Jan 15, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; NFC Divisional Playoff logo on the field prior to the game between the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The Divisional round of the playoffs are widely viewed as the best weekend of the NFL.   You get two games on Saturday and two more on Sunday.  Theoretically the weakest have been weeded out in last weekend’s Wild Card matchups and the big dogs are rested up and ready to roll.  It should be a great weekend of football, featuring three re-matches from earlier this season.  (more…)

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…)

The aging Chicago Bears defense has carried the team about as far as they can carry them.  It’s time for Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall to shoulder the burden and drag this battered, bruised and aged team across the finish line.   The defense did their part for the first eight weeks, leading the Bears to a 7-1 record and putting them at the doorstep of the NFL playoffs.  With the defense banged up and expecting to be without their leader Brian Urlacher for the rest of the regular season, Jay Cutler must kick that playoff door in and lead the Bears into the postseason party. (more…)

Michael Irvin will host the yet-to-be-named show set to debut in the Spring on Spike TV, as 12 contestants compete for the right to join the Cowboys preseason roster.  For details, go here.   And for your weekend warriors who still think you have what it takes,  download your application here.  Did Michael Irvin type this  up on a typewriter himself?  Put a little effort into it, would ya? Here are a couple of my favorite questions:

ARE YOU CURRENTLY PLAYING FOOTBALL AND WITH WHO?  IF NO WHY NOT?

…

DO YOU HAVE A FOOTBALL MOTTO THAT YOU LIVE BY?  WHAT IS IT?

…

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS?

I’m in favor of them.  Seriously, what would anyone with half a brain cell answer to that question???

On top of that, T.O. is getting a show on VH1 to join the ranks of Flavor Flav, Bret Michaels and other celeb wannabe’s.  The Terrell Owens Project will follow the megalomaniac Cowboys receiver during the offseason.

T.O. will be shadowed in the off-season by his best friends and publicists Monique Jackson and Kita Williams as they battle the two sides of his large personality.  Viewers will discover that behind all the braggadocio, emotional histrionics, and sculpted physique that is the outspoken media magnet known to the world as “T.O.” — there is also a quiet, sensitive, mild-mannered guy from Alexander City, Alabama…that’s Terrell.

Braggadocio?  Who makes this crap up?  What’s next, Newlyweds 2 starring Tony and “Yoko Romo” Jessica Simpson?  What’s up with these Cowboys?  You can blame HBO for planting the seed.  They featured this Cowboy team twice on their Hard Knocks series.  I guess the cameras are addicting.  What kind of circus are Jerry Jones and Wade Phillips running down there in Big D?  No wonder these guys didn’t make the playoffs.

It’s bad enough we get sports stars showing up on “Dancing with the Stars” and “The Apprentice”, but now get entire series dedicated to this crap?  And what about the last guy trying to make the Cowboys roster who doesn’t get to go to training camp because they have to give that roster spot to some reality show winner?  Why don’t we just raffle off roster spots to the highest bidder?  Hopefully, the McCaskeys don’t get any ideas.  They’re always looking for new revenue streams.

When are people going to figure out that the sport itself is the best reality show?  You can’t make up stories like the 2009 playoff run by the Arizona Cardinals or the shocking upset last season by the New York Giants over the heavily favored Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.  Reality TV is anything but that and it just doesn’t compare to the real drama that unfolds on the gridiron.  TO TV?  Only if the TO stands for Turn Off!

BOOM!!!

This game was a microcosm of the entire season.  The Bears came out fired up and scored early, but were unable to protect the lead, letting up 21 unanswered points as they failed to protect their lead and failed to finish the ballgame.  Does that sound like a common theme?  See Caroline, Tampa and Atlanta games in case there is any confusion about not finishing.

The Bears felt the loss of Mike Brown, as the Texans exploited the Bears’ secondary throughout the game.   Andre

Andre Johnson dominated the Bears in Houston's 31-24 victory

Johnson went into the locker room with over 100 receiving yards and 2 TD’s.  At the half.   Any time the defense wants to stop him, please feel free.  He is wearing shirt #80.

Despite all the missteps, the Bears managed to hold the Texans to a short field goal early in the fourth quarter to keep it a 7 point game.  After a questionable no-call on what appeared to be pass interference on Brandon Lloyd, Brad Maynard boomed yet another punt inside the 20, down to the 11 yard line.  And here is where the season effectively ended, my friends.  When it mattered most, the once-vaunted Bears defense let Houston march 89 yards in over six minutes, capped off by a 2-yard Steve Slaton touchdown.  Bears down 2 scores and the season is on life support.

The Bears were able to run an effective 2-minute offense with a Kyle Orton QB-sneak bringing the Bears back to within one score.  Now it was up to Robbie Gould to kick an onside kick for the Bears to have a chance.  He hit the equivalent of a Derek Lee ground ball to the shortstop that Chicago native Kevin Walter easily covered.  And despite all of that, the Bears still had one last gasp.  Hold the Texans to a 3 and out and maybe, just maybe, you get a miraculous punt return or a Hail Mary.  Instead, Tommie Harris, who made over $10 million in bonuses this year, jumped offsides to give Houston a 1st and 5.  Five yards and a couple of kneel-downs later and the season went up in smoke.

I’ll have a lot more to discuss as I get a chance to digest the season.   Throughout the next week, I’ll take a closer look at the offense, defense, special teams and coaching as we head into the offseason.

BEAR DOWN!!!

Dear Santa,

I have been a really, really good Bears fan this year.  I never missed a game and even ignored some of the obvious faults of my favorite team.  Some people say you’re not real, but they’re from Green Bay, so they are stupid and don’t know what they’re talking about.  I hope you can bring me some great presents this year.  Here is the list of what I want:

A Bears win over the Texans.  Maybe Devin Hester could return at least one punt for a touchdown?  I’d hate to see the whole season go by without him bringing one to the house.

A Giants win over those annoying Vikings.  And 3 fumbles by Adrian Peterson would be great too!

An Eagles win over the Cowboys.  Just in case the Giants decide to take it easy.

A Raiders win over the Bucs.  Same reason as the Eagles game.  Even Al Davis deserves something.

A Lions win over the Packers.  Why not?  It’s always fun to see Green Bay lose.  Besides, the Lions don’t deserve to go 0-16, do they?

That’s all for now Santa.  I’m sure I’ll have another list during the offseason and draft, but I don’t want to get too greedy.   In case you can pull a few strings though, I hear Anquan Boldin has been a good boy in Arizona, but wants a new home.  We’ll take good care of him here.  See what you can do.

Thanks,

Boomer

BEAR DOWN!!!

PS – Enjoy the Christmas Yule Log Video.

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?

There is a certain hatred that develops when you play a team year in and year out.  You develope a growing desire to see your team kick their ass and shut up the fans that make the trip to your stadium just to act like idiots.  However, there is also the idea that you want other teams in the NFL to respect your division.  If any given team from a divison can go to the NFC championship game then it reflects well on the rest of teams in the division.  Even though the remaining teams didn’t make the playoffs, it reflects back upon them that their division is that much tougher and competitive. 

I’m a big respect guy, I think a big part of the game of football is making the 11 players on the other side of the ball respect you.  The Seattle Seahawks make the playoffs every year but don’t get any respect from the league when they are not playing at home with their fan base that needs to be tested for rabies.  Getting to play the Rams, Cardinals, and 49ers twice every year is the type of schedule that makes teams turn their nose up a little.  If the NFL switched the Seahawks with the scrappy Buffalo Bills or Houston Texans and there is no way the Seahawks make the playoffs.  The Texans have to compete with the Colts, Jaguars, and Titans, all playoff teams that play great football.  Houston still managed an 8-8 record.  I doubt you could say the same if Seattle had to play that trio twice a season. 

So there is something to be said for respect of the division.  I may not like seeing the Packers win, but if the Packers can step in where the Bears left off than there leaves little doubt where the strength of teh NFC plays its football on Sunday.  Not to mention, real men know how to play in the elements.  If the NFl really wants to have a fun super bowl they need to quit scheduling panzy domes and southern stadiums and put a Super Bowl at Soldier Field or Lambeau and see what team can battle on the football field in February.  Now that’s a football team. 

That being said, I still don’t think I can stomach rooting for the Packers.  Right now I’m going to go be a Jaguars fan for a couple hours and see if they can knock off Tom Brady so he can hurry back to spreading his seed with random women. 

Oh, and when did taking your girlfriend to Mexico for vacation become more scandalous than getting a girl pregnant, breaking up with her, and dating a supermodel?  Just wondering.