I am not one for hyperbole & exaggeration, but I firmly believe that thus week's showdown against Detroit is the key game for our season. If we win, we have our first winning streak of the season, we even up our divisions record, we go into the bye with some momentum before coming out for a very winnable game at Oakland, and the ship will be moving in the right direction as we get our DTs healthier and Nate Vasher out on the field.
If we lose, we're 1-3 in our division, 3-5 heading into the bye and NEEDING 6-7 wins in our final 8 games to even have a chance at the playoffs.
That said, I am feeling good about our chances. Look at the last time we played Detroit:
-Most of our defense was out. This time Tillman is back, Briggs is back, our whole D-line & linebacking corps should be ready to go, Danieal Manning & Trumaine McBride seem to have found their bearings and are playing competent football.
-Kitna is still a statue, their o-line still stinks, and our d-line will have all its horses back. We should sack him, force him into bad throws, and cause at least 1 fumble.
-They aren't gonna get all the lucky breaks they got last time. Our defense was beaten half to death...Griese handed them a touchdown on his 1 interception...Griese threw 2 picks when we were in the red zone (which, at minimum, cost us 6 points)....they returned an onside kick for a TD...etc.
-They are a historically bad road team. In particular, running the Mike Martz offense on grass, they aren't gonna put up the big numbers like they're used to.
-Griese has found his groove and feeling comfortable playing in this offense. His play will be much improved comapred to that last game.
-In spite of all these crazy things, they beats us by 10 in their place, with 7 of thsoe coming on an onside kick return TD. The fact is we outplayed them most of that game, and every break went their way.
That won't happen again. We are healthy, we are at home, and this team knows it needs a win for survival. We've also improved since that last game. The crowd is gonna be intense (I'll be there contributing to that) and if the Bears can get points on the board early and force this team into passing 75% fo the time, we'll get some sacks & turnovers & could have a big win. I realize that is a best case scenario, and I think Detroit will keep it fairly close, but ultimately the Bears will win this game 31-20.
1 comment:
Pat,
Great post, I like the prediction.
I agree with your comments on the game's importance. We need this before the bye to really position ourselves for a 2nd half run. The venue is friendlier, the players are different, and the Bears won't underestimate the Lions. Hopefully all that adds up to a Bears win.
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