ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert

CHICAGO -- Yes. You read that dateline correctly. I’ve arrived in the (mildly, at least today) Windy City to kick off our Week 4 FourFecta of NFC North coverage.

I’ll be heading down to Soldier Field in a few hours to take in Bears-Lions, and then I’ll be in Minnesota on Monday night for Packers-Vikings. I don’t know about you, but I’m pumped. What a great weekend for anyone in Black or Blue.

Forecasters are expecting a nice fall day by Lake Michigan, where we will have partly sunny skies and a high near 60 degrees. For now, let’s take our morning spin around the NFC North:

• Bears receivers coach Darryl Drake is getting rave reviews for his work with the Bears’ young group, writes Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune.
• The Bears believe they are close to ironing out their struggles on the offensive line, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Sun-Times.
• There are many parallels between Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, writes Nicholas J. Cotsonika of the Detroit Free Press.
• Next up for the streak-busting Lions: They have a 13-game losing streak on the road, according to Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com.
• Ted Thompson’s “worst nightmare has come to pass,” writes Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
• The screen pass has “fallen into disuse and disrepair” under Packers coach Mike McCarthy, according to Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• Jason Wilde of ESPN Milwaukee runs through the Packers' injury list, suggesting defensive end Johnny Jolly will play Monday night and defensive lineman B.J. Raji is a likely participant.
• Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune looks at the matchup between Vikings defensive end Jared Allen and Packers left tackle Daryn Colledge.
• Vikings nose tackle Pat Williams has assumed ownership of the rocking chair that once sat in front of quarterback Brett Favre’s locker, notes Bob Sansevere of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.