The Bear’s Den, November 2, 2021

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

BEARRRSSSS

Andy Dalton and Nick Foles Would Make a Ton of Sense for the Saints ... Just Sayin’ - Bleacher Nation - After seeing Jameis Winston’s injury, Bears GM Ryan Pace would be doing right by Nick Foles and Andy Dalton by reaching out to New Orleans.

Bears Need to Embrace Reality of Moment, Capitalize on this Trade Deadline - Da Bears Blog - For all the talk of parity in the NFL, the NFC is not complying in 2021. Six of the seven seeds in January’s postseason tournament are all but spoken for, with Arizona, Los Angeles, Green Bay, Dallas, Tampa and New Orleans creating a sizable gap between themselves and the rest of the field.

Bears-49ers observations: Fields shines in scheme fit to him - 670 The Score - While Sunday didn’t bring the huge offensive breakthrough that rookie quarterback Justin Fields had envisioned, what he and the Bears showcased in terms of scheme and production was a significant step forward.

Bears RB David Montgomery (knee) ‘improving every day’ - 670 The Score - Bears running back David Montgomery is eligible to return from injured reserve, and his knee is “improving every day,” coach Matt Nagy said.

Bears activate TE Jimmy Graham from reserve/COVID-19 list - 670 The Score - The Bears have activated tight end Jimmy Graham from the reserve/COVID-19 list, they announced Monday morning. He had missed the team’s last two games.

Let's Keep Our Eyes Open for a Potential Allen Robinson II Trade Before Tomorrow's Deadline - Bleacher Nation - Brace yourselves. The NFL Trade Deadline is coming at 3 p.m. CT on Tuesday.

Bears PFF grades: Best and worst performers in Week 8 loss vs. 49ers - Bears Wire - Here’s a look at how PFF graded the Bears offense and defense in their loss to the 49ers.

Bears report card: How we graded Chicago in their Week 8 loss - Bears Wire - Here’s a quick breakdown of what we saw during Sunday's game and how we graded the Bears in their loss to the 49ers.

Film study: Breaking down Justin Fields’ best game, including a ‘generational’ run - Chicago Sun-Times - Despite losing 33-22 to the 49ers on Sunday, Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields posted his most promising performance this season. Analyzing two throws and two runs.

Chicago Bears: Brad Biggs' 10 thoughts on Week 8 loss - Chicago Tribune - Justin Fields’ athleticism was on full display, and the rookie quarterback was decisive when he made the call to pull the ball down and run during the Chicago Bears' 33-22 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Matt Nagy: How Chicago Bears coach watched Sunday's game while out with COVID-19 - Chicago Tribune - Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy grabbed a notebook and began jotting down play specifics as he watched the 33-22 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Bears Monday Rewind: Justin Fields’ highlight throw, Larry Borom’s starting debut, run defense’s rough day – The Athletic - Fields made some big-time plays, but the Bears' run defense suffered. Inside the numbers, plus snap-count observations.

Greenberg: Justin Fields is getting better, but can he succeed in the Matt Nagy offense? – The Athletic - We’re seeing some real development from Fields, who has had awful games and promising ones this season.

What went wrong for Bears defense on 83-yard Deebo Samuel screen - RSN - Matt Nagy and the Bears defensive coaches broke down the one play that gave the 49ers offense all the momentum in Week 8.

How Bears' Matt Nagy watched the 49ers game from afar - RSN - The Chicago Bears head coach was sidelined with COVID-19 and said the whole experience was "strange."

Bears TE Jimmy Graham off reserve/COVID-19 list in time to play Steelers - Chicago Sun-Times - Graham was out for the losses to the Buccaneers and 49ers.

With his job on the line, has Bears coach Matt Nagy made ‘progress’ in 2021? - Chicago Sun-Times - Rookie quarterback Justin Fields is on the way up and the running game looks good, but how much credit does Nagy get for that? Plus, the team is 3-5 and second-to-last in scoring.

If the Broncos can trade Von Miller, can the Bears trade Khalil Mack? - Chicago Sun-Times - While Broncos general manager George Paton had a Mack-like commodity in Miller, he also had something Bears GM Ryan Pace does not have: time. Paton is in his first season as the Broncos’ GM; Pace is in his seventh with the Bears.

Chicago Bears: Travel to Arlington Heights better than Soldier Field? - Chicago Tribune - Getting to and from Arlington Heights — and whether it would be better, or worse, than dealing with Soldier Field traffic or the trek from public transit — is yet another layer of the Chicago Bears’ potential move to the northwest suburb that has fans sharply divided.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Broncos announce Von Miller trade, eventual placement in Ring of Honor - ProFootballTalk - The Broncos have announced the trade that will send linebacker Von Miller to the Rams for a second- and third- round pick in 2022. In so doing, team president and CEO Joe Ellis also announced that Miller eventually will be placed in the team’s Ring of Honor.

KNOW THINE ENEMY

Matt LaFleur: Packers are “working extremely hard” at trade deadline - ProFootballTalk - Packers coach Matt LaFleur says his team is interested in adding to the roster before tomorrow’s trade deadline.

Time to Move On from Mike Zimmer - Daily Norseman - I’ve not been on-board with the fire Mike Zimmer crowd or the blow it up crowd, but at this point the time is right for big changes in the Vikings coaching staff. The timing of mid-season or end of season isn’t as important as taking the time to evaluate the coaching staff and getting the right replacement on board.

Danielle Hunter out for remainder of season with torn pec - Daily Norseman - This is bad

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Infante's Notes: Bears start off hot, but 49ers dominate offensively - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears cooled off down the stretch in a tough loss to the 49ers at home.

Wiltfong: Bears vs 49ers - Takeaways from the snap counts, stats, and more - Windy City Gridiron - Here’s the full playing time breakdown for the Bears, a spotlight of some individual stats, and also a few team statistics from the Chicago Bears in their 33 to 22 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Zeglinski: The Chicago Bears should trade their snack packs for bananas - Windy City Gridiron - Yes, the Bears should sell their underperforming and or old players. If only those darn bullies in the lunch period cafeteria were so kind.

Zeglinsi: Chicago Bears’ Justin Fields named PFF Rookie of the Week - Windy City Gridiron - After a dazzling performance that almost lifted Chicago to a win, Fields gets a notable accolade.

Leming: 10 Takes after the freefalling Bears drop their 3rd straight game - Windy City Gridiron - The Chicago Bears have now lost three games in a row and things do not appear to be getting any better any time soon. With nine games left, what exactly do we have to look forward to?

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 (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.

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