UMFan83

all the bears fans I know focus on the gould kick but that wasn't that important to me because, perhaps i'm delusional, i already considered it a forgone conclusion because its robbie gould and he is the best guy ever the play that i remember the most in that game is right before it when grossman hit rashied davis for a 30 yard gain or so. that year was the pinnacle of rashied davis' career as he was good for one insane clutch 30 yard catch (but only one!) every game. now he sucks. i also remember hester broke one but it was called back for some bullcrap penalty. don't call phantom holding this time! I still have this game on my computer and watch it occasionally. I honestly think almost as big as the Davis catch is the stop on 4th and inches around midfield towards the end of regulation. If the Seahawks had gotten a 1st, they'd be about 15 yards from FG range with plenty of time on the clock, but also at a spot where the Seahawks could milk the clock down if they got into FG range. If I remember correctly, the ball was just barely short of a first like an inch short, so they probably should have gotten the first 80-90% of the time. But Hasselbeck and Alexander botched the handoff, giving (i think) Briggs enough time to get through the wall and make the game saving play. Also, after the Bears got nowhere on the next possession, the Seahawks got it back to about midfield again with a minute left and Tank Johnson made a nice coverage sack to kill that drive and send the game into OT. Just a fantastic game all around and everyone made big plays. Edit: Also, I forgot about this but it was also huge that a play after the Davis catch, Benson fumbled the ball and the Seahawks recovered, however the play was luckily called dead. Huge break.

Not only rematches, but all 4 games have been played on the same field this year.

I forgot about this game and was shocked to see the Hawks have a 5 goal lead when I turned it on. I feel like the Hawks haven't had many laughers this year so it's good to see.

If I was a Packers fan, I don't know how I'd feel about facing the Seahawks after beating the Saints and Bears and having a crapload of momentum and a game at Qwest field. Not sounding cocky (i'm trying to write as a general NFL fan), but if they beat the Bears after beating the Saints, something strange is going on and I wouldn't want anything to do with playing them.

Take it however you want, but I sorta know someone in the Cubs org (someone that directly reports to Hendry), and I was told that Hendry believes, based on what him and his scouts have seen, that the Cubs just acquired a Cy Young caliber ace for the next decade. PS, I will never be able to get scoops on trades or whatever because of this source. I hardly talk to them unless I bump into them. I also don't think this person is directly involved in transactions, they are more of an assistant to Hendry. You could probably figure out the who it is, but I don't feel like revealing it

Agreed. The only thing that would be more epic (for me at least) is a Cubs/Cardinals NLCS

they are the GREATEST #6 SEED EVER. I can see that. Are you sulley's apprentice or something?

It's crazy that either the Falcons (last SB: 1998), Packers (last SB: 1997), Bears (last SB: 2006), or Seahawks (last SB: 2005) will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

I was wrong, the Bears open as 9 point favorites.

Also, given the way the season has gone, I fully expect Hasselbeck to get injured during the week and Whitehurst starting. Lynch as well. Also, an accident at Soldier field will force the game to be played at Wrigley Field, with Seattle for some reason having to drive towards the OF wall all game.

The Fox guys are all saying Seattle caught lightning in the bottle yesterday and there is no way they can beat Chicago. It kind of sucks that we can't play the underdog role in this one. We will be the heavy favorite with all the pressure on us. How will we respond?

Seahawks it is. What do you think the line will be? My very uneducated guess is something like Bears -6. The Seahawks game pissed me off this season. The offense was very mediocre as we only scored 13 offensive points to the 4th worst defense in the NFL (the other 7 points were on a Hester return in almost garbage time when we were down 10 with under 2 minutes left). But the defense pissed me off more than the offense in that game, which is the only thing that worries me about this game. I remember the Seahawks kept stringing together first down after first down on short gains, I think using checkdowns and screens. The tackling was bad. They dominated the TOP for the game 34-25. I think we'll see a similar type of game plan this week, with the Seahawks taking what the Bears give them and hoping no mistakes are made. In the first matchup, neither team committed a turnover, which worked out for the Seahawks well in extending their drives and controlling the TOP. Given the fact that we lost to Seattle in Chicago earlier this year, I do not think there's any chance the Bears underestimate the Seahawks. In fact, I am now very happy that we lost that game, all things considered. My early prediction is that this game will be a lot closer than we hope for, with the Bears special teams leading the way to a victory. I'll say 24-20 Bears.

They are. Good. It looks like the Bears game is the only unappealing matchup for the general NFL fan next weekend, but even that has some appeal as folks will want to see if the Seahawks can shock the world again.

the luck they get, and more glorification all week I'm sure their luck is perfect. it's good enough so that they win, and bad enough so that they can complain about their luck. Maybe I'm taking this root for the packers thing too far, but I can't believe a Bears fan is complaining about the Packers luck after the season we've had. You can almost see the Bears logo becoming a horseshoe more and more each week.

So Saturday: Ravens @ Steelers Packers @ Falcons Sunday: Seahawks @ Bears Jets @ Patriots I cant remember if the AFC games are correct in terms of when thye are played

Time for a rematch of the 2006 NFC Divisional Round. Bears vs. Seahawks. I thought there was at best a 2% chance of that matchup going into this week. It's actually happening. Don't blow this break Bears.

Oh man that's not good.

I'd go with Nate Kaeding instead of Scott Norwood.

Well I still hope the Packers win but either way looks like it's gonna be a good finish. I am less nervous about the prospects of playing the Eagles than I was before the game. However, I'd still much rather face Seattle.

Their line is doing a much better job of picking up the blitzes in this game compared to the Giants and Vikings games. Reid's not pulling Vick at this juncture of the game. I don't think he will either. I'm just pointing out that the Eagles brass doesn't necessarily seem 100% behind Vick at this point.

Also if anyone is unsure if the Eagles would part with Vick, Sal Paolantonio reported this week (not sure if it was posted already):

I wonder how much this game could change the thinking regarding Vick's status after this season. He is a free agent after this year, and halfway through the season it was a no brainer that Philly would sign him to a nice extension and commit to him as the QB for the next 5 years. But the last 7-8 weeks the Philly offense hasn't had the same impact as it did earlier in the year. You start to wonder if its a great idea to commit the money it would take to sign a 31 year old QB who relies heavily on his legs. Especially when you have someone like Kolb on the sidelines, a QB you were willing to commit to as your starter before the season. Then again, it would be a really bad way to handle having two valuable QBs on your roster. If you do not resign Vick, you lose a pro bowl caliber QB for nothing. If you keep Vick you can probably get a 1st for Kolb in the offseason. So most likely the Eagles will still commit to Vick, but the decision is not as obvious as it was in October.

Momentum shifter

Cross that bridge when you come to it. It would be stupid to root for the Packers to lose and then get crushed by the Eagles next weekend while Atlanta destroys Seattle. Of course you should root for whoever you want, for whatever reason and it doesn't affect anything. I'm just preaching from my POV.

I always have been only because I hate the packers so much. I would rather play at Atlanta or lose to Philadelphia then know the packers are still in the playoffs. I want them demoralized Set aside GB for a second. Would you rather play Philly or Seattle? If you'd rather play Seattle, then I disagree with your reasoning. Your hatred for a team should never exceed the priorities of your favorite team. For most people, they'd rather see the Bears have an easier matchup next round.