Joe Webb and the Minnesota Vikings – in defense of every beagle, labrador and collie of this nation – thoroughly dominated the Philadelphia Eagles last night and handed the Chicago Bears a first round bye.  Shortly thereafter a collective groan was heard in and around the New York metropolitan area.  Giants fans, who never stopped recounting their fourth-quarter meltdown during the Christmas holiday, watched their club’s playoff hopes dwindle even further as the Bears were stripped of all motivation from Sunday at Lambeau Field.  Unless, of course, you believe the Bears organization is concerned with removing the Packers from the tournament.

And they shouldn’t be.  Not now.  I’ve said all along that if the Bears could improve their seeding heading into the final week of the season, they should deliver an inspired effort in Green Bay and knock the cheese out of January/February football. But barring an Atlanta collapse against Carolina and a Bucs win over the Saints in the early games, the Bears are firmly entrenched as the deuce.  That leaves three possible outcomes at Lambeau.  (1) The Bears win and feel a bit better about themselves.  (2) The Bears lose and feel a bit worse about themselves.  (3) Someone important gets injured.  To incorrectly paraphrase a Meatloaf tune, “Two out of three are pretty damn shitty.”

I don’t think the Bears should make anybody important inactive (with the exception of Pisa Tinoisamoa, who will now certainly be healthy for the Divisional Round) but they should have Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, Devin Hester, Julius Peppers, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs off the field by halftime.  Leave the offensive line to face Clay Matthews and the attacking defensive front.  Leave the other receivers to get some reps with Caleb Hanie, a player who might be called upon in a critical moment.  Leave the secondary to face one of the best passing attacks in the sport.  Get Chester Taylor, Nick Roach, Brian Iwuh and Corey Wootton maximum reps.  I don’t look at sitting the stars as a negative thing.  I see it as essential player development awarded to the teams who’ve earned the right to do it in-season, against the highest quality of competition.  And based on the way the Bears emerged from their mid-season bye, I’m not concerned about them losing any type of momentum.

I will also add this: the New York Giants scare me a lot more than the Green Bay Packers.  I don’t think the Giants are better than the Pack but I believe the Bears can line up with the Packers and beat them without tricks.  I’ve seen it happen already this year.  The Giants front four on defense against the Bears offensive line is a disaster waiting to happen and eliminating them from the tournament would eliminate perhaps the Bears biggest conference matchup problem.

Think of a postseason game without Cutler.  Without Hester.  Without Peppers, Urlacher or Briggs.  Now ask yourself whether knocking the Packers out of the playoffs Sunday would be worth that risk.

Mannelly Gets Contract Extension

In the aftermath of the Bears allowing 34 points and 269 passing yards in their victory over the Jets on Sunday, many fingers were pointed at the Cover-2 defense.

It’s true the Bears gave up some yardage playing Cover-2, including Mark Sanchez‘s 23-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes. But the Bears played more safety up and Cover-1 than they have most of the season.

A review of the tape shows the Bears were playing something other than a true two-deep alignment on 54 percent of the Jets’ snaps. They played a lot of single safety high, and the Jets completed many passes on slant routes against that alignment.

In the fourth quarter, the Bears used even less Cover-2 than the rest of the game, appearing to call for it on only six plays. One of the plays was Chris Harris’ victory-sealing interception.

I don’t know what defensive systems the Bears were running from play to play but I’ll take Pompei’s word for it.  I will say, concretely, that whatever system they were in failed for most of the game and the Bears were susceptible to the same plays (tight end in the seam, mid-range slant routes) that they have been susceptible to for the duration of Lovie Smith’s tenure as head coach of the Chicago Bears.

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.

ELIGIBILITY

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.

Any questions, I will answer below.

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.

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.

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.

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?