White Meat Plays (guys I like)

1. Aaron Rodgers, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and Ryan Grant @ Detroit – Hell, I would probably also throw Jermichael Finley into this bunch…I think GB comes out and stomps Detroit.  I know Detroit plays tough on Turkey Day, because it is their birth right to host a game every year, but not this year my friends.  GB wins and wins big!!!
2. Marion Barber vs Oakland – Shocker, I am picking a RB to light up Oakland, but until they can stop anyone on the ground, I will keep picking against them.  The Oakland D is 30th against the run and they have allowed a league high 16 rushing TDs.  Surprisingly, they are not so bad against the pass, so I expect Barber to gain > 100yds on the ground and likely 2 TDs.
3. Brett Favre vs Bears - There is really no explanation needed.  The Beloved are hurting and Favre’s colors have changed, but the song remains the same.  Oh, and he has a pretty good running game to support a lot of play action over the top of our vaunted Tampa Two defense.
4. Whichever Cincy RB starts vs Cleveland - Whether it is Cedric Benson or Bernard Scott starting for Cincy, they should be starting for you.  They will light up Cleveland!!!

Dark Meat Plays (guys I don’t like)  (more…)

Week 3 takes the Beloved to Seattle and also marks the site of the annual pilgrimage of my Brothers (aka very long-time friends) to see the Bears play on the road.  Watch out SeaChicken fans, The Brotherhood is coming and Qwest Field may never be the same again.  Wish us luck and forgiving law enforcement.  Now, I ascend my pulpit to do some preaching for Week 3.  This week is slightly truncated since I just became a father for the 3^rd time on Saturday and because I still need to pack for my trip to Seattle. (more…)

If the Bears are to make the playoffs, they will need some help.  It turns out that all of the teams that we shoudl be rooting for are underdogs and will need at least one upset to keep hope alive heading into the game on Monday night. 

As winter’s grip tightens on Chicago this weekend, there will be no better place to hunker down and watch the games that will directly impac the Bears’ playoff chances before the Monday night tilt with the hated Pack.

Atlanta at Minnesota – hopefully with half the Williams Wall down, Michael Turner and the Atlanta Falcons can run wild on the Vikings to keep their Wild Card and the Bears’ NFC North hopes alive. 

The odds might be against the Bears, but ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer believes they will overtake the Vikes for the division title:

“I went out on a limb … a very thin limb,” Dilfer said. “But I wanted to be the first to put it out there.  Two reasons: One, I just know the Vikings’ history of sliding toward the end of December.  They have a great opportunity to erase that history, but they have a tough road against the Falcons and Giants.”

Other games that keep the faint Wild Card hopes alive:

Baltimore at Dallas -rookie Joe Flacco leads a resurgent Ravens offense while Ray Lewis continues to anchor the ferocious Ravens defense.  With an injured Marion Barber and Tony Romo nursing a sore back,  Dallas’ offense will have a tough time moving the ball against a stout Ravens Defense.

San Diego at Tampa Bay – LT and the Chargers still have a shot at the AFC West division title with a win and Bronos loss, so no lack of motivation for the Super Chargers.   Tampa has faltered of late and has their own playoff hopes hanging in the balance. 

Philadelphia at Washington – the Eagles ride a hot Donovan McNabb into DC to take on the fading Redskins.   Can barely remember the McNabb benching a few weeks ago.

BEAR DOWN!!!

The Bears made the surprising move of re-signing Lance Briggs, but let Bernard Berrian go to Minnesota and Muhsin Muhammed go to Carolina.  Brendon Ayanbadejo is now a Baltimore Raven, and reports indicate that several teams are asking about Rashied Davis.  Fred Miller and Ruben Brown are both gone and John Gilmore is a Tampa Bay Buc.  The Bears replaced the wide receiver vacancy with veteran Marty Booker and Brandon Lloyd. 

That leaves a gapping void at right tackle, right guard, running back, safety, and a long-term need to upgrade at wide receiver and quarterback.  Whew, that’s all?  There is little doubt the Bears are going to make a priority of drafting one of the talented offensive tackles available in this years draft.  As much as the Bears need help shoring up safety, there isn’t much help in free agency or the draft for improvement.  You really never know what Jerry Angelo will do about the quarterback situation so that remains to be seen. 

The remaining priorities are right guard and running, with a need for a long-term solution at wide receiver.  When I say a long term solution I mean that the Bears have players for the next couple years, so they should look into developing a young receiver that could make a huge impact.  The guard and running back positions require forcing a free agent or rookie to make an immediate impact. 

I’m still not done considering the Bears could sign a free agent running back, based solely on the fact that Jerry Angelo has shown no ability to weight talent at the position when drafting.  They are better off taking an established running back from another team that can get to work, much the same way Thomas Jones made such a big impact.  I was disappointed to see his brother, Julius Jones, get signed by the Seahawks for a 4 year deal.  I figured if the Bears didn’t grab Michael Turner, who signed a big deal witht he Falcons, the Bears could grab Jones.  Neither happened and I’m becoming increasingly concerned abou the Bears running game.

Marion Barber is a restricted free agent in Dallas, but the cost to tear him away could be too big for a team that has been trying to pinch salary cap pennies.  Michael Pittman is available out of Tampa Bay but his best years are far behind him.  Ron Dayne is available out of Houston and if I ever hear his name mentioned again I may puke in my mouth.  There were reports the Bears were interested in Titan running back Chris Brown, but just as quickly he signed with Houston.  You know what’s after that?  Not a damn thing. 

The running back situation came and went for the Bears, with no attempt to grab one of the impact players.  Signing any of the players still on the market would only cause more trouble and create a bigger distraction of the Bears running game.  As a result, drafting a running back suddenly becomes a big priority.  The idea itself is scary given our recent track record of drafting running backs.  The Bears should just go with the old proven method of drafting the best player availabe at your pick.  For the first pick, it will most likely be offensive tackle.  For the remaining three picks in the first three rounds, the Bears should grab any running back, wide receiver, or guard that has shown signs of talent and th eability to make an impact. 

Any attempts by Jerry Angelo to survey the talent pool will only result in another disaster pick.  The scary part is in order the win, the Bears are relying on this to be one of the most successful drafts in franchise history.  Just the idea that the Bears are going to use as many as three starting spots on an already struggling offense with rookies could be ugly.  The next few months will make or break Jerry Angelo’s future with the Bears organization, let’s hope he can get it right this time.