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Bears Fri Dec 21 2012
Bears Face Must Win Against Cardinals
If you keep checking the scenarios to see what has to happen for the Bears to make the playoffs, just stop. It's worthless. The only thing that you should be focusing on is Bears/Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.
The late season collapse has left the team in a win-or-your-out situation. Don't even think for a second that a 9-7 team from the NFC North is going to make the playoffs. It simply won't happen. The Bears have backed themselves into the proverbial corner, and are now left with a one game playoff in Week 16. It's not an ideal scenario, but it's the hand they were dealt, and by no means are they out of it yet.
The lowly Cardinals are one of two NFL teams (Jets being the other) where there is little fear that the other team's quarterback is going to beat you. Whether it's been Kevin Kolb, John Skelton, or some hack named Ryan Lindley, the Cardinals have amazingly fielded a worse quarterback situation than the Mark Sanchez/Tim Tebow/Greg McElroy debauchery that's happening in New York right now. If you aren't relishing in the fact that we should see a Bears defense circa Week 9, then you should be.
The only worrisome tidbit about Sunday's game is the Jay Cutler/Patrick Peterson matchup. Peterson is an absolute ballhawk, and, well, Cutler has a tendency to throw the ball to the wrong colored uniforms. On top of that, Peterson is an elite returner, and can take anything he gets his hands on back to the house. A lot of Cutler's interceptions this season have gone for big returns, and a devastating pick-six on Sunday might not only cost the Bears the game, but the season as well.
The finger can be pointed in many different directions for why the Bears are in the situation they're in. You could blame Jerry Angelo for the poor roster construction, Lovie Smith for his coaching or inability to hire a competent offensive coordinator, or you could be like Brandon Marshall and make vague statements to the media about how everyone is accountable and this season should cost people jobs.
Don't worry about the Giants/Ravens or the (laughable) Texans/Vikings games on Sunday. 100 percent of your attention should be what happens in Arizona because a loss ends the Bears season in a most depressing way. I know some people will be rooting for them to lose because it would raise the possibility of Lovie Smith losing his job. Anybody that thinks that is a moron, and can walk to Beloit to hitch a ride on the Packers bandwagon. You root for winning, and a playoff berth is hope.
Anything can happen in this crazy game.
