Windy City Gridiron

Photo by Michael Reaves/ With Braxton Jones playing well, the Bears seem to have four-fifths of their offensive line figured out. Well over half of the Chicago Bears fans who voted in our confidence poll this week believe the franchise is on the right path, and while I'm not with them in that assessment, I am pretty sure Braxton Jones has left the tackle spot locked down. In the other half of our Reacts survey, 78% of our fans think Jones should be considered a building block for the franchise. Jones continuing to ascend as a player will allow General Manager Ryan...

Photo credit should read DANIEL LIPPITT/AFP via Think about how the narrative would have changed had the Chicago Bears hung on to beat the Detroit Lions a few weeks ago. That historic meltdown, coupled with the franchise-worst 21-point lead they blew against the Broncos early this year, presents a heck of a "what if" for this team. At (4-8), the Bears are barely hanging on to their postseason hopes, and questions surrounding the futures of head coach Matt Eberflus and quarterback Justin Fields have been the talk of Chicago for weeks. But "if" those two games had gone...

Photo by Leon Halip/ Injuries at wide receiver depth are piling up, and it’s December. Expect a volumous rushing attack on Sunday. WE WANT YOU! Would you like to show your Chicago Bears spirit to the world? I’m starting a feature where Windy City Gridiron readers can share pictures of themselves and their families and friends in Bears attire. Simply email a picture to me at the following address: denmasterken at aol dot com. The pictures need to be clear, and full resolution (i.e. full size from your phone if that’s how you take them). Include any description...

Photo by Todd Rosenberg/ The Bears host the Lions as they look for their first back-to-back wins in the Eberflus era. Fantasy Football websites have overviews of the stars of the show. The Chicago Bears carried a win over the Vikings into the bye last week, and now they hope to come out fresh against the Detroit Lions in week 14. Justin Fields and company worked the Lions for 3 quarters in their matchup last month but completely fell apart and gave up the last 17 points of the game as Detroit stole what should have been a statement win. Speaking of Fields, the...

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Fan confidence in the Bears franchise keeps growing... but why? Following the Chicago Bears' narrow 12 to 10 victory in Minnesota on November 27, our fans' confidence in the franchise jumped to 45%. Some of that could be attributed to the standard bump after a win, some could be our fanbase buying into the four wins in eight games, or some may be fans believing in the young talent general manager Ryan Poles has acquired. Then again, some yes votes last week could have been from fans who have already fired Matt...

Photo by Michael Reaves/ Full injury report for the Bears and Lions. Coming off their bye week, the Chicago Bears got some players back that had missed some time. Offensive lineman Larry Borom, running back D'Onta Foreman, linebacker Noah Sewell, and corner Tyrique Stevenson will all be available for Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions. All four practiced in full and carry no injury designation. But Chicago's report isn't spotless. Wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. missed practice today with an illness and is listed as questionable. Also questionable are defensive end...

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/ Hall voters knock Devin Hester for low snap counts. That’s a silly way to judge transcendent greatness. But since you asked... If you watched Devin Hester you never forgot him. That alone shouldn’t put someone in the Pro Football Hall of Fame; you never forgot Bo Jackson or Michael Vick either. But it’s a valuable head start before you tally a single stat. Memory. Impact. An opponent’s fear. For Canton, it all matters. And it’s the first of two reasons why I don’t think much of the snap count argument wielded against special...

Photo by Chris Graythen/ The Bears are facing the NFC North leaders and our crew breaks down what it will take for Chicago to get a win. It’s December in Chicago and lo-and-behold, there’s weather in the forecast. Yes, a windy, rainy, mess is set for Sunday, which could aid the home team. The Chicago Bears are more built for the elements than the dome team Detroit Lions. But it’s going to take more than weather for the Bears to get the win Sunday, as the team has blown big leads this year, including to the Lions. Our crew breaks it down here. Sam: The Bears had a...

Photo by Todd Rosenberg/ Brad Biggs joined the Bears Banter Podcast! In case you missed it, the latest Bears Banter Podcast has dropped! The great Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune joined the podcast. Brad has been on the Chicago Bears beat for over 20 years and he had plenty of great insight on Kevin Warren, Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus. But he had a really interesting comment on Justin Fields. We’ve heard Ryan Poles talk about how he would need to be “blown away” by a QB prospect to move on from Justin Fields. Biggs takes a completely different angle on that...

Photo by Kena Krutsinger/ WE WANT YOU! Would you like to show your Chicago Bears spirit to the world? I’m starting a feature where Windy City Gridiron readers can share pictures of themselves and their families and friends in Bears attire. Simply email a picture to me at the following address: denmasterken at aol dot com. The pictures need to be clear, and full resolution (i.e. full size from your phone if that’s how you take them). Include any description information you like along with the photo! THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL BEARRRSSSS Bears’ Luke Getsy praises...

Photo by Mike Mulholland/ Once again, the Chicago Bears face the Detroit Lions this season trying for Matt Eberflus’ first ever winning streak The last time the Chicago Bears faced the Detroit Lions, things came crashing down in the final four minutes of the game. The Bears held a 12-point lead with only a few minutes remaining but the Lions came roaring back (roaring, get it?) and won the game in the final minute. The Bears look to play a similar game that they did for 56 minutes, but try and keep it up for 60 minutes this time. To help preview the game, we once...

Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via All our Bears-Lions stuff right here: The Chicago Bears likely wanted to take a mulligan on the last couple of minutes from their week 11 game against the Detroit Lions. But while there are no do-overs in the National Football League, the Bears do get a second crack at the Lions due to divisional play. Since that game, the Bears narrowly defeated the Vikings and then got to rest up on their bye week, while the Lions dropped their Thanksgiving game to the Packers and hung on to beat the Saints last Sunday....

Photo by Doug Benc/ Devin Hester’s Hall of Fame case is not just his punt returns. It’s his kickoff returns, too. Just because it’s an urban legend doesn't mean it’s irrelevant. In March 2011, NFL owners approved a suite of rule changes designed to make kickoffs safer, including moving them up five yards from the 30 to the 35. Six teams voted against the package, which proponents claimed was for player safety. “The objections were, ‘Hey, you’re affecting my team,’” said competition committee chairman and Falcons president Rich McKay. “Clearly, some...

Photo by Steven King/Icon Sportswire via The Bears face the Lions for the second time in just under a month. Will this one go differently from the first meeting? The Chicago Bears are coming off their bye week and facing the Detroit Lions. If that feels very familiar, it is, they played the Lions for the first time just two games before their bye week. Let’s not talk about how that one ended and instead focus on this week. Detroit Lions SB Nation site: Pride of Detroit Record: 9-3, first in the NFC North Last week: 33-28 win over the Saints Game day, time, TV:...

Photo by Christian Petersen/ Gould retires after 18 years in the NFL Robbie Gould, the former Chicago Bears kicker and the franchise’s leading scorer announced his retirement today, following 18 seasons in the NFL. Gould has not played in the league this year after finishing out last season on the San Francisco 49ers. Gould entered the league as an undrafted free agent, spending time with the New England Patriots before working in construction and catching on with the Bears during the 2005 season following an injury to then-kicker Doug Brien. That was the start of 11...