I expect this to be our lowest comment total of the season. We shall see. But I’ll be into today’s game against the Vikings. Why? Because there won’t be another Bears game for nine months.

This week is the final battle in Da Bears Blog’s picks contest as Ufficio will try to hold off the surging TracDaddy. What’s at stake? A birdhouse. A photograph. A pile of Rice Crispie treats. Who will win? Who knows…

The Rules for the Finale:

• Both Ufficio and TracDaddy must select THREE (3) DAY games against the spread.
• Tiebreaker #1: Tony Romo’s QB rating against the Giants Sunday night.
• Tiebreaker #2: Total yards receiving for Giants WR Victor Cruz Sunday night.
• Closest wins. We are not playing Price is Right rules.

Lines this week: 

FALCONS -11 Bucs / 49ers -10.5 RAMS / VIKINGS -1 Bears / Lions -3.5 PACKERS / GIANTS -3 Cowboys / SAINTS -8.5 Panthers / Titans -3 TEXANS / Ravens -2.5 BENGALS / JAGUARS -3.5 Colts / DOLPHINS -2.5 Jets / PATRIOTS -11 Bills / RAIDERS -3 Chargers / BRONCOS -3.5 Chiefs / CARDINALS -3 Seahawks

Next Week is the Fantasy Playoffs…

…and after some prodding it seems we have significant interest in participating. The prize, once again, is delivery of six frozen Lou Malnati’s pizzas to your house or the location of your choosing courtesy of DaBearsBlog. It is my way of thanking you for a great season here on the site.

The rules are simple. Round one will be open to all who wish to participate. You select an offense, defense and special teams unit participating in the wild card round. For every point your offense and special teams score, you get a point. For every point your defense and special teams allow, you lose a point. It is a fantasy league that rewards your knowledge of the game – not the luck of a particular player running in a one-yard touchdown.

Once a unit is used, it is no longer available to you for the remainder of the postseason. Picks will be registered in the comments section of the Weekend Show’s return – next Friday.

Well we’re almost there. This exhausting last month of this frustrating 2011 season is almost at its sad, twisted conclusion. Never have I wanted a Bears regular season to be over more. Never have I been this prepared to start the next offseason. I feel suspended in time, suspended at 7-3, and I’ll be hanging there for the next nine months. But first the Bears travel to Minneapolis…

WHY DO I LIKE THE CHICAGO BEARS THIS WEEK?

• I always like the Chicago Bears. (Except recently.)
• Without Adrian Peterson, who probably won’t even be mildly effective until Week 7 of next season, the Vikings will be handing the ball to Toby Gerhart and that dog don’t hunt. Without a consistent rush attack the Vikes will rely on the arms of either Christian Ponder or Joe Webb (Ugh or Ugher) to hit receivers consistently within the zone. I don’t think either can do it.
• The guy with the most on the line Sunday is Josh McCown and I like the guy with the most on the line in the final week of the season. McCown inspired some confidence inside Halas Hall with his late-game performance at Lambeau Field and knows a solid, preferably victorious, outing might give him an opportunity to make this Bears roster in 2012.
• I think this Pro Bowl crap might inspire the Bears defensively. Some have criticized the three starting defenders (Lach, Briggs, Peanut) headed to Hawaii, especially Tillman, and I think they’ll want to show they belong on their final opportunity to do so. (Note on the Pro Bowl’s selecting of defensive ends: it ain’t all about sack totals. Julius Peppers is better than Jason Babin.)
• Is there a difference between 8-8 and 7-9? Yes. Is there a difference between losing six straight to finish a season and not losing six straight to finish a season? Yes. I think that’s what Lovie is preaching this week. Every player on that roster knows Smith is the head coach next year and they know they have to play hard for him. I don’t expect Bears to go through the motions here.
• Will there be any emotion in the dome Sunday? A week after the Vikings faithful learned they’ve lost their best player not only for the little remaining in 2011 but for possibly the top of 2012? A week after blowing their out-of-nowhere chance to draft Andrew Luck with a meaningless victory over Washington? I’m surprised this game isn’t going to be blacked out in Minneapolis.
• Dane Sanzenbacher will have the first 100-yard receiving game of his career.
• Lovie Smith snapped at reporters when asked about Martz’ future. I like that our head coach has the ability to snap at people and that he’s still emotionally connected at all.
• I’m hoping it is Dave Toub’s last game as Bears special teams coordinator as I’m rooting for him to get one of this year’s head coaching vacancies. I think he’s served this organization well for a long time and deserves the shot to run his own show. That being said I think the Bears have some fun on specials Sunday and put one in the end zone.

Chicago Bears 31, Minnesota Vikings 16

NOTE: I have not received many emails when it comes to the Fantasy Playoffs. The prize is cool (6 pizzas delivered to you from Lou Malnati’s) and I don’t want to tell them to piss off. It is an easy game to play and a fun way to generate a rooting interest for these postseason games. Just let me know in the comments of this post if you’re interested. I”ll explain the rules at the end of next week.

Why Mike Mulligan’s Become the Worst Columnist in Chicago

Whether you agree or disagree with  the media’s attack on Halas Hall in the aftermath of the Jay Cutler era (and I’m done with that argument) it is columns like this one from Mike Mulligan that make want this “end of newspapers” things to come quicker than expected. Forget about the opinion. Just look at this dose of fact:

The Bears have drafted players who have started, but haven’t hit on enough starting players. They have signed free agents who have contributed, but very few who are regular contributors.

So the Bears haven’t drafted starters? And they haven’t signed starters as free agents? So are we to assume the entirety of the Bears starting roster were acquired through trades? Folks using the events of the last five weeks to draw conclusions about the organization are misguided. 2012 will bear that out. (Side note: Mulligan is also a plainly bad writer. It seems he’s just written a bunch of sentences and randomly dropped them on paper.)

How to Make the Pro Bowl a Meaningful Event

Here’s my plan:

• Hire an elite panel of intelligent former players, personnel men, scouts and skilled members of the media. These men should be paid to watch every single snap of every single football game played in the NFL.
• Eliminate players and fans from the process. Neither of these groups have any idea what’s happening around the league. They know their teams and, for the most part, know other teams exclusively through ESPN/NFL Network highlights and whichever clubs are given the primetime platform.
• Stick this entire panel in a room for a few days and have them debate each and every position. Film it, edit it and make it a several-hour special on the NFL Network. The awards would have more weight than ever before and fans would be glued to the broadcast as they rooted for their favorite players.

The only Pro Bowl award I care about, by the way, is Corey Graham winning the special teams honor. It just doesn’t seem to matter who the Bears lose on their special teams units, Dave Toub finds ways to get the best out of the men he has. I believe Toub is going to be a damn good head coach (and Adam Schefter is rumoring him as a candidate in Jacksonville).

2012 Season Opponents 

Already announced:

Home: Seattle, St. Louis, Houston, Indianapolis, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota.

Away: Arizona, San Francisco, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota

The Bears will finish third in the NFC North, meaning they’ll now also face Carolina at Soldier Field. Their final opponent will be whomever finishes third in the NFC East. If Philadelphia beats Washington Sunday afternoon, that would mean the loser of Giants v. Cowboys would fall to the third position.

Note: Ufficio will take on TracDaddy in the Picks Contest Finals. Our season-long competition ends next week. If you would like to enter DaBearsBlog Fantasy Playoffs you must email me (jeff@dabearsblog.com) by the the end of the Giants v. Cowboys game Sunday night. Make your subject Fantasy Playoffs and put your handle in the body of the email. There is no fee to enter and the winner will receive a shipment of 6 deep dish pizzas from Lou Malnati’s (worth over $100). Rules and regulations for the Fantasy Playoffs will be announced a week from today. Now onto the “journalism”…

The two worst things that happened to the Chicago Bears in 2011 were (1) Jay Cutler breaking his thumb on a tackle attempt against the Detroit Lions and (2) Caleb Hanie performing admirably in the NFC title game against the Green Bay Packers. Cutler’s injury is self-explanatory but it was Hanie’s duping of the Bears organization, media and fans that caused this once promising 2011 campaign to fade into the oblivion of unprofessional quarterback play. It got sad bad with Hanie that last night at bars across the Chicagoland area could be heard the phrase, “You know, this McCown ain’t so bad.”

That is my fear. Yes Josh McCown was a significant improvement over the disaster that was Caleb Hanie but a majority of his success last night came when the Green Bay Packers had already packed in their regular season. One can not ignore that McCown was more confident with the ball, more poised in the pocket, more accurate down the field than Hanie but the Bears can not stake their backup quarterback position for 2012 on comparisons to Caleb Hanie. There are several commenters to this site who could have improved upon the work of Mr. Hanie.

McCown will get another start in Minnesota next week. It will be a lifeless game in a lifeless environment but one player will have something to play for: McCown. The former high school football coach (from about a month ago) will be playing for his invitation to Bourbonnais come the summer. A terrific performance will not (or at least should not) prohibit Jerry Angelo from inquiring about Jason Campbell or attempting to bring Kyle or Rex back to town as Jay Cutler’s primary backup. But a solid effort from McCown should relieve some of the pressure on Angelo to fill that vacancy and allow him to focus on the positions of primary importance: WR, OL, DE and now possibly corner.

I am rooting for McCown to succeed. I like his accuracy to the outside and I love his mobility. I also sensed that McCown played with an intensity last night Caleb Hanie lacked over his four ugly outings. But we have been fooled by the success of a QB opposing defenses had no tape on before. And one can never know how successful the signal caller can be until he plays meaningful competition over a substantial period of time. The Vikings will have tape on McCown next week, sure. But the game is meaningless. I just hope the Bears realize that.

It is hard to continue judging these games as if they are real games. They are not real games. They are games played with the alarming disadvantage of the Bears not having Jay Cutler. Other thoughts.

POSITIVE

• Kahlil Bell is the answer at the backup tailback position. He needs to protect the football better but he has vision, speed and is a solid catcher of the football.
• Josh McCown. What did you think? I kinda like him. Let’s see it again next week.
• Funny how the receiving corps, including Sanzenbacher and Roy, look serviceable when an actual passer is taking the snaps behind center.
• Hey, I’d even keep Armando Allen on the roster. He’s got the kind of speed that would be useful backing up Hester on kick and punt returns.
• The offensive line. Against the best team in football they played an excellent game., especially in the run game.

NEGATIVE

• Where was the goddamn pressure? Against backup tackles Julius Peppers and the crew have to get pressure on the QB. I believe this team can no longer rely on Izzy Idonije to provide a compliment to Pep.
• So did anyone beside Lovie Smith believe Zach Bowman could play corner at a professional level?
• I think any talk of Robbie Gould making the Pro Bowl is absurd. He’s missed important kicks all year and I’m getting tired of every directional kick he attempts going out of bounds.
• Bad night for Nick Roach. Just looked awful in coverage but then again he was covering Jermichael Finley for some reason. His overpursuit on a few pitches outside was inexcusable.
• I kept hearing Henry Melton’s name. Who else played defensive tackle for the Bears tonight? Other than Okoye’s offsides I didn’t hear another tackle’s name called.
• Why is Devin Hester playing? What is Lovie trying to prove by risking the long term health of a major Bears weapon?
• The deep touchdown pass to Nelson that ended the game was ludicrous. Why in god’s name would Major Wright and Craig Steltz be doubling a wideout? I get sick thinking about it.

Bad night but expected. I think most Bears fans stopped caring weeks ago. I haven’t. You can look at this group and see what was there and that’s what it makes it hard to watch. 2012 is coming soon.

I don’t know how the Bears do it to me, I really don’t. There is no earthly reason why I should find myself excitedly anticipating tonight’s showdown with the Green Bay Packers but I am. I want to see an inspired Chicago effort, specifically on defense. And yes if the Bears were to manage a win at Lambeau Field tonight it would somehow redeem, only slightly, this horrendously disappointing month.

Bear down.

Side note I: Remember how well those Texans were dealing with losing their quarterback?

Side note II: I will be away from my minute-to-minute duties for most of this holiday weekend. Happy everything to all who’ve made this site their home. We’re braving a shit month but we shall rally and rebound. (And the Weekend Show will continue throughout the offseason.)

Da Picks Contest – Semifinals 

We’re down to the final four. This week’s rules are altered slightly.

• Each of the contestants must select three games on Saturday.
• You also must pick the Bears v. Packers Sunday night game.
• The tiebreaker: Josh McCown’s passer rating.

The Lines

CHIEFS -2 Raiders / Broncos -3 BILLS / TITANS -7 Jags / BENGALS -4 Cardinals / PATRIOTS -9.5 Dolphins / RAVENS -12.5 Browns / JETS -3 Giants / REDSKINS -6.5 Vikings / PANTHERS -7.5 Bucs / LIONS -2.5 Chargers / 49ers -2.5 SEAHAWKS / COWBOYS -1.5 Eagles / PACKERS -13 Bears / SAINTS -6.5 Falcons

My Five Favorite Christmas Films of All-Time

#5. Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas. The 1977 Jim Henson-produced TV special is one of the more endearingly simple holiday films you’ll ever see. It also has a few classic Paul Williams tracks. For a great clip, click here.

#4. The Nightmare Before Christmas. Give me this modern masterpiece over that weird, stop-motion Rudolph film where he goes to an island of “misfit” toys and there’s the gay kid in the box. Sure I like hearing Burl Ives sing Silver & Gold but I’d take just about anything by Danny Elfman has ever made over it.

#3. A Christmas Story. I blame the TNT network for this film’s fall on my list to the third position. I just can’t handle the round-the-clock airings that seem to start sometime in late September. Still, think of the iconic imagery from this movie: tongue on the frozen post, stocking lamp, “you’ll shoot your eye out”, the bunny costume…etc. A classic film for any season.

#2. Scrooged. George C. Scott was a great Scrooge. So was Michael Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol. But Bill Murray begins developing the hard-edged character with a hole to fill that he perfected in Groundhog Day here. His Scrooge is a bastard and comes to learn the meaning of love and Christmas by getting the shit kicked out of him. Ain’t that the way it should be?

#1. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. And it ain’t even close.

Two more games remain. The string, as they’re casually known. The Bears must play them out. And we loyal Chicago Bears fans must watch them do so. What’s saddest about this 2011 season is the fact that I spent about an hour Tuesday looking at the Bears 2012 opponents and getting excited about trips to both Jacksonville and Nashville.

WHY DO I LIKE THE CHICAGO BEARS THIS WEEK?

• I don’t. I’m not an idiot.
• But I do think the Green Bay Packers are showing significant, exploitable holes along the offensive line. The Bears have continued to play terrifically up front throughout this disastrous month and think about this: wouldn’t it make you slightly happy to see Julius Peppers plant Aaron Rodgers into the ground and end the Pack’s Super Bowl hopes when Rodgers limps to the sideline?
• The scary mismatch in this game is Brandon Meriweather and Craig Steltz at safety. Can those two guys stay disciplined and keep the Packers passing game in front of them? Can they take smart angles at receivers on slant routes and not allow a six-to-eight yard game become a game-breaking 45-yard touchdown?
• Jermichael Finley is going to be a thorn in the LoveRod Deuce next season as well and if I were the coaching staff I’d use Sunday night to experiment with assignments. We know the linebackers and healthy safeties can’t stay with him downfield so what about staying in nickel all night and perching DJ Moore in front of him? What about sliding Charles Tillman inside on third downs and leave Moore, Jennings outside to press the wideouts? These defensive players (with the IR’d safeties) will basically be the roster in 2012. I’d like to see Lovie try some things.
• People who say the Bears defense packed it in against the Seahawks in the second half last week simply weren’t watching. Even with the game winding down they collapsed the line of scrimmage and shut down a hot Marshawn Lynch. The Bears defense plays tough.
• (Ultimately I think all of the above will probably be moot analysis because the Bears will most likely give Aaron Rodgers and the Packers too many offensive possessions.)
• Is Josh McCown an upgrade over Caleb Hanie? I don’t care. I said after The Marion Barber Game I never wanted to see Barber play for the Bears again and I feel the same way about Hanie. He should never take another snap for the Bears. McCown has a real opportunity the next two weeks to play his way onto the 2012 roster, or at least earn himself a visit to Bourbonnais in July. And I think he’s going to have to throw the ball thirty times in this game for the Bears to have any semblance of a chance to win.
• With Hester still hobbling and Knox out the Bears are severely lacking in speed on the outside. I don’t know, maybe we can throw the ball to our best receiver? Is Earl Bennett Jay Cutler’s invisible friend? Why can’t anyone else see him, even when he’s wide open?
• And they must stay committed to the run until the game is well out of reach. Being down two touchdowns can’t scare Mike Martz into seven-step drops. He’s got to keep pounding the ball with Bell until literally the clock determines it’s no longer feasible.
• Dom Capers is going to attack Josh McCown with blitzes. This should leave plays to be made in the screen game to Kahlil Bell and over the middle to Kellen Davis. (We should be seeing a lot of snaps for Tyler Clutts and Matt Spaeth as the Bears go max-protect.)
• You know who the Bears need a huge performance out of in order to win this game? Adam Podlesh. Podlesh has been a terrific improvement over Brad Maynard but has not been a dominant punter by any means. When Bears drives falter, and they’re going to falter, Podlesh needs to force the Packers to take the longest journey possible to the end zone. Not inside the twenty. Inside the five. A few times. If the Packers consistently start drives at their own forty, the defense will have no shot.

I don’t pick the opponent. 

I am no longer going to engage in two debates.

1. I will no longer argue against those who believe the Bears have lost four straight games because of a lack of depth on their roster. The results of these four games have been affected by the lack of depth at a single position: quarterback. The Bears have not received poor play from their backup signal caller. They have received horrible, unprofessional, career ending play. No team in football could win a game with Caleb Hanie at quarterback.
2. I will no longer debate who is responsible for the Hanie Debacle. Why? Because I don’t know. I do know the organization tried to attain Kyle Orton and when that failed acted quickly in signing Josh McCown. I know the organization believed very much in Hanie’s performance in the NFC title game. I know Mike Martz never believed in Hanie. But I do not know who made which call regarding what on Hanie. And frankly neither do you. If you want to put all that blame on Jerry Angelo, fine. I’m just not discussing it anymore because it’s a road to nowhere.

Here is what I will argue: the tenures of Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith in Chicago (both under contract through 2013) will be defined by the club’s performance in 2012. No matter how the remainder of the 2011 regular season and playoffs turn out, next year’s expectations will begin where this year’s died: the moment Jay Cutler’s thumb went all kooky on a tackle attempt for a soon-to-be 7-3 football team. The Bears will be expected to pick up from right there, that moment, that tackle and make a Super Bowl run. Anything short of playing deep in January will not be acceptable.

Why? Because the team is closer to complete than they have been since Mike Ditka was the head coach. They have the big quarterback. They need a caretaker behind him. They have the big running back. They’ll franchise him and keep Kahlil Bell waiting in the wings. They have talent at wide receiver – Knox’s speed, Bennett’s rapport with Cutty – and need to add a big target on the outside. (This offseason will see a few exceptional receivers on the open market.) They have a young, developing offensive line and may look to add Fred Miller/Ruben Brown types for a veteran presence on the outside while former first-rounders Chris Williams and Gabe Carimi return. And the defense, contrary to naysaying fans, did not show the age that is supposedly bringing it down any day now. Nor did it see its lack of depth at linebacker and defensive end tested this season. The Bears will look to fortify each position early-ish in the draft.

They will now pick in the middle of the first round, barring a trade. They have substantial cap space, barring any lucrative extensions. They have specific roster needs and are in prime position to address them. They are also unlikely to see much turnover at the major coaching positions unless you still believe the fictional reports of Mike Martz being considered for everything from Bayonne, New Jersey’s Superintendent of Schools to Ron Paul’s running mate. The Bears will have a lot of things going for them come next season. They’ll have no excuses.

These last six games of the 2011 campaign will be a memory come Bourbonnais next year. All we’ll remember and discuss is the 7-3 team, putting up thirty points a game, looking poised to challenge the Packers for conference dominance. Those expectations will be placed on the 2012 Chicago Bears starting Week One. The first week of a tenure-defining season for Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith.