Bears - Vikings: The Battle for the NFC Central
Yes, I know it's been the NFC North for four years, but old habits die hard. The Bears travel to the roller dome this Sunday to face Minnesota in a showdown of two undefeated teams. Ok, so two 2-0 teams battling doesn't exactly have the mystique of Bears-Dolphins on MNF in 1985 but still, it's a damn good matchup that will tell us a lot about both teams.
The Bears come in to this game having annihilated their first two opponents by a combined score of 60-7. That's such a fun thing to say I think I'll say it again, this time in bold and all caps. THE BEARS COME INTO THIS GAME HAVING ANNIHILATED THEIR FIRST TWO OPPONENTS BY A COMBINED SCORE OF 60-7. Man, that felt good. Got a cigarette? Seriously, though, this team is taking no prisoners at the moment, and any reservations I may have are due to the quality of their first two opponents. Green Bay and Detroit aren't exactly striking fear in their upcoming foes, and the Vikings will be the first true test of the Bears' mettle. In particular, I want to see two things this Sunday:
- I want to see the running game get going. I don't care if it's Jones or Benson, but I want to see at least 4 yards per carry and a rushing touchdown. The passing has been wonderful, but to win in Chicago in December (and January) you must be able to run the football.
- I want to see a better performance from Brendon Ayanbedajo. It looks like Hunter Hillenmeyer might miss his second consecutive game, and it also appears that I perhaps have given Hillenmeyer the short end of the stick. In last week's massacre of Detroit, what was most often overlooked was the way Detroit ran right over Ayanbedajo for huge gains on the first two series. It ultimately didn't matter, of course, because the Lions erased most of those plays with penalties and the Bears put a quick 10-spot on the board forcing Mike Martz into playing catchup. And when Mike Martz plays catchup, he forgets that you can actually hand the ball off to a runningback. So yeah, I like Ayanbedajo on Special Teams and all, but he looked pretty over-matched on defense. He needs to improve or Chester Taylor is going to run all over him.
Speaking of the Vikings, they have improved greatly since the last time we faced them. Last year they were a laughingstock. Not so much for their skill level, which was mediocre, but for their off-the-field shenanigans. (The Love Boat, etc.) New coach Brad Childress is getting raves for how he's immediately turned around this organization. He traded that bum Culpepper (who single-handedly has ruined my fantasy team this year) and dumped Whizzinator Onterrio Smith and the drunken Koren Robinson. He let all the malcontents go and replaced them with upstanding citizens that make their mark on the playing field. Oh, and he's not a babbling doofus with a thick skull like Mike Tice. (Where'd he end up, anyways? Back to Bedrock?)
Prediction time. I've predicted two close games to start the season and have been pleasantly surprised by two blowouts. So this time I'll predict a blowout, and watch the Bears squeak out a 9-6. Nah, the NFL has already met their quota on field-goal-only games this season so I'll say Bears win, 23-7.
Speaking of the NFL, what's up with the lack of upsets in the first two weeks? Seriously, there's been a handful of surprises but nothing truly shocking. And by "upsets" I mean 3.5+ point dogs winning the game outright. It just hasn't happened yet. I tell you what, they better get going soon or the NFL will change its rules again to help the little guys. And that wouldn't be good for Chicago, who finally appears to have a decent team for once.
BEAR DOWN!!!!