Dec 9, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; A Green Bay Packers fan cheers during the game against the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field. The Packers won 27-20. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Bears fans will have to go against their natural-born instincts next Sunday and root for the Green Bay Packers to win to help the Bears get into the playoffs.  By virtue of their win over the Houston Texans, the Minnesota Vikings put their playoff destiny in their own hands.   Win against Green Bay and they’re in the postseason.  The Vikings pulled off the upset in Houston to set the stage for a critical Week 17 game in Minnesota against the rival Packers. (more…)

Julius Peppers is November's NFC Defensive Player of November

People are starting to recognize the 2010 Chicago Bears.  The TV networks are getting it, flexing last week’s key matchup against Philly and the upcoming contest with the AFC-favorite Patriots.  When the team starts seeing recognition, individual accolades will follow.  That’s the case with two of the big name Bears, Julius Peppers and Jay Cutler.

Julius Peppers was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November.  He earns the honors after racking up 4 sacks (29 yards lost),  a pass deflection that led to an interception, 13 tackles and 2 tackles for loss.  Not a bad little month.  With the Bears among the league leaders in defense, it’s only fitting that the player with the biggest impact on the team getting honored.  The last Bear to be named NFC Defensive player of the month?  Trace Armstrong back in 1990.  Yes, 20 years ago.  Frankly I’m really surprised Urlacher never had one during his tenure.  (more…)

The New York Giants are the NFC representation in the Super Bowl. Take a moment to let it sink in and make you sick. The NFC representation was supposed to be the Cowboys, or Packers, or even the Seahawks, but not the Giants. We have two weeks to consider the Giants chances against the Patriots, but what does this mean for the Bears? It means the Bears are not that far away from another Super Bowl appearance.

The Giants go into the Super Bowl with a shaky quarterback, prone to getting rushed into making bad decisions in the pocket, but offers a huge upside when playing well. The Giants have an effective run game but have to use a variety of running backs in different situations and parts of the game. The Giants have a veteran wide receiver with Super Bowl experience that they are relying on to lead a young, inexperienced receiving corps. They have a quick defense that relies upon take aways and a dominant pass rush to get at the quarterback and cause problems. Any of this sound familiar? It should because it’s the same formula our Bears used last season.

The crushing reality for the Bears and the rest of the NFC is they are not that far removed from returning to dominance next season. As much as every team wants to say their players are the most skilled at their positions, there is a certain element of luck that comes with hard work in the NFL. If you put it all out on the field for the entire game, hopefully your players will be in the right position during a key fumble or interception. The ball was bouncing the Bears way last season, but they appeared to be out of place this season.

Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot more than luck that had to due with this year’s collapse. It requires all 11 players on the field playing their best in order to capitalize on those mistakes. The Bears had too many weaknesses at running back, offensive tackle, and safety to make the most of their opportunities. Notice I did not include quarterback on that list. Too be quite honest, the quarterback situation has become such a problem for this team it has taken away attention from positions that need more drastic improvement. The Bears could trade for Donovan McNabb, but if there is no running game he’ll be run back out of town just as quickly. I’d rather see the Bears make a priority of signing free agent Michael Turner and establish a strong ground game. Go back to last season, remember when Rex Grossman was throwing all those wonderful deep routes to Bernard Berrian for big scores? Almost all of those were play action passes, utilizing the strong running game of Thomas Jones to take defenses by surprise.

If the Bears bring in a strong running back, the passing game can fix itself. It would be a huge mistake to commit too much energy and money on a position that can’t flourish without a strong supporting cast. How many touchdowns do you think Tom Brady could throw for the Bears? Go back and look at footage of how long the Bears offensive line game Rex to throw the ball and then watch how long the Patriots offensive line will give Brady in the Super Bowl. The Bears need to draft offensive tackle and improve the position immediately. Going after Pittsburgh Guard Alan Faneca would be a good long-term move, but the Bears have a more pressing matter at tackle. The sudden decline of Fred Miller had less to do with physical than mental collapse. His repeated off-sides penalties were devastating to an offense that already had trouble moving the ball.

As far as safety is concerned, the name Adam Archuleta should serve as case closed. It remains to be seen if the Bears believe Ricky Manning Jr. or Danieal Manning can play the position or if they bring in a top draft pick. I’m an advocate of bringing back Mike Brown to see if he can stay healthy and reaping the huge rewards. When Brown can stay healthy he’s one of the most talented players on the field.

If the Bears draft an offensive tackle and safety in the first two rounds and sign Michael Turner I wouldn’t be surprised to see this Bears team back in the playoffs next year. The Giants victory has made it clear that there is no NFC dominant team and any team can take the Halas Trophy any year.

The Giants got the better of the Green Bay Packers on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field mostly due to the inept Green Bay offense than anything else.  The Packers couldn’t establish a running game and when they relied on Brett Favre to create some magic, he conjured interceptions.  It was a great game to watch, but more importantly, what effect will it have on the Super Bowl?

I’m afraid a Giants victory has spelled a disasterous Super Bowl.  When you take the Packers and the Giants and match them up to the Patriots the Packers have the best chance of making the game competitive.  When the game is played in sunny Arizona, the Packers speedy offense with weapons like Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Donald Lee, and Brett Favre could give the Patriots trouble.  Instead we get to see Eli Manning, Plaxico Burress, Armani Toomer, and an array of back up tight ends and runnings backs.  Any team would love to have Plaxico Burress but the rest of the Giants offense is adequate at best.  Favre has a cool head in the pocket, but Eli has shown that he can be flustered in the pocket and make bad choices.  I already have images in my head of Eli running for his life from Mike Vrabel.

The Packers defense had shut down corner backs in Al Harris and Charles Woodson, along with skilled linebackers in A.J. Hawk and good pass rushers.  The Giants bring good corners and a great pass rush led by Michael Strahan, but I get the feeling like the Giants defense is a one-trick pony.  They put too much faith in their pass rush getting to the quarterback.  When they don’t they are picked apart.  The Patriots offensive line is too good and Tom Brady too relaxed to let Strahan and company get to him.

The Patriots have shown that they can put their backs up to the end zone and prevent opposing teams from scoring touchdowns.  After seeing Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes take three attempts to make a field goal you have to wonder if the Giants are in over their heads. 

I have been hoping for weeks for any team to come out of the NFC that can compete and maybe even beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl.  First we lost the Dallas Cowboys, and now the Green Bay Packers.  The NFC now has to rely on the shaky arm of Eli Manning and an overachieving Giants team that is about to take on the Evil Empire. 

Eli Manning is no Luke Skywalker and Tom Coughlin is no Yoda. 

The Packers loss takes away any shred of hope the NFC had to take the Super Bowl.  Eli Manning will have to perform a miracle in the Arizona desert to get his brother Peyton’s trophy.  I love an underdog as much as the next guy but I just can’t wrap my head around this one. 

Of course, if I was a betting man I would have bet the Giants would have lost to the Cowboys and the Packers.  I have been wrong before and could be again.  Perhaps this Giants team has some sort of destiny that could follow them to the Super Bowl.  It could also just be life laughing in the face of Tiki Barber sitting at home wondering what Arizona is like in February. 

I would love to see the San Diego Chargers defeat the New England Patriots and get the AFC trophy, but with a banged up LaDainian Tomlinson and gimpy Phillip Rivers the Chargers may have to hope for another miracle from their back ups Michael Turner and Billy Volek. Although, if you told me the fate of the Chargers season would rest on a touchdown drive led by Volek and Turner I would probably tell you their season would end early. Somehow they managed to manufacture a game-winning drive in the face of the NFL defensive MVP Bob Sanders. Is it even feasible to imagine the same thing could happen to the Patriots? I’m grounded by the reality that the Colts defense was missing several key players and had been over performing down the stretch. The reality is with the amount of injuries on the Indianapolis Colts it should have been no surprise that they were ousted by a team using replacement parts.

Now the Chargers are thrust into the same role the Colts played this past weekend. They go into the AFC championship game banged up and possibly missing pro bowl players that are key to their team. When you take L.T. and Antonio Gates off the field, what do the Chargers have left on offense? Chris Chambers is going to lead this team past the Patriots?

Normally I don’t waste my time writing on the AFC but I make the exception because of how much I despise the Patriots. I despise the way they disregarded the old NFL unspoken rule against running up the score against opponents. I despise the way they managed to horde so much talent on one team much the way basketball teams were for many years and contributed to the drop off of the NBA. I despise that Tony Romo gets criticized for taking his celebrity girlfriend on a trip but there is no accountability for Tom Brady dating supermodels and having children with different women. I despise the way they play the game more like a video game than real football.

I already know what all the Patriots fan are saying, if you don’t like it then find a way to beat us. That’s the part that really disgusts me. Even with their bastardized version of football, no one has been able to find a way to stop them. It’s also the reason why it will never be duplicated. The main reason the Patriots offense has been so good is the matching up of a great receiving corps, mostly due to the horrible trade made with the Oakland Raiders to get Randy Moss. Shame on the Raiders for giving up Moss to the Patriots without making the Patriots give up some talent in return. It was a fluke that probably will never be able to be repeated by any other team. They also have a benefit of a defense made up of some of the best defensive players in the league. Somehow Junior Seau has been an ageless wonder and still manages to contribute. Eventually this team will get too old and too expensive to keep together and balance will be restored to the league.

So should I admire the Patriots for putting this team together? I don’t think so, that still doesn’t excuse the way they humiliated teams for their own ego.

The New York Giants played a great game against the Dallas Cowboys but you have to admit the Cowboys didn’t look like the Cowboys on Sunday. They looked confused and couldn’t get a balance on offense, mostly due to allowing the Giants pass rush to have their way with Tony Romo. Brett Favre has many more years under his belt on knowing how to avoid a pass rush, plus a Packers offense that has shown they can rely on the pass and spread the field. So as far as I’m concerned the Packers already have their place set for the NFC trophy.

That’s possibly what makes the Packers and Patriots match up so compelling. While the Packers have shown they can take over a game with running back Ryan Grant, it wasn’t too long ago they were winning games by passing the entire game, much the way the Patriots have been winning. The possibility of a shoot out Super Bowl will be exciting and fun to watch. If the Giants upset and get into the Super Bowl, the Patriots defense will be able to confuse Eli Manning and take control of the game. Favre is old, but has a lot of wisdom when it comes to playing the game and the Super Bowl.

So you tell me, do Bears fans root for the Patriots to run the table and make NFL history by mocking the league, or do you root for the hated, rival Packers, even though they may be the last saviors of the league by giving the Patriots their own style of pass happy offense and suffocating defense?