My Friends,

 

Regular reader Randy from the right coast writes:

 

I was excited to have the opportunity to see the Bears in a meaningful game. The NFC North doesn't get a lot of broadcast time in this area. I turned it off at halftime. That 21-point swing at the end of the 2nd quarter was a pull-your-pants-down-in-public spanking. Just too much to bear.

 

Smart man. Unlike me, who watched to the bitter end.

 

I understand he was going for the kill shot on the goal line, but in his fifth year isn’t it about time that Lovie Smith learned a bit about momentum? The Bears looked like they were in control until the Vikings made that goal line stand, but if you take four shots from the one in the other guy’s house and come away empty the whole complexion of the game changes.

 

I liked the first down play-action call (and the fact Orton threw it away with nobody open), but I always scratch my head wondering why they won't run a bootleg off that same play action. Rolling Orton out, preferably away from Jared Allen's side, forces the fat boys in the middle to chase, and they can't do that for long. If the pass or a running lane isn't there, then throw it away and try again. But running up the gut against those guys was just plain suicide, particularly when you’re giving a three-year practice squad fullback his first career rushing attempt on one of the carries with no lead blocker. Take the 3 on fourth down if you can't push it over and let the crowd settle down during the kickoff. 10-3 Bears looks a lot better than 10-7 Vikings. Especially now.

 

One thing I can’t understand is what Lovie Smith is looking at, high and to the left, whenever the camera settles upon his vacant gaze. While Dick Jauron allegedly had an endless loop of a Hammond B-3 version of The Girl From Ipanema playing in his headset, Lovie looks more focused on something, like maybe someone is blowing a dog whistle in the upper deck that only he can hear.

 

Contrast Smith’s torpor with the head coach on the other sideline. Brad Childress looked like the grizzled angler at dawn who’d just been told the bait shop was out of night crawlers. Agitation. Animation. Anger. Pick one. The only time you’ll see it on the Bears’ sideline is when some assistant throws up his arms as another pass slips through Rashied Davis’ hands.

 

By the way, Mark Bradley has 24 catches for 302 yards and three touchdowns in six starts for a rotten 2-10 Chiefs team. But I did see Earl Bennett on kick coverage yesterday.

 

So, as Lovie says, the Bears used to control their own destiny, but now they’ll need some help. That means getting into the whole tiebreaker mess and hoping the Vikings somehow slip up down the stretch. The Bears host the Jags, Saints and pack and finish in Houston, while the Vikes travel to face the Lions and Cards before winding up the season at home against Atlanta and the Giants.

 

We can get into the strength of schedule argument, or whether the league decides to eviscerate the Vikings defense and send Venus and Serena to an unpaid four week weight loss spa, but this whole thing is really rather simple.

 

After splitting the season series with Minnesota, the second tiebreaker is division record. The Bears and the Vikings are both 3-2, with the Vikings taking on the wounded pride of Detroit this week. If our guys don’t handle the urine stained pants, they’ll have to win the rest of their slate and pray the Giants somehow lose their grip on the top seed over the next three weeks.

 

With Christmas bills on the January horizon and the way the Bears have played from behind recently, I’m glad I checked the box.

 

LBF

12/1/2008