The Bear’s Den, September 4, 2020

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

It’s 50’s Week here in the Den, and it’s time for some Chuck Berry...

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

BEARRRSSSS

ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky believes Mitchell Trubisky will start Week 1 - Bears Wire - Former Lions QB and ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky believes Mitchell Trubisky will be the Bears starting quarterback when the season starts.

Young Bears Receivers Looking To Break Out - 670 The Score - Since signing Allen Robinson in 2018, the Bears have been hoping for one of their young receivers to emerge alongside him. There are a number of candidates striving to do that this season.

Bears DL Akiem Hicks returns to practice - Chicago Sun-Times - Even if it was just for a light practice, the Bears were thrilled to see Akiem Hicks back on the Halas Hall fields Thursday.

How Matt Nagy will pick the Chicago Bears' starting QB - Chicago Tribune - Decision time is coming soon for Matt Nagy and the Chicago Bears coaching staff to choose between Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles to be the starting quarterback.

COVID-19 and sports: How teams decide attendance - Chicago Tribune - There is nothing straightforward about COVID-19. And when it comes to settling on a number for fans in attendance, the amount of variables that go into the equation would tie mathematicians in knots.

NFL facilities will close on Election Day - Chicago Tribune - All NFL and NFL Players Association facilities will close on Election Day, and the league and union will televise a one-hour program next week for players to highlight work being done to advance social justice.

Chicago Bears: Tracking the roster cuts - Chicago Tribune - Despite the limited evaluation time, Chicago Bears Matt Nagy said they’ve seen enough reps to trim their roster to 53 players by the 3 p.m. Saturday deadline.

Bears QB competition: The case for Mitch Trubisky to start Week 1 - RSN - Holding onto a 16-10 lead early in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers last season, Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy called for a shot play downfield on 2nd and 7 from the Bears’ own 35-yard line.

Bears Waive Six Players, Bringing Roster Down To 74 - On Tap Sports Net - The Chicago Bears have made six more cuts to bring their roster down to 74 players.

Matt Nagy: Better Sooner Than Later on QB Decision - SI.com - Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles will find out soon which starts on Sept. 13 at Ford Field against the Detroit Lions.

Check out the new Bears Wire Podcast - Bears Wire - The NFL Wire Network is rolling out new podcast series this week, including the brand new Bears Wire podcast.

Matt Nagy wants Matt Nagy to hurry up and pick a starting QB for Bears’ opener - Chicago Sun-Times - Tired of waiting for word on whether it’ll be Nick Foles or Mitch Trubisky? So is the man in charge of making that call.

Don’t count out Ryan Nall in Bears’ backfield - Chicago Sun-Times - After making progress since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2018, Nall could be on the right side of the roster bubble — with an opportunity to help fill the void of David Montgomery’s absence.

Halas Intrigue Episode 113: Who’s the Bears’ QB? - Chicago Sun-Times - Pat Finley, Mark Potash and Jason Lieser discuss the Bears’ 2020 season.

Who will call Bears games on Fox, CBS? Here are my predictions. - Chicago Sun-Times - Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma will call the season opener on Fox. Ian Eagle and Charles Davis have the home opener on CBS. Let’s fill in the rest of the Sunday schedule.

Bears begin roster cuts by dropping 6 players - Chicago Sun-Times - With a Saturday deadline to get from 80 players to 53, the Bears got a head start Thursday morning.

Running back Leonard Fournette wasn’t in Bears’ plans - Chicago Sun-Times - Former Jaguar signed with Buccaneers late Wednesday

Chicago Bears DT Akiem Hicks excited to return to game action in 2020 - ChicagoBears.com - Akiem Hicks is fired up for this season.

Roster Moves: Chicago Bears waive six players ahead of final roster cutdown - ChicagoBears.com - The Bears on Thursday waived running back Napoleon Maxwell, receivers Alex Wesley and Ahmad Wagner, offensive lineman Corey Levin, defensive lineman Lee Autry and linebacker Keandre Jones.

Chalk Talk: Will winner of Chicago Bears’ QB competition between Mitchell Trubisky, Nick Foles be safe for entire season? - ChicagoBears.com - Senior writer Larry Mayer discusses whether the winner of the Bears’ quarterback competition will be safe for the entire season, the likelihood of rookie cornerback Jaylon Johnson starting the season opener and new NFL rules for the 2020 season.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Reports: Saints making a play for Jadeveon Clowney - ProFootballTalk - Jadeveon Clowney remains a free agent but maybe not for much longer.

John Mara accepts that player protests might not sit well with some fans - ProFootballTalk - “I’m going to continue to support [the players],” Mara said, via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. “I understand the fact and accept the fact that that’s not going to be necessarily popular with certain segments of our fan base, but I think that’s the right thing to do.”

NFL.com - Official Site of the National Football League - NFL.com - Super Bowl LV picks: 1 team bigger favorite than Ravens

NFL to provide pre-recorded crowd noise for teams to play during games - NFL.com - NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Thursday that it will provide a loop of pre-recorded crowd noise specific to each team's stadium that must be played over the PA system in empty stadiums -- and partially filled stadiums, at least to start the season.

WINDY CITY GRIDIRON MADDEN INVITATION

Do you want to do more officially sanctioned WCG Madden stuff? Or just enjoy the game?WCG now has an official Madden Discord server! Feel free to offer suggestions, updates, or anything to help the internet’s best Bears community have the best Madden community as well! Invite link is here.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong’s 5 Questions with Football Outsiders: Can the Bears’ defense get back to their 2018 ways? - Windy City Gridiron - Chicago’s defense took a step back in 2019, so how likely is it they get back to their 2018 DVOA ways this season?

Zeglinski: Chicago Bears 2020 final roster roundtable - The Offense - Windy City Gridiron - Matt Nagy and his offensive subordinates have some major decisions to make by Saturday, including one elephant in the room. Windy City Gridiron’s staff lays out what’s at stake.

Next round of comment updates - Windy City Gridiron - Only a few more days until the NFL season starts!

Wiltfong: Chicago Bears Cut Tracker - Six released on their way to a 53-man roster - Windy City Gridiron - We’ll keep track of all the Bears roster moves right here...

Leming’s Chicago Bears Mailbag: Leonard Fournette, the quarterback battle and a list of potential “surprise” cuts - Windy City Gridiron - The 2020 NFL is a week away and with roster cuts due on Saturday, we take a closer look at what to expect in the coming days leading into the team’s Week 1 affair against the Lions next Sunday.

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.

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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