2011 NFC North

The Game Room
181

Quick look at today’s games:

Packers v. Rams

I fully admit to looking past this game. I likely won’t pay much attention and I don’t think there will be much to learn from the game. If the Rams make it a game, I may catch the second half (family stuff), but I see nothing but an easy Packer win. As long as the Packers limit their mistakes, that is.

49ers at Lions

This game, however, should be interesting, and I wouldn’t mind watching it to see which of these teams are for real. The Lions haven’t convinced me yet, mostly because of those bad first halfs, a questionable O line, and poor running game. The 49ers haven’t convinced me either, mostly because it’s Alex Smith, but they should be a good test for the Lions. With the West Coast/early game thing and being at home, the Lions get a distinct edge, but somehow I think this game will reveal the holes in the Lions game. No matter what happens, though, a lot will be learned about these teams.

Bears v. Vikings

On the plus side, either the Bears or the Vikings will get a loss. On the down side, either the Bears or the Vikings will get a win. The Vikings offensive plan should be pretty obvious, run Adrian Peterson and throw deep on play action (I’m looking at you Donovan!) when the Bears try to stop the run. The Bears are starting 2 young safeties, and going deep should be easy if they try and cheat up to stop the run. On defense, let Jared Allen (who is having a huge season) sit on Cutler’s head and sit back and wait for Cutler to make a bad throw or a receiver to quit on a route/not go up and get it. For the Bears, it’s a matter of shortening their passing game with screen, quick hits and slants, and giving Jay a moving pocket to throw from. On defense, they have to stop AllDay, simple as that. I think McNabb will make a huge difference in this game, if he continues to suck, the Bears win. If he throws downfield well off of play action, the Vikings win. I think the Vikings sneak away with a win. But no matter what, this game could get ugly, like first quarter Bears/Lions ugly. And nobody wants that.

182

AJ Hawk just flipped off some fans in a home game. Did I miss something in the Green Bay media during the week or were there Rams fans in the house?

183
184

And the cheese stands alone…

Though it has been (esp. defensively) a sloppy 6-0

Brian

185

And Schwartz was at it again after the 49ers game, going after Jim Harbaugh for … apparently not being civil enough or breaching “protocol” at the end of the game. Harbaugh was kind of a dick, but Schwartz chasing him down and jawing at him was uncalled for too. At first, I kinda liked the attitude Schwartz brought to the team, and the exuberance he and his team seemed to play with. Now it looks like they’re awfully close to going over the line into being a team of jagoffs ala the Raiders. Sad what a bit of success can do to a team and coach. It will be interesting to watch what they become.

186

Good God the Vikings are a bad football team.

187

I think Frazier put Webb in for those couple plays to show everybody that YES, there are worse QB’s on our roster than McNabb.

188

Brian

189

Watched that Bears win in the Sportsbook and walked out significantly richer. That was fun. Now if only the beer and food in my belly would settle down a bit so I can enjoy the rest of the evening.

190

Is anyone else thinking the Peppers going from Questionable to Doubtful to Starting was a swipe at the Vikings for their Favre going from Out to Questionable to Starting last year?

Wow, the Vikings are bad. Kudos to the Bears for having a great bounceback game and playing well in all facets of the game. I hadn’t seen much of McNabb this year and was a bit surprised at how much he really did suck. While I don’t much like starting rookie QB’s in the NFL, Ponder looked good enough that McNabb should take his money and go away. Ponder is one of my guys, but behind that O Line, with those receivers, he’s not in the greatest position. But really, the Vikings have nothing else, so make the gameplan easy and get him some experience.

The Bears looked very good indeed. Forte has been impressive all year, and Cutler had a really nice game, but I think the adjustments made by Martz to protect Cutler was the difference maker. They had 7 or 8 guys in protection, double teamed Allen, and had a lot of chipping/going to the flat by the RB/TE’s. I don’t think that kind of game plan will work against good defenses, especially with the Bears WR crew, but tonight it did. One thing I always forget about the Bears is that they are very good at winning the games they should win.

The Packers get an easy victory. The defense gives up a ton of yards, which is a concern, but only 3 points. But they really can’t count on receivers dropping easy passes all the time. I worry that they need a sense of urgency to play well, but still, Matthews had a great game, Shields got a pick, and Bradford was hit alot. The offense shut down in the second half, and the running game was awful, but the playcalling got incredibly vanilla and the shots downfield were minimal.

And the Pack are the only undefeated team in the NFL. Hot Damn.

The Lions not only got beat, but their coach acts like a petulant ass. The Niners were able to take advantage of the weaknesses the Lions had, a poor O Line (5 sacks), a weak running game (3 trips inside the 7, only one TD) compounded by Best’s latest concussion, one dimensional offense, and some poor tackling by the back 7 in the rushing game. It will be interesting to see how they react to the loss this week.

So the Packers are undefeated, the Lions return to earth, the Bears get a big win and the Vikings suck. There’s your NFC North weekend.

191

I think Cutler’s had a pretty surprising year and has taken a step forward in development. It might not be a huge step, mind you, but I think it’s noticeable. That offensive line seems THAT bad in Chicago.

192

He’s strung together a couple of nice games in a row now. Enough to move him up to the 14th rated QB in the NFL. Good for him.

193

I will grudgingly admit than Cutler showed what he can do when the O-line does its job. He had some terrific passes yesterday.

194

You got the sense that had receivers not dropped the ball so often and had the play calling not got so conservitive that it could have been a real massacre.

Hate giving up that many points but their defense has shown how good they are at keeping other teams out of the end-zone. That’s all that matters.

And Shields pissed me off to no end. Getting hurt trying to run the ball out of the end zone? Just freakin’ lay down. Defensive backs these days are trying so hard to return each interception that I cringe just waiting for them to fumble or get hurt. Nothing wrong with laying down guys.

195

There is if you’re playing for the league minimum and your contract includes an escalator for return touchdowns.

196

Lion coach Swartz claims it was Harbaugh’s people who caused the problem. Don’t be so quick to blame him.

seems a lot of noise about nothing, But harbaugh was not very respectful.

197

Both coaches acted irresponsibly, Harbaugh really did act like an ass on the handshake and then Schwartz doubled down on the assholery.

198

Schwartz is a classless chump and a hypocrite who overreacted and made himself look like the sore loser he is.

199

I’m a Bears fan, but to be perfectly honest, they are so often mediocre that the prospect of yet another mediocre season doesn’t really bother me.
Instead, this year I’m a bigger fan of whoever’s playing the Packers. I hate them with an irrational intensity, couldn’t stomach watching the end of the Super Bowl, and seethe with rage when I see the ‘0’ in their ‘L’ column. Looks like after the bye week their schedule gets a little bit tougher, so hopefully that number will start going up from week 9 forward.

200

I want to hate the Packers, and I had no trouble doing so when their quarterback was [del]the most overrated piece of shit ever to put on a football helmet[/del] Brett Favre.

I just can’t hate the Rodgers-era Packers, though. He’s so likeable, and like Andy Dufresne, he crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.