We don’t want to overstate the importance of Monday night’s game at Lambeau for Bears head coach Marc Trestman but sometimes we can’t help it. Packers games always feel a bit bigger than others and primetime games are the ones national media members use to deliver their misguided opinions. (Hey, maybe they are a good offense but they weren’t good when I saw them so they’re not good!”) Like it or not, the Bears will dominate the conversation across the sports world Tuesday morning.

Is it a pivotal game for Trestman? It can be. If the Bears deliver an intense, noteworthy performance (especially on defense) all the credit will go to Trestman as his captains have been sidelined with injury. If Josh McCown leads the offense up and down the field against Green Bay, all the credit will go to Trestman for whispering to yet another mediocre quarterback. Nothing is expected from the Bears. Everything they produce will be credited to the new head coach.

That is what comes from being the offensive “savior” in a city starved for offense. Read More …

Wednesday afternoon I appeared with my friend Marty & Trent on ESPN Radio (1490 the Jock) in Des Moines, Iowa. They like me. Here is the audio.

The Bears opened as eleven-point underdogs against the Green Bay Packers Monday night at Lambeau Field. They are as beaten up a defense as there is in the NFL. They are starting their backup quarterback. As Michael Kehoe wrote to me on Twitter, “Bears don’t stand a chance in GB. I’m emotionally all in. But a win would be one of the biggest surprises in decades.” He then followed up on his own Twitter page, “Historical trends, road game, MNF + no pass rush, 2 rookie LBs= give the pts all day. Hate it. Hoping to be wrong. Bears!”

So why in God’s name do I like the Chicago Bears this week?

I always like the Chicago Bears.

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Nothing ever happens at the NFL trade deadline but that doesn’t mean things SHOULDN’T happen. If the Giants aren’t planning to re-sign Hakeem Nicks, why wouldn’t they get what they can now? Same for the Vikings and Jared Allen. Tony Gonzalez is a good man and all but why does he want to finish his career on a dog team in Atlanta when Kansas City is desperate for a tight end?

So here is today’s debate topic. You’re Phil Emery and you can make one trade, one REALISTIC trade, what deal do you make? I will take the best answer from the comments and put it in the game preview later in the week.

Seattle and San Francisco are going to the postseason. New Orleans is winning the NFC South. Somebody is winning the NFC East because someone has to win the NFC East, right? That’s four NFC postseason berths accounted for.

And I’ll give you the NFC North too, accepting the argument that a healthy Aaron Rodgers will be able to compensate for the rampant injuries they have suffered on the both sides of the ball.

The leaves one position, the six seed, for the postseason tournament. And unless you as a Bears fan are willing to concede that position to a Detroit Lions team that is a Calvin Johnson hamstring injury from losing out or a Carolina Panthers team that just climbed over .500 for the first time during the Obama administration or a team quarterbacked by Carson Palmer, it would difficult to argue the Chicago Bears season is over.

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We’ll go without the chat box today. That is special for Bears games. I’ll be commenting on all the day’s action from my barroom perch, @DaBearsBlog on Twitter.

I found Sunday’s loss to Washington one of the more entertaining losses in Bears history. The Reverend? Did not.

SAVE THE DATE!

DaBearsBlog will be co-hosting a charitable benefit in Chicago on Sunday night, December 8th with Bears legend Otis Wilson.

The event will be co-hosted by a new organization called Art of Men (pairing men with volunteer projects across the country) and raise money for the Otis Wilson Charitable Association. TICKETS WILL ONLY BE $20 and will include drink deals. All proceeds will go directly to the OWCA.

What.

To celebrate the following evening’s Mike Ditka number retirement ceremony, we’ll be hosting a:

Mike Ditka Look-a-Like/Impersonation Contest.

Come dressed in your best Mike Ditka costume and bring your best Grabowski-laced voice.

Celebrity judges will include Super Bowl Champion Otis Wilson and other members of the 1985 Chicago Bears. 

Contest winner will receive two tickets to the Monday night Bears game vs. the Dallas Cowboys, including the Ditka jersey number retirement ceremony at halftime.

There will also be a Christmas toy drive and various raffles for Bears-related memorabilia as well as large screens showing the Sunday night game featuring the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons.

When.

Sunday Night, December 8th

Doors Open at 7:00 pm.

Where.

Double Door

1572 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago

Wicker Park

To visit the venue’s website, click here.

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Tickets will be available for purchase in the next week or so through the Double Door’s website. I will update when that time comes. For any questions regarding the event, please email me: jeff@dabearsblog.

Most would consider the eighth game the halfway point of a sixteen game season. Those people are what I refer to as math-dependent. The Bears have played seven games and now must wait fifteen days before playing again as they lick their injury wounds. Hell, the team is off this entire week. If ever there was a line of demarcation signally HALFWAY, this is it.

So what follows are responses to the first half, thoughts on the second half and the normal awards, predictions and general folly that have filled this space lo these eight years. You’re not going to see everything below but you’ll see the things on my mind. I’ll leave it to you from there.

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