I’m not sure if my headline is a real statement but I’m going to believe it. Why? Because I can’t remember the last time the Bears were so outmatched defensively and ended up winning a football game. The quarterback, oft-maligned and oft-neglected, willed them to victory. After making one terrible mistake, Jay Cutler decided to show the entirety of the Bears organization and fanbase that he is capable of putting this team on his shoulders and leading them to victory.
Now we embark upon the journey of taking the Packers from the playoffs. Is it that important? No. But with the two seed there, why not take our longest rivals to the woodshed?
All bloggers are eligible for the opportunity to win a monthly column on the site from the end of February through July. You’ll submit your weekly picks in the same manner you submitted your picks in Da Picks Contest – right in the comments section. I will keep track and keep scores. I will not be competing.
SELECTION
Each round, you select one (1) quarterback, one (1) running
back and one (1) wide receiver or tight end. Once you select a player, he become ineligible to you for the remainder
of the postseason.(Thus the winner is
ultimately the individual who finds the most productive players on the losing
sides. If you make the Super Bowl and don’t have a quarterback eligible, you’re screwed.)
SCORING
Touchdowns for all players, including kick and punt
returns, are worth six (6) points.
Two point conversions are worth two (2) points.
Passing yards:
250 yards – 3 pts
300 yards – 6 pts
2 points for every additional 50 yards
Rushing/Receiving yards:
50 yards – 3 pts
100 yards – 6 pts
2 points for every additional 25 yards
Interceptions and fumbles lost are -3 pts each
ELIMINATION/STANDINGS
Once again, all bloggers are eligible for the Wild Card round.
After the Wild Card round, the bottom half of the standings will be eliminated.
After the Divisional round, the bottom half of the standings will be eliminated.
After the Conference Championship games, only four players will remain.
The final four face-off on Super Bowl Sunday for the championship. (These picks will be made privately to my email in the days leading up to the game.)
TIEBREAKER
The breaker of all ties is the total accumulated yardage of the three players on your roster each round.If by some chance there is a second tiebreaker needed (which would be ridiculous), we’ll use in order (1) Completion percentage of quarterback (2) Yards per rush of running back (3) Yards after catch of receiver. If players select the same three individuals for the Super Bowl, I’ll set an additional tiebreaker for that game.
I WILL PUT UP THE SATURDAY SHOW ON FRIDAY MORNING AND ALL SELECTIONS WILL NEED TO BE IN THE COMMENTS BY KICKOFF OF THE FIRST SATURDAY GAME. THERE WILL BE A GAME THREAD FOR ALL FOUR GAMES, WHICH I’LL LEAVE UP UNTIL WE KNOW THE BEARS OPPONENT SUNDAY NIGHT.
Saturday Show will return for the first round of the postseason, airing January 7th. My dream scenario for this weekend? The Bears beat the Jets and the Packers beat the Giants. Next week, the Giants beat the Redskins and the Bears go into Lambeau and both grab the two seed and knock the Packers out of the postseason.
Chris’ Picks (26-17-2): Lions, Colts, Ravens Jon’s Picks (25-18-2): Saints, Jets, Colts The Only Picks That Matter (28-16-1): Bears, Texans, Chargers
The official spreads for the DaBlog Picks Contest.
Home team in CAPS.
Remember, you can not use the combinations used by either of my brothers or myself.
With the second seed in their sights, the Bears host the freaky foot fetishist New York Jets at Soldier Field. In 2010 the Bears have been a far superior team on the road, often looking lost in front of the adoring home fans. Sunday that must change in a prelude to playoff atmosphere.
YOUR NFC NORTH CHAMPION 2010 CHICAGO BEARS over Gang Green
Why do I like the Chicago Bears this week?
I always like the Chicago Bears.
This is not a great matchup for the Jets. The quarterbacks that have their way against the Bears secondary are the quick-out, slant types like Tom Brady and when-he’s-hot Matt Hasselbeck. Mark Sanchez lacks the accuracy and consistency to be able to dink and dunk the Bears over the haul of a ten or twelve-play drive. (The minor cartilage tear in his shoulder won’t help either.) He thrives on play action, which means…
The Jets will struggle when the Bears stop the run. I have a feeling the entirety of the this week’s meetings will involve Lovie showing the front seven highlights of their allowing Toby Gerhart to bounce outside repeatedly. I expect tackling to be the name of the game Sunday.
Nick Folks kicking field goals at Soldier Field? I don’t see it.
The Jets depend entirely on complicated blitz packages to pressure the quarterback and the Bears thrive in their counter-blitz passing game. When teams can’t get to us with their front four, the hot routes become hotter and I expect Martz/Cutler to be ready to unload the ball to Bennett, Knox and Olsen on one and two-step drops.
Devin Hester has reassumed his role as the guy most discussed by opposing coaches in press conferences.
The Jets have one significant advantage over the Bears: Brad Smith. Smith is capable of breaking games open with his kick returns and the Bears have struggled mightily in their kick coverage. Containing BS is obejective number one.
The Jets defense, especially their corners, are very good. Protecting the football will be paramount for Jay Cutler because the Revis and Cromarties of the world are always looking to take it the other way for six.
That being said, injuries at safety have taken their toll on the Jets. The Bears will have opportunities to look deep down the field.
Mismatches for the Bears: our big defensive tackles against guard Matt Slauson and Julius Peppers against backup right tackle Wayne Hunter. Rex Ryan thinks Wayne Hunter is an elite tackle and Rex Ryan is wrong. Peppers could have a big afternoon.
I think people have overrated Sanchez’ performance against the Steelers – a secondary that is pretty awful most of the time. I expect six points from our defense at some point. I’m calling Tim Jennings.
I’ll be providing running commentary on the Bears game and the rest of the NFL as the day progresses, including the huge Giants v. Packers matchup and tonight’s Eagles v. Vikings game. This will enable me to avoid going MIA on game days.So if you’re interested in my thoughts, consult the Twitter widget below.
There is only one question left to be settled by the Chicago Bears during this 2010 regular season. Will they be the NFC’s two seed and spend the first week of the postseason watching potential opponents beat the hell out of each other or will they fall a game behind the Philadelphia Eagles and host either the Giants or Packers in the Divisional round? The answer to that question will be very much on the line against the Jets this Sunday.
The Eagles face Joe Webb and the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday and they’ve opened as two-touchdown favorites. (I can see that line increasing as the week progresses.) Anything is possible, and the Vikings might have a big effort in them for coach Les Frazier, but that seems about as likely as Rex Ryan’s wife taking up ballet and ruining her prized feet. The Eagles then host the Dallas Cowboys on January 2nd. Division rivalry. Fierce rivals. But I don’t see it. The Eagles should saunter to twelve wins easily.
That means if the Bears win Sunday, they’ll go to Lambeau the following week with a chance secure the two seed. If they lose Sunday and the Giants beat the Packers, the Bears will most likely mail in the final week of the year and prepare to face the wickedest front four in the sport at Soldier Field, at full strength. If they lose Sunday and the Packers beat the Giants, the scenario is even trickier. The Bears would be in a position to almost determine their opponent in the first round of the playoffs. If they played at full strength and beat the Pack, they’d almost assuredly get the Giants. But I continue to contend that the Giants are the worst possible matchup for this team and I think they might play the backups in Lambeau to keep Osi, Tuck and company in Jersey for the winter. The Giants have a great running game and a great front four. The Pack have neither.
I will be rooting hard for the Bears to win Sunday (shock, I know). I don’t like this Jets team and I don’t want California Mark coming into Soldier Field and beating us. But more importantly, think of the road for the three seed in the NFC: home to Packers/Giants, at Philadelphia, at Atlanta or home Saints. (I’m assuming the NFC West will go quietly into the night.) I think the Chicago Bears are a very good team but I’m not sure there’s a team in the NFC capable of surviving that gauntlet.
So put the NFC North Champion hats and shirts back in the box and understand what Sunday means against Rex Ryan’s boys. A win Sunday could start the train to Dallas.
As the Chicago Bears wake up this morning as champions of the NFC North, it is time for us to put into perspective something that rarely occurs for any NFL franchise, any sports franchise in any league anywhere. Look around the landscape of American and international sports and answer the following question: is there any current athlete who is the greatest all-time at their position?
Manning and Brady have not yet eclipsed the accomplishments of Montana. Ray Lewis is debatable but Butkus, Bednarik, Nitschke and the old guard would certainly have cases. LeBron, Kobe, Duncan…no, no, no. Jimmie Johnson? Don’t say that to a NASCAR fan. Tiger Woods, ability aside, can’t yet be ranked above Jack Nicklaus. Perhaps there is one – Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. Rivera is without question the greatest closer in the history of the position but the position itself is a relatively new incarnation, emerging in the early-to-mid 70s.
Kick returns have been part of football since football began and no one has performed the task with more artistry, precision and excellence than Devin Hester. It took Brian Mitchell thirteen seasons to reach thirteen touchdowns and Hester has surpassed that mark in five. Five! He has scored more return touchdowns than the man considered to be the best returner in history in eight less seasons.
Add to the statistics what Hester has meant to the Chicago Bears organization over these past five seasons. His and Brian Urlacher’s rescuing the Bears from the depths of the “they are what we thought they were” game. His dominating the Rams single-handedly in Week 14 of that season. The only lasting memory of the 2007 season was Hester’s de-pantsing of Mike Shanahan, returning a kick and punt for a touchdown in a must-win game for both sides.
And then there was the Super Bowl – a game most of us have chosen to cast into the deep, dark recesses of our memory. That game, disaster though it may have become, still allowed Devin Hester to provide one of the proudest moments in the history of the organization. (I’ve included that video and one other after the jump.)
He is simply the greatest. And years from now we will all tell stories of having seen him play football right before our eyes.
Yours truly will be appearing on Richard Cross’ Mississippi-based radio show at 3:45 CST to discuss tonight’s Bears vs. Vikings game and the Bears attempt to win the NFC North with a pair of games left on the schedule.
The most amazing Sunday of football I’ve ever seen took place yesterday – and it seemed every bounce of the ball went the way of the Chicago Bears. The New York Giants held a twenty-one point lead over Dog Killer and the Philadelphia Eagles and somehow, in one of those games that will be discussed at Manny’s in Moonachie for years to come, collapsed at the New Meadowlands (name it already, please) and allowed the Bears to control their own destiny to a first-round bye.
The Colts returned an onside kick for a touchdown. Jason Taylor recorded a game-clinching safety for the Jets. The Lions ended the Bucs playoff hopes at the final whistle. Sexy Rexy threw four touchdown passes. Tim Tebow proved he should be a tight end. Kerry Collins filed Gary Kubiak’s claim for unemployment insurance. The Dolphins moved closer to the most unbelievable season in NFL history: now 1-6 at home and 6-1 on the road. The NFC West completed their third 0-4 Sunday of the season.
And then to cap it all off, the New England Patriots held on for dear life and defeated a pretty damn impressive Matt Flynn-led Green Bay Packers, insuring the AFC playoffs will be coming through Foxboro and providing the Bears an opportunity to win the NFC North tonight.
Tonight outdoors. Tonight in Minnesota. Forget the field. Forget Joe Webb. Forget Mike Tice’s history with the Vikings organization. Tonight the Chicago Bears have an opportunity to beat an inferior opponent and win their division. Win their division and guarantee themselves a home playoff game. Tonight Lovie Smith has an opportunity to laugh at his critics, deliver one his patented “we know we’re a good football team” and throw on the NFC North Champion baseball cap. Tonight the Bears must win if we’re to take the next month seriously. Tonight the Bears must seize their moment in front of a national audience.
