No numbers for the Bears v. Vikings game. The Bears didn’t care, so I don’t. Notes and Numbers returns next week with Notes and Numbers: THE SEASON dun-duh-dun. In the meantime some brief observations about Sunday’s game.
Divisional Playoff Game:
NFC home teams are 16-2 in divisional games in the last nine seasons. However, the two losses were the Bears to the Eagles in 2001 season and the Rams to the Panthers in 2003 in Smith’s last game with the Rams.
Coming off a bye they are on a 5 game losing streak stretching back to their 2001 playoff loss, and including 0-2 under Lovie.
The Bears have the least experienced playoff roster of any of the NFC teams that made the playoffs. They have 36 total appearances and 23 starts.
Nine of the last 10 Super Bowl champions won their final regular-season game.
Lovie’s Coach of the Year Award was the sixth won by a Chicago Bears coach, the most for any franchise. But as a playoff predictor its mixed. Halas won it in ’63 (Bears won NFL championship) and ’65 (No postseason) and Ditka won it in ’85 (Shuffle) but Jauron won it in ’01 (Divisional blowout).
Weather report as of Friday evening: high of 43 low of 35. Not quite the artic blast that helped cripple the Falcons.
RevDad chimes in with Illinois Sportswriters predictions:
sun-times: bears 14-10;
trib: bears 20-9;
novacek: panthers 21-14.novacek says bears are rusty (he might be right) and panthers are on an
upward trend (also correct). but he spends most of his time writing about
how foster has to have a big game, and if he runs like he did the last two
weeks, panthers are solid.
but sun-times notes that the teams foster feasted on the last two weeks had
defenses that ranked 22nd and 24th, respectively.
dad says: offensive lines will be the key. if bears O-line makes room for
the running backs and protects rex, bears will score at least a little.
panthers O-line will certainly scheme different in hopes of protecting
delhomme better; god knows they better. but if bears D-line embarrasses the
panthers' tackles like last game, getting pressure from the front four, the
score will be like the last game too. watch the trenches.i'm verrryyy nervous about this game, to a large degree for the same reasons
novacek outlines. but in soldier field, bears win, 20-13.
The Panthers aren’t as good as the Giants made them look but they are a very good team who are playing well. Bears once again though have something to prove. We win one and anything is possible, but all I care about is getting the one win.
#2 jeff said . . .Having grown up in Rockford, IL...both my husband and myself are forever diehard BEAR fans. We now live in North Caronlina and our son is a Panther fan. To say the least this past week in our household has been very interesting. All week long my husband and I have been wearing our BEARS gear. My son has told us that the Panthers are going to win...to which we say HECK NO the BEARS WILL WIN. No matter what the outcome of Sunday's game, it will be a good game and I think the BEARS will come out on top. GO BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 14, 2006
kim, you and your husband are perfect candidates for DABEARSBLOG.COM's annual "Have A Threesome With Jeff" award... hopefully you'll be able to claim your prize. And if the man can't make it, it's cool.
January 15, 2006
Here at DaBearsBlog, you are free to kill us or the Bears as you so wish. You are not free, however, to be an asshole. So if you spew racism or ill-meaning foul language (cursing about football is just fine) or anything of that ilk, your comments ain't gonna last long, jerk.