The Bear’s Den, October 16, 2019

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

This Spongie Special is bound to please every Bears fan!

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

BEARRRSSSS

Roster Moves: Bears place Hicks on injured reserve - ChicagoBears.com - The Bears on Tuesday put defensive tackle Akiem Hicks on injured reserve with an elbow injury he sustained early in a Week 5 loss to the Raiders Oct. 6 in London.

Lunch With Larry But Without Urlurker: 10.15.19 - ChicagoBears.com - Bears Senior Writer Larry Mayer breaks news on Akiem Hicks, analyzes the offensive line and takes a look at the Saints in his weekly Q&A with fans.

Wait a Minute … The Bears Playoff Chances Somehow Got Worse? - Bleacher Nation - There are times in life when the enemy of our enemy can be a friend. Last night was one of those times. Because, as we discussed in Bullets, the Packers beating

Woods: Bears at the Bye - Defense (and Specials) - Da Bears Blog - With five games under their belt, the Bears are roughly 1/3 of the way through the season. I already checked in on the offense, so today let’s take a closer look at how the defense is doing.

Mike Pereira Laments State Of Officiating, Replay Review - 670 The Score - Fox Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira poured his heart over the state of officiating in an interview on the McNeil & Parkins Show on Tuesday afternoon, going so far as to cast doubt on the entire replay system.

5@5: Nagy Or Pace Deserve More Criticism For Bears’ Woes? - 670 The Score - The Mully & Haugh crew debates a five-pack of questions every weekday.

With linchpin DL Akiem Hicks to IR, Bears D faces real challenge to stay at elite level - NBC Sports Chicago - With apologies to Khalil Mack, the Bears defense on Tuesday officially lost the player it could arguably least afford to lose when defensive lineman Akiem Hicks was placed on injured reserve. Can they replace him?

Bears can feel Trey Flowers' pain with NFL's over-emphasis on hands to the face penalties - NBC Sports Chicago - The Bears have been flagged eight times for illegal use of hands/hands to the face in 2019, easily the highest total in the league. So they can identify with the frustration felt by the Lions after that foul all but cost Detroit their game Monday night.

Bears reportedly expect Akiem Hicks to come off injured reserve in eight weeks - NBC Sports Chicago - The Bears hope to get Akiem Hicks back sometime this season, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

For the Bears' tight ends, there remains an adamant belief that a turnaround is coming soon - NBC Sports Chicago
It's been bad so far -- but maybe not as bad as everyone thinks.

Will the Bears face the Saints without Drew Brees AND Alvin Kamara? - NBC Sports Chicago - The Bears could end up facing a depleted New Orleans Saints offense in Week 7.

Bears place Akiem Hicks on injured reserve - NBC Sports Chicago - The Chicago Bears placed DL Akiem Hicks on injured reserve Tuesday.

Bears Place Akiem Hicks on Injured Reserve - SI.com - Elbow injury will keep Bears from bringing Pro Bowl defensive end back until late in the season.

Resuscitating Bears Running Game Is a Complex Issue - SI.com - The Bears are averaging 3.4 yards a carry, their worst average since 2007, and getting David Montgomery, Mike Davis and Tarik Cohen room to run will require answers on multiple levels.

4 things we learned from offensive coaches - ChicagoBears.com
Speaking to the media Tuesday, Bears position coaches on offense discussed a key aspect of Mitchell Trubisky’s game they won’t take away, the competition to replace Kyle Long at right guard and more.

Quick Hits: Nichols returns at ideal time, Skrine mentors Shelley - ChicagoBears.com - The latest edition of Quick Hits features items about Bilal Nichols providing a boost with his return to practice, veteran nickel back Buster Skrine mentoring rookie Duke Shelley and more.

Comparing Mitch Trubisky to other QBs ‘has never been constructive’ - Chicago Sun-Times - The Bears traded up to draft Mitch Trubisky No. 2 overall in 2017. The Chiefs took Patrick Mahomes 10th, and the Texans selected Deshaun Watson 12th. Mahomes, the 2018 NFL MVP, is second in the league in passer rating. Watson is fourth.

Despite team woes, Bears vs. Saints is most expensive Week 7 ticket - Chicago Sun-Times - It will cost you, on average, $362 to get into Soldier Field for the Bears’ matchup against the Saints.

‘A Bear for life’: Kyle Long just can’t catch a break - Chicago Sun-Times - Three-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman was put on injured reserve with a hip injury — ending his 2019 season and likely his career with the Bears.

Chicago Bears position coaches on Mitch Trubisky, offense - Chicago Tribune - Mitch Trubisky’s three-game sample size is too small to make any grand assessments about his 2019 season, quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone says.

How will the Bears accelerate Mitch Trubisky’s development and fix their struggling offense? It’s up for discussion on the Bear Download podcast. - Chicago Tribune - Rich Campbell and Dan Wiederer look at the Bears’ struggles on offense and examine what Matt Nagy, Mark Helfrich and Ryan Pace said about Mitch Trubisky heading into the 2019 season.

Bears put star defensive lineman Akiem Hicks on injured reserve - Chicago Sun-Times - He hurt his left elbow against the Raiders and will be out at least eight weeks.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Rich McKay: Too early to judge if PI review is working - NFL.com - NFL Competition Committee Chairman Rich McKay told reporters Tuesday that it's too early in the season make a declaration on the effectiveness on replay review of offensive and defensive pass interference.

Stunner: Rams trade CB Marcus Peters to Ravens - NFL.com - The Rams are shipping starting cornerback Marcus Peters to the Ravens, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday afternoon.

Brian Flores definitely will be back in 2020, perhaps to tank again – ProFootballTalk - With so many people covering the NFL so zealously, sometimes news isn't news. But even then, it's news. For the Dolphins, who are 0-5 with no clear indication that any/many wins are coming (or that they want them), the news-that-isn't-really-news from the quarterly league meetings, courtesy of Ha...

NFL power rankings for Week 7 - Chicago Tribune - Brad Biggs’ latest installment of NFL power rankings sees the Bears looking up at their three NFC North rivals with an important game looming Sunday against the Saints.

KNOW THINE ENEMY

Zach Brown fails to check self, ends up wrecking self - Daily Norseman - Kirk Cousins is a stone cold killer

Column: NFL officials’ horrible calls help the Packers beat the Lions — and ESPN’s Booger McFarland made sure we knew it - Chicago Tribune - ESPN’s Booger McFarland ripped the bad calls in the Packers’ “MNF” win vs. the Lions -- and he was right.

NFL admits mistake on Trey Flowers penalty vs. Green Bay - Pride Of Detroit - Great, I guess everything is better now.

Is it too early to start talking playoff picture? - Daily Norseman - It’s never too early!

Detroit Lions Week 6 snap counts: 7 observations from the Packers game - Pride Of Detroit - A look at the participation rates from Monday night.

Packers defense, not just officials, led Week 6 comeback over Lions - Acme Packing Company - Blame the officials all you want, but the real story from Monday night was how Mike Pettine’s defense clamped Matthew Stafford and the Lions in the second half give Aaron Rodgers a chance to win it late. Ken's Note: In the immortal words of the great modern-day poet Jessica Alba, "Blah blah, woof woof..."

IN CASE YOU YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong's NFL Power Rankings: The Chicago Bears are on the move - Windy City Gridiron - We check out what some of the NFL experts have to say about the Chicago Bears this week right here:

Wiltfong: Bears place Akiem Hicks on IR, Alex Bars signed to the 53-man roster - Windy City Gridiron - Another three roster moves for the Chicago Bears...

Infante's 2020 NFL draft: Breaking down the class’ top quarterbacks - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears will likely be in the market for a new backup quarterback this offseason, and this upcoming draft class has a few prospects who could fill that role.

Wiltfong: Ten Thoughts on the NFL and the Bears - Windy City Gridiron - Check out our Thought son the NFL this week and leave us a few of your own in the comment section...

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.