The Bear’s Den, October 22, 2020

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

BEARRRSSSS

Quinton Spain could be option for Bears on offensive line - 670 The Score - If the Bears are seeking to fortify their struggling offensive line with outside help, a new option has emerged. The Bills released six-year veteran guard Quinton Spain on Wednesday, making him immediately available to be signed.

Cairo Santos has traversed unique path from Brazil to Bears - 670 The Score - Bears kicker Cairo Santos found his way into football by playing Madden video games and bounced between a number of teams before arriving in Chicago. He may now have a home, as he’s bringing the Bears stability at the kicking position.

Cairo Santos named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week - ChicagoBears.com - Bears kicker Cairo Santos was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week on Wednesday after hitting three field goals and two extra points in a 23-16 road win against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Are There Potential OL Upgrades Available for the Bears? - Da Bears Blog - Nick Foles, in his inspirational postgame press conference on Sunday, said, “without belief nothing is possible”. There’s truth to that. But with all due respect to Foles, belief alone isn’t going to get the Chicago Bears offense anywhere.

Inside the Bears’ success defending the pass: Week 6 All-22 review – The Athletic - Teddy Bridgewater was the latest QB who could not solve the Bears’ red-zone dominance.

NFL QB Power Rankings, Week 6: Nick Foles falls, Andy Dalton debuts - RSN - Week 6 brought about the return of several starting quarterbacks who had missed time with injury, or with COVID-19. Kyle Allen also makes his debut as the third Football Team QB on the list over the course of the season. Finally, we have the first real shake up in the Top-3 of our rankings as well.

Why Bears would be smart to target ex-Bills left guard Quinton Spain - RSN - Spain’s a six-year pro, originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Titans back in 2015. After going to Buffalo on a one-year deal in 2019, he signed a three-year, $15 million extension this offseason.

Quinton Spain Would Look Great in a Bears Uniform, Would Pace Pull the Trigger? - On Tap Sports Net - If there is any hope for the Bears’ offense that is now led by Nick Foles to get going, they’ll need the offensive line to be immaculate down the stretch.

Chicago Bears WR Allen Robinson II optimistic about direction of offense - ChicagoBears.com - Allen Robinson II sees changes happening within the Bears’ offense.

Chicago Bears S DeAndre Houston-Carson dedicating remainder of 2020 season to best friend’s mother - ChicagoBears.com - DeAndre Houston-Carson is dedicating the rest of the season to his best friend’s mother, who passed away Sunday night hours after the Bears safety had preserved a victory over the Panthers with his first NFL interception.

5 things you may not know about Chicago Bears NT Bilal Nichols - ChicagoBears.com - Bears nose tackle Bilal Nichols recorded his first sack of the season in last Sunday’s 23-16 win over the Carolina Panthers. Here are five things you might not know about the third-year player.

Chicago Bears K Cairo Santos named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week - ChicagoBears.com - Bears kicker Cairo Santos has been honored as the NFC special teams player of the week for his performance in last Sunday’s 23-16 win over the Panthers.

Allen Robinson believes Bears’ offense close to breakthrough - 670 The Score - Shortly after the Bears pulled through with a 23-16 win against the Panthers on Sunday, players in the visiting locker room at Bank of America Stadium were discussing how they could improve.

Nichols: Bears ‘without a doubt’ built to win Super Bowl - 670 The Score - The Bears believe they can win the Super Bowl. “Yes I do,” Bears defensive end Bilal Nichols said on the Zach Gelb Show. “Without a doubt. I feel like we’re built for it, and I feel like we match up well against a lot of other teams.”

Bears trying to control message as much as line of scrimmage - Chicago Sun-Times - Pay no attention to the offense, they say. We’re 5-1!

How Bears kicker Cairo Santos made changes to right a rollercoaster career - Chicago Sun-Times - When the Bears kicker talks about his long journey, it’s about more than navigating injuries and struggles the past few years.

Bears’ Cairo Santos named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week - Chicago Sun-Times - Santos, who made all three field goals and two extra points Sunday, is 10-for-12 on the season and has cemented himself as the Bears starting kicker.

Bears Snap Judgment: Vets Danny Trevathan, Akiem Hicks see spikes - Chicago Sun-Times - The Sun-Times’ weekly look at how the Bears split up their playing time. This week focuses on the front seven, two rookies and running back David Montgomery.

Bears at pivotal stretch to contend in murky NFC - Chicago Sun-Times - Currently No. 2 in the conference, the Bears could be anywhere from first to sixth by the end of this week.

Rams star Aaron Donald out for first career sack vs. Bears QB Nick Foles - Chicago Sun-Times - When pressed about going 0 for 3 in his previous matchups with Foles, Donald said he’ll try to get it done Monday.

Cairo Santos: Chicago Bears kicker is player of week - Chicago Tribune - Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. He hit a career-long 55-yard field-goal attempt at the end of the first half Sunday, sandwiched around a pair of 31-yarders, in a 23-16 win over the Carolina Panthers.

Chicago Bears Q&A with Brad Biggs - Chicago Tribune - Two topics were clearly the most popular in Brad Biggs’ weekly Chicago Bears mailbag this week: Can the Bears improve the offensive line with a trade? And would the offense benefit from having someone other than head coach Matt Nagy calling plays?

Allen Robinson says Bears offense is ‘taking accountability’ - Bears Wire - Allen Robinson was pleased with the Bears offense in film sessions, taking responsibility for missed opportunities.

Bears now Nick Foles’ team regardless of on-field struggles - Chicago Sun-Times - Foles hasn’t been any better than the man he replaced, Mitch Trubisky. But history is on his side, and so is the Bears’ locker room.

Bears’ Jaylon Johnson is NFL’s top rookie CB, just as he expected all along - Chicago Sun-Times - Johnson’s numbers are outstanding and well ahead of any cornerbacks chosen ahead of him. Turns out he was right to be insulted when he fell all the way to No. 50 overall.

Chicago Bears podcast: How will they fare in Week7? - Chicago Tribune - The Chicago Bears are 5-1 but are they legit? Dan Wiederer and Brad Biggs break down the victory against the Carolina Panthers and look ahead to Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Rams on the latest episode of the Bear Download podcast.

The elite NFL defenses are starting to separate themselves, but who’s the best? – The Athletic - The Bears, Colts, Ravens, Steelers and Buccaneers have stood out among the NFL’s top defenses through six weeks of the season.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Tua Tagovailoa: I thought Brian Flores was calling me to watch film - ProFootballTalk - “I was very excited,” Tagovailoa said, via Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post.

Le'Veon Bell: Opportunity to play for Andy Reid "magnificent for me" - ProFootballTalk - Running back Le'Veon Bell met with the media on Wednesday for the first time since signing with the Chiefs and he called it a “relief” to join a team where he can “be happy and play football.”

Ryan Fitzpatrick on benching: "My heart just hurt all day" - ProFootballTalk - “I was shocked by it,” Fitzpatrick said, via Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. “It definitely caught me off guard. It was a hard thing for me to hear yesterday, just digesting the news. My heart just hurt all day.”

NFL hot seat ratings - Coaches and players who could get fired or benched in 2020, including Adam Gase, Kirk Cousins - Someone is always on the hot seat in the NFL, and 2020 is no different. These are the coaches, players and executives to watch.

No defense has been as uniquely bad as Mike Nolan’s Cowboys defense since Mike Nolan’s 49ers defense - Blogging The Boys - There is no defense (NPI) for Mike Nolan at this point.

KNOW THINE ENEMY

Matt Ryan not worried about future in Atlanta: 'We rent these lockers; we don't own them' - NFL.com - The Atlanta Falcons fired the GM who selected Matt Ryan in the first round and the coach he's been with the past six seasons. The former NFL MVP is aware of the tenuous nature of football life.

Mike McCarthy calls rumblings of discontent 'teachable moment' for Cowboys - NFL.com - Mike McCarthy hasn't started his second head-coaching gig on the best foot.

Norse Code Podcast Episode 345: This Team Might Not Be Good - Daily Norseman - Arif and James are back to talk about velcro wallets and the draft! All the content you could ever want from a regular Minnesota Vikings podcast. We also discuss the loss to the Falcons, how this could affect Zimmer/Spielman going forward, coaching and drafting philosophy, and the Cousins contract. Skip to 53:19 for Zimmer and Spielman’s future

We need to have the tanking discussion again, don’t we? - Daily Norseman - Well, let’s do it, then.

Reporting as Eligible: Poor pressure by Preston pressures Pettine - Acme Packing Company - Phillips Free.

Second that Motion: Packers’ reliance on pre-snap movement exposed by Buccaneers - Acme Packing Company - Putting players in motion before the snap stresses defenses, tests eye discipline, and generally creates a pinch of chaos for linebackers and safeties. Green Bay thrived the first month using it, but when they went away from it, the offense fizzled.

John Ross does not make sense as a trade target for the Packers - Acme Packing Company - Spoiler alert: probably not.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Schmitz' Rule of 3: Picking apart winners and losers from the Chicago Bears’ big win over Carolina - Windy City Gridiron - In this episode of Rule of 3, Robert S, Brandon Robinson, and Danny Meehan walk through the ups and downs of the Chicago Bears’ game against the Carolina Panthers

Salo, Berckes & Curl: Where Do the Chicago Bears Stand in the NFL Power Rankings? Let’s Ask Windy City Gridiron’s Three Bears - Windy City Gridiron - To place the Bears in their appropriate power rankings spot, we call upon our friends Optimistic Bear, Realistic Bear, and Pessimistic Bear.

Leming's Chicago Bears Mailbag: Trade deadline activity, future quarterback solutions and how to fix the running game - Windy City Gridiron - The Chicago Bears are 5-1 and rolling. Yet, it seems as if no one is taking them seriously quite yet. Could a trade or two help their cause? We’ll answer all of that and more in this week’s mailbag.

WhiskeyRanger: Chicago Bears Kicker Cairo Santos Named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week - Windy City Gridiron - Have the Bears found their kicker?

THE RULES

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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.; EJ also co-hosts The Bootleg Football Podcast with Brett Kollmann; R. Schmitz has a film breakdown show on YouTube titled Run Pass Opinion; and Steven’s Streaming Twitch Channel from Steven Schweickert.

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