Are You Ready for Some Football

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yeah, they had the great story (Romo's Cowboys, Brees' Post-Katrina Saints) ranked one spot above the Bears with their inconsistent QB (who had a 1.3 QB rating the week that the 'Boys were ranked ahead of the Bears)... wow, what a dis. And wow... Berman thought the Cowboys with Romo or the Post-Katrina Saints with Brees were great stories.. what a dis to the Bears! Come on.

Please. Just admit you are overreacting to any percieved slight, even with a power ranking that had you in the #1 spot more than any other team this year.

[Ming]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Please. Just admit you are overreacting to any percieved slight, even with a power ranking that had you in the #1 spot more than any other team this year.

No overreacting at all... just laughing my ass off as the "experts" keep listing some team with an inferior record (by far) ahead of the Bears. While I don't mind some AFC teams being listed ahead (because they are better), it's a joke to see them adding a NFC team above them. Every team has some bad losses... and frankly, the Bears have less of them. Heck, even the Best Team in Football Chargers have two losses as well

[Ming]

It is kind of funny... they first put the Ravens ahead of the Bears in week 13... and then the Ravens lost in Week 14. Then they made the Cowboys ahead, and they lost the next week. And then they put the Saints ahead of the Bears for week 15, only for the Saints to lose. It's kind of like the Maddin curse.

[Donegeal]

Originally posted by Ming
It is kind of funny... they first put the Ravens ahead of the Bears in week 13... and then the Ravens lost in Week 14. Then they made the Cowboys ahead, and they lost the next week. And then they put the Saints ahead of the Bears for week 15, only for the Saints to lose. It's kind of like the Maddin curse.

Sounds like the NCAA ranking system and who was #3 all season. Someone kept getting slid up there and the debate was about wether Michigan was really #2 then whoever was put at #3 would loose, but the debate kept up until Michigan got screwed.

[Jaguar]

Originally posted by Ming


No overreacting at all... just laughing my ass off as the "experts" keep listing some team with an inferior record (by far) ahead of the Bears. While I don't mind some AFC teams being listed ahead (because they are better), it's a joke to see them adding a NFC team above them. Every team has some bad losses... and frankly, the Bears have less of them. Heck, even the Best Team in Football Chargers have two losses as well

Put the Bears in the AFC West and they'd be 8-6. You've beaten up on the Lions, Packers, Vikings, Bills, and Niners. You barely skated by over the Cardinals and the Buccaneers. Unless the Bears employed some magic anti-field goal death ray, they had absolutely nothing to do with Neil Rackers missing the game winning field goal in Arizona.

If power rankings were supposed to be about wins and losses, they could just copy the standings and be done with it. The Bears' generally crappy play in games they should win easily has led a lot of people to believe they are not as good as their record. Deal with it.

[Ned]

The Bears, the NFC's dominant team with a 12-2 record, clinched home field in the playoffs Sunday. The top-tier NFC teams include New Orleans, Dallas and Seattle, but Chicago is the most complete NFC team. Here are five reasons the Bears will win the NFC title:


Defense: The Bears' D has led the way with dominating performances. Led by linebacker Brian Urlacher, this aggressive unit has taken the ball from opponents a league-leading 40 times (22 interceptions and 18 fumble recoveries). Even after losing Tommie Harris and Mike Brown to injury, this stingy group is fast and deep.


Special teams: Chicago's special teams are very special because the Bears emphasize the kicking and return games. Opponents must strategically game plan for Chicago's special teams. Devin Hester has been outstanding returning punts, kickoffs and even a missed field goal for touchdowns. Kicker Robbie Gould was perfect for most of the season, and punter Brad Maynard averages 44 yards. An excellent coverage unit keeps the net punting at nearly 38 yards. Thanks to its special teams, Chicago usually wins the field position battle.


Home field: The freezing wind blowing off Lake Michigan and rowdy Bears fans will give Chicago a big home-field advantage through the playoffs. Seattle was blown out at Soldier Field this season, and players from warm-weather teams New Orleans and Dallas must overcome the distraction of weather when playing the Bears.


Balance on offense: The biggest concern for Lovie Smith was his quarterback. Smith's confidence in Rex Grossman has been rewarded as the signal-caller has rallied from a serious slump. With a solid, veteran offensive line, three quality running backs, good receiving tight ends and an excellent and explosive corps of wide receivers, Chicago has all the weapons. As long as Grossman does not turn the ball over, Chicago will succeed.


Championship mentality: Credit general manager Jerry Angelo for putting together a talented roster and Lovie Smith for creating an atmosphere energized with high expectations. Chicago believes that every player has a role to contribute. When one area slips, another unit finds a way to help the team win. The Bears have found a way to overcome mistakes. When serious injuries have sidelined excellent players, reserves have stepped up and performed well. This is a team with a championship character.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=dalton_dean&id=2700758

[Jaguar]

Originally posted by Ming


The experts at the Eastern Seaboard Propaganda Network... who for the last two weeks had first Dallas ahead of the Bears, and then when they got beat by New Orleans, put New Orleans above the Bears... those experts You should check out their power rankings... pretty funny stuff.

Damn that East Coast Media bias. They clearly favor teams on the East Coast, which explains why the Bears are being slighted in favor of East Coast teams such as the ones you mentioned.

Ming, you're a homer and a hack. I almost regret eschewing silly games for you.

[Ned]

The preseason favorites were Carolina and the Steelers. The Bears were ranked very low at ESPN. The Chargers were ranked pretty high, IIRC, higher than the Bears.

Well here it is in December and Carolina is one of the worst teams in football. The Steelers, though, have turned their season around. With a few breaks, they could still make the playoffs. Who'd of thunk it?

Another team on an improbable rise are the Titans. I didn't give them a chance against the Jags. Well, they won. And they too could reach the playoffs.

[Ming]

Originally posted by Jaguar

Damn that East Coast Media bias. They clearly favor teams on the East Coast, which explains why the Bears are being slighted in favor of East Coast teams such as the ones you mentioned.

Hmmm... last time I checked, the Cowboys were in the NFC East

[Imran Siddiqui]

[q=Ned]As long as Grossman does not turn the ball over, Chicago will succeed.[/q]

That's the key. Unfortunately we're never sure when Bad Grossman will rear his ugly head once again.

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
[q=Ned]As long as Grossman does not turn the ball over, Chicago will succeed.[/q]

That's the key. Unfortunately we're never sure when Bad Grossman will rear his ugly head once again.

Chicago's not likely to face Arizona in the playoffs, so they better keep Bad Rex under wraps.

[Ned]

Imran, I agree about Grossman. He is scary to a Chicago fan.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Ned
Imran, I agree about Grossman. He is scary to a Chicago fan.

Then I think you answered your own question about Chicago being talked about. No one is sure about Grossman yet.

[SlowwHand]

I am. He's too leaky a vessel to put much faith in.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Da Coach on Chad Johnson:

"This guy's crazy, but you gotta love him"