The Bear’s Den, December 4, 2019

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

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

BEARRRSSSS

Strides by Mitchell Trubisky Remind Nagy of Last Season - SI.com - It’s been a long time coming but Bears coach Matt Nagy is beginning to see the confidence and ability he saw quarterback Mitchell Trubisky display over the final three regular-season games of 2018, when he led the Bears into the playoffs.

Bears to wear centennial ‘classic’ uniforms Thursday vs. Cowboys - Bears Wire - The Bears will once again don their centennial “classic” 1936-inspired uniforms this Thursday against the Cowboys.

Making sense of Mitchell Trubisky’s strong Thanksgiving performance - Bears Wire - Following Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky’s impressive win vs. the Lions, fans are likely feeling a) optimistic, b) pessimistic or c) realistic.

Know Your Foe: Bears-Cowboys Storylines - 670 The Score - Danny Parkins of 670 The Score and Mike Fisher of 105.3 The Fan previewed the Bears-Cowboys matchup that’s set for Thursday evening at Soldier Field.

Bears Defense Still Striving For ‘Perfect’ In Final Stretch - 670 The Score - With the Bears sitting at 6-6 and holding bleak playoff hopes, their defense is embracing the challenge of being perfect as the team looks to win out.

Bears CB Prince Amukamara Dealing With Hamstring Injury - 670 The Score - Kevin Toliver could start at cornerback for the Bears on Thursday in place of Prince Amukamara, who’s dealing with a hamstring injury and is considered day-to-day.

Arthur Arkush: Bears still praise Leonard’s quiet performance, but will they pay him top dollar next year? - Daily Herald - It’s hardly a revelation to point out that Bears outside linebacker Leonard Floyd’s production isn’t commensurate with his draft status. The ninth overall pick in the 2016 draft is stuck on a career-low 3 sacks and has yet to get his hands on a football, much less force a takeaway, which he did at least once in each of his first three seasons.

Amukamara Injury Adds to Bears Matchup Troubles with Dallas - SI.com - The pass defense might be even more over matched than the run defense, particularly due to injury. Starting right cornerback Prince Amukamara missed Monday’s practice due to a hamstring injury.

Chicago Bears could use disrespect as motivation against Cowboys - Da Windy City - The Chicago Bears opened as underdogs against the Dallas Cowboys and can use that disrespect as motivation on Thursday night.

Bears WR Anthony Miller: ‘My confidence is always up there’ - Bears Wire - Given Anthony Miller’s success over the last three games, the young wideout is feeling confident heading into Thursday’s game vs. Cowboys.

Bears QB Big Board, 5.0: Nick Foles isn’t the answer - NBC Sports Chicago - Mitch Trubisky had his best game of 2019 in Week 13’s win over the Lions and is moving up the Bears QB Big Board entering the final four games of 2019.

The Jaguars Have Benched Nick Foles … Which Possibly Puts Him on the Bears’ Radar - Bleacher Nation - After putting up no points in the first half of a game against a Buccaneers pass defense that is among the worst in football, the Jaguars pulled the plug on the

Dannehy: Strong Finish Would Earn Trubisky Another Chance - Da Bears Blog - And just like that, another quarterback has thrown his hat in the ring to be the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears in 2020: Mitch Trubisky.

Chicago Bears playoffs: Matt Nagy sees success in reaching playoff conversation after 3-5 - Chicago Sun-Times - Teams that start 3-5 have less than a 9 percent chance of making the playoffs. The Bears are still a long shot at 6-6, and the Dallas game is virtually a must-win Thursday, but they’ve got a shot.

Chicago Bears’ Khalil Mack geared up for big finish - Chicago Sun-Times - Bears star looking forward to the challenge — and responsibility — of stepping up to keep Bears’ faint playoff hopes alive. He has 21.5 sacks in 24 games in December/January in his NFL career.

Chicago Bears starters: WR Taylor Gabriel, CB Prince Amukamara among 5 in doubt vs. Dallas Cowboys - Chicago Sun-Times - With the Dallas game two days away, it’s unlikely any of the Bears’ injured players will be ready in time.

Chicago Bears blockers brace for ‘elite, elite, elite’ Dallas Cowboys pass rush - Chicago Sun-Times - How well the Bears’ blockers can shield Mitch Trubisky from the storm could sway the Bears’ latest — and, if they’re not careful, last — must-win game Thursday night at Soldier Field.

Chicago Bears’ Khalil Mack on Dallas Cowboys challenge - Chicago Tribune - Bears outside linebacker Khalil Mack talked Tuesday at Halas Hall about the challenges the Cowboys offense presents.

Mitch Trubisky’s progress is Chicago Bears’ main December focus - Chicago Tribune - What did Mitch Trubisky’s and Anthony Miller’s performances vs. the Lions tell us? And what can you say about the Bears tight ends? Our writers fill in the blanks.

Chicago Bears vs. Dallas Cowboys preview podcast - Chicago Tribune - Rich Campbell and Dan Wiederer preview the Bears’ upcoming game against the Cowboys and what it could mean for their slim playoff hopes.

Should the Bears go after Cam Newton in the aftermath of Ron Rivera’s firing? - NBC Sports Chicago - The ripple effects of the Carolina Panthers’ decision to fire longtime coach Ron Rivera extend to Chicago beyond just seeing an old friend in “Chico” lose his job.

Believe it or not, Mitch Trubisky is playing better than Tom Brady - NBC Sports Chicago - Is Mitch Trubisky really having a better 2019 season than Tom Brady?

It’s officially scoreboard-watching season, and the Bears aren’t shying away from that - NBC Sports Chicago - The Bears are more likely you than you’d think!

POLISH SAUSAGE

NFC playoff picture: A shakeup at the top – ProFootballTalk - There’s a new team atop the NFC West and a new team holding down the No. 1 seed in the conference as we head into the final four weeks of the regular season.

Kickers struggling across the NFL – ProFootballTalk - Kickers in the NFL are worse this season. The league-wide field goal success rate this season is 79.9 percent, down significantly from last season’s 84.7 percent. The success rate on extra points this season is 93.2 percent, down from last season’s 94.3 percent.

2020 NFL Draft order: Race for No. 1 overall pick tightens - NFL.com - Which pick in the 2020 NFL Draft does your team hold, and what are the top needs for all 32 clubs? Have a look at where things stand for every squad coming out of Week 13.

KNOW THINE ENEMY

Detroit Lions DC Paul Pasqualoni takes responsibility for defensive struggles - Pride Of Detroit - The veteran coordinator is shying away from blame.

Stock Market Report: Seahawks - Daily Norseman - The playoff landscape was altered, and not in a way that favored the Vikings

Seattle Seahawks 37, Minnesota Vikings 30: Vikings can’t complete second straight comeback - Daily Norseman - The comeback attempt was thwarted by the Seahawks

Jerry Jones: Nothing in my mind says we can’t take it to the house – ProFootballTalk - Cowboys owner Jerry Jones isn’t firing head coach Jason Garrett and he isn’t giving up his hopes for a fairy tale ending to the 2019 season. That was a point that Jones made clear during a Tuesday appearance on 105.3 The Fan.

Mike Zimmer: Vikings are 8-4, one loss is not the end of the world – ProFootballTalk - Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was looking on the bright side after Monday night’s loss to the Seahawks. “Everybody acts like this is the end of the world,” Zimmer said. “We lost one game tonight. We are 8-4, we have four games left, three division games. This is not the end of the world.

Seahawks win fifth in a row while Kirk Cousins falls to 0-8 on Monday night – ProFootballTalk - No team does drama better than the Seahawks. No one does Monday Night Football worse than Kirk Cousins. For the 10th time in 12 games, the Seahawks were in a tight game that came down to the end.

Kirk Cousins had a shot at his defining moment, but it slipped away as Seahawks beat Vikings - Yahoo Sports - Kirk Cousins has had a good season. Statistically, he has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.That’s great, but he still isn’t going to easily shake the knocks on him. He could have on Monday night, and he came up short, again.

Jerry Jones: In my opinion, Jason Garrett will be coaching in the NFL next year - Blogging The Boys - The question is where.

Carolina Panthers fired Ron Rivera who has almost the exact same career résumé as Jason Garrett (with one big exception) - Blogging The Boys - Riverboat Ron time in Carolina is over.

IN CASE YOU YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Householder: 10 Thoughts on the Chicago Bears and NFL - Windy City Gridiron - The boss is out so he’s turning things over to Sam for a week. Bring on the party horn!

Wiltfong: Bears vs. Cowboys - How to get tickets, channel info, weather, odds, previews and more! - Windy City Gridiron - This is everything you need to know about the game, including how to get tickets to Soldier Field to watch live!

Berckes & Snyder’s Bears Over Beers: Something to be Thankful for - Windy City Gridiron - Jeff and EJ dish about the Thanksgiving victory and preview the Cowboys coming to town

Wiltfong: Chicago Bears Sackwatch 2019: Week 13 vs. the Detroit Lions - Windy City Gridiron - According to ESPN’s Pass Block Win Rate, which is powered by NFL Next Gen Stats, the Chicago Bears have a top 10 pass blocking unit. This analytical measurement tracks how long an offensive lineman...

Berckes & Halprin: The Cowboys “Special Teams are horrible, among the very worst in the league” - Windy City Gridiron - Our weekly five questions column features David Halprin of Blogging the Boys

Wiltfong’s NFL Power Ranking: The Bears are on the rise - Windy City Gridiron - We take our weekly peek around the power rankers to see how they rank the Bears...

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.