Honestly, I have NO idea what to make of the Bears this year. They probably should have lost to the Lions. They beat a bad Cowboys team. I picked them at home against Green Bay on Monday Night, but that was mostly a lark and not an indication of who I thought would ACTUALLY win the game. Then, they just get CLOBBERED by the Giants by getting sacked 9 million times and losing their quarterback to a concussion. THEN, with their quarterback out, they proceed to stink up the joint, yet still win because – hey, Carolina is the worst team in football!
In other words, I know the Bears are 4-1, I just don’t know HOW they’re 4-1.
I know what the Seahawks are: they’re losers on the road. No ifs ands or buts. So, here’s why they’re going to lose this week:
Matt Forte is flippin’ unbelievable. That’s a fact. I’ll hedge a little bit and say that Carolina’s OFFENSE is the worst OFFENSE in football (and yes, I’m taking Buffalo into account). Carolina’s defense isn’t half bad; and Forte just carved them up like a turkey that’s been in the oven for 12 hours. Fallin’ off the BONE, son! 300 yards doesn’t sound like a lot – indeed, it’s only 8th in the NFC – but you got to take into account the Bears had negative-9,000 rushing yards in that Giants game. He’s still averaging over 4 yards per carry. Plus he has 231 receiving yards and 5 total touchdowns. That’s pretty much what you’d call a Fantasy Stud.
The defense has 9 sacks in 5 games. To put it in perspective, the Giants had 9 sacks in the first HALF against the Bears (as you can see, I can’t get enough of the defensive onslaught they posed in that game). Nevertheless, Urlacher is healthy. That’s a problem for all of our intermediate routes we like to run. That’s also a problem for a running game we can’t seem to get going (this time with more Marshawn Lynch). They also have 14 turnovers as a defense, which will do wonders for giving your team a chance to win (as the Seahawks can relate). Finally, HEY, they have Orange Julius! Yeah, he’s only got 2 sacks to this point. But guess what? He’ll be going against a rookie offensive lineman for most – if not all – of the game. Those 2 sacks could easily be 5 sacks by this time next week.
They have Jay Cutler back at full health after missing a week due to a concussion. Too bad the Giants couldn’t have hit him a little harder two weeks ago; I would’ve relished the opportunity to go up against someone named Caleb Hanie. Cutler had a bad year last year, there’s no getting around that. But, this year, he’s cut down the interceptions (relatively; 3 in 4 games played), his completion percentage is off the charts (66.7%), and he’s got a QB rating over 100. Sure, he doesn’t have a bona-fide number 1 receiver. But Knox is no slouch. And Greg Olson last year totally shredded our defense.
Even if the Seahawks didn’t have the Hex Of The Road Game all over them like a skunk’s spray, even if they were your average, run of the mill 8-8 team (someone like Philly or Denver or Jacksonville), they’d have a tough time winning this game this Sunday. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you why I’m defying ALL odds and picking the Seahawks to win anyway.