Week 3: Bears @ Minnesota - Sunday, Sept. 24th, 12 pm CST

[David]

 

I almost guarentee you that if Grossman has another great game and the Bears beat the Vikings, the Bears will be on the cover of SI.

 

An individual leading a team into somewhat suprising dominance is exactly what SI loves to showcase. No other big sports stories this week except the baseball stretch run, but they will probably wait until the week after to make a baseball cover in preparation for the playoffs.

 

I don't disagree with this.

 

Here's hoping (and expecting) that your "if" comes true.

[Jon]

Hillenmeyer expects to play on Sunday. Idonije and Worrell are the only two Bears remaining on the injury report. They did not practice yesterday and are listed as questionable.

 

Tommie Harris was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

[goonys evil twin]

 

I almost guarentee you that if Grossman has another great game and the Bears beat the Vikings, the Bears will be on the cover of SI.

 

An individual leading a team into somewhat suprising dominance is exactly what SI loves to showcase. No other big sports stories this week except the baseball stretch run, but they will probably wait until the week after to make a baseball cover in preparation for the playoffs.

 

I don't disagree with this.

 

Here's hoping (and expecting) that your "if" comes true.

 

A US Ryder cup victory, especially if it's interesting, might challenge that, as well as some more craziness in the NL west.

[Butterscup1679666578]

Hillenmeyer expects to play on Sunday. Idonije and Worrell are the only two Bears remaining on the injury report. They did not practice yesterday and are listed as questionable.

 

Tommie Harris was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

 

Good to hear. And I need to order my Tommie Harris jersey soon.

[wekse]

i farkin' love tommie harris.

[hawkeyecub]

The Panthers without Steve Smith are at best a .500 team, and the Redskins are a joke so far.

 

How are the Redskins "a joke so far"? We're two flippin games in! They played a tight game with the Vikings at home and trailed the Cowboys by 7 heading to the 4th quarter at Dallas. That makes them a joke?

 

gflore, Portis played against the Vikings and played most of the game so get that right. As far as the Panthers go, you're basically taking last year's offense substituting Steve Smith for Keyshawn Johnson and adding in DeAngelo Williams who is a stud. Yes they haven't looked good, but maybe the Falcons and Vikings have pretty good defenses?

 

For crying out loud people, the Bears are the favorite and they should be. Leave it at that. It's just stupid when you try to spin that the Panthers and Redskins are on equal ground or not much better than the stinkin Lions and Packers. Use a little common sense.

 

The Panthers without Steve Smith are a mediocre football team. The Redskins look weak this season. You talk about the Skins playing a tight game with another mediocre team in the Vikings, but then write off the Lions, who played a tight game with the reigning NFC Champs.

 

I think you're the one who needs to use a little common sense.

 

The point is, it's two weeks into the season. Use some common sense in looking at what the teams did last year, what they did in the offseason and the talent/coaching they have in place.

 

Saying that the Redskins are a joke is nuts. They've been competitive in their two games with decent-playoff caliber teams. Have they looked as good as expected? No, but they're far from a joke.

As far as your Lions comparison, the Seahawks haven't looked that impressive (especially offensively) yet either.

 

Again, I'm not saying the Vikings are better than the Bears. We'll see how Sunday's game goes. But if you think the Lions and Packers are equivalent to the Panthers and Redskins, I think you're just spinning it in your favor.

 

Now I'm sick of arguing about how good the Redskins, Panthers and Packers are.

Edited September 21, 2006 by hawkeyecub

[goonys evil twin]

The point is, it's two weeks into the season. Use some common sense in looking at what the teams did last year, what they did in the offseason and the talent/coaching they have in place.

 

Saying that the Redskins are a joke is nuts. They've been competitive in their two games with decent-playoff caliber teams. Have they looked as good as expected? No, but they're far from a joke.

 

I think they're a joke.

[Soriano12]

SI! Woot!

 

http://i.cnn.net/si/si_online/covers/images/2004/0405_large.jpg

[UMFan83]

SI! Woot!

 

http://i.cnn.net/si/si_online/covers/images/2004/0405_large.jpg

 

Stop making me cry, I am in a good mood today

[sweetpeteman]

The Panthers without Steve Smith are at best a .500 team, and the Redskins are a joke so far.

 

How are the Redskins "a joke so far"? We're two flippin games in! They played a tight game with the Vikings at home and trailed the Cowboys by 7 heading to the 4th quarter at Dallas. That makes them a joke?

 

gflore, Portis played against the Vikings and played most of the game so get that right. As far as the Panthers go, you're basically taking last year's offense substituting Steve Smith for Keyshawn Johnson and adding in DeAngelo Williams who is a stud. Yes they haven't looked good, but maybe the Falcons and Vikings have pretty good defenses?

 

For crying out loud people, the Bears are the favorite and they should be. Leave it at that. It's just stupid when you try to spin that the Panthers and Redskins are on equal ground or not much better than the stinkin Lions and Packers. Use a little common sense.

 

The Panthers without Steve Smith are a mediocre football team. The Redskins look weak this season. You talk about the Skins playing a tight game with another mediocre team in the Vikings, but then write off the Lions, who played a tight game with the reigning NFC Champs.

 

I think you're the one who needs to use a little common sense.

 

Bingo. I am from the Washington DC area. I have heard all about how great the Skins will be this year. So far, they are a joke. They cant move the ball on offense. Dallas also looks like a joke. The "power house" NFC East is looking like a 2 team division at best. You act like the Vikings barely beating the Redskins and Panthers is better than the Lions holding tight to a much better team in the Seahawks.

 

Until the Vikings actually look like a good team on the field, and not just a lucky one, I am going to discredit them.

[jaydee]

http://sports-att.espn.go.com/nfl/nflpreview?gameId=260924016

 

Mark Schlereth picks the Vikings. Shocking!

[jaydee]

The Panthers without Steve Smith are at best a .500 team, and the Redskins are a joke so far.

 

How are the Redskins "a joke so far"? We're two flippin games in! They played a tight game with the Vikings at home and trailed the Cowboys by 7 heading to the 4th quarter at Dallas. That makes them a joke?

 

gflore, Portis played against the Vikings and played most of the game so get that right. As far as the Panthers go, you're basically taking last year's offense substituting Steve Smith for Keyshawn Johnson and adding in DeAngelo Williams who is a stud. Yes they haven't looked good, but maybe the Falcons and Vikings have pretty good defenses?

 

For crying out loud people, the Bears are the favorite and they should be. Leave it at that. It's just stupid when you try to spin that the Panthers and Redskins are on equal ground or not much better than the stinkin Lions and Packers. Use a little common sense.

 

The Panthers without Steve Smith are a mediocre football team. The Redskins look weak this season. You talk about the Skins playing a tight game with another mediocre team in the Vikings, but then write off the Lions, who played a tight game with the reigning NFC Champs.

 

I think you're the one who needs to use a little common sense.

 

Bingo. I am from the Washington DC area. I have heard all about how great the Skins will be this year. So far, they are a joke. They cant move the ball on offense. Dallas also looks like a joke. The "power house" NFC East is looking like a 2 team division at best. You act like the Vikings barely beating the Redskins and Panthers is better than the Lions holding tight to a much better team in the Seahawks.

 

Until the Vikings actually look like a good team on the field, and not just a lucky one, I am going to discredit them.

 

dude, a fake fg for a TD is not luck! :wink:

[UMFan83]

3 out of the 6 experts so far have chosen the Vikings. Geez how many more points do we have to beat our opponents by to get some respect.

[Banedon]

3 out of the 6 experts so far have chosen the Vikings. Geez how many more points do we have to beat our opponents by to get some respect.

 

Jaws and Salisbury will pick the Bears.

[Jehrico]

3 out of the 6 experts so far have chosen the Vikings. Geez how many more points do we have to beat our opponents by to get some respect.

 

Jaws and Salisbury will pick the Bears.

 

All 6 of sportsline.com's guys have us not only winning, but beating the spread.

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/features/writers/expert/picks

[Soul]

3 out of the 6 experts so far have chosen the Vikings. Geez how many more points do we have to beat our opponents by to get some respect.

 

Jaws and Salisbury will pick the Bears.

 

All 6 of sportsline.com's guys have us not only winning, but beating the spread.

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/features/writers/expert/picks

 

I'm in the minority on this one. I just see this game as a heck of a tough battle. I think we can win if we play well, but I am expecting a dogfight.

 

Hey-----here's to me being wrong :wink:

[goonys evil twin]

3 out of the 6 experts so far have chosen the Vikings. Geez how many more points do we have to beat our opponents by to get some respect.

 

Jaws and Salisbury will pick the Bears.

 

All 6 of sportsline.com's guys have us not only winning, but beating the spread.

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/features/writers/expert/picks

 

I'm in the minority on this one. I just see this game as a heck of a tough battle. I think we can win if we play well, but I am expecting a dogfight.

 

Hey-----here's to me being wrong :wink:

 

Saying you expect the Bears to beat the spread is not necessarily the same as saying it won't be a tough battle. It's only 3 points. While giving up 3 points on the road is big in Vegas terms, in football terms, it's still a close game.

[BigbadB]

The "experts" just barely have winning records so far this year. I'm not even close to being an expert and I'm 24-8 on the season. If they are experts on picking (NON-SPREAD) games, what does that make me?

 

I predict that the Bears will run all over the Vikings defense while Grossman comes back down to Earth a bit. His coming back down to Earth doesn't mean he'll stink, but he'll be the field general that moves his team down the field with a more ball control oriented offense.

 

The defense will REALLY step it up in this game, and Johnson will make an early exit after the abuse catches up with him.

 

20-6 Bears

[Soul]

The "experts" just barely have winning records so far this year. I'm not even close to being an expert and I'm 24-8 on the season. If they are experts on picking (NON-SPREAD) games, what does that make me?

 

I predict that the Bears will run all over the Vikings defense while Grossman comes back down to Earth a bit. His coming back down to Earth doesn't mean he'll stink, but he'll be the field general that moves his team down the field with a more ball control oriented offense.

 

The defense will REALLY step it up in this game, and Johnson will make an early exit after the abuse catches up with him.

 

20-6 Bears

 

Good. I'll consider the game won and not worry about it! 8)

[Chocolate Milk]

Count me in the camp who doesn't think this game will be that close.

 

The Panthers completely manhandled the Vikings in the line play. I don't see how the Bears D-line won't be all over Brad Johnson. The Panthers sacked Johnson 5 times and picked him off once. Johnson was running for his life all day. I would expect a similar performance from the Bears line. Taylor doesn't really worry me all that much.

 

On offense, I think the Bears will have success running the ball. The Vikings D Line is beat up (James out for the year. As a Wisconsin homer...color me shocked!!! :roll: ) and I think the word is out on Grossman so teams will have to play the Beloved more honest, as opposed to loading the box. Look for a more balanced attack from the Bears this week.

 

I'm trying to temper my expectations, but I'm not seeing how the Vikings could win unless the Bears completely meltdown (which is possible). The Vikings are like "Bears-Lite." The teams are similar. They do everything the Bears do, the Bears just do everything better.

 

24-6 Bears

[Mark Priors Calves]

I think the key matchup will be Marcus Washington and Adewale Ogunleye. Washington gave up 3 sacks last week to Julius Peppers, while Peppers is a much better DE than Ogunleye, I hope Wale expoits his weaknesses and is a constant presence in the backfield.

 

I'm predicting the 17-6 Bears.

[Jehrico]

On offense, I think the Bears will have success running the ball. The Vikings D Line is beat up (James out for the year. As a Wisconsin homer...color me shocked!!! :roll: ) and I think the word is out on Grossman so teams will have to play the Beloved more honest, as opposed to loading the box. Look for a more balanced attack from the Bears this week.

 

I think this will also be the key next week. Our newfound passing game will cause defenses to spread out more to cover it, as the Lions and the Pack were obviously planned to stop the run. Grossman won't lead the league in passer rating after this game, but the running backs should break out while facing a more honest defensive game plan against the run.

[USSoccer]

24-10 Vikings.

[David]

27-7 Bears.

 

Fixed that for ya.

[Banedon]

Fact or Fiction: The Bears are the most complete team in the NFL right now.

 

Merril Hoge

 

Fiction: I still believe the Bears are susceptible to the run, and they haven't played a good team yet. I realize that the NFL has no powder-puff teams on the schedule, but it does have bad teams, and the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions are bad teams. Until they face a solid all-around team, I can't even fathom calling this team the most complete team in football.

 

Mark Schlereth

 

Fiction: Although they've played extremely well and have dominated their first two opponents, they haven't played a good team yet. Before they get anointed a great team, they have to play a good team. The Bears display a lot of positives, but they need to compete well and defeat a good team for people to take them seriously.