Chicago.com
It is the last week of the regular season for our Bears and boy does it feel good not to have to worry about whether they will make the playoffs or not. With the No.2 seed already clinched and an outside shot of being the top seed in the NFC, life is good right now at Hallas Hall. As I am writing this Atlanta is destroying the Carolina Panthers and with it making sure that the road to the Superbowl in the NFC goes through the Georgia Dome. That will make the Bears’ game against the Packers even more so interesting since Lovie Smith had planned to play all his starters for an extended period of time. One has to wonder how much the likes of Cutler, Urlacher and Peppers will get to play now that there is no way for the Bears to be the top seed in the NFC.
The Packers have everything to play for and the Bears absolutely nothing. The Packers need to win to get in and they must do so since the Giants play against the Redskins at the same time, a game the Giants are expected to win rather easily. Aaron Rodgers played last week following his concussion problems and he certainly played well. Rodgers threw for 400 yards and 4 touchdowns against a Giants defense widely regarded as one of the best in the NFL. All this happened in a game where both teams needed the win but Aaron Rodgers was simply unstoppable.
Against the Bears Rodgers should have another great day, especially if the Bears starters are out of the game in the second half, as is expected. For the Bears it all depends how long Jay Cutler and the rest of the offensive starters remain in the game and if they do decide to go all out for the victory. The motivation for the Bears should be in the fact that they can deny the Packers entry into the playoffs with a victory, and anytime you can bounce a rival out of the playoffs that has to be considered a good day. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Bears approach this game.
Yesterday at this time I would have said that the game will be close and even now I expect the Bears to give it a legit effort. Today, within an hour of the actual game I have to believe that the Bears will sit their starters in the second half and “allow” the Packers to get into the playoffs.
All joking aside, even if both teams had their starters for the whole game I would have to go with the Pack because of the situation that they are in. Bears have nothing to play for while Green Bay has everything riding on this one.
I think the Bears will put forth a decent effort today but I don’t think it will be enough to win at Lambeau with so much riding on the game for the home team. I do believe that there will be points scored by both sides in a very entertaining game. Unfortunately, I expect Rodgers and the Packers to come out on top and join the Bears in the playoffs. Regardless it was a great season for the Bears and no one in their right mind expected them to go 11-5 or perhaps 12-4. At least no one writing this article did.
PREDICTION: Packers 31 – Bears 20
Even though the Bears have already clinched a playoff spot and the NFC North title, there is still a lot more at stake in the last two weeks of the season. The main goal is and will be getting the No.2 seed in the NFC behind Atlanta, who has all but clinched the top seed in the conference. The Falcons have a big game on Monday Night Football against the reigning champs Saints and with a win Atlanta can ensure that the road to Dallas will go through Georgia Dome this year.
The Bears face the New York Jets in a matchup of 10-4 teams but with slightly different playoff scenarios. The Bears are fighting for the playoff seed in their conference, while the Jets need a win to clinch a playoff berth for a second consecutive year. In a year where the Jets have been in the news for a whole lot of wrong reasons (just think Jenn Sterger, Ines Sainz and the tripping equipment guy) there was another issue this week.
Jets coach Rex Ryan was the reason for the distraction this time around, as there are reports claiming Ryan and his wife, Michelle, participated in some foot-fetish videos seen on the Internet. The videos show a woman displaying her feet to an off-screen cameraman who, in one particular video, sounds like Ryan. The two are having an intimate chat about her feet.
The Jets have dealt with distractions before; therefore one has to figure that this will not be a big deal this week. The bigger question is the health of their quarterback Mark Sanchez, who has been nursing a sore shoulder all week and has not thrown a touchdown pass in three games, all the while throwing four interceptions. Sanchez is expected to play on Sunday and from a Bears perspective that might not be the worst of deals. He has been Mr. Inconsistency over the last month and he gets to face one of the best defenses in the league on Sunday in Julius Peppers and the Bears. That is one of the reasons why I am optimistic about this game.
The biggest problem for the Bears will be containing the Jets defense, in particular the blitzing schemes that Rex Ryan like to use. The Jets defense comes early and often. Their motto is always to rather get beaten while applying pressure, rather than just sitting back and waiting things to develop. They are very aggressive and the Bears will have to find a way to use that aggressiveness against them. Quick, short passes should be used tomorrow to offset the Jets pass rush, as well as screens and draws. The Jets get their swagger from their defense and if that is taken away from them everything else becomes easier.
The Bears have an advantage at the quarterback position, since Cutler is simply playing better than Sanchez. At the same time I believe that the Jets running backs LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene are better than our combo of Forte and Taylor. The Jets receivers are certainly better than the Bears receiving core, however, with Sanchez struggling as much as he has over the last couple of games, that becomes a mute point. Both defenses are very stout against the run and both have a great front four. The Jets corners Revis and Cromartie are widely regarded as the best CB duo in the league so I wouldn’t expect much from the receivers in this game.
That leads me to my key to the game: Special Teams. Both teams are getting great special team play, Jets from Brad Smith and Bears from Devin Hester. Smith returned a kickoff last week for a score and is among the league leaders in average return yards per kickoff, something the Bears MUST stop if they want to win tomorrow.
Devin Hester set the all time NFL record last Monday night in Minnesota, as he took another punt return to the endzone to set the new all time record at 14. Which ever team stops the other electrifying return man better will have a huge outcome in who wins the game.
The Jets are a good team but they are not great. Both teams were manhandled by New England in the last 3 weeks, and they both have glaring weaknesses. The team which exposes the others’ weakness better will end up winning the game. For my money I will take the Bears at home, simply because I believe that Sanchez will make more mistakes than Cutler and Bears special teams will out duel New York’s. It’s hard to imagine that this will be anything other than a defensive game, something both teams are very accustomed to.
PREDICTION: Bears 20 – Jets 14
I was wrong and I admit it. For two straight weeks I predicted the Bears to lose and both weeks I was proven wrong. I could certainly get used to being wrong all the time if that means our Chicago Bears will keep winning. As I said before the game against the Packers, if they find a way to win against Green Bay I will begin believing. Well, I am believer in this team now.
I am a believer in Jay Cutler, Mike Martz and the much maligned defense, which has been great in this season thus far. Yes, Aaron Rodgers passed for 316 yards but it happened against one of the best quarterbacks in the league. It’s all about the wins and right now the Bears sit atop the NFC as the only undefeated team at 3-0.
This Sunday night it’s another nationally televised game against the struggling New York Giants (1-2). The collar around Tom Coughlin’s neck is tightening by the minute. The Bears are the only unbeaten team in the NFC yet some people in Vegas still are unsure of how “real” the Bears truly are. Those people will have a chance to do watch the Bears on primetime TV and, if the Bears proceed to do what I think they will, Vegas will finally catch-on to the buzz that the whole city of Chicago is feeling right now.
The Giants are a team depleted by injuries, player problems (Brandon Jacobs whining about his carries), an aging offensive line and reports that their coach is on the hot seat. All these issues combined can amount to either one of these two things: 1) The team rallies behind its coach and shows some fight and pride or 2) the players succumb under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football and send their season into a complete freefall. I believe the latter will happen, mainly due to the Bears play as the two teams will continue going into two completely different directions.
What’s it going to take for the Bears to go to 4-0? Aside from an outstanding effort such as the one against the Packers, I believe that the Bears will need to take it to the Giants early on to break their will and send even more doubts through their heads. The longer New York stays in the game and starts to believe that they can play with a 3-0 team the worse it is for the Bears.
With Carolina, Seattle and Washington coming up before the bye week, the Bears could be potentially looking at a 6-1, 7-0 record with the worst case scenario being a 5-2 start. Opportunities like this don’t come around every year and no one knows that better than Lovie Smith who is under the microscope and hasn’t been in the postseason since the Super Bowl run in 2006.
These teams could not be more different when it comes to their journeys that have led them to where they sit now. The Giants can’t stop a run to save their lives (26th in the league) and they are shooting themselves in the foot with turnovers and bad penalties. Eli Manning is tied with Brett Favre for most interceptions in the league with six while the G-men are near the bottom of the league in the giveaways/takeaways ratio at -4. The Bears, in the meantime, are near the top in the same ratio at +3 and Jay Cutler is playing like a Pro-Bowl quarterback. I’m not sure if it’s Martz’s offensive brilliance or a different kind of brilliance by his now new “interest”, socialite and former Laguna Beach star Kristin Cavallari, that is getting him to play this way but I say continue with both because things are certainly looking better for Jay.
The Giants want to run the ball and stay away from Manning’s interceptions but will find that difficult to do against the NFL’s No.1 ranked run defense with just under 40 yards per game allowed. Those are some gaudy numbers for the Bears as the defense is finally beginning to look like the defense of old. Having Urlacher and Briggs together again has proven to be huge, along with the way Julius Peppers is playing – simply unstoppable on Monday Night against the Packers. If Peppers plays that way tomorrow, especially with the Giants most likely missing their starting center Shaun O’Hara, it’s going to be a long night for Eli Manning and the Giants.
On the flipside the Bears are not your normal run first, pass second kind of a Bears team. Martz’s offense has taken shape after three weeks and the focus has switched from running the ball to passing it all over the field. Martz wants to involve all the playmakers on the offense after seeing how bad the offensive line really is. Not only do they have problems protecting Cutler but the running game is almost non existent. Ranked 29th in the NFL at only 72 yards per game Bears need help running the football. Giants are ranked 26th in run defense, something that the Bears could and should exploit tomorrow.
I believe that Peppers will play a huge part in the game tomorrow. Not with his sacks but rather with his disruption of plays. I also believe that the Bears will get to Eli Manning. The Bears need to win the turnover battle and at least show commitment to running the football, something necessary in order to keep the Giants defense guessing.
In my opinion the Bears will come out victorious if they can do those things. I also believe that jumping on the Giants early could prove to be one of the most important keys in the game. Keeping the new Meadowlands crowd as silent as possible can only help in winning tomorrow night’s game securing the Bears’ first 4-0 start since their Super Bowl season in 2006.
PREDICTION: Giants 17 – Bears 27
It’s Bears versus Packers tonight and the whole NFL is watching. Oldest rivalry in pro football and both teams are 2-0. Can it get any better? Maybe, If I were to have guts and pick the Bears. Coward. Not after this week, though if they win. Honestly.
I was wrong with my prediction on the Cowboys game. Plain and simple. I thought the Cowboys would have been angry after their disappointing loss against the Redskins. They were angry and they didn’t play bad at all, but I made a mistake in underestimating the Bears. I thought Jay Cutler would succumb to old turnover habits against a good Cowboys defense and he played a mistake-free game. Through two weeks he is the highest rated passer in the NFL. That’s right, Jay Cutler, the same guy who threw 26 interceptions last year leads the league thus far in passer rating. Things are looking good in the CHI after only two games.
Yes some people are getting overly excited about the 2-0 start but after the preseason our Bears treated us to I think we are allowed to get a little bit giddy. If the Bears manage to beat the Packers tonight, then the national media will start believing what some of us already are beginning to believe. From the awful preseason to the great display against the Cowboys, the Bears sure know how to keep this city and their followers interested. Everyone was so disappointed in the preseason and bracing for the worst that this display against the Cowboys came as a bit of surprise. At least to me it was.
Now comes a whole new animal to town in the form of Green Bay Packers, their superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the defensive standout Clay Matthews. The Packers are the early pick to represent the NFC in the Superbowl and especially so after New Orleans lost yesterday at home to Atlanta. The Saints have some key injuries, thus more and more “experts” are believing that the Pack is the team to beat in the NFC. What seemed like a relatively comfortable W on the schedule for Green Bay early on, has since turned into a massive game for both them and the Bears.
So what are the keys to the game? In order to win tonight, the Bears will have to play mistake-free football and make the Packers one dimensional by eliminating the running game, already hurting without the injured Ryan Grant. Green Bay has a decent backup in the former Nebraska standout Brandon Jackson but I wouldn’t expect him to carry the load for more than 10-15 times tonight. Jackson shares the load with the fullback John Kuhn and is used a lot in the passing game as dump-off kind of a running back. Everyone knows that the Packers want and like to throw the ball to a bevy of receivers, and it’s hard to argue that they don’t have the best receiving options in the league. With Gregg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones and Jermichael Finley at his disposal it’s easy to see why Aaron Rodgers was the early pick to win the MVP by many. No other team in the league has that many weapons in the passing game and the Bears will find it extremely hard to stop all of them. They will have a shot, though if they can neutralize the run and make Rodgers throw on most downs.
On defense, the Packers come into the game with the NFL’s sack leader in Clay Matthews and the reigning defensive MVP in Charles Woodson. Matthews is an absolute beast in the A-gap and Woodson is an absolute master at reading the QB or forcing fumbles from the opposing receivers. If the Bears are able to stop one of these two than the chances of winning are that much higher. The Packers do have a rookie in the secondary and also on the weak side linebacker slot and therefore let’s hope that Bears can exploit those positions.
For the Bears it all starts and ends with Jay Cutler. When he is turnover free the Bears win. Even if he keeps it to minimum the Bears still have a chance in this game. If he, however, turns it over more than twice it is hard to imagine the Bears coming away victorious. Cutler will have to take some shots down-field and test this Packers secondary and I believe that the slot position for the Bears could provide to be crucial tonight. If they can involve either Devin (Hester or Aromashodu) in the slot game, this would present a major problem for the Packers. A good running game would be very nice to have but the Packers do have a stout run defense so we’ll see if Forte can break a couple of good runs.
The Bears defense needs to get to Rodgers and make him uncomfortable in the pocket. If he has too much time in the pocket it could be a long night for Urlacher and the rest of the defense. Julius Peppers could have a big game against the inexperienced Brian Bulaga, who will most likely start for Chad Clifton. If Clifton starts Peppers should still have a good game because of the injury concern for Clifton. Stopping the run and making the Packers one dimensional is priority Number 1. for the Bears and if they can do so, they will have a great chance to win.
I was wrong on my last pick against the Cowboys. I had the Bears losing by 11. They made me into an almost-believer with that win. If they can somehow win this game tonight, I will driving the band-wagon train and will probably pick them the rest of they way. I do, however, have to go with my brain tonight and I do believe that Green Bay will win by a narrow margin. I hope I’m wrong like last time.
PREDICTION: Packers 28 – Bears 24
Finally it is back to football for the Chicago Bears after a controversial week at Hallas Hall. From the turmoil that was the Calvin Johnson catch/dropped pass, to the off the field news regarding Jay Cutler’s new girlfriend and even the fresh news surrounding Matt Forte’s (pictured below) break up with his fiance on Tuesday, these Bears know how to keep our attention. 
This is all not good news during a week where the team should be focused on the upcoming game against an angry Cowboys team, looking to redeem themselves following a disappointing ending to the game against the Redskins.
The Bears offense looked good against the Lions minus the inability to score in the red zone. Jay Cutler threw the ball great aside from the interception, Matt Forte and the receivers had a good day and the Bears should have beaten the Lions by two touchdowns, at least. That of course did not happen as the same problems from last year resurfaced again, with the red zone looking more like the “no-land zone” for our beloved Bears.
The offense needs to correct this by Sunday because unlike Detroit, the Cowboys actually do play defense and red zone opportunities for the Bears will be few and far between. It is crucial to score on those chances come Sunday if the Bears are hoping to escape Dallas with a victory. Cutler has to stay away from those errand throws that get him in trouble and the receivers/tight ends have got to hang on to the football. The reason for the Bears low scoring output against the Lions last week was the inability to score in the red zone along with numerous fumbles. THE BEARS HAVE GOT TO HANG ON TO THE BALL!!!
The defense was impressive last week albeit against a team that lost their starting quarterback, however it was an impressive showing nevertheless. 
Julius Peppers (on the left) looked good in his first game as a Bear and the return of Brian Urlacher was a huge success. Urlacher was flying all over the field and looked good next to Lance Briggs as the two contained the Lions running game to a minimum, despite two rushing touchdowns by Jahvid Best. The secondary played okay except for the final drive of the game and they were aided by the fact that Matthew Stafford missed majority of the game with a separated shoulder. They will face a much sterner test on Sunday when they come across the likes of Miles Austin, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten. Cowboys were the No.2 ranked offense last year and even though they didn’t perform like it last week, the potential is still there.
The key for the Bears will be containing the Cowboys rushing attack and the three-headed monster that is Marion Barber III, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. Barber is a physical back that loves punishing the defense with his bruising runs, while Felix Jones provides pure speed as a backup to Barber. That combination is very difficult to defend and then there is Tashard Choice, who can run and catch the ball, as the third option and he will want to perform well following his costly mistake against the Redskins that resulted in a touchdown.
From a Cowboys perspective, they will want to blitz Jay Cutler (below) any chance they get and hope that he has some “Jay-like” throws where he gifts balls to the opposing defenses. 
If the Cowboys are able to control the Bears run they will pressure Chicago into throwing more and with that comes the possibility of Cutler making mistakes. Cutler only had one interception against the Lions and lost one fumble, albeit the interception was pretty bad as he threw the ball into quadruple coverage – shades of ‘09 Cutler. He did, however, throw for over 370 yards and the Cowboys defense will have their hands full against a Bears offense still learning the new offensive system implemented by Mike Martz.
As for the Bears on defense, lots will depend on how much pressure they can put on Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
Romo didn’t have a great game against the Redskins and will be looking to improve at the Cowboys home opener – in front of more than 100,000 fans. He is known as one of the more elusive quarterbacks in the league and has a knack for getting out of the pocket and making something happen out of nothing. This, I believe will be a huge deciding factor on Sunday.
The Bears will get to Romo and probably so on numerous occasions. The reason for that is the improved play of the defense along with the fact that the Cowboys have major issues on the offensive line. That proved to be one of the major weaknesses in their loss at Washington and could hurt them again versus the Bears. They are getting a couple of people back from injuries and that should solidify the line, at least to a respectable level.
This should be an interesting game to watch as it is going to present our Bears with the first major test of the 2010 season. I think the Bears will keep it close for a while but in the end Tony Romo’s elusiveness, the trio of running backs, impressive Cowboys defensive line and the rowdy home crowd will ensure that the Cowboys come away with a victory.
I would like to hope that I’m wrong with my prediction here but unfortunately I do not see Bears coming away from Texas with a victory.
PREDICTION: Bears 17 – Cowboys 28