http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teameff
Bears are currently 6th overall, mainly due to the dominating #1 Defense and #4 Special Teams.
Current Overall Rating
1. SEA*
2. DEN*
3. NE*
4. SF*
5. GB*
6. CHI
7. ATL*
8. BAL*
9. NYG
10. HOU*
* - Clinched Playoff spot
8 out of the top 10 are playoff teams, WAS is 11th, CIN is 13th, MIN is 16th, and IND is 28th.
I was surprised to see the Bears that high, but the Defensive scoring has been silly this year. Also surprised to see IND that low.
You are correct, I don't know where I got AFC from.
We have basically the same schedule as Detroit besides for those last 2 games. We play the same home and away teams. GB and MIN are the exact opposite. GB and MIN gets PHI, WAS, CLE, and PIT at home, and have to go to DAL, NYG, BAL, and CIN. GB will more than likely get ATL and SF as well. So they will have a brutal schedule.
Detroit has scored 18, 10, and 20 in their last 3, and scored only 7 against us last time. Also, the Lions have no passing TD's in their last 2. That is amazing considering Stafford threw for 443 yards last week.
2013 Schedule
HOME
GB, MIN, DET, DAL, NYG, BAL, CIN, NO
AWAY
GB, MIN, DET, PHI, WAS, CLE, PIT, STL
To me this seems like an incredibly tough schedule. The NFC East and AFC North are both tough divisions top to bottom.
In a way, Detroit is playing for a lot. They are currently drafting 5th. With a loss they can pick anywhere between 3rd and 5th, but with a win, they could drop all the way to 9th due to their Strength of Schedule. That is a huge drop off in terms of talent. Not that you play to lose, but you may see a different team out there. Also, I don't know if there are any other records in sight for Megatron.
Here we go, our only route to the playoffs is through Detroit with GB beating MIN. Since we can only draft in 2 spots, the draft position is irrelevant.
They have also moved the GB/MIN game to a 3:25 pm start time with the flex scheduling.
With the SF loss, GB is now the #2 seed; so in order to get a Bye, they need to win against MIN with SF playing ARZ.
I updated the first post. We are now the best non-playoff team selecting 20th due to Strength of Schedule. We can now to no better than 19 (if we lose and Giants win).
It is going to be an interesting Week 17 nonetheless. Green Bay can essentially pick their opponent if the Bears win. If GB beats MIN, they play the Bears, if they lose to MIN, they play MIN again the next week.
Another crazy scenario would be if Seattle loses tonight and to STL next week while both the Bears and Vikings win next week. The Bears AND Vikings could both get in where the Bears would play GB and MIN would get the East Winner.
The best scenario for the Bears would be a win against DET, AND 2 losses by SEA and a loss by MIN next week. We would become the 5th seed and play the East winner.
Considering what he did against Megatron, I would say he would be in the running. Peanut also has a bunch of tackles, and passes defended.
Tillman has 74+ tackles, 3 INT, 3 TD, 10 FFUM, and 13 Passed Defended
Watt has 77 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 15 Passes Defended, 4 FFUM
Smith has 58 tackles, 19.5 sacks, 3 FFUM, 1 INT
The fact that 2 players will have 20 sacks sort of reduces the feat for me. Watt will get it due to the hype.
and surprisingly, the OLine looks solid vs a very good defensive front. The one sack on Cutler was basically a coverage sack that he could've easily thrown away. I would just like to see a few more sustained drives like the one they had before the half.
Yes, we would've gained one slot, but with Dallas and Pittsburgh both losing, we are pretty much locked into 19 or 20 at this point unless we make the playoffs.