Week 17 The Scoreboard Watching Bears @ Detroit Lions

[rawaction]

Well this is it. Bears gotta do their part and hope GB lets them in the playoffs. A10-6 season without a 17th game would really suck. Being the best team NOT in the playoffs just means the worst possible draft pick for a team that's not good enough.

 

Should get Urlacher and Melton back this week. Go Bears and (UGH) Packers.

[Banedon]

Packers and Vikings game got moved to 3:25. So even if we win, we won't know if we're in the playoffs till later.

[jersey cubs fan]

do the packers have any real reason to try?

[JonJayCutler]

Go Pack Go :-&

[jersey cubs fan]

I don't understand why people pretend it's hard to root for the Packers this weekend. They may be the most publicized rival, but The Vikings are hardly a friendly peer.

[UMFan83]

Espn.coms playoff predictor projects the Bears to claim the 6th seed despite the Vikings having a better % odds of making the playoffs.

[hankp101]

If the packers lose and the niners win, the packers drop from 2 seed to 3 seed, so they do have an incentive to try.

[Banedon]

do the packers have any real reason to try?

 

Yes. They need to win to get a first round bye. A 49ers loss would also give them the bye, but they play at the same time as the Packers, so they can't count on that.

[jersey cubs fan]

do the packers have any real reason to try?

 

Yes. They need to win to get a first round bye. A 49ers loss would also give them the bye, but they play at the same time as the Packers, so they can't count on that.

 

Well that's cool. I wasn't sure what to root for while driving last night. The only thing I knew was Crabtree needed to get me some more points.

[jersey cubs fan]

Mannelly signed an extension through next year.

[Banedon]

Mannelly signed an extension through next year.

 

That's a relief.

[RynoRules]

I predict we will lose by 14. You aren't going to beat up on Detroit's offense like you did Arizona, and our offense isn't good. The Bears are fortunate to be in this position at all. They are a lot closer to being a 7-9 team than a 10-6 team.

[jersey cubs fan]

I predict we will lose by 14. You aren't going to beat up on Detroit's offense like you did Arizona, and our offense isn't good. The Bears are fortunate to be in this position at all. They are a lot closer to being a 7-9 team than a 10-6 team.

 

They are 9-6 and have played a tough schedule. I think they are a lot closer to being 10-6 than 7-9.

[minnesotacubsfan]

They were 2 injuries and one 4th down play from being an 11 win team

[JonJayCutler]

I predict we will lose by 14. You aren't going to beat up on Detroit's offense like you did Arizona, and our offense isn't good. The Bears are fortunate to be in this position at all. They are a lot closer to being a 7-9 team than a 10-6 team.

 

Have you seen the Lions play lately?

[Guest]

I predict we will lose by 14. You aren't going to beat up on Detroit's offense like you did Arizona, and our offense isn't good. The Bears are fortunate to be in this position at all. They are a lot closer to being a 7-9 team than a 10-6 team.

 

That's not true.

[Old Style]

I didn't think Urlacher was expected back until the playoffs.

[Have a seat, Neifi]

I predict we will lose by 14. You aren't going to beat up on Detroit's offense like you did Arizona, and our offense isn't good. The Bears are fortunate to be in this position at all. They are a lot closer to being a 7-9 team than a 10-6 team.

 

That's not true.

Yea, we can all agree the Bears haven't been particularly impressive the second half of the season, but they're not some awful team masquerading as a wildcard contender. We've played the 6th toughest schedule in the NFL by opponents' winning percentage, and have the 5th best point differential in the NFC (and are just barely behind the 3rd and 4th best teams in terms of point differential; indeed, the Packers are +100 on the year while the Bears are +96). The Bears haven't beaten a ton of good teams, but their strength of victory (i.e., winning percentage of the teams they have beaten) is still better than Dallas or Atlanta in the NFC, and Denver, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati in the AFC.

[Flames24Rulz]

I don't understand why people pretend it's hard to root for the Packers this weekend. They may be the most publicized rival, but The Vikings are hardly a friendly peer.

 

I don't get it either. I'd have no issue at all rooting for the Bears if the situations were reversed.

[BigSlick]

I predict we will lose by 14. You aren't going to beat up on Detroit's offense like you did Arizona, and our offense isn't good. The Bears are fortunate to be in this position at all. They are a lot closer to being a 7-9 team than a 10-6 team.

 

Have you seen the Lions play lately?

Yeah, even in their losses they move the ball effortlessly (except against an elite Bears unit thAt isn't on the field anymore) and the Bears can't move it at all.

 

If someone put a gun to my head and asked me to pick a team, id bet on the Lions honestly

 

Pretty much depends on the Lions self destructing (very possible) or the Bears putting up a surprisingly good offensive effort on the road. We shall see

[Guest]

I don't understand why people pretend it's hard to root for the Packers this weekend. They may be the most publicized rival, but The Vikings are hardly a friendly peer.

 

I don't get it either. I'd have no issue at all rooting for the Bears if the situations were reversed.

 

Go Packers!

 

If we lose to the Lions on Sunday, we don't deserve to go to the playoffs. At the same time, the Packers need to beat Minny.

[Soul]

I don't know if the Bears will win, but it would be unusual if the Lions *didn't* self-destruct.

[Sosa21MVP]

Espn.coms playoff predictor projects the Bears to claim the 6th seed despite the Vikings having a better % odds of making the playoffs.

 

I'm not sure how Minnesota even has a better % odds. Bears should be favored to beat Detroit, Green Bay with something to play for should be favored to beat Minnesota. Obviously I don't know what all feeds into that % equation but on face value, I'd say I like the Bears chances.

[UMFan83]

Espn.coms playoff predictor projects the Bears to claim the 6th seed despite the Vikings having a better % odds of making the playoffs.

 

I'm not sure how Minnesota even has a better % odds. Bears should be favored to beat Detroit, Green Bay with something to play for should be favored to beat Minnesota. Obviously I don't know what all feeds into that % equation but on face value, I'd say I like the Bears chances.

 

Well Minnesota has a 45% chance of making the playoffs and most of that is tied into the scenario of winning against GB. Lets say they have a 2% chance of making it if they lose (the Bears, Cowboys and Giants would have to lose I believe - the Cowboys so that they wouldn't win the division and push the Redskins into the WC picture), that would mean they are giving the Vikings a 43% chance of beating the Packers in Minnesota. I don't know if you see those accuscore projects that often, but a 57-43 spread in winning odds is pretty big, especially when the 43% if the home team, and a home team with a distinct HFA.

 

The Bears will probably be favored by accuscore at most by a 53-47 margin, but probably close to a 52 or 51% favorite. So then add that to the 43% chance that the Vikings win, and it makes sense that the Bears would only be around 31% chance to make the playoffs despite the fact that Bears over Lions and Packers over Vikings would be the most realistic result.

[BigSlick]

Espn.coms playoff predictor projects the Bears to claim the 6th seed despite the Vikings having a better % odds of making the playoffs.

 

I'm not sure how Minnesota even has a better % odds. Bears should be favored to beat Detroit, Green Bay with something to play for should be favored to beat Minnesota. Obviously I don't know what all feeds into that % equation but on face value, I'd say I like the Bears chances.

 

Well Minnesota has a 45% chance of making the playoffs and most of that is tied into the scenario of winning against GB. Lets say they have a 2% chance of making it if they lose (the Bears, Cowboys and Giants would have to lose I believe - the Cowboys so that they wouldn't win the division and push the Redskins into the WC picture), that would mean they are giving the Vikings a 43% chance of beating the Packers in Minnesota. I don't know if you see those accuscore projects that often, but a 57-43 spread in winning odds is pretty big, especially when the 43% if the home team, and a home team with a distinct HFA.

 

The Bears will probably be favored by accuscore at most by a 53-47 margin, but probably close to a 52 or 51% favorite. So then add that to the 43% chance that the Vikings win, and it makes sense that the Bears would only be around 31% chance to make the playoffs despite the fact that Bears over Lions and Packers over Vikings would be the most realistic result.

Not coincidentally that's roughly the chances Football Outsiders gives the Bears of making it