The Bear’s Den, May 22, 2019

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

EARRRSSSS / FREE AGENCY / OTA

Zeglinski: Riley Ridley helps the Bears play for the present and the future – The Rock River Times - One could be forgiven for furrowing an eyebrow at the Bears’ selection of Riley Ridley in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. While the polished Ridley—talented enough and certainly built well enough for pro football—fits the Bears, it’s difficult to argue his addition filled an immediate need.

Cox: Where should Khalil Mack rank among all-time best Bears? - NBC Sports Chicago - One season was all it took for Khalil Mack to enter the conversation among the all-time best Bears players. But where does he rank exactly?

Cox: Hall of Fame writers rank Jay Cutler behind Brandon Marshall on all-time Bears list - NBC Sports Chicago - Hall of Fame writers Dan Pompei and Don Pierson are ranking the top 100 Bears of all-time, and their list begins with a controversy involving Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall.

Akiem Hicks is one of the NFL’s most underappreciated players - Bears Wire - Chicago Bears DL Akiem Hicks was pegged one of the NFL’s most underappreciated players

Evaluating Ryan Pace’s tenure as the Chicago Bears general manager - Bears Wire - In the latest episode of the Chicago Shuffle podcast, Bryan Perez discusses the tenure of general manager Ryan Pace since 2015.

Chalk Talk: Who will make biggest strides? - ChicagoBears.com - Senior writer Larry Mayer discusses which 2018 draft pick will make the largest jump this season, how Bilal Nichols’ role could change this year and if memorabilia can be brought to the Bears100 Celebration to be autographed.

Bears rookies visit Chicago children’s hospital - ChicagoBears.com - Sixth-round draft pick Duke Shelley and the rest of the Bears rookie class played sports and chatted with about 40 young patients at a children’s hospital in Chicago on Monday.

Mayer: Ranking best Bears of all time: Nos. 51-75 - ChicagoBears.com - The list of 25 players ranked as the best in Bears history from No. 51-75 is highlighted by three current members of the team, topped by outside linebacker Khalil Mack at No. 60.

Gabriel: Assessing Bears’ WR Positional Battle Entering OTAs - 670 The Score - As OTAs begin, one of the Bears’ most intriguing positional groups to keep an eye is the wide receiver corps.

Bernstein: Jay Cutler Is 85th-Best Bear Ever? C’mon - 670 The Score - Jay Cutler is the best player the Bears have ever had at the most important position. So he’s sure as hell better than the 85th-best player in franchise history.

Potash: Mitch Trubisky, Bears take first step toward giant leap - Chicago Sun-Times - Kicking derby again in the spotlight as Bears hit the practice field for OTAs.

Fox-32 plans an ‘orange-carpet’ show for Bears100, but the event will be catered to fans who attend - Chicago Tribune - Fox-32 will air a live arrivals show at the Bears 100 Celebration Weekend, as Bears aggressively market team through various media platforms.

Vanzuiden: Don’t Forget About Bilal Nichols - Chicago Audible Podcast - With Bilal Nichols’ continual development, all arrows point toward a sophomore surge in 2019.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Goal Line Stand: NFL’s Best GMs 2019 - Fantasy Columns - Patrick Daugherty ranks and evaluates all 32 of the NFL’s general managers. Ken’s Note: Ryan Pace is “meh” in Rotoworld.

Bucs finalizing one-year deal with Ndamukong Suh - NFL.com - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are closing in on a one-year deal with veteran defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reports.

Injuries: 49ers DE Nick Bosa injures hamstring in OTAs - NFL.com - The 49ers began OTAs amid a slew of injuries, including rookie defensive end Nick Bosa, who went down Tuesday. Jimmy Garoppolo is limited, while LB Fred Warner and RB Matt Breida are sidelined.

Most vulnerable division winners: Ravens, Texans, Rams at risk - NFL.com - Lamar Jackson’s Ravens and J.J. Watt’s Texans face serious threats in the AFC North and AFC South, respectively. Gil Brandt ranks each reigning division winner according to vulnerability.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Aaron Rodgers feels he can “put my stamp on” new offense – ProFootballTalk - It's still early in the process, but it's probably safe to say that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers likes the way the team's new offense is coming together more than he liked the last episode of Game of Thrones.

Aaron Rodgers loved being in Game of Thrones, didn’t like the ending – ProFootballTalk - Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers briefly appeared in a scene during the final season of Game of Thrones. He enjoyed the experience of being in the last season of the show more than he enjoyed the experience of watching the last season of the show.

Detroit Lions 2019 OTA Day 2 observations: Teez Tabor rising to the occasion - Pride Of Detroit - With so many players sidelined, a few had a chance to showcase their talent.

Detroit Lions OTA preview, revisiting 2018’s disastrous season opener - Pride Of Detroit - The PODcast takes a nauseating trip down memory lane, then previews OTAs.

Rick Spielman still high on the list in Rotoworld GM rankings - Daily Norseman - Not quite as high as last year, but still up there

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong: Who is the most overrated Chicago Bears player? - Windy City Gridiron - These last two two installments of our WCG offseason, roundtable topics were all about the most underrated and overrated Bears’ players. Yesterday was the most underrated Bear, today it’s the flip side.

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.

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. Unless otherwise stated, the Den is not an open thread, and profanity (including profanity only stated in pictures) is prohibited.

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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; Like us on Facebook.