flipgugl.blogg.se

"Gosh, you never know what's going to happen in the NFC West." "Ha-ha, Eli is not elite! That never gets old!" That's a tall order.Įvolution of the Cardinals' 2014 storyline:

All they need to do is select one of their 25 offensive gameplans and actually stick to it.

The 49ers need this win to stay in the playoff pack and avoid some uncomfortable tiebreaker worries as their conference record starts to drop. Who do you like in that game? Thought so. They host a Wild Card home game against the 49ers. The Saints finish 9-7, but the Panthers finish 8-7-1 while the Falcons and Buccaneers run themselves over while backing out of the driveway.

McCown's right arm rots and falls off late in the first quarter, but he stays in the game. But Josh McCown, kept alive by voodoo zombie magic so Lovie Smith can convince himself that a hunk of flesh groaning "braaaainns" gives him a better chance to win than a mistake-prone prospect who can actually throw a football 20 yards, gets the start in the season finale. Wind and bad weather beat the Saints in Chicago in December, with the Bears running around the field looking busy. The Steelers beat the Saints in Pittsburgh.In other words, they do not really need this game, though it is much more winnable than it looked three weeks ago. They face the Ravens (hapless on the road), Bengals (big game against reputable foe: oh nooooooooo !) Panthers ( Cam Newton's teammates will be the Broadway cast of Newsies ) and Falcons in December (five words: interim head coach Mike Tice) in New Orleans down the stretch. They go at least 4-1 at home down the stretch.How the Saints win the NFC South and become a thorn in everyone's playoff sides: Throw in a tough divisional foe on the road (and a chance of snow showers!), and it is best to assume that the Bears are too toxic to beat a good opponent until they prove otherwise. Also, all the group counseling sessions and corporate retreats in the world would not change the fact that the Bears defense is terrible. It is hard to justify any these guys are ready to rally and silence their doubters' logic. The Bears may not have reached maximum-strength yet, but we have reached the point of very public, non-anonymous chirping, growling, scapegoat herding and confidence-voting. The coach could not intervene, because he was in the owner ' s office receiving a wedgie. Maximum-strength team chemistry issue: A dozen media witnesses just watched three defensive players throw the kicker out of a window. Minimum-strength team chemistry issue: Anonymous sources claim that some players resent the quarterback for being " aloof " and are not 100 percent happy at all times with every decision made by the organization. But there are degrees of team chemistry issues, ranging from minimum-grade "something to talk about" problems to maximum grade "it's awkward just standing in this locker room" problems that can completely sink a franchise. Handicapping games based on "team chemistry" is a great way to go broke by Thanksgiving. The Packers offensive line is banged up as usual (both guards missed practice midweek), but the Bears have even more injuries, and theirs are layered atop shifting substrata of doubt and dissension. The Bears now travel to Lambeau to face a team that has beaten them 11 times in the last 14 meetings. If you think a week off will make everything better, you are crazy. Going on your bye week under the circumstances the Bears faced this week is like going on family vacation when you just got downsized, Junior is flunking three classes and the missus has started taking phone calls from her personal trainer on the back porch. (Goats are usually grouped into "flocks" like sheep, but "Flock of Scapegoats" sounds too much like an 80s one-hit wonder.) Media outlets use headlines like " Herd of Scapegoats" to describe the Bears roster. Lance Briggs ponders retirement, and not just because he wants to go on radio shows to take shots at Cutler. Lamarr Houston and his $35 million contract land on the IR because of a post-sack boogie against a backup quarterback in a blowout loss. Brian Urlacher takes talk-radio shots at Jay Cutler. Marc Trestman gets il bacio delia morte " vote of confidence" from management. Note: All times listed are Eastern, lines are via Odds Shark and game capsules are listed in the order you should read them. Riffs, rants, observations and dissenting opinions from the voices in my head: Here's a warped and dented take on this weekend's games, this week featuring a disproportionate number of people with CFL connections, starting with a certain beleaguered head coach.