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Stick a fork in Vikings, Bears
Chicago isn't consistent enough to seriously challenge the Packers for the division.
Nov. 14, 2010 |(30) Comments
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On bye Sunday, I convinced myself it was a little nasty outside for serious yard work.
Jimi Hendrix was on the Biography Channel. "Top Gear" was on BBC-America.
Minnesota-Chicago, though, was on Fox.
Oh, the things you'll do for the job.
But Vikings-Bears?
Where was a nice basement sewer backup when you needed it?
But this was an important game where the idling Green Bay Packers were concerned. They go to Minnesota next. They are currently tied with Chicago atop the NFC North.
So what did we learn from the Bears' 27-13 victory?
No matter if Brad Childress or Leslie Frazier is coaching the imploded Vikings this Sunday at the Metrodome, Minnesota is done. The Vikings are an irrecoverable kind of 3-6, too many internal problems and not enough healthy receivers to be much of a bother to anyone for the rest of the season.
For a change, I'm not even going to pile on Brett Favre, even if he does have a league-leading 16 interceptions for the year, three of which came against the Bears. Clearly, all those picks Sunday were not No. 4's fault. Like the franchise as a whole, the Minnesota receivers kept falling down. The TV guys seemed obsessed with the tall grass at Soldier Field, but a more telling problem was the shot of three of Favre's regular go-to guys seated on the bench with various ailments as the season ran out on the Vikings.
Of more concern for the Packers is their temporary tie with Chicago. The Bears, however, should be a half-game behind Green Bay at the start of business Sunday. Even if Miami isn't very good at home and the Dolphins might have to start a former Coastal Carolina Chanticleer by the name of Tyler Thigpen at quarterback Thursday night against the Bears, Chicago isn't consistent enough to win that game or seriously challenge the Packers for the division.
The Bears are as unreliable as their quarterback with the 10-cent head and the million-dollar arm. The guess here is a certain former Green Bay cornerback will be very comfortable in teal Thursday night against Jay Cutler.
And, like the Vikings, the Bears do not have the proper management team in place. Beyond that, who have they beaten?
OK, they beat Green Bay when the Packers were going through their addled close-loss stage, but they've figured most of that out by now. The Packers are getting better as a team at the same time some of the injured are getting better in the training room. The players the Packers can depend on from here are clearly better than what the Bears are fielding, and if you're asking me, there was no pressing need for Green Bay to supplement its second-half roster with the 35-year-old Al Harris.
Lost in most of the conversation is the fact Brandon Jackson is getting a little better every week behind a line that has found some rhythm with rookie Bryan Bulaga at right tackle. If Aaron Rodgers can build off his Dallas performance and the Packers are able to play downhill with the lead now that the weather is turning, you could comfortably project them winning five of the last seven.
Atlanta is probably the best team in the NFC right now, especially in that dome. The Packers go there at the end of the month and to New England in late December. The Bears still have the Eagles, Patriots and Jets before ending the regular season Jan. 2 at Lambeau Field.
I know, you can read a schedule. You could also read something into Vikings-Bears on bye Sunday.
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Of all the times to criticize the Bears & diminish their chances, this is not it
Michael Hunt seems like a Packers apologist. After this game where every single aspect of the team played very well, in a game where we won by 14 & could've won by 30, this is when he says the Bears are finished? When they tie up the division with a 3-0 record in the division
Wow. This has to be like the worst timing ever for a ripping column. Heck, Green Bay has a tougher second half schedule then the Bears do
And there's absolutely no way the Bears shouldn't be favored big time v the Dolphins with their 3rd string QB starting. The Dolphins aren't even impressive with their 1st string QB, things shouldn't be easier with the 3rd stringer
Last edited by packer_smacker; 11-15-2010 at 07:29 AM.
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Honestly, I saw two bad throws by Cutler, both in the end zone (the triple coverage that didn't get INT'd, was, I think).
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The article is too funny. Definitely written by a Packer "fan".
I'm so tired of the "who" have they beaten, so I'm going to give my take on it:
Week 1: EVERY TEAM in the NFL thinks they can win the first week of the season, so playing an improved Detroit team was no "easy win". We made 3 mistakes in the red zone (Olsen fumble, Forte fumble and failed 1st and goal series) that kept the game close.
Week 2: Dallas on the road. It was a huge game for Dallas. They were 0-1 and this was their home opener. We got the best they had to offer, not the "roll over and die" Dallas that GB faced.
Week 3: Green Bay win was big. Maybe GB was still trying to figure things out, but so were we. We beat them straight up. No excuses.
Week 4: Giants defense took control of the game early and beat the living day lights out of the Oline and Jay. 'nough said.
Week 5: We beat Panthers on the road like we were supposed to.
Week 6: Seattle loss still hurts. IMO, they out played us. They made the plays and we didn't.
Week 7: This was one game, IMO, that we gave away.
Week 9: We beat a very fiesty Buffalo team. Buffalo is improving and they had taken both Baltimore and KC to overtime before losing the 2 weeks before we faced them.
Week 10: This was the best overall performance by the Bears team the entire season. The Oline played fairly well and kept the "mighty" Vikings dline in check.
IMO, you can't look at teams records at the midway point of a season and go back in time, ala Dallas and use that to prove anything. GB did not face the same team we did. Dallas was still trying the second week of the season, whereas the team that played in GB last week had thrown in the towel. Every team in the NFL thinks they can win coming out of training camp, so their are very few "easy" wins the first week of the season.
Another example is the team we just whooped, the MN Vikings. Had Minnesota lost last week to AZ, we would have faced a much different team, IMO. Yesterday, the Vikings were still playing for their season. Now at 3-6, their chances are slim. With all the drama going on up in the Twin Cities, I look for this team to deteriorate quickly. Had they won yesterday, their attitude going into next weeks game against GB would be much different. They would have been able to narrow the division lead to 1 game with a win. So it's very important to understand "when" you played a team, not just look at their overall record and judge how easy or difficult the win.
The Bears are a good football team. They are not a dominant team, but they are good. If the offense continues to improve, we can make some noise in the playoffs.
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To be honest...the "who have they beaten" argument is a good one.
However, this is not the time to declare the Bears season over, when they are 6-3, and tied for the division lead holding the tiebreaker over the Packers. Now its time to declare "do or die" season on the Bears...either they get it together and beat some of these tough teams ahead...or they regress and lose them, and watch their division lead slip away and struggle to even make a WC spot.
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Originally Posted by
Jimmors 
To be honest...the "who have they beaten" argument is a good one.
However, this is not the time to declare the Bears season over, when they are 6-3, and tied for the division lead holding the tiebreaker over the Packers. Now its time to declare "do or die" season on the Bears...either they get it together and beat some of these tough teams ahead...or they regress and lose them, and watch their division lead slip away and struggle to even make a WC spot.
To me Jimmors, it's not only the "who" but the "when". As you know, teams can get hot, have injuries that deplete the team, etc...so just looking at the who isn't enough.
It will be fun to watch the Bears down the stretch. Gut wrenching for sure, but fun.
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Originally Posted by
chisportsfan To me Jimmors, it's not only the "who" but the "when". As you know, teams can get hot, have injuries that deplete the team, etc...so just looking at the who isn't enough.
It will be fun to watch the Bears down the stretch. Gut wrenching for sure, but fun.
True...just look at Dallas. Earlier in the season, it was a big deal that the Bears were able to beat Dallas...but looking back on it, its not such a big deal anymore seeing as how they are probably one of the worst teams in the league this year.
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Originally Posted by
Jimmors True...just look at Dallas. Earlier in the season, it was a big deal that the Bears were able to beat Dallas...but looking back on it, its not such a big deal anymore seeing as how they are probably one of the worst teams in the league this year.
I'm not sure you read my entire initial post, but they are an example I used. We played them Week 2, and they were still considered a SB contender. It was their home opener as well. Their attitude was much different than what they did last week in GB.
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lol, no i didnt. I admit i tend to have a short attention span with posts, and usually just skim the long ones. My apologies
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Im not worried about the who we have beaten it is the how. This was the most hopeful game of the season as far as the oline was blocking, other then slipping wrs ran the right routes, cutler didnt throw like Favre lol, and the defense and special teams were their normal selfs and this all happened in one game. This is the first game we won without it going down to the wire and that is why I think this is the best win of the season. if this is whats to come then I think we can take the division.
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