Keith Nivan Posted December 18, 2005 Share Posted December 18, 2005 Whoa! Saturday games.It truly IS The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!Denver -8 1/2 at BuffaloWell, the Broncos won't be freaked by the weather and the Bills are back to their backup QB. Defensive big plays and the eerily consistent Jake Plummer make the difference for Denver.I LOVE the Broncos giving 8 1/2.Bengals -8 at DetroitNext stop The Motor City where Chief Mechanic Matt Millen has one sorry vehicle on his hands. The Bengals, led by My Main Man Carson Palmer should appreciate the week indoors, if they don't stay out all night sampling the Detroit nightlife...I LOVE the Bengals giving 8.Cardinals -1 1/2 at TexansThe "Key Stat" in the paper here is "texans have lost last 3 by a total of 10 points (1 in OT)." Can disaster be far away for a 1-12 team? And why screw up your shot at Reggie Bush?I LOVE the Cardinals giving a scant 1 1/2.And what do you savants make of this:Steelers (8-5) -3 at Vikings (8-5)? Looks like on of those games Craig told us to watch out for ...Stay warm! Watch football!! Have fun!!!"Keith" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CubbiefanMike Posted December 19, 2005 Share Posted December 19, 2005 Da Bears!! With a healthy Grossman should Go All the Way! The Story in the NFL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Nivan Posted December 20, 2005 Author Share Posted December 20, 2005 2-1.Pick against the Cardinals from here on out. They've assumed room temperature.Who Dey!"Keith" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspberrywine Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 Rooting for the Bears here. Green Bay Slackers trounced again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Benfer Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 I have been puzzled by the Rex Grossman thing. I was wondering why everyone seemed to think that he was the answer to the Bears offensive woes. But I must say that he looked like he did give them an extra spark on Sunday. They still are playing lucky. The only TD came on a 3rd and long interception that Grossman threw to the 1 yrd line, only to have the defender fumble the ball right back to the Bears giving them a fresh set of downs to score from the 1. The Vikings game didn't turn out the way I expected. I really thought that Minnesota would at least make a good game of this, but they did not step up, and Pittsburgh made them pay. I feel pretty strongly that Seattle is on a higher level than any other playoff team in the NFC this year. They would be my pick right now to go to the big game. The AFC is exciting. I think that there are multiple teams that could represent them. That will be interesting to see how it unfolds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 Yes, but take away Sunday's lucky TD, and the Bears still won, 9-3. The kind of luck they've been having this year looks a whole lot to me like the kind the Ravens had in 2000, then the Bucs a couple of years later...and the kind that the Patriots have had for several seasons. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Bears either win it all, or fall flat on their faces in the early playoffs. (I'd rather see the former....but a couple of quick turnovers by their offense, leading to giving up a couple of quick short TDs could end it all for them in a playoff game. While Grossman is an improvement over Orton, I'm still not sure he has what it takes to bring them back from a 10-14 point deficit against a good team.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 Not liking the Bears....that's cool.Thinking the Bears aren't as good as their record indicates....that's cool too.Declaring after each Bear victory that luck was the key factor.....that's B.S.P.S. Chicago manhandled the Falcons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 This current Bears team frankly looks a lot more solid than their 13-3 team of 4 or so years ago, the year that Mike Brown singlehandedly won 2 games in OT with interception returns for TDs. It looked to me like Dick Jauron and his team got that record with mirrors. Their offense was middle of the pack (a better passing attack than this year's, with Jim Miller QBing), and their defense was statistically also around the middle of the league. Tney weren't manhandling teams like their defense this year has been doing. Holding the likes of Carolina, ATlanta and even Washington very early in the season to no TDs has been pretty damn impressive. A great defense and bad offense is capable of winning it all, IMO, where a great offense but no defense usually gets eliminated early (Colts of past 4-5 years, for example). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 I agree with that.But the thing with the Bears is their offense has some good talent..very good offensive line, very good at the running back position, a pro-bowl wide receiver, and a quarterback who has ignited the team when he's been healthy over the past 3 years. The offense could conceivably step it up a couple notches and start contributing to the team's success.If this happens the sky is really the limit for this team. But this team also leaves not much margin for error and thus could lose the next 2 and not get into the play-offs.But I believe they have positioned themselves to have a legit shot at going all the way.... obviously as a huge underdog.I'm fired up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Nivan Posted December 21, 2005 Author Share Posted December 21, 2005 I'm enjoying the ride. I think there running game is underrated. Thomas Jones is very good. Adrian Peterson has extra-half-step speed and hits the hole just as hard as Jones, i.e., REAL hard.I'd expect their red-zone running game to improve with Grossman in and opponents not able to put eight in the box every play.I don't think I've ever seen a team with TWO 1-yard TD drives as the Bears have had this year: vs. Carolina and Atlanta.Bears...Bears..."K" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 Speaking of Bears....what the Hell happened with Cedric Benson this year??? I know he signed very late, making it close to impossible to start the season high on the depth chart....but I was sure he had enough raw talent to be able to play himself onto the roster as a valuable contributor, if not a starter. Is he perhaps lacking in an area or two? (Example: doesn't block very well, doesn't catch the ball like Thomas Jones, etc.) Anybody know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Cartmill Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 I picked every teaser right, except Tampa Bay + 11, Dallas +8, and Detroit/Cincinnati under 48. So 1 wrong out of 4 on each bet gets a big fat $0 for me. I did pick the Chargers, Bears and Ravens straight up, but was afraid to put the money down... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 Thomas Jones stepped it up and just flat out beat Cedric Benson out for the starting job. Thomas Jones is a warrior....humble, hard working..the perfect type of guy you want on your team.Benson is tremendously talented and started to show it when he'd spell Jones. But he got hurt and that's why you haven't seen him in some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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