Bearstalk

We're a couple weeks away from the start of the season. I'm curious how our division opponents are doing. As I scan around various websites when I find something noteworthy I'll post the link. It'd be nice of others add in as well. Today it is Nick Fairley making headlines for his eating habits. Actually it seems like there is much more going on than just a man who likes to eat. Either way, he's on their second string and on a Dline that lost Willie Young who appears to be a good player so far. For a team that has invested three #1 picks at DT and then DE they are planning on needing to blitz their linebackers a lot more this season to get pressure. I'm go…

Well there are areas of the game to pick at but several positives. 1. NFC North Champs 2. Clinched a Playoff spot 3. Hester with the Record in record time 4. Big win 40-14 a 26 point win should have been 33 point win but I'll take it. 5. We walk away healthy. 6. We may have put Favre away for good.

Home playoff game and winners of the North…don’t stop now Bears!!!

Woo hoo, 10 wins, Division Champs, playoff-berth, and knocked GB out of the playoffs!

Gerald Goff just got a 212 mil contract extension. 170 mil guaranteed, 73 mil signing bonus. Now he has played well the last two years and is the second highest paid QB but I would rank him 10-12 as far as best QBs. QB salaries are crazy.

GB Datone Jones, LB Eddie Lacy, RB 109 (4th) 122 (4th) 146 (5th) 159 (5th) 167 (5th) 173 (6th) 193 (6th) 216 (7th) 232 (7th) MIN Sharrif Floyd, DT Xavier Rhodes, CB Cordarrelle Patterson, WR 120 (4th) 155 (5th) 189 (6th) 213 (7th) 214 (7th) DET Ezekiel Ansah, DE Darius Slay, CB Larry Warford, G 132 (4th) 137 (5th) 171 (6th) 211 (7th) 245 (7th) CHI Kyle Long, OG Jon Bostic, LB 117 (4th) 153 (5th) 188 (6th) Hard to say we are not in last and all the other teams improved more than us at this point. All their picks filled a need and will contribute immediately. After a couple of trades, GB …

Detroit - Pick 8 - TJ Hockenson, TE - A good player (1 of 2 TE's drafted in the first round from Iowa), but not a top 10 pick. Lol Detroit, another TE, why didn't they just keep Ebron? Green Bay - Pick 12 - Rashan Gary, DE - A good player, but didn't they sign a couple of Edge guys? Seems like an odd pick considering their free agency and with Rodgers' age. Then they draft up to pick Darnell Savage at S. Another good player, but not someone worthy of the 21st pick or moving up to get. You would think that a team with 2 picks in the first 21 would get two impactful players, yet I don't see that here. Gary may only be a rotational guy and Savage is undersized for a …

So thru 3 rounds, this is what we are looking at: DET - Decent draft but missed opportunity to take Tua and/or trade Stafford, or trade down 1. Okudah, CB - basically replaces Slay, good for salary cap, but team really doesn't improve much. Highest DB ever selected, passed on Tua 2. Swift, RB - they already have KJ, so at most RBBC, they must be concerned about KJ's health. Good value pick 3. Okwara, Edge - Decent pick in the 3rd Round, brother is already on the team, reminds me a lot of Floyd, seems more comfortable as just a speed rusher. 4. Jackson, G - Interesting pick, Jackson had a 4th to 5th round grade from most sites, so Pick 75, 11th pick of the 3r…

Looking at the draft picks in our division, the writer says that the Vikings should be worried about...our top two! Do you agree with this? http://thevikingage.com/2012/07/02/top-5-n...le-this-season/

I'm looking at what our division rivals have done in the draft and let's open the floor for comments. I'll start with the team I hate the most. Packers: 1st: Kenny Clark DT. I felt they had better options available the way the DTs fell in the draft. This was a head-scratcher for me but that's ok. He won't be a bad player for them I just felt there were others with more upside available. 2nd: Jason Spriggs OT. Good pick for them 3rd: Kyler Fackrell OLB. It will be tough for me to watch the hometown kid wearing a Packer's jersey twice a season. He's not elite at anything but is a good jack-of-all-trades type. I really thought they'd push …

Keeping up with our division rivals here is who they drafted, and my opinions on that. Detroit 1/20 C Ragnow good player, moves well, not that strong (yet) and this seemed early for him to come off the board 2/11 RB Kerryon Johnson he's a good RB but not special in any area, he will definitely help give them a solid running game 3/18 S Tracy Walker NFLDraftScout had him listed as a 5th Rd prospect. NFL.com has his graded as a career backup potential, again Rd 5-6 4/14 DE Da'shawn Hand ranked as 2/3rd Rd seems to be good value here in the 4th but for his athletic talent he underperformed in college 5/16 G Tyrell Crosby a…

I love what every team in our division did this year in the draft. If Harvin can keep his head on right plus Loadholt, the Vikings had a good draft. The Lions went out at got Stafford + the best TE in the draft + who I thought was the best FS. The Bears got Cutler + Moore in the 4th. The Packers got Raji and Matthews, both who can contribute right away in their new 3-4. IMO, our division as a whole had the best draft. Thoughts?

In terms of improving the team since last season, have the Bears not had the best offseason of any team in the division? GB has actually lost a lot of their depth and some key vets (Williams, Hawk, House, etc). So even though they re-signed Cobb and some others, at this point they are slightly worse than last year. Detroit has taken a massive step backwards losing Suh and Fairley and only gaining Ngata (who is older). Minnesota had a slight upgrade going from Jennings to Wallace, but the biggest swing will be in regards to what happens with AP. With their other roster losses (Felton), they probably are even at this point. With every team expected to improve th…

Huge game for draft position. A loss keeps a top 10 pick in play, a win and we are looking at a pick around 15. After losses to MIN and GB, a loss to DET at home would have to be the final swing of the hammer on the nail in the coffin for Nagy and Pace. So we have a few things to be hopeful for in a loss. A win won't even feel like a win at this point. Unfortunately, these are the games the Bears win. So I expect a win, 20-16 in an ugly one.

Tavaris Jackson is absolutely terrible. Based on how great Minnys run game looks, he is gonna cost them big this year.

Right now we sit a game back of the Packers and a half-game behind the Lions. Detroit has yet to play a divisional game, so we will see how they compare to the rest of the division starting this week. The Lions also play the Vikings and us in their next 5 games, so those games will be very important in terms of playoff chances. There are 4 non-division teams vying for a playoff spot (SEA, LAR, CAR, and PHI) as well. Packers (4-1) next 5: vs DET, vs OAK, @KC, @LAC, vs CAR Projected record after 10 games: 7-3, This is dependent on how long Adams is out. If they fall flat against DET, then have to play OAK who has a solid running game, they could easily lose 3 here. T…

Desmond Bishop went down holding his knee and couldn't put any weight on it. McCarthy said postgame that they'll be "lucky" if it's nothing serious. (Bishop led the Pack in tackles last year)

With the win over the Saints it all boils down to two. The last two games we win then we are in if we get two losses by the Vikings. We play the Packers at home and the Texans on the road. The Vikings play the Cardinals on the road, and the Falcons & Giants at home. Also we can get in as a wild card if we win our last two games and get the Cowboys and Falcons to lose two games and the Eagles and Redskins to lose one of their remain games. The Cowboys play The Giants, the Ravens & the Eagles. The Falcons play Tampa Bay, the Vikings & the Rams The Redskins play the Bengals, the Eagles and the 49ers. The Eagles play the Browns the…

I would love to see GB end up with 9 or 10 wins and miss the playoffs. That would be worth part of my misery for this season. Looking at the Division and Wild Card, Detroit has the toughest remaining schedule, but gets GB at home in Week 17 to more than likely decide the Division. For the Wild Card, the Giants are pretty locked in at WC1 and it looks like WC2 will come down to WAS, TB, and the 2nd best team in the North (probably the loser of Week 17 GB/DET). We still have a hand in impacting the playoffs as we play WAS and MIN to end the season. I would still gladly take 2 losses and hope JAX decides to win 1 for their new coach who play TEN and IND to close o…

Harvin takes it to the house on opening kick for the Vikes.