It seems like its been months since the Chicago Bears last took the field in London. Tonight the nation gets to see one of the NFC’s crucial match-ups. The Chicago Bears are not going to repeat as NFC North champions thanks to an incredible run by Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. However, the Bears are very much alive in the wildcard hunt. In fact, the Bears would be a sixth seed if things ended going into the weekend (obviously this changed before tonight’s game with the Bears playing one less game).
Tonight’s opponent was nicknamed The Dream Team by anyone who’d listen. Many picked the Eagles to win the NFC and potentially the Super Bowl after making some strong free agent pickups including cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (Raiders) defensive ends Cullen Jenkins (Packers) and Jason Babin (Titans), wide receiver Steve Smith and (Giants) and quarterback Vince Young (Titans). They also traded quarterback Kevin Kolb to the Cardinals for cornerback Dominique Rogers-Cromartie. With the exception of Young, these moves have worked out well for the Birds.
As Bears fans, we know all too well what moves the Bears didn’t make In the offseason. Although I need to praise the addition of punter Adam Podlesh (Jaguars). He’s really helped improve the punting game. The Bears excel in Special Teams and he’s a major reason for it.
On paper, the Eagles are a fantastic team. In reality, they’re only 3-4 to the Bears 4-3. There’s plenty of reasons why the Eagles aren’t better record-wise. These include quarterback Michael Vick being injured, bad turnovers, missed tackles and just a lack of cohesiveness. Last Sunday night, the Eagles dismantled the Cowboys and showed the nation what they’re capable of doing. Or at least that’s what the talking heads are telling us.
There’s no denying the talent level of the Eagles. They’ve got speed all over the field and playmakers on both sides of the field. Offensively, tailback LeSean McCoy along with wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin give Vick some real speed. It allows the Eagles to stretch the field. Tight end Brent Celek gives the Eagles one of the better tight ends in football. We all know what Vick can do, so this unit can scare you. However, there not invincible. The offensive line isn’t very good and there’s not much depth. You can get to Vick and the receivers aren’t very physical. They can be knocked around a bit.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Eagles will generate a pass rush and cover well in the secondary. However, they can be beaten by running the football and throwing short-to-intermediate passes. Just like the offense, the Eagles look for the big play. Sometimes in the process of doing that, they’ll give up the big play.
The gamblers have gone back-and-forth on this one. The Eagles opened at 7.5 point favorites and the line has moved up to 8.5 before settling back down to 8. There’s not much love for the Bears in the gambling community. That makes me more than a bit nervous.
Here’s my bottom line about tonight’s game; the Bears need to control the line of scrimmage, keep things in front of them defensively, continue to play strong special teams and not turn the ball over. This sounds obvious, but the Bears cannot fall too far behind tonight. The Eagles have the potential to explode for a ton of points, but can be controlled by playing fundamental football. Lose contain and it’s a long night.
I’ll be tweeting during the game at ChicagoBearJew.
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The Eagles O-line has put up good numbers the last two games. I feel this years o-line is much better from the last time these teams met. Cutler torched the secondary but look and see who the top three corners were for that game; Lindley, Patterson, Hanson. This year the Eagles feature one of the best cornerback tandems in Rodgers-Cromartie, Samuel, and Asomugha. Not to mention the Eagles also feature a defensive line that creates consistent pressure from interior to outside. The Eagles are home for this game which is important because they are built on speed and Soldier Field takes a good beating throughout the game.
I saw enough sideline shots of Mike Tomlin last night to fill a stock library. Do we really need to see so many fucking shots of the coach during a game? Why don’t you show cheerleaders for more than one second, so that I have time to get my dick out? There’s nothing interesting about cutting to coaches on the sideline. Here’s what I heard every time the camera cut to Tomlin:
“There’s Mike Tomlin, looking on…”
“Mike Tomlin, looking on…”
“And Mike Tomlin looks on…”
“Mike Tomlin, looking on with keen interest…”
“As Mike Tomlin looks on at the play…”
All coaches do is fucking look on. They don’t tackle anyone. They don’t have tits. STOP FUCKING SHOWING THEM.
You know who pisses me off almost as much as Jerry Angelo? As you know, we are awash in a world of douchebags. But I’m hard-pressed, very hard-pressed, to think of a bigger douche than Criss Angel. Seriously. Wow. What a douchetard. Does Angel know that it’s no longer 1988? This asshole has his own logo/half-assed anarchy symbol on his jeans AND on his necklace. And I see not one, but TWO handcuff accessories on his person. You know what, shitbox? Just wear a top hat, ask me to pick a card and be done with it, Magic Boy. Stop dressing like you’re Nikki Sixx. I didn’t ask for a rock ‘n’ roll magician, and I don’t fucking want one. Fuckhead.