Bears 2010 - Week 17 Preview: GET THE PACK OUT - by Anil P.

The NFC North Division Champion Chicago Bears have wrapped up the division and a bye week in the playoffs. Now on to their second gift to the fans, taking the Packers out of the playoffs and perhaps securing the #1 seed. I don't blame Lovie for declaring all week that his starters will go. Kickoff for the Bears is at 3:15 on Sunday and with the early game featuring the Falcons at home against Carolina; 1st seed in the NFC can be at stake. I still find it hard to believe that the Bears really are going to play all out for the entire game. Lovie has in the past rested the starters such as in 2005. I still remember Urlacher just seething on the sideline in Minnesota as the Vikings racked up 34 points on the Bears vaunted defense. Next week of course the Bears lost to the Panthers and Steve Smith in the Wild Card round. Did the 'week off' hurt the Bears in the following game? Assuming Atlanta crushes the hapless Panthers and there isn't anything to play for, would Lovie risk injury? Or does Lovie think two weeks off would hurt even more now with the bye week in place? In a hard week to predict, the Bears travel to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers.

Green Bay enters Sunday playing for their playoff lives. In the NFL no prediction is safe and the Packers were touted as one of the elite teams to challenge for the Super Bowl out of the NFC. Injuries have a way of humbling a franchise and Mike McCarthy's crew have fourteen guys on the IR compared to the Bears two. Give credit to the front office and coaching staff to have the depth to supplant those they have lost and still sustain a 9-6 record and a chance at the postseason. Aaron Rodgers remains the Most Valuable Packer and has bounced back well from his concussion a few weeks ago. Aaron and the offense is still just as lethal as posting 45 points up against the New York Giants last Sunday. The Packers are 8th the NFL in points per game and 2nd in the NFL in points allowed, this Packers team is too good to not be in the playoffs.

KEY MATCH-UPS

Situation vs. Preparation

While the fans at home would love nothing more to see than the Bears take the Packers out of the playoff race, I wonder if the players themselves will ultimately be looking forward to the 2nd weekend in January. Green Bay will be throwing everything at the Bears just to secure a spot but will Martz and Marinelli want to show everything they'd use in the playoffs right now? All can be put aside if Carolina can pull out a miracle and Chicago can play for the #1 seed. In 2006, the Bears beat the Saints with help from the elements. Lovie knows this.

Pro Bowler vs. Pro Bowler

Peppers vs. Clifton. These two will be featured at times on the blind side of Aaron Rodgers. Chad Clifton has had a strong season and rookie Bryan Bulaga did well in the first meeting between the two teams. How both Peppers and Idonije do against these two will help determine the fate of the defense. As was seen last week against the Jets, if there is not pressure from the defensive line the defense will fail.

Devin Hester vs. the coverage

Assuming Lovie is true to his word, the Bears will trot out Devin Hester for at least punt returns. Devin had his first return for a touchdown this year against the Packers in Week 3. Depending on how he starts or if the Packers even kick to him will aid in the battle for field position.

Offensive Line vs. Clay Matthews

The Bears can ill afford any injuries to the QB position and holding Clay Matthews at bay remains the top priority on Sunday. Cutler's success this season has been seen both in and out of the pocket but his health was an issue because of the inconsistency at the offensive line. With this lineup of Omiyale, Williams, Kreutz, Garza and Webb for the past few weeks, this line has improved week by week.

Do I know Football more than the person I’m related to by marriage and Madden 11?

Current Season Straight Up

Pants: 10-5

Skirts: 10-5

Pixels: 10-5

Current Season Against the Spread

Pants 13-2

Skirts: 9-6

Pixels: 7-8

Week 17 is Bears @ Packers; Vegas has the Packers favored by 10 points.

Her Pick: Bears to win outright

Her Reason: Because they are on a roll

Madden Simulation has the Packers beating the Bears 13-10.

PREDICTION

In Lovie's introductory press conference back in 2004, he mentioned that beating the Packers was his #1 goal with winning the division and Super Bowl his #2 and #3 goals. Hard to believe that the now veteran NFL head coach would truly position his starters to play a full 60 minutes knowing he's playing health roulette with his players. The postseason looms large and I do not believe that the players or the coaching staff will be showing their full hands this week. Packers beat the Bears but do not cover 24-17.

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL PICKS

Posted Record
(31-32-1 YTD)
(4-2 LOCKS)
+6 UNITS OVERALL
I have one play that I will LOCK for tonight.
3 UNITS
LOCK UIC +3.5 = UIC = University of Illinois Chicago
Many reasons why I like this game

- Youngstown is on winter break.  
- Rebounding will be a huge factor in this game.  UIC is +2.4 in their rebounding margin, while Youngstown is one of the worst in the Horizon League at -2.8, 10th in the conference.
-Youngstown is a terrible ft shooting team - .64 percent. good for UIC if the game is close, which I expect this one to be.
-Youngstown is bad defensively. They give up points and their FG Percentage D is weak, allowing teams to shoot .40.
-UIC is 5-0 when it shoots .40 or better.
-UIC has played a lot better competition this year than Youngstown. Pitts, RI, U of I.
-Youngstown is undefeated at home but they have beat teams like Toledo(cellar dweller), and have beat up on other non division 1 foes like Malone.
-Youngstown has not won a game vs a Horizon league opponent yet.
- This is a young Youngstown State team to say the least.
-Youngstown has one stud in Sulkis, but UIC plays good defense overall, their coach is from Wisconsin pedigree, and they will make the other teammates beat them.
-UIC had to travel across country to Oregon State last game, and were coming off a high after beating U of I.  That was a let down spot for them. Now they are rested, recovered, and ready to get this W.
-UIC has three consistent players in Kreps, Carter, Nely.

See this is as a close back and forth game, but UIC should pull away and win the game, but I will take the points, especially because Youngstown is a bad FT shooting team.  Gluck everyone.

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Be Careful What You Say - by Abrar A.

       

         In today’s hyper-charged NBA and NFL collective bargaining environment, each and every comment is examined through a microscopic lens.  A few days ago Lebron James endorsed the idea of contracting NBA teams when he said “hopefully the league can figure out one way where it can go back to the '80s where you had three or four All-Stars, three or four superstars, three or four Hall of Famers on the same team,” James said.  “The league was great. It wasn't as watered down as it is [now].”  He went on to further speculate how Kevin Love and Devin Harris would look on other teams.

           Everyone is jumping on Lebron James because contraction of NBA franchises means the loss of jobs and apparently gives ammunition to the owners during negotiations over the new collective bargaining agreement.  His critics need to take a step back and look at what he was saying.  He wasn’t saying reduce the number of overall jobs in the NBA.  What he was saying was that competition in the 1980s was better when you had 22-24 teams than the 30 teams today.

           Further, the NBA owners will not contract.  Business in the NBA is not that bad especially when you have cities like Las Vegas and Seattle clamoring for NBA franchises.  So for people to jump all over him without actually addressing the substance of his argument is the result of lingering resentment from his ill-fated “Decision.”  Frankly, I don’t think he even cares anymore what anyone thinks. 

Addressing the actual substance of his statements, I don’t blame Lebron for what he said.  There is this romantic notion of how basketball in the 1980s with Bird and Magic was the golden era of basketball.  During those days, on a consistent year to year basis, there were essentially 3-4 teams that could have won.  Lebron’s mistaken in the sense that if you look today, today’s NBA is not much different than the 1980s NBA.  Today, you have the Lakers out west; and Boston, Miami and Orlando in the east.  That’s it.  There are no other legitimate title contenders. 

The 1980s in the NBA are back again.  The difference is that everyone is misunderstanding today’s audience.  I strongly believe that Americans prefer NFL style parity now rather than having a few mega powerful teams.  Someone will argue that there are other teams that can be included in the top group such as Kevin Durant and the Thunder, the Spurs with Duncan, Manu and Parker and for those delusional Chicago Bulls fans with Derrick Rose, Boozer and Noah.  But if you take an objective view, the casual fan can tune out the NBA until May and not miss a beat.

Give me more NFL style parity in the NBA.  The best playoff series last year wasn’t Celtics-Lakers, it was the established Lakers versus the young, up and coming Thunder.  A couple of years ago the best series in the playoffs was the Celtics-Bulls.  Why was that series so interesting when neither of those teams made the finals?  Because it was two teams that were evenly matched, playing highly entertaining games, that went down to the wire.  It had nothing to do with the fact that it was Chicago versus Boston.  Sorry Lebron, you were all of six years old when the 1980s ended and the Pistons won the last of their back-to-back championships.  The NBA would be much better served in the long run by having NFL style parity than 1980s NBA style centers of power.

Abrar A. is a litigation and labor attorney from Chicago, Illinois. He hates the Cover-2 defense and is waiting for the day the Bears get a new coach. Abrar also has a man-crush on D.Wade that is only rivaled by Docksquad's own man-crush on DRose. Abrar A. will be freelancing for DSS.

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL PICKS

Posted Record
(30-32-1 YTD)
(3-2 LOCKS)
+3 UNITS OVERALL


Went on a cold streak, so took some time off. Back tonight with a LOCK.  Good luck...


3 UNITS


My lock tonight is U of I -4.5 

I like U of I for the following reasons...

1- they had their sleep walk game vs UIC, 2 games ago.  They have lost their last two games, and from everything I am reading and seeing about the team, they have come back from break refocused this week and are ready for this game.

2- Iowa is on break, so the place won't be rowdy. Also a lot of Orange Crush are going to the game, from their forum boards.

3- Brandon Paul is recovered from his ankle injury. He is huge to this squad, mad athletic.

4- Iowa is young still, while U of I is experienced. U of I knows this is a very important game for them, and Coach Weber called it the biggest game of the season. Especially with the Big Ten being highly competitive this year.

5 - Iowa is not huge inside.  Cole is a beast, but they are not long.  Long athletic teams usually give the Illini bigs trouble. since they are more finesse. Davis and Tisdale should be able to score downlow and the coach wants to get the ball downlow more. U of I's shooting percentage should improve because of this inside out game. 

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BULLS GAME 30 RECAP - by Kent McDill

Bulls outlast Bucks
By Kent McDill

The problem with playing an 82-game schedule is that there are going to be nights when you have to sit through games like this.

Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng each scored 24 points and the Bulls defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 90-77 in the first of four consecutive home games against losing teams. The victory lifted the Bulls to a 20-10 record after 30 games.

But the Bulls did not put this game away until the final four minutes, despite the fact the Bucks shot 32 percent for the game. Milwaukee was playing with its top two point guards, Brandon Jennings (injury) and Earl Boykins (suspension), could not hit a key shot and was playing the second of a back-to-back.
There is no excuse. The Bulls need to make use of these kind of opportunities to run a team out of the building, rest their starters and prepare early for the next game on the schedule.  Instead, the Bulls had to drag themselves to victory.

"Almost miraculously we were in this game,'' said former Bulls coach Scott Skiles, now in charge of things for Milwaukee. "We came back and got the lead but just couldn't keep it."

That's right. The Bucks had the lead. Despite needing more than four minutes to score at the start of the game and more than three minutes to score at the start of the second half, the Bucks managed to hold a lead both times. That's just silly.

Fine. I made my point. Now let's look at the positives.  Luol Deng is a fan target, the No. 2 target behind Keith Bogans these days. But he is capable of contributing big plays and did so Tuesday, making nine of 15 shots for his 24 points. He also had zero turnovers in 42 minutes as he continues to be one of the most overused players in the NBA.

Carlos Boozer is averaging 27 points over his last four games, and has 12 rebounds per game in that stretch. Nothing to complain about there.

Taj Gibson, who is taking his time making a full return from his concussion, missed all five of his field goal attempts but had five blocked shots. He is the team's best interior defender now that Joakim Noah is out.

I want Kyle Korver to have a big night from the field. He was three for eight for seven points, and does take a lot of tough shots, but he needs to hit more than he misses some night.

The Bulls host a bad New Jersey team Friday afternoon. Let's hope they have something to celebrate during New Year's Eve that night.

HERO: Luol Deng is so quiet, and so unassuming, that it is hard to read him. His offensive play is occasionally inconsistent, but his defense is strong. On Tuesday he had 24 points, five rebounds and no turnovers in his 42 minutes. Nice job.

Kent McDill has been covering sports in Chicago for 30 years, and spent 11 seasons with the Bulls from 1988-99, covering them for the Daily Herald. He has covered the Chicago Bears, Bulls, White Sox, Cubs and Fire in his career, as well as Chicago's college basketball scene. Kent will be freelancing for Docksquad Sports.

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Bears 2010 - Week 16 Recap/Grades: OFFENSIVE WIN by Anil P.

With the win on Sunday the NFC North Champions are closer to attaining their second goal of the season of the all coveted bye week in the playoffs. The Bears won with halftime adjustments on both defense and offense with a touch of luck as well. A match-up consisting of the Chicago Bears and the New York Jets was not supposed to be an offensive juggernaut of a game but the scoreboard did read 38-34. Jay Cutler was responsible for five of the games nine touchdowns with three passing touchdowns to Knox and Hester, one rushing and one pick-six to Dwight Lowry of the Jets. The offense had to turn the fortunes around after a disappointing first half of the game by the defense.

The Jets were effectively moving the ball down the field with both Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson leading the ground game and creatively getting Sanchez in positions to succeed. The Jets established the run and was able to gain yards in the air with the playaction, rollouts and slants. The playaction enabled to receivers to get over the top of the linebackers as they had to freeze to honor the run. All of which resulted in 28 points given up by the defense. The Bears were able to stifle their attack enough in the third quarter to allow Cutler and the offense to go on a torrid run of 21 points.

NOTES:

Ground and Pound?

Jets had relative balance with 38 passing to 30 rushing plays. Obviously the score dictated the game a bit but the Jets were leading by 11 points at the half. Any formula for the Jets need to have Sanchez's passing attempts cut down well below 37 for a game (Brad Smith had one drop back). The Jets did average 4.1 yards on the ground so they were effective.

Number of oddities in the game is?

• Pass to Olsen in first quarter was dropped and caught by Johnny Knox for a 13-yard gain.
• Santonio Holmes swore he'd never wear long sleeved shirts again due to his fumbling in Ohio State. In the first quarter on Sunday Holmes fumbles a reverse. He was wearing a long sleeve white shirt.
• Jets TE Dustin Keller had seven receptions for 79 yards. Caught everything...except a key touchdown grab late in the 2nd quarter.
• Maynard's low line drive that hit a Jets player and traveled for a 49-yard punt.
• Robbie Gould missing a 35-yard Field Goal? In the 4th quarter?
• The idiocy of execution and timing of the Fake Punt. With the lead.
• Fake Punt with starting QB (like no one sees him) and then having Brad Smith leave the Wildcat Formation to drop back (with no playaction) and throw a duck of an incompletion.

Matt Faulk or Marshall Forte?

Matt Forte is the first running back in 21 games to go over 100 yards since MJD did last season. A feat not thought to be accomplished by a Mike Martz team and this offensive line. It's not the running that makes the comparison to Faulk as much as the receiving did in the 2nd quarter that opened up the game for the Bears offense. The hot route reception on a blitz for 24 yards was followed up by another 24-yard gain on wheel route that had a miss matched Jason Taylor lagging behind make the comparisons applicable.

Play like it's the third quarter

Jay Cutler had a great game with 215 yards in the air and 3 touchdowns. In quarters one, two and four; Cutler completed 7 of 18 passes for 98 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception. In the third quarter he completed 6 of 7 passes for 117 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

GRADES

QB

Jay had started out bad in the first half with the pick-six touchdown to Dwight Lowry especially since it put the Bears in a 14-10 hole at the time after starting the game up ten points. Cutler finished the game completing 13 of 25 pass attempts for 215 yards with 3 passing touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdown and 1 interception for a QB Rating of 104.2. Switch the opposing starting QB's on Sunday and the Bears do not win the game. Overall Grade: A

RB

Matt Forte has amassed an impressive few weeks running the football but this was his best week overall. Matt amassed 169 total yards with 113 yards on the ground on 19 carries with 1 touchdown. Matt caught 4 balls for 56 yards to open up the Bears offense in the 2nd quarter. Cutler may have had four touchdowns but Matt was the reason he had so much time and space and the Sunday's offensive MVP of the day. Chester Taylor was a non factor gaining 4 yards on 4 carries. This isn't a split back offense anymore. Overall Grade: A

WR

Out of the 215 yards gained in the air, this unit brought down 154 of them on 8 receptions. Johhny Knox led with 4 receptions for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns. Hester had done well to compliment Knox with Bennett leaving the game after his lone catch. With the Jets blitzing and the secondary hurt, this unit needed to step up in its one to one match-ups. Overall Grade: A

TE

The Martz offense isn't kind to TE's but Olsen did have some opportunities. He just dropped most of them. Greg only had 1 catch for 5 yards but as a unit the tight end/half back/full back position excelled in pass protection and run blocking. Greg Olsen's lead block out of the half back position led the way on the Forte 22-yard touchdown run. Overall Grade: B

O-Line

Consistency on the offense line has seen this group improve game after game. This was one of their best showings and remained on par with Week 15's performance. The running backs averaged 5.9 yards per carry and Cutler was only sacked twice. Those two sacks can be contributed to Jay holding on to the ball too long and being coverage sacks. Great performance from the offensive line but some stumbles in false starts (three) in the first half contributed to putting the Bears in a bigger hole than needed. Understandable away, inexcusable at home. Overall Grade: B

D-Line

Very disappointing output from the front four after a dominating week prior. Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson especially stood out in manhandling this crew. The first half saw a lack of pressure sustained against Sanchez with no control of the line of scrimmage. There was an improvement in the 2nd half but mostly due to blitz packages brought on by Marinelli. Overall Grade: D

LB

Urlacher may be a step slower as a few passes threaded by Sanchez may not of occurred four years ago but this still is a unit led by #54 and he had the best game of the crew with eight unofficial tackles. With Briggs held to only three tackles on the day and Pisa seeing limited action this unit didn't produce much as a whole. The Jets passing game had succeeding as they did the Bears safeties had to stay back. The Jets were able to run and gained 124 yards on the ground for a 4.1 yard per carry average. Overall Grade: C

DB

Chris Harris led this unit with 11 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 pass deflection and 1 game clinching interception. Harris was easily the defensive MVP on Sunday. He and Major Wright stopped any bleeding given up in the air or on the ground with their open field tackles. Danieal Manning was caught being too aggressive as he bit on a Sanchez pump fake which allowed Santonio Holmes to be uncovered in the back of the endzone for the third quarter touchdown in the Cover-2. Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings contributed with 13 tackles, 1 pass deflection and 1 forced fumble as well. Jennings dropped an easy interception in the 2nd quarter and this unit as a whole still gave up 269 yards to THE Sanchize. Overall Grade: B

Special Teams

Devin Hester is a man possessed right now in the return game. The Jets punter Weatherford did a great job directional punting 3 of his 4 punts out of bounds but one was returned for 38 yards. Kicking off the Jets squib kicked it for most of the day except for one return in the third which Hester returned for 40 yards. Hester had two returns and they amassed 78 yards. The coverage excelled with some hard hitting from Brian Iwuh and speed from Corey Graham. Rashied Davis had a tackle and one pass deflection on the fake punt. Only knock on this unit is Robbie Gould missing a gimmie of a 35-yard field goal breaking his streak of 64 consecutive field goals made inside 40 yards. Overall Grade: B

Coaching

As it seems every week this is a tale of two halves. Bears were outscored 24-17 in the first half but dominated the second half 21-10. Adjustments were made and players excelled. You would still like to see a player of Mark Sanchez's caliber not drive down the field as well as he did against a supposed top ranked defense. This was a strange game indeed and the offense bailed out the defense for a change. Scheme going into Sunday was a failure but the adjustments at halftime contributed to the win. Overall Grade: C

This was a win against a playoff team and Bears fans need to remind themselves of that. Ugly if you are fan of defense and pretty if you love the new high powered Bears offense with almost comprising of back to back 40+ point weeks. Done so on the back of Jay Cutler who broke Bears records with consecutive years in throwing 20+ touchdowns and 3000+ yards. A record to praise both the coordinators and complimentary players as well as the QB himself. Make no mistake though...if both #6's switched jerseys, the Bears do not win on Sunday. The Chicago Bears are marching their way to the playoffs and a first round bye. The road goes through Green Bay in order to attain their new goal. Bear Down because it's Packer Week!

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DERRICK ROSE 1-on-1 with Ahmad Rashad

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BULLS GAME 29 RECAP - by Kent McDill

Bulls need overtime against Pistons
By Kent McDill

I write a parenting column for the Daily Herald's Suburban Parent section, and recently explained how much I enjoy watching my children discover new things about themselves and the world around them.

I am going through similar thoughts about the Bulls, who are not children, nor are they my children, but they are discovering new things about themselves all the time. What they found out Sunday was that they cannot cool their jets on the way to a victory.

The Bulls had an eight-point lead late in the game against Detroit at the Palace of Auburn Hills only to find themselves having to go into overtime before recording a 95-92 win over the former rivals in a Central Division matchup.

Carlos Boozer had another big night with 31 points and 11 rebounds, while Derrick Rose had 23 points and 12 rebounds Taj Gibson had nine rebounds and Kurt Thomas had eight as the Bulls outboarded the Pistons 55-39 on the night.

But the Bulls relaxed their way through the fourth quarter, and when the Pistons got the tip-in bucket by Charlie Villanueva to force the game into overtime, coach Tom Thibodeau went ballistic, which was good to see.

I know that the NBA is often about getting through it, especially when you are playing the third game of a week-long road swing, but the Bulls needed the victory after losing to New York on Christmas Day. The Bulls, now 19-10, do not need any more losses to losing teams, and the Pistons are now 10-20.

Remember, we are only a week away from the Bulls letting the Los Angeles Clippers beat them at home, and the Bulls are too good, especially on defense, to let any lesser team take them out.

The Bulls got a couple of interesting contributions Sunday. Keith Bogans hit a pair of 3-pointers back-to-back that gave the Bulls a sudden eight-point lead in the middle of the game and I thought if Bogans can contribute six points like that, the game is over. I was wrong. Omar Asik also gave the Bulls four points and four rebounds in his short appearances.

I think Kyle Korver needs to play more to get off his dry streak. He went 0-for-3 Sunday, all of them from 3-point range, and the Bulls need him to be more confident and reliable.

The Bulls finish the month with home games against Milwaukee Tuesday and the New Jersey Nets Friday. They then start the new year with home games Saturday against Cleveland and Tuesday against Toronto as they embark on a 16-game month. The Bulls could go 4-0 on that four-game homestand, with the most dangerous games being the first two, the Bucks and the Nets.

HERO: Boozer is really making this a two-man team, as long as Joakim Noah is out. I wonder whether Derrick Rose really cares about being the high scorer on the Bulls team, because Boozer seems as capable as Rose at putting up 25 points a night, and he is probably a little harder to guard. Boozer is the hero of the game.

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STONE COLD LEAD PIPE DOCKS - WEEK 16

Girl of the week - Scarlett Jo, because she is back on the market!

Vik's Pix:
(Last week 2-3)
(Overall 36-34-5)

Niners/ Rams over 39 (hook)
Bills +8
Lions +4
Ravens/ Browns over 39
Chargers/Bengals over 43(hook)


Suman's Pix:
(Last week 2-3)
(Overall 32-35-3)

Browns +3.5
Browns/Ravens over 39
San Diego -8
Kansas City -4
Oakland +1

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Bears 2010 - Week 16 Preview: REX IN THE CITY - by Anil P.

The NFC North Division Champion Chicago Bears (10-4) come back to Chicago this weekend with new hats, shirts and hopefully no hangover. The Bears have clinched a division, a home playoff game but can still improve on its standings in the NFC. They are currently #2 in the NFC and control their own destiny. Win out and you have a critical bye week in the playoffs. I'm sure Lovie Smith has been able to adequately remind this veteran team of their new goal for the next two games. With that said, will sound reason and focus adhere or will the high of a division title distract from the task at hand? No mercy is to be had in the NFL and in come no ordinary slap di*k team in the New York Jets (10-4).

New York has been a thorn in my side personally as a city. From Christmas day's beat down of my Bulls to Week 4's beating of Jay Cutler, New York has had Chicago's number this year. The worst New York did to me was showcasing the Jets on Hard Knocks with Rex Ryan throwing out motivational speeches. It was the worst not because they were boring, they were quite entertaining. It was the worst because I now actually like them. How could you not with the cast of characters on that team from THE Terminator, Sanchize, Cromartie trying to name his kids, Jason Taylor getting lost multiple times, Mike Westoff yelling at everyone and of course Rex, Rex and more Rex. I couldn't get enough of Rex...until now. Rex Ryan's foot fetish just went too far for me. In the global scale of people that I want to see in a foot fetish video, that number is zero. I don't care what supermodel is posing in that video...you can keep it. I'm not sure what effect it had on this Jets team but it could only be positive. It's not a real distraction and if anything, took away from constant questions about Mark Sanchez's inability to throw the forward pass in the last few weeks. I wonder if the torn cartilage in his throwing shoulder is also considered a personal matter.

KEY MATCH-UPS

Sanchez vs. Cutler

Two of the best defenses against the run are squaring off Sunday afternoon. No doubt the Jets have a better running attack with LT and Shonn Greene and with an injured Sanchez at QB, New York will try to 'ground and pound' which is their mantra. With both teams likely taking away the run, this will be a game won in the air. With some protection issues on the offensive line for the Jets, they are forced to bring in a TE to max protect. Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes will need to excel against the Cover-2 secondary. The Bears having protection issues of their own will need to get creative to keep the Jets aggressive defense at bay. Bubble screens and RB screens have been good remidies as of late. With the physical cornerbacks the Jets employ in Cromartie and Revis, Greg Olsen will need to be the leading receiver for the Bears.

Challenge the banged up Jets secondary

While Revis is the best shut down cornerback in the NFL and Cromartie being an excellent complement, this Jets defense has surrendered yards in the air. Revis has been hampered by hamstring issues all season has resulted in Cromartie taking on the speed WR's. Losing Jim Leonhard for the season was extremely detrimental to the Jets defense as he was the quarterback of the secondary. Now the Jets lose backup safety Eric Smith who is sitting out with concussion symptoms. The Jets have moved Dwight Lowry from cornerback to safety just to fill the spot. Challenging the Jets in the air on deep play action passes can lead to the big plays needed by this offense.

Peppers/Idonije vs. Wayne Hunter

Wayne Hunter will start for the second consecutive week at RT with Damien Woody out with surgery on his right knee. The Jets look a lot like the Bears in that they bring in a blocking TE to help out in protection. Rotating Idonije and Peppers at LE to take advantage of the career backup is needed but the true merit will be Idonije vs. Hunter alone. Peppers has been double teamed the whole year and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer will want to help out either tackle in this regard.

Special Teams

With Devin Hester setting the record for most kickoff/punt returns last week, his reward will be no action this weekend. Rex Ryan has made it known they will not kick to Hester. Look for squib kicks and directional punts out of bounds for the Jets. The Bears on the other hand will challenge the Jets and kick to Brad Smith. Brad is 2nd in the NFL in kick return average and has two touchdowns as well. With two offenses going up against two great defenses, field position becomes more paramount.

Do I know Football more than the person I’m related to by marriage and Madden 11?

Current Season Straight Up

Pants: 9-5

Skirts: 9-5

Pixels: 9-5

Current Season Against the Spread

Pants 12-2

Skirts: 8-6

Pixels: 6-8

Week 16 is Jets @ Bears; Vegas has the Bears favored by 1 point.

Her Pick: Bears and cover

Her Reason: Because my baby said so

Madden Simulation has the Bears beating the Jets 20-13.

PREDICTION

Tossing and turning with this one. I have reasons to go both ways and I really can't decide. With little confidence in what Mark Sanchez can do with his injury and the Bears defense playing at an elite level currently, I'm going with the home town team in the last regular season game in Chicago. Bears beat the Jets 20-16.

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BULLS GAME 28 RECAP - by Kent McDill

Bulls have a way to go
By Kent McDill

Do you know what makes me crazy? The length of the National Basketball Association season, that's what makes me crazy.

(That, and modern-day packaging. My son got headphones today, the big honkin' ones that drown out all sound, and it was in that plastic packaging that requires nuclear missile launch codes to penetrate.)

The NBA season is really long, and if there isn't something to motivate a team through it, it can be even longer.

The Bulls found out on Christmas Day that they have a way to go before they can reach their most reachable goal of the season: a top four seed in the Eastern Conference.

I don't much care that the Bulls lost 103-95 to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden Saturday. It was sort of a trap game, played in the Big Apple on national TV on Christmas Day. The Knicks know the Bulls are a team that could stand in their way as they chase the same top four dream.

What matters is the way they lost. They failed to play serious defense in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line. That's something that has to eat at coach Tom Thibodeau, and I have reason to believe he will do what it takes to make sure it does not happen the next time the two teams meet.

Sure, Thibodeau is not going to fill up notebooks with biting commentary or hilarious anecdotes, but he seems to understand how to coach defense, and he knows how to get players to play beyond the basic approach many NBA teams have. He is fresh, and his approach to coaching is unique. The Bulls players have bought in this season, and that allows him to get the Bulls to play a strong defensive game.
The next time the Bulls play the Knicks, the game will be much tighter, I can promise you that.

The way things are shaking out right now, Boston, Miami and Orlando figure to be 1-2-3 in the East. The No. 4 spot is open, and the Bulls are ripe to ascend to that position. But they can't often have games like they had against the Knicks if they want to get there.

The Bulls play two more home games in December, and then they play an astonishing 11 home games in January. They need to continue to make hay, beating the lesser teams and battling the good teams.

The January schedule includes home games against the Celtics, Heat and Magic, and those games will go a long way toward determining if this season is the one in which the Bulls reach the attainable goal.

GOAT: You know what? Sometimes there are games where there is no individual hero or individual goat, and this is one of those games. Do you want to criticize Carlos Boozer for his seven turnovers, forgetting about his 26 points and 19 rebounds? Or Derrick Rose, who also had seven turnovers but 25 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and six steals? The Bulls bench outscored the Knicks bench (and Thibodeau played 10 players while the Knicks only played eight) so let's just put this one down to 'bad fourth quarter' and move on to Tuesday at home.

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BULLS KNICKS PREVIEW - by Kent McDill

Bulls-Knicks on Christmas Day
By Kent McDill

The other day I was at Game Works in Schaumburg, hanging out at the bar while my boys blew threw $40 playing arcade games. On one of the multiple TV monitors was a replay of a Christmas Day game in 1994, when the Bulls played the New York Knicks into overtime. I left the bar before I saw the end of the game, but I remember being at Madison Square Garden that day. I remember almost all of my trips to MSG during my 11 years covering the Bulls from 1988-1999 for the Daily Herald. I remember them because they were always so eventful.

It comes to mind because tomorrow the 18-9 Bulls face the newly successful 17-12 Knicks Christmas Day 2010. It is the rekindling of a great rivalry dating back to those days when Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen went in to do duel with Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley.

Those games were also about Pat Riley as coach of the Knicks versus Phil Jackson as coach of the Bulls. The rancor that existed between those two men was so thick that it required full attention as a reporter to get every nuance, every statement and try to read into them. It was kind of like therapy.

The new-look Bulls and the new-look Knicks have no real reason to hate each other yet, although there is one storyline that we will be following as we watch. The Bulls acquired Carlos Boozer in the off-season to fill a low-post scoring threat, choosing him over Amar'e Stoudemire, who ended up with the New York Knicks. Of course, now we have Carmelo Anthony begging out of Denver to join the Knicks after a flirtatious period with the Bulls, and when that happens the Bulls-Knicks series will become even hotter.

I don't think Boozer is the kind of guy who will want to trade stats with Stoudemire in the game, but I may be wrong. He has played with a great deal of pride since joining the team as an active player following his long stint on the injury report to start the season.

I do believe Stoudemire cares. Anyone who wants to go to New York is looking for the limelight, and the Christmas Day lights will be bright. He will try to have a big game.

This game needs the addition of Joakim Noah, who is unfortunately sitting out for two months after surgery to his hand. Noah would be a great guy to get this rivalry really steamed, because he says what he means and doesn't mind what others think about what he says.

The series also includes the ingredient of coaches, with Mike D'Antoni choosing to go to New York after a brief conversation with the Bulls three years ago. After two bad seasons, he is showing that with the right players, his offensive-minded system works.

The Bulls will counter with Tim Thibodeau, who has a defensive mindset and will NOT play to the cameras. He is perfect for Chicago because he would be all wrong for New York.

This should be fun. It's not a big game in terms of the outcome, but if the Bulls win, they really have taken another big step toward proving themselves worthy of a top four spot in the East.

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DERRICK ROSE TOP 10 PLAYS OF 2010

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BULLS GAME 26 RECAP - by Kent McDill

Bulls whip Sixers
By Kent McDill

Sometimes there is no explaining NBA games. Take, for instance, the Bulls' 121-76 win over Philadelphia Tuesday. The Bulls entered the game with both Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson sidelined, and were calling upon 17-year veteran Kurt Thomas to play center.

The 76ers, meanwhile, were riding a two-game road winning streak, including a win Saturday over trade-depleted but title-chasing Orlando. They entered the game as the No. 2 team in the league in defensive field goal percentage.

So, of course, the Bulls shoot 64.5 percent for the game and lead by as many as 51 points in the fourth quarter.

So here are some of the numbers: Derrick Rose and Luol Deng each scored 22 points (Deng was particularly effective, making 10 of 14 shots) while Carlos Boozer had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Thomas was impressive with 12 points and eight rebounds, as well as five blocked shots. Not bad for a guy who turned 38 in October.

When the Bulls opened their 33-19 lead after one quarter, I asked myself whether the second team could hold the lead. They did better than that, winning the second quarter 28-24. Here are some key stats from the Bulls bench: Ronnie Brewer had nine points, two steals and a blocked shot, Omer Asik had eight points, six rebounds and two blocked shots, C.J. Watson scored 14 points, and Kyle Korver hit all four of his attempts for 10 points.

So let's get past this win and think about the next three games, all on the road. The Bulls took off Tuesday night for Washington, D.C. to play the Wizards Wednesday. They then go to New York for a Christmas Day game against the Knicks, and travel immediately to Detroit for a contest against the Pistons.

I'm thinking the Bulls need to win at least one of the two games between Washington and Detroit, and really need to show up against New York.

It looks like the Bulls and Knicks are going to do battle for the No. 4 playoff spot with Atlanta. I'm guessing the Magic are going to move up the ladder quickly with their new roster, and Boston and Miami are going to finish ahead of Chicago as well.

It will be fun for the Bulls and Knicks to revisit their rivalry. When I was traveling with the Bulls during the dynasty days, I hated the games at Madison Square Garden because they were just too intense. But now I will be watching on TV, and I can handle that.

HERO: Deng had great stats, but from a more distant point of view, I think Ronnie Brewer is going to be a big factor for this team, and he was very exciting and accomplished Tuesday. So let's make him the man of the night.

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Tennis GOATs raise Millions for Africa

Two of the all-time greats battled in a 3-set "Match for Africa" exhibition today as Roger Federer defeated the current world's #1, Rafael Nadal, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Federer also beat Nadal in the final at the ATP World Tour Finals in London last month but Nadal has a dominant 14-8 lifetime record against his long-time rival Federer in official ATP matches.

Earlier on Tuesday, the 16-time Grand Slam champion Federer picked up the 9-time Grand Slam champ Nadal on the runway at the airport in Zurich, with Nadal arriving in a private jet and Federer driving a $200,000 Mercedes SLS AMG with the gull-wing doors open. The two GOATs then rolled to downtown Zurich, had lunch, and did a little shopping before heading off to the arena for the match.

Federer and Nadal have won 21 of the last 24 Grand Slams. They will play another exhibition match Wednesday in Madrid in Nadal's native Spain and together, these two will raise tens of millions of dollars for their respective charities.

In a promo video for the "Match for Africa", Federer said he'd give Rafa the 1st set and he was right...

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Bears 2010 - Week 15 Recap/Grades: NFC NORTH KINGS - by Anil P.

Now that is more like it. Bear weather, defense and running the football. I'm not so sure I buy the Bear weather completely though but it worked in Chicago's favor Monday night. Cutler and Forte were both major forces for the offensive side and that was brought in part by the best game the offensive line had to date. Defensively the entire defense from the down lineman, to linebackers to the hard hitting safeties came to play. All three phases were in sync as well with Hester breaking Brian Mitchell's return touchdown mark. The Chicago Bears improve to 10-4 and clinch the NFC North Division Title with dominating defense, a sprinkle of history breaking punt returns and beating down old man winter/QB.

A few minutes before kickoff the news that Adrian Peterson was scratched and Favre was in must have been a bit chaotic in the Bears locker room. Lovie and his staff didn't seem to adjust well from the start with Favre leading the Vikings down 60 yards for the games first touchdown. Lovie even mentioned he thought 'out meant out' regarding the injury report and was surprised to see old #4 lace them up. The Bears had prepared for rookie Joe Webb all week but the familiarity of Favre helped after the first drive. That and I'm sure the combination of the cold, his pain killers wearing off and Corey Wootton whipping him to the ground.

NOTES:

Is Corey Wootton the answer to a trivia question?

Brett Favre had a great start to the game completing five of seven passes with one touchdown and interception. If this is #4's last game, I'm glad it came at the hands of a Chicago Bear. After all the torment he and the Packers reeked on the NFC Central/North over the years, it feels good to finally end his run. Of course he's coming back next week and the week after...what am I thinking. He's getting to 300 games for sure.

Physical Bears

Major Wright, Brian Urlacher and Chris Harris were playing physical. Those three stand out contributing some black and blue hits. In Joe Webb's bootleg touchdown, Major Wright just missed decapitating the QB's head and Wright then hydroplaned into the camera crane that was sitting way to close to the sideline a night like this. Harris changed the pace of the game when he stood up Gerhart on a 3rd and 2 in the 2nd quarter. Tillman and Urlacher were instrumental in setting the edge and cracking down on a lineman to force Gerhart inside.

Winning the turnover battle

Lovie has preached a few things. He started off with beating the Packers, winning the division and then the Super Bowl. One of his philosophies on attaining those goals is a fast defense that creates turnovers. The Bears forced four fumbles and recovered two of them and also intercepted Webb twice and Favre once. Penalties actually took away two more. Great game by the defense all around.

I thought Hester had the record already

Devin has 14 official kick/punt return touchdowns to his name but he has 16 touchdowns that didn't come in an offensive set. The longest return in history was a 108 yard return that was a missed FG by the Giants. The other was the only opening kickoff return for a touchdown in a Super Bowl back during XLI. Why do teams kick to him? Here is a look at all of them.

GRADES

QB

Jay Cutler dropped back 25 times and was sacked once. Jay completed 14 of 24 for 194 yards, 8.1 Y/A with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception for a 106.6 QB Rating. Jay didn't make any yards on the ground like he normally does but did create some room with his feet in the pocket to avoid the rush and make enough plays to win. Cutler actually could have had two more touchdowns with one to Aromashodu that was called back to holding and an open Knox in the fourth quarter that was dropped/pass deflected but I'm nitpicking here. For me the best pass of the night wasn't the bomb to Knox but was when Cutler looked off the safety and went back to his right and threw a strike to Hester in the endzone. Overall Grade: A

RB

Matt Forte played as physical as the Bears defense Monday night. Forte had 92 yards on 17 carries. One of his 14 yards came in the fourth quarter in what seemed like a 4 yard gain, Matt pushed the pile all the way to the Minnesota 5-yard line to help set up the last score of the night. Matt's consistency and 5.4 yard per carry average helped the Bears achieve the balance they desired. Taylor and Wolfe both contributed with 15 carries between the two but only mustered up 13 yards total. Goal line rushing is still an issue as the Bears were stopped twice for FG's. Overall Grade: B

WR

This unit did their best considering the circumstances of the weather. Cutler did his best job of throwing to the body but there were some drops had by this group. Still they could've pulled in five touchdowns if it wasn't for penalties and timing. Yet they totaled 160 yards receiving with 9 catches. Knox highlighted the night with a 67 yard reception in his finger tips on a 1st and 30 after back to back holding calls. Rashied Davis caught his first touchdown since 2008 and the 'explosion' celebration came out. Overall Grade: B

TE

Olsen was the only TE with offensive stats with 4 receptions and 28 yards. Still he and Manu came to play. Manu excelled on pass protection and run blocking. Singleback, 1-WR sets with TE's were used in the opening drive in three out of four sets. The third was a failed play action pass that may have been a big play if it wasn't blocked at the line. The TE's ability to help produce yards on the ground aided the offensive line the entire night. Overall Grade: B

O-Line

Consistency on the front five has been key to their success. Mike Tice is probably pretty happy right now that his line had their best game in Minnesota. Cutler was sacked only once and that was more of a coverage sack. The running game behind Forte was consistent but stumbled with Wolfe and Taylor in the backfield. I'm sure the weather played its part but kudos to that not hurting the offensive line's performance. Some holding calls that took back touchdowns knock this group down a bit. Overall Grade: B

D-Line

This crew caused havoc for the Vikings offensive line all night. Peppers, Idonije, Adams, Toeaina, Wootton and Melton combined for 12 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 3 pass deflections and 1 of those ended up in Peppers hands for an interception. This isn't just Peppers and the crew. The Bears line is deep and aggressive. Urlacher called Peppers the Defensive MVP of the year for the Bears. Overall Grade: A

LB

Urlacher was a man possessed Monday Night and is back to playing at a Pro Bowl level. Briggs is as consistent as the come and had once sack and one PD on the night. Nick Roach and Brian Iwuh played well with Iwuh forcing a fumble late in the fourth with his helmet. Not all great though as Gerhart still compiled 77 yards on 16 carries. Webb's bootleg touchdown was on Briggs to contain in. Lance bit on the play action and was out of position which is a no-no in gap control defensive schemes. Overall Grade: B

DB

Chris Harris stands out the most with his 3rd and 2 stand up of Toby Gerhart. That play changed the momentum and the defense dominated for the rest of the game. Major Wright brought his physical play and stopped Gerhart in the open field to only a 21-yard gain that could have been worse in the 1st quarter. Harris, Tillman and Jennings all had PD's as they played tight in coverage and also came down with two interceptions (could have been three if it wasn't for an offsides by Peppers). Holding the passing game down to 192 yards was great but the pass interference by Wright helped set up the Webb touchdown run. Overall Grade: A

Special Teams

This unit by itself is responsible for 22 points alone. Gould was 4 for 4 in FG and PAT's and Maynard punted three times for a 41.7 average. The coverage unit needed some help with allowing Lorenzo Booker a 49 yard return but overall was solid. The Vikings did try to punt away from Hester but 2 of the 3 times he touched the ball he ran for a 79 yard kick return and a 67 punt return touchdown. Overall Grade: A

Coaching

All week this team prepared for Joe Webb at QB and at the eleventh hour Favre decides to lace them up. The old man gave them a good scare with the first drive but the pain killers wore off and Favre was shaking that hand. Corey Wootton has a chance to live in infamy as the player that took out #4. All in all the offense was productive either through the air or on the ground and defensively constant pressure was applied. Scores like 40-14 are often about coaching schemes meeting execution with a little bit of luck. Overall Grade: A

The Bears are NFC North Champions and now have their eyes set on a first round bye. The good news is that they control their own destiny from here on out. The bad news is they're back in Chicago to face the Hard Knocks darlings in the New York Jets. Bear Down!

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THE CHICAGO BULLS PRESENT THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Awesome!

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BEARS WIN THE DIVISION AND DEVIN HESTER BREAKS THE RECORD

All I have to say is BEARS FOO! BEARS WIN THE NFC NORTH!!!  Remember all those haters that picked us to finish last in the division???

Anyways, after almost breaking one vs the Lions and then missing one earlier in this game, Hester finally broke the record!  Check out Hester's return below...



BOOM!


H/T Sarah Spain

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Bears 2010 - Week 15 Preview: TITLE TONIGHT - by Anil P.

The NFC North can be clinched tonight and the Bears are primed to do so. In an improbable but not unimaginable turnaround for the franchise this year, the Bears have a shot to claim the NFC North Crown. Despite the collapse last Sunday against the Patriots, the Bears ended last week in an excellent position to win the North. Green Bay lost Aaron Rodgers for Week 15 and the Packers lost to the same New England squad. Win and your in for the playoffs. Win and you clinch the North. Perfect storm scenario for the Bears has worked itself out again with Chicago facing another 3rd string QB. Now injuries are part of the NFL and no one cried for Chicago when #54 went out for the season last year and no one should say the Bears are lucky for facing the amount of backup and third string QB's either. You play the teams that are in front of you and the players that are still upright and the Bears have proven that they are good enough to destroy those teams (Carolina, Miami) and good enough to take out top tier teams (Packers, Eagles). If Lovie's third division title in the past six years is accomplished tonight, it will be done on an unlikely field (or concrete) at the University of Minnesota against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Chicago Bears (9-4) are up against the Minnesota Vikings (5-8) on Monday Night Football in less than ideal conditions. We've all heard about how the University of Minnesota's field is going to be in a horrible state and even the Viking's punter is Tweeting about it as well (of course the punter has a WarCraft handle name). But this game isn't going to be decided by the field or even the 90% chance of snow as much as it will be decided by Adrian Peterson. If AP is able play (listed as questionable) and go off on the #2 ranked defense against the Bears, then that will open up some big plays over the top in the passing game. Whether it's Joe Webb or newly signed Patrick Ramsey under center, if you give enough 1 to 1 match-ups to an NFL QB on a deep play action passes with no safeties covering on top because of helping on the run, some of those will connect. But that is an NFL QB...Joe Webb's NFL future may actual have him as wide receiver. With the Vikings out of the playoff race and Brett Favre deciding (or injured) not to play, this will either be a loose team from Minnesota with nothing left in the tank or players playing for their NFL lively hood with a new coach at the helm. Despite their sub-par year this is a team that has a lot to prove going into the remaining quarter of the NFL season.

KEY MATCH-UPS

Balancing Bears

With going down 21-0 last week, the Bears were forced to pass more often than run. The need on offense is to regain the balance they enjoyed in the previous weeks. Get up early and dictate the pace of the game. The running game or at least the running backs are an asset to the offense and need to be fed the ball. Whether it will be pitching out to Forte/Taylor to run away from Pat and Kevin Williams or utilizing the half back screen, their success is a must on a cold night on ice.

Bring the safeties in

Whether it is AP or Gerhart, the Vikings will run. In previous weeks the Bears have brought in the safeties to stop the elite RB's in the game and this week should be no different. Bring in Harris, Manning or Wright and force Joe Webb to beat you over the top. The Vikings drafted Webb out of UAB in the 6th round and wasn't sure if he'd be a future QB or WR. Help them make that decision.

Jared Allen vs. Omiyale and Webb

Jared Allen has had a relative quiet 10 sacks on the season. Omiyale and Webb have been scrutinized to no end. With ice/concrete on the ground and one of the games best pass rushers, get these two some help with the tight ends. The Vikings may not have Ray Edwards so Allen should be switching back and forth from right to left end. The Bears need to adjust on the fly on how to protect Cutler.

Speaking of Cutler

#6 gets a pass in my book for a weak showing against the Patriots. JayCut throws four passes and the Bears are already in the 2nd quarter and down 21-0. There was a concerted effort to run the ball last week and it shouldn't change in Week 15. If the defense holds Webb down as they should and the Bears don't get down early, this should help the Bears offense and Cutler produce a solid but not great output.

Do I know Football more than the person I’m related to by marriage and Madden 11?

Current Season Straight Up

Pants: 8-5

Skirts: 8-5

Pixels: 8-5

Current Season Against the Spread

Pants 11-2

Skirts: 7-6

Pixels: 6-7

Week 15 is Bears @ Vikings; Vegas has the Bears favored by 7 points.

Her Pick: Bears and cover

Her Reason: Isn't there something wrong with the field?

Madden Simulation has the Bears beating the Vikings 17- 10.

PREDICTION

Bears have all the intangibles and health on their side. Despite the celebration of 50 years in exsitence, this isn't a game the Vikings are up for. The Bears have an opportuinity to clinch the NFC North on Monday Night Football and will do so handedly against a 3rd string QB/6th string WR. Bears destroy the Vikings 27-6.

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