Lieser: 7 big questions (including a trade idea) facing the Bears - Chicago Sun-Times - A look at whether the Bears are still the favorites in the NFC North, what to expect from Trubisky in the second half and what’s on the table as they approach the trade deadline.

Is this a playoff team? Analyzing the Bears’ biggest problems at the bye - Chicago Sun-Times - The Bears are 3-2, but their offensive problems cast doubt on where they’re heading under coach Matt Nagy.

Halas Intrigue Bears Report: Catching up on a quiet bye week - Chicago Sun-Times - We can all agree things aren’t going particularly well for the Bears these days. Compounding matters, things seem to be going awfully well for the, gulp, Green Bay Packers.

Analyzing the Bears’ biggest problems during their bye - Chicago Sun-Times - Are the Bears a playoff team? Can Mitch Trubisky improve?

Matt Nagy's inner conflict as Chicago Bears reach bye week - Chicago Tribune - The 3-2 Bears have plenty to be proud of but much more to worry about after a dispiriting loss in London. The open date gives coach Matt Nagy a chance to weigh all sides.

Kyle Long will likely be placed on injured reserve: report - Chicago Tribune - NFL Network reported right guard Kyle Long will likely be placed on injured reserve with a lingering hip issue.

Review: Chicago Bears offense at the bye - Chicago Tribune - Mitch Trubisky is injured, the offensive line is struggling and the running game is going nowhere. There's a lot for the Bears to fix on offense during their week off.

Chicago Bears Bye Week Roundtable (State of the Franchise) - The Chicago Audible - Everyone on The Chicago Audible's staff hops on the show to discuss the state of the Chicago Bears at the bye week.

Morrissey: A Patrick Mahomes-Deshaun Watson meeting is more pain for Bears - Chicago Sun-Times - The best you can say about the entire situation is that Bears GM Ryan Pace might, in time, fingers crossed, be right about Mitch Trubisky. But he was oh so wrong about the two quarterbacks he passed on.

Bears likely to put Kyle Long on injured reserve: report - Chicago Sun-Times - The Bears are likely to put Kyle Long on injured reserve, according to the NFL Network, after the three-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman struggled with a hip injury this year.

CB Kyle Fuller is ‘Mamba’ of Bears’ defense - Chicago Sun-Times - The lockdown corner has an unusual personality, but it’s working for him.

NFL hands out more than $60,000 in fines from Bears-Raiders game - Chicago Sun-Times - A look at the hefty penalties the league issued to four players for five offenses.

The Bears’ Prince charming: Amukamara discusses his royal bloodline, religion and more - Chicago Sun-Times - While most retired NFL players pursue careers in business or broadcasting, Prince Amukamara is considering going to Nigeria and assuming his role as chief.

BECAUSE BUTKUS

POLISH SAUSAGE

Baker Mayfield: Officials were pretty bad today – ProFootballTalk - The Browns entered the game with the second-most penalties, 48 for 423 yards. They had nine more Sunday for 83 more yards. They weren’t happy with referee Adrian Hill’s officiating crew. In his postgame news conference, Baker Mayfield broke down two plays he thought officials erred on.

Dolphins bench Josh Rosen for Fitzpatrick vs. Redskins - NFL.com - Losing 17-3 to the Redskins in the fourth quarter Sunday, Miami benched starting QB Josh Rosen in favor of veteran signal-caller Ryan Fitzpatrick.

What we learned from Sunday’s Week 6 NFL games - NFL.com - Week 6 got off to an early start with the Panthers and Buccaneers squaring off for a morning NFC South showdown in London. Here’s what we learned from that and the rest of Sunday’s matchups.

Mike Ditka’s iconic Chicago Gold Coast steakhouse could close - Chicago Sun-Times - ‘It’s been a great run,’ the legendary Bears coach says of the restaurant that opened in 1997.

Titans replace Marcus Mariota with Ryan Tannehill – ProFootballTalk - All offseason, the Titans swore they only brought Ryan Tannehill in as a backup. That lasted less than six weeks. The Titans have benched quarterback Marcus Mariota in favor of Tannehill, down 13-0 at Denver.

Fitzmagic falls short, Bill Callahan gets Washington’s first win – ProFootballTalk - A win against the Dolphins does, in fact, count in the standings. Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does. So Washington picked up its first win of the season today in Miami, making Bill Callahan 1-0 as an interim head coach.

KNOW THINE ENEMY

What to watch for in Lions-Packers on ‘MNF’ - NFL.com - Aaron Rodgers and the Packers (4-1) will host Matthew Stafford and the Lions (2-1-1) with first place in the north for the taking as Monday Night Football kicks off at 8:15 p.m. ET from Lambeau Field on ESPN.

T.J. Hockenson clears concussion protocol, Da’Shawn Hand OUT vs. Packers - Pride Of Detroit - Hockenson will play on Monday, Hand will not.

Danielle Hunter claims sack record for himself - Daily Norseman - He now has more than any player in NFL history before age 25

Minnesota Vikings 38, Philadelphia Eagles 20: This, too, shall pass - Daily Norseman - For four touchdowns, as a matter of fact

Pride of Detroit picks the outcome of Lions vs. Packers - Acme Packing Company - Mike Payton of SB Nation’s Detroit Lions blog Pride of Detroit picks the outcome of Monday’s game.

IN CASE YOU YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong: Report - Bears to put Kyle Long on injured reserve - Windy City Gridiron - The Chicago Bears appear to be shutting down offensive lineman Kyle Long for the 2019 season.

Wiltfong: WCG predicts the 2019 Bears record (do-over) - Windy City Gridiron - With angst over the Chicago Bears unexpectedly high after their 3-2 start, we wanted to revisit some of our record predictions for the 2019 team. The Bears are off this weekend with their bye, so...

WCG CONTRIBUTORS BEARS PODCASTS & STREAMS

Windy City Gridiron Podcast Channel which includes Bear With Me from Robert Schmitz, Bears Over Beers featuring Jeff Berckes & EJ Snyder, and T Formation Conversation from Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.; Steven’s Streaming Twitch Channel from Steven Schweickert; and Robert Zeglinski’s The Blitz Network

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. No personal attacks, politics, gender based insults of any kind, racial insults, etc.

WCG CONTRIBUTORS BEARS PODCASTS & STREAMS

Windy City Gridiron Podcast Channel which includes Bear With Me from Robert Schmitz, Bears Over Beers featuring Jeff Berckes & EJ Snyder, Bears Banter hosted by Bill Zimmerman, and T Formation Conversation from Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.; Steven’s Streaming Twitch Channel from Steven Schweickert; and Robert Zeglinski’s The Blitz Network

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