Bearstalk

1. shaving points to appease las vegas and online gambling? 2. shaving points to create certain matchups the NFL wants to see in the playoffs and superbowls which garner the NFL corporation higher monetary income? 3. planned rule incompetence by the NFL where league game rules make every play optional to throw or not throw a flag by every official (and the call is justified) to create more interest and money for team markets? 4. individual officials intending to throw games or shave points for their own monetary gains? 5. complete and utter incompetence by the NFL in hiring these part time employee's taking away the spotlight from other NFL corp. probl…

For how well the media liked the Bears draft, the oddsmakers do not like this team. They have the T-9th lowest win total at 7.5. With a 17 game season, that is basically the old 7-9 record for a 16 game season (so a coin toss between 8-9 or 7-10). So the Bears are going to end up with a top 10 pick? What am I missing? In terms of snap counts, they lost Trubisky, Fuller, and Leno. That is really it. No offense to Mitch, but he was a terrible QB and Foles was not much better. Dalton/Fields is at least +2-3 wins. The loss of Fuller hurts the most, but it's not like Fuller was playing at an All-Pro level like he did a few years ago. Also, if you think about it this …

No salary cap in 2010. I cant wait to see what the Redskins and Cowboys rosters look like.

Don't live in Illinois so I don't follow this, but If I remember, a few years back, there was a lot of issues with the Saints when their owner was pushing some legislation that was anti-player? I don't remember how it ended, but there was a lot of bad press at the time.

There are only a few spots left in the playoffs going into the last week. In the NFC, SF is 9-7 and NO is 8-8. SF has to beat LAR to get in. NO has to beat ATL and have SF lose to get in. Odds are in favor of NO here. If that happens, it will 4 out of 5 seasons out of the playoffs for Shanahan who still has a losing record as a coach. I don't get all the love he gets. His offense has regressed from the 2019 to now and technically he has more playmakers. In the AFC, IND is 9-7 and needs to win vs JAX next week to get in. They can still get in with a loss as long as LVR loses to LAC and PIT loses one of their next two. My assumption is IND wins making LAC vs LVR …

I really like the new format where each conference gets an extra team. This prevents a team like the Redskins with a losing record from bumping a true playoff team like the Bears out of the dance. I also like that only the Conference regular-season champ gets a bye. That makes more sense as does a guaranteed home game for the division winners. Of the 6 Wild Card matchups, two are divisional games (Rams @ Seahawks and Browns @ Steelers). The Browns will have to beat the Steelers in back to back weeks to advance. All the games seem fairly even but the Bears are the biggest underdogs at -9.5. All the other games are between 3.5-6.5 pts. TEN @ BAL is a rematch (TEN won …

What is up with the blowouts this season? Yesterday's games were decided by 16 and 18 pts and could've been higher if Atlanta didn't take a knee at the 1. In the Wild Card weekend, the closest game was 13 featuring Osweiler and Cook. The others were just as bad. Detroit scored 6 pts, GB won by 25 and Pittsburgh was up 30-6 with 6 mins left in the game.

Interesting... Not really Bears related but so topical I thought it really belongs on the main page. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3585348 No decision has been made. Wonder if we could see a Tuesday night game? If postponed deeper into the season, how do you score fantasy games this weekend? Crazy.

NFL Power Rankings, Week 2 1 Last Week: 3 Dallas Cowboys (1-0) Yes, they displaced the Patriots. Fair's fair, and Dallas' methodical dismantling of the Browns was most impressive. I started putting a stopwatch on the time Tony Romo was given to pass. Many clockings of 3.0 or better, and a couple of 4's. Most impressive. 2 Last Week: 1 New England Patriots (1-0) Well, after all, they did win. At a terrible price. How did losing Tom Brady affect the Vegas odds on winning the Super Bowl? "There never has been an injury that's had such a dramatic effect on the odds," said Bodog's Sportsbook manager, Richard Gardner. Bodog, one of the major price sett…

AFC East: Patriots 12-4 AFC North: Steelers 11-5 AFC South: Colts 11-5 AFC West: Chargers 10-6 AFC WC's: Dolphins 11-5, Titans 10-6 NFC East: Eagles 12-4 NFC North: Bears 11-5 NFC South: Falcons 10-6 NFC West: Seahawks 9-7 NFC WC's: Giants 11-5, Packers 10-6 Chargers over Titans Colts over Dolphins Giants over Seahawks Falcons over Packers Steelers over Colts Chargers over Patriots Falcons over Bears Eagles over Giants Chargers over Steelers Eagles over Falcons Chargers over Eagles MVP: Phillip Rivers OROY: Jeremy Maclin DROY: Larry English Thoughts, and your predictions.

This is probably the best way to "predict" the records (by picking every game for every team) vs throwing up an arbitrary win number. To me the Cowboys, Lions, Bucs, and Chiefs seem a little low, and the Packers and Colts seem a little high. I see the Bears as a pretty accurate prediction, but I think we have a shot at the Division. NFC East Eagles 11-5 (4) Redskins 7-9 Giants 6-10 Cowboys 3-13 NFC North Packers 12-4 (2) *Bears 11-5 (5) Lions 4-12 Vikings 3-13 NFC South Saints 11-5 (3): Falcons 10-6 Panthers 7-9 Buccaneers 3-13 NFC West Seahawks 12-4 (1) *49ers 11-5 (6) Cardinals 10-6 Rams 10-6 AFC East Patriot…

After watching only the first quarter in the NFL replay, one thing became abundantly clear: Rex Grossman is scared. Even though he was facing heat the entire first quarter, Rex Grossman was throwing like he had a gun pointed at him. Timid movements, bad mechanics, late reads, and unsure throws combined to make him look rough. With or without pressure, an NFL QB needs to be more pocket aware, needs to understand when a sack is better than a lame duck pass, and what to do to avoid either the sack or the intentional grounding. There is absolutely no mystery why Kyle Orton was named the starter.

NFL is reporting that Chicago and New England are trying to coax Kevin Carter out of retirement, Word is they both would want to keep on the field for 20 -25 plays a game, He has yet respond to offers.

There are a couple of now-approved rules changes for the NFL next year, if that happens. There's also supposedly potential for loss of draft picks if a team is a repeat offender.

March 8-9 -- NFL Regional Combine, Atlanta Falcons Training Facility, Flowery Branch, Georgia. March 8 -- Clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2013 Player Contracts at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 11. However, a contract cannot be executed with a new club until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 11. March 11 -- Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must exercise options for 2014 on all players who have option clauses in their 2013 contracts. March 11 -- Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must submit Quali…

From the Sun Times: NFL to release full schedule Tuesday The wait for the NFL schedule to be released will end Tuesday. A Bears spokesman said the league will use its television station as a platform to release the schedule at 1 p.m. The Bears know they open the season Sept. 7 against the Indianapolis Colts in the first regular-season game at Lucas Oil Stadium. This is about two weeks later than the schedule has been released in recent years. There was some talk at the owners meetings that the league wanted to ensure it had divisional games near the end of the schedule in an effort to eliminate as many inconsequential Week 16 and 17 matchups as possible. …

I just wanted to make a general thread for news and notes coming out of the combine. Here are some general tidbits to prepare you for the combine: Combine Dates (22-28 FEB 12) 1. Players are broken down into 11 groups: Group 1 (PK, ST, OL), Group 2 (OL), Group 3 (TE), Group 4 (QB, WR), Group 5 (QB, WR), Group 6 (RB), Group 7 (DL), Group 8 (DL), Group 9 (LB), Group 10 (DB), Group 11 (DB). 2. All groups have basically the same schedule covering 4 days, but the groups arrive on different days. Groups 1-3 arrive on the 22nd, Groups 4-6 on the 23rd, Groups 7-9 on the 24th, and Groups 10-11 on the 25th. 3. The days are broken down: Day 1: Travel, Regis…

Been talking with friends lately about what I think is a very confusing approach to QB evaluation by NFL scouts. Much emphasis is placed on taking snaps under center and playing in a pro-style offense. Then these prospect get to the NFL and are running read option up tempo shotgun formation offensive plays, which are staples in college offenses as well as multiple WRs and 1 back or empty backfield formations. So what's the big deal about QB prospects being under center? The majority of the center prospects have been making that long snap most of their college careers, so they too should be under the same scrutiny since they haven't had a QB's hands under their butt. …

Wanted to point out that NFLshops.com has a 15% off promotion and it includes jerseys. I think it would bring the price to the mid 60's on a replica Cutler jersey. I'm going to have to get one soon (want a white one) as I need to back up all the talking I did which indicated I would immediately buy a jersey if the Bears actually acquired Cutler. Coupon Code: NFLcBQG Just go to www.nflshops.com and add the jersey or whatever else into the site and you'll be set.