The Bear’s Den, October 12, 2020

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

BEARRRSSSS

Chicago Bears Week 5 Takeaways: Bears, Brady, Battlestar Galactica - On Tap Sports Net - The Bears defeated Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. Despite the victory there was a lot to take away from the game.

Bears grades: Nick Foles average, Khalil Mack dominant in win over Bucs - RSN - Bears Insider JJ Stankevitz grades how each position group fared in Thursday’s 20-19 win over the Buccaneers.

Khalil Mack and sacks? Playoff-bound Bears? Revisiting our 2020 bold predictions – The Athletic - How are the Bears doing on Adam Jahns’ predictions five games in?

How Ryan Pace’s Offseason Moves Look for Bears Now - SI.com - Every move Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace made in the offseason received the kind of scrutiny normally given politicians in election years.

Roster Moves: Chicago Bears put OL Badara Traore on Reserve/COVID-19 list - ChicagoBears.com - The Bears on Saturday moved rookie offensive lineman Badara Traore from the practice squad to the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Report: Bears practice squad player tests positive - 670 The Score - A Bears player on their practice squad has tested positive for COVID-19, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Saturday. The player wasn’t named in the report. Contact tracing is ongoing.

Bears to proceed practicing for Panthers game after no additional COVID positives - Chicago Sun-Times - Practice squad offensive lineman Badara Traore went on the reserve/COVID list Saturday, but all other players tested negative Sunday.

Bears 5-game review: Is this a playoff team? - Chicago Sun-Times - Despite a 4-1 start, the Bears still have a lot of unanswered questions. Is Nick Foles the answer? Is Nick Foles the question? The biggest surprise/disappointment. And who is this team’s MVP?

Allen Robinson sees better days ahead with Nick Foles - Chicago Sun-Times
- veteran receiver has 17 receptions for 191 yards and a touchdown in Foles’ two starts. "Once he gets going and gets in a rhythm, I think everybody sees what he’s capable of," Robinson said.

7 big questions about the Bears after their 4-1 start - Chicago Sun-Times - Is this a playoff team? Will Nick Foles start the rest of the games? Who is the biggest surprise/disappointment?

Source: NFL fines Bears’ Robert Quinn, Cordarrelle Patterson for penalties vs. Colts - Chicago Sun-Times - The players were fined a total of $27,500 for penalties the NFL deemed to be over the line in the Bears’ Week 4 loss to the Colts

Bears put practice-squad rookie Badara Traore on reserve/COVID-19 list - Chicago Sun-Times - The question now becomes: Will he be the only one?

Chicago Bears: 3 observations from Week 5 win - Chicago Tribune - Chuck Pagano's defense has allowed touchdowns in the red zone on only 36.8% of opponent opportunities (7-for-19). That is first in the NFL, solidly ahead of the second-ranked Vikings at 41.2%.

Chicago Bears: Badara Traore on COVID-19 list - Chicago Tribune - The Chicago Bears placed offensive lineman Badara Traore on the COVID-19/reserve list, the team announced Saturday.

Column: I can't believe I'm feeling sorry for Tom Brady - Chicago Tribune - Things you thought would never happen continue to occur at an alarming pace, and suddenly I find myself feeling sorry for Tom Brady and missing Mitch Trubisky.

Kai Forbath: Chicago Bears sign kicker to practice squad - Chicago Tribune - The Chicago Bears announced the signing of veteran Kai Forbath to their practice squad, the latest kicker transaction for a franchise that has had many of them since Robbie Gould was cut in 2016.

Analyst Believes Nick Foles Is Positioning Bears For Super Bowl Run - Sports Mockery - Nick Foles has begun to change the complexion of this Chicago Bears team. Are they Super Bowl contenders though? One analyst thinks so.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Notable injuries, news from Sunday’s Week 5 games - Cardinals linebacker Chandler Jones was ruled out against the Jets with a biceps injury. Here are the other injuries we’re monitoring around the league on Sunday.

NFL announces multiple schedule changes, moves Broncos-Patriots to Week 6 - NFL.com - The NFL is reshuffling its schedule following Sunday’s announcement that the Denver Broncos-New England Patriots game, scheduled for Monday night, was being postponed after another Patriots player tested positive for COVID-19.

NFL Week 5: What we learned from Sunday’s games - The Ravens’ defense was mighty in a lopsided win over the Bengals, Deshaun Watson and the Texans got their first win and the Steelers are 4-0 for the first time in a long time.

Washington QB Alex Smith takes first snaps since 2018, sacked six times in loss - NFL.com - Alex Smith added another defining chapter to his comeback story. Washington’s 36-year-old QB took the field against the Rams on Sunday in the second quarter in relief of an injured Kyle Allen. Smith had not appeared in a game since suffering a gruesome l

Report: Dan Quinn firing “all but finalized” - ProFootballTalk - The Falcons fell to 0-5 on Sunday and it appears that the loss to the Panthers was the final nail in the coffin for head coach Dan Quinn.

KNOW THINE ENEMY

Panthers 23 Falcons 16: Carolina bullies their way to Week 5 win over Atlanta - Cat Scratch Reader - The Panthers (and Mike Davis) ran over the Falcons en route to a 23-16 win in Week 5.

Panthers make it three in a row, keep Falcons winless - ProFootballTalk - The Panthers have won three straight games, and the Falcons still haven’t won a game.

Best and Worst: Bucs lose to the Bears; lose bigger for the season - Bucs Nation - A lot of bad, but some good, when the Bucs fell to the Bears

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong: Bears put Badara Traore on Reserve/COVID-19 list - Windy City Gridiron - On Saturday morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news about a practice squad player for the Chicago Bears receiving a positive test for the coronavirus, and this afternoon the Bears placed...

Salo's Saturday Spotlight: Kyle Fuller’s Ups and Downs and Interceptions Abound! - Windy City Gridiron - Throughout the 2020 NFL season, we’ll spotlight a Bears player in a weekly column. This week, we’ll take an in-depth look at Cornerback Kyle Fuller

Schmitz: Six Picks against the Week 5 NFL spread - Windy City Gridiron - Robert S. highlights six picks against the spread that, if betting was legal in Texas, he’d be betting money on this weekend.

Infante & Duerrwaechter's Bears 2020 college prospect preview: Non-Power 5 - Windy City Gridiron - In the final part of our annual college football prospect preview series, we take a look at some of the top players outside of the Power 5.

THE RULES

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