The Bear’s Den, October 29, 2021

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

BEARRRSSSS

If Bears’ Khalil Mack is out, defense won’t change gameplan - RSN - Matt Nagy’s team could be without some of it’s best players vs. the 49ers, including Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn and Akiem Hicks.

Bears, 49ers NFL Week 8 picks from experts around the league - RSN - Matt Nagy’s team will try to get back track against Jimmy Garoppolo and the Niners.

James Daniels Chose a Fine Time For a Break-Through Performance - Bleacher Nation - Should the Bears be looking to extend right guard James Daniels?

A Bears Staffer (Not a Player, Coach, or Coordinator) Reportedly Tested Positive for COVID-19 - Bleacher Nation - Let’s keep it real. The last thing this team needs is to be more short-handed than it already is heading into Sunday’s game against the 49ers. And because Tabor didn’t specify if it was a player or staffer, it was easy to allow your imagination to run wild with the worst-case scenarios. However, it doesn’t sound like the Bears are adding any new players to the Reserve/COVID-19 list just yet.

Why I’m Not Writing a “How the Bears Beat the Niners” Column - Da Bears Blog - Let me walk you behind the DBB curtain.

Bears-49ers: 3 matchups to watch on Halloween - 670 The Score - Bears receiver Darnell Mooney against 49ers safety Jimmie Ward is one of the matchups worth watching when Chicago hosts San Francisco on Sunday at Soldier Field.

Bears’ Allen Robinson (ankle) trending towards full strength - 670 The Score - Bears receiver Allen Robinson took a positive step toward full strength Thursday when he worked as a full participant in practice for the first time since suffering an ankle injury on Oct. 10.

The Bears’ offensive failure has many fathers — including Justin Fields - Chicago Sun-Times - It’s possible to believe two things at the same time: that the Bears must be patient with Fields — and that quarterback needs to start rewarding the team for it, starting Sunday against the 49ers.

Bears-49ers podcast: - Chicago Sun-Times - It’s just one thing after another for the Bears.

Bears: ‘Nobody is going to feel sorry for us’ if star OLBs miss game - Chicago Sun-Times - The Bears said that Khalil Mack would consult with doctors and trainers this week before deciding the next step for his injured foot. It’s becoming increasingly likely that he won’t face the 49ers.

Bears will build “world-class stadium” at Arlington Racecourse, Churchill Downs CEO says - Chicago Sun-Times - Bears representatives so far have only said that the team is performing its "due diligence" in exploring the potential for a new stadium at the 326-acre suburban plot.

Bears special teams coordinator Chris Tabor cloaked in secrecy about filling in for Matt Nagy vs. 49ers - Chicago Sun-Times - If Nagy, who tested positive for the coronavirus Monday, isn’t cleared by Sunday, Tabor will handle challenges, timeouts, going for it on fourth downs and other head-coaching duties.

Chicago Bears: Passing game struggles despite running success - Chicago Tribune - The Chicago Bears have remained successful running the ball even after pivoting from injured starter David Montgomery to rookie Khalil Herbert and handling moving parts on the offensive line. But the passing game remains the worst in the league.

Cairo Santos: Chicago Bears kicker's record-setting run - Chicago Tribune - Cairo Santos' march on the steadiest streak of his career — and in Chicago Bears franchise history — began with the support of two families in Brazil and Florida.

Chicago Bears not pursuing horse racing at Arlington Park - Chicago Tribune - Bears say they aren’t pursuing horse racing at Arlington Park.

Bears vs. 49ers: 5 keys for a Chicago victory in Week 8 - Bears Wire - Here are five keys for the Bears to avoid their third straight loss with a win over the 49ers.

Bears have another positive COVID-19 case, won't say who it is - RSN - Matt Nagy is out with the virus, so the Bears special teams coordinator is acting as head coach. He declined to say whether it was a player or coach.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Patrick Mahomes: I told my teammates I have to be better - ProFootballTalk - Mahomes said Thursday that he’s “said something to them that I’ve got to be better” and shared some of the areas where he believes he needs to improve in order for the team to get back on track offensively.

New Map Shows Most Which NFL Team Each State Hates The Most For 2021 - The stats were put together by geotagged Twitter data over the course of the season thus far using tracked tweets, hashtags, and keywords, with over 200,000 tweets monitored. Ken’s Note: A few of these surprise me.... That Colorado fans hate KC worse than the Raiders, that Indy fans hate the Patriots the most and probably most of all, that anybody bothers with hating the Chargers.

KNOW THINE ENEMY

49ers News: When do we start to worry about Javon Kinlaw? - Niners Nation - Can 49ers DT Javon Kinlaw recover from knee injuries to have a long career?

49ers playoff odds have declined the second-most in the NFL since the season started - Niners Nation - ESPN listed San Francisco as one of the most disappointing teams in the league this year

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Salo's Bears Fantasy Football: Darnell Mooney should get the start on your team this week - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears are still struggling to claw their way out of last place in the NFL offensive rankings, and the defense hasn’t been able to pick up the slack as much lately. It’s slim pickings for fantasy football players on the Bears.

Zeglinski: Windy City Gridiron picks Chicago Bears-San Francisco 49ers - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears have a winnable game. The Bears have a must-win game. Welcome to October.

Wiltfong: Our confidence in the Bears’ franchise has plummeted - Windy City Gridiron - Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Each week, we send out questions to the most plugged-in Chicago Bears fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to join Reacts.

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 (their BOB YouTube Channel can be found here), Bears Banter hosted by Bill Zimmerman, Rule of 3 with R. Schmitz, Danny Meehan, and Brandon Robinson, Bear & Balanced from Jeff and Lester A. Wiltfong Jr., and T Formation Conversation from Lester; EJ also co-hosts The Bootleg Football Podcast with Brett Kollmann; R. Schmitz has a film breakdown show on YouTube titled Run Pass Opinion; Will Robinson II has his WhiskeyRanger YouTube channel, and Steven’s Streaming Twitch Channel from Steven Schweickert.

Click on our names to follow us on Twitter: Jeff Berckes; Patti Curl; Eric Christopher Duerrwaechter; Kev H; Sam Householder; Jacob Infante; Aaron Lemming; Ken Mitchell; Jack R Salo; Steven Schweickert; Jack Silverstein; EJ Snyder; Lester Wiltfong, Jr.; Will Robinson II; Robert Schmitz; T.J. Starman; Robert Zeglinski; Bill Zimmerman; Like WCG on Facebook.