The 2011 NFL schedule makers did the Chicago Bears no favors. The first three contests will feature the 2010 NFC South Champion Atlanta Falcons at home, the 2010 Super Champion New Orleans Saints on the road and a home contest with the 2011 Super Champion Green Bay Packers. The Chicago Bears could easily start the season 0-3 and dig themselves into a deep hole. Everyone expects these three squads to be top teams in the NFC, so the Chicago Bears will be tested early. We will know a lot about this team after the first three games.

After a home contest with the Panthers, the Chicago Bears travel to Detroit for a Monday night contest. This is historical because it is the first time since October 8, 2001 that the Detroit Lions will be on the Monday night stage (remember, Detroit hosts a Thanksgiving Day game every year). This will be great for Detroit, but problematic for the Chicago Bears. This game could end up being a nightmare. The Lions are a much-improved football team, and playing on Monday night validates it.

Just because the NFL knows how much I love night games, they’ve decided to bless me with the Vikings at home the following Sunday night. Of course, after that, the Chicago Bears will play at noon in London against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (although this could be kabashed if the Collective Bargaining Agreement isn’t completed before the beginning of August). Just like the three beginning games are going to be difficult, the stretch leading into the bye week isn’t exactly a walk-in-the-park either.

Of course, another Monday night contest awaits the Chicago Bears after the bye week. The Bears will play in Philadelphia against the Eagles. A home contest with the Lions will be the last of the NFC we see for four more weeks. The Chargers will visit Soldier Field followed by a trip to Oakland before beginning December at home with the Chiefs and closing out this stretch in a match-up on-the-road with Denver. While the AFC West is a crazy group of teams, playing at Denver isn’t going to be a pretty scene for Jay Cutler. I am sure they’ll be waiting.

After the Chicago Bears close out the home schedule in a playoff rematch with the Seattle Seahawks, they travel to Green Bay for a Sunday Night contest with the Green Bay Packers on Christmas Night (although this can change if the game becomes meaningless). and a New Years’ Day game with the Minnesota Vikings (although this can change too).

I’m not a schedule ranking expert, but according to ESPN, the Chicago Bears have the 11th toughest schedule in the NFC based on the winning percentage of teams from last season. I would rather use the old eye test. This isn’t an easy schedule. There are many factors including start times and travel that make this even more difficult. While I would like to say the Chicago Bears are a good football team and will overcome this, it sets up to be a difficult season for the Chicago Bears. At this point, and I hope I am wrong, I cannot see the Chicago Bears making the playoffs. There are too many factors that will hurt their chances.

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October opens with Cam Newton’s most-likely team Carolina at home (10/2). The Chicago Bears first Monday night contest will be on the road against the much-improved Detroit Lions (10/10) and then home the following Sunday evening against the Vikings (10/16). The Buccaneers contest (10/23) will be played in London the following week unless the lock-out isn’t over by the beginning of August. If not, it’s Tampa. A bye-week will close out October.

The Bears open November in Philadelphia on Monday night (11/7). The following week will feature a home-rematch with the Lions (11/13). In the next four weeks, the Chicago Bears will play the AFC West portion of the schedule. The Chargers will visit Soldier Field (11/20) and the month will close out in Oakland (11/27).

The Chiefs will open December in Chicago (12/4). The following week will be the regular season homecoming for Jay Cutler in Denver (12/11). Think he’ll be booed? The Chicago Bears will close out the home portion of their schedule against in a playoff rematch against the Seahawks (12/18). The final two games give Chicago Bears fans two holiday division contests. Christmas night will be in Green Bay (although this could change) and then the Chicago Bears will close out in Minnesota on New Years Day.

I know one thing…this will not be an easy schedule. But the Chicago Bears will have a lot to prove on whether or not last season was a fluke.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been picked for this game the last two out of three years. There is good reason for it. They do not draw much in their home stadium and Malcolm Glazer owns part of Manchester United Football Club (a soccer team). Man U plays in the Premier League, which is the NFL of soccer. While the league hasn’t come out and said it, there is speculation that Glazer is considering a move to London. And why not…the wonderful fans of Tampa (with a state of the art facility) do not support the team anyway.

Meanwhile, what Glazer and the NFL  probably isn’t grasping is that this game would be a sell-out in Tampa. Chicago Bears fans travel as well as any team in football. It would be a nice revenue boost for Tampa. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have the Buccaneers play the Carolina Panthers or Detroit Lions? Both of these teams aren’t close to the draw that the Chicago Bears are and the English most-likely wouldn’t know the difference anyway.

Let’s look at this another way…The Premier League doesn’t send its teams over here for regular season matches, so why does the NFL feel the need to do the same thing? I am not saying this as a bitter American that loves soccer, I am saying this because the Premier League seems to understand the importance of not disrupting the flow of a season.

You can call me selfish or a nationalist, but I want American Football to play its meaningful games in the United States. Follow the model of the Premier League and do not play games that are meaningful anywhere else but at home.

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After reflecting on all the events of today, I’ve decided how angry I am at Lovie Smith. I’m angry because his monumental mistakes in the NFC Championship game two-weeks earlier denied the Chicago Bears even a shot at this opportunity. I’d go so far as to say he did the franchise, fan base and the NFL a disservice by his mistakes. I just get angrier by the minute towards him and hope the Chicago Bears don’t extend his damn contract.

Two words people…Todd Collins. How could Smith in his right mind think that this piece of crap could ever lead the Chicago Bears to anything? Collins is so bad that he tried his hardest to give the Carolina Panthers a win.

Let’s go back to the preseason where this whole mess started. After Caleb Hanie injured his shoulder against the San Diego Chargers in the first preseason game, the Bears panicked and basically had to beg Collins to come out of retirement and play for the Chicago Bears. Meanwhile, Smith and crew played rookie Dan LeFevour a ton during the preseason and eventually cut him. While I grant you LeFevour wasn’t too impressive, he certainly had more upside as a number three quarterback than Collins did as a number two.

Just like the saying goes in baseball, the ball will always find your weakest defender when you least want it to do so. Well, thanks to having that cancer to my eyes Collins as the number two quarterback, it found him in a big way. Meanwhile, Hanie played well enough to almost lead the Bears back in the fourth quarter against the Packers. What could have been wasn’t thanks to Smith.

An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure. They got that ounce from the Carolina game and failed to take the damn medicine. Smith is a stubborn jackass that turned a blind eye on how horrible Collins played. There had to be a better alternative out there somewhere and Collins should have been launched immediately after that game. A lot of this also falls on Jerry Angelo, but Angelo isn’t an in-game manager, that falls on Smith.

After the championship game, when Jay Cutler was being treated like a voodoo doll for the national media and idiot fans, Smith didn’t come out and defend his quarterback. We’ve learned that Cutler tried to gut this one out, but Smith wouldn’t discuss the injury.  Instead of shedding light on the situation, his lack of backing his starting quarterback made the situation significantly worse.

Up until the championship game, I ate a lot of crow suggesting Smith should have been fired during the preseason. Now I’m not completely sure I was wrong.

A part of me feels bad unloading on Smith like this; he’s a class act and he just lost his mother. But poor job performance is poor job performance.

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However, I’m really beginning to understand why I hate the Packers and their idiotic fans more and more by the day. They still cannot accept the fact that the Chicago Bears are a better football team. They have more excuses than a cheating spouse. Here are the facts…thre Chicago Bears have more wins, more division wins and have even beaten the Green Bay Packers.

Despite being loved by the national media, the Green Bay Packers failed to win the NFC North and may back into the playoffs. Meanwhile, the doubted Chicago Bears clinched the division before any other team from any other division. Kelso can put that in his pipe and smoke it.

As we all know, the Chicago Bears are the two seed and can still get the one if the Atlanta Falcons lose to the Carolina Panthers at home. So at worst, the Chicago Bears are home in two weeks with a bye.

Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers have to beat the Bears or hope the New York Giants lose to the Washington Redskins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose to the New Orleans Saints. 

So the idiots to the north assume that they’ll win tomorrow. However, they won’t. I’m saying the Packers season ends tomorrow. The Giants will be the final wild card team. Then imagine the bitching and excuse making from the Packers fans.

Chicago Bears 34 Green Bay Packers 20

This includes the chance the Bears rest their regulars. How do you like that prediction! I’m spite predicting!

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This now means that at worst, the Chicago Bears now have a first-round bye in the playoffs. If the stars align, they can still get first seed but that would require wins by Carolina and Tampa Bay along with a win by the Chicago Bears. I am guessing that much won’t happen. But you never know. This has been a strange season.

The Bears/Packers game is being played at 3:15. By that time, the Chicago Bears will know what is at stake. The Packers, on the other hand, are playing for their football lives as long as the Giants beat the Redskins and the Buccaneers beat the Saints. The Saints may be playing for nothing, so the Buccaneers could win. The Giants, on the other hand, now need to play with some urgency. If all three teams win, the Packers are in and the other two are out. If the Buccaneers win, then they are in if the Packers and Giants lose. And if the Giants win, then the Buccaneers are out and the Packers have to win. If all three lose, the Packers are in.

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So what do the Chicago Bears do if they are playing for nothing? Do they rest the starters? I’ve been going back and forth on this one. On the one hand, the Chicago Bears owe it to the league to play as if this game means something. On the other hand, they owe the league nothing because it is important this team stay healthy for the playoffs. Now if the Packers make the playoffs before this game starts, what do they do? There is no way for them to improve seeding, so they have nothing to gain.

Now, if the Chicago Bears have a chance at the top seed, they should play to win. If they have a shot at nothing, I think the starters should play the first half and Devin Hester should not see any punts or kickoffs. He’s way too valuable. Lovie Smith says the Bears are playing this game to win, but I am sure he changed slightly after the Eagles lost tonight.

Regardless of what happens Sunday, I think that we owe the Chicago Bears a lot of credit for not screwing the pooch the way the Eagles, Packers and Giants did down the stretch.

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I think this will be another good game for the Chicago Bears. Being a team that wasn’t projected to be a contender this year, the Bears will not get into the idea of looking past anyone. Under normal circumstances, this could be a trap game, but the Chicago Bears are enjoying this us against them mentality.

I’m looking forward to someone convincing me otherwise. But I’m expecting good things on Sunday.

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Julius Peppers returned to Carolina and didn’t disappoint the Chicago Bears fans. He made an unbelievable interception on the tipped pass along with another acrobatic pick by Brian Urlacher. Gould easily nailed a 53-yard field goal that sealed it in the fourth quarter.

Along with Forte, Chester Taylor had a solid game. While Carolina wasn’t very good, it was nice to see the Chicago Bears rebound from a tough loss last week.

With a winnable game at home next week against Seattle, the Chicago Bears can be 5-1. A very successful start to the season.

A week ago, the Chicago Bears were undefeated and up against a New York Giants team on the brink. Or so many us thought…the result was a Chicago Bears defeat and Jay Cutler getting injured.

What may be a break on paper with the Chicago Bears playing a winless Carolina Panthers squad has become more of a challenge. With Todd Collins at quarterback, the Chicago Bears have little offensive identity. Plus with the offensive line in shambles, there doesn’t seem to be a way this team can score points.

However, where there is hope is on defense and special teams. The Chicago Bears defensive played well against the Giants but were on the field for a long time. Devin Hester may be getting his reputation back based on how the Giants punted.

Let’s remember that the Panthers also have problems. Steve Smith is out and there isn’t much depth in the receiving core with Dwayne Jarrett being released for his second DUI. Former Notre Damer Jimmy Clausen was rushed into the starting roll. While they have two strong running backs in Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams, the Chicago Bears can safely play up and defend the run. I’m aware the Giants had success running the football, but it was a product of being physically worn out. The pressure fell on the defense last week and the group didn’t fail because of effort or talent.

Eric Quackenbush of catcrave.com predicted the Chicago Bears to win in our Q & A session yesterday 24-17. If the Chicago Bears score 24 points, it will be a miracle. I’m thinking more that the score will be…

Chicago Bears 13 Carolina Panthers 6

The Chicago Bears will win this game with defense and special teams. Get ready for boring football.

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Jonathan: What type of greeting will Peppers receive from the fans?

Eric: “I think Peppers will receive a mixed greeting. Personally, his return will be met with a hearty “boo” in my house. Pep’s latest incident on not being coddled by the front office upon his departure is just the latest in a long line of reasons to boo the man.”

Jonathan: Hows does Carolina win this football game?

Eric: “Carolina can win this game if they play 60 minutes of solid football. This is asking a lot of the team at this point, given the immaturity at certain positions. That being said, the team has made improvements on a weekly basis, and rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen continues to develop in almost seamless fashion. Against the Saints, Clausen did not throw a single pick, nor did he fumble the ball. In order to win this, the Panthers must score on offense, and keep playing the style of defense it showed at New Orleans.”

Jonathan: How does Chicago win this game?

Eric: “Devin Hester. On special teams, the guy is still a nightmare. It impresses me that technically, a team has to kick away from Hester on kickoffs, but even that can get a team in trouble if the kick goes out of bounds.”

Jonathan: Will John Fox finish the year in Carolina?

Eric: “I think he will. In 2001, George Seifert went 1-15, and kept his job until the end of the season. Jerry Richardson (to date) is not a believer in making a coaching change mid-season. I don’t necessarily agree with it; if it was my decision to be made, I’d make a change going into the Bye Week, and turn the reins over to defensive coordinator Ron Meeks as a trial period in finding the team’s new head coach.”

Jonathan: Game prediction???

Eric: “I’m going with Chicago in this one. Carolina stands a decent shot at beating the Bears, but I’m going to be cautious, and stick with my “no wins until after the Bye” mantra…Chicago 24 Carolina 17.”

Thanks Eric!!! Here are my answers to his questions…

Eric: How confident are you in the Bears starting quarterback Todd Collins?

Jonathan: “Not at all…But Mike Martz has proven he can get things out of quarterbacks people have little faith in…Caleb Hanie may still play if Collins is ineffective, but as of now, I’m not very confident. Chicago Bears GM last season failed to address the back-up running back position, and the results were a disaster. An issue I have with Lovie Smith and company was they allowed rookie Dan LeFevour to take most of the snaps during the preseason, and released him at the end of training camp. While Hanie got hurt in the first game, the Chicago Bears needed to get a quarterback ready and not spend the whole preseason getting LeFevour ready for the Bengals.”

Eric: After allowing nine sacks to the New York Giants, how effective can the Bears offensive line be at protecting Collins?

Jonathan: “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I am not as concerned about the Panters defensive line. I think there were two factors going against the Chicago Bears last Sunday evening. One was that Cutler did have time on at least two of those sacks, but I believe he may have suffered the concussion earlier in the game based on some reports that are coming out. The other is that the Giants were playing so poorly that something had to give. It was the Chicago Bears. So, with that being said, the Panthers will probably have 15 sacks. The Bears are going to keep it simple with short passes and attempt to run the ball…get ready for some extremely boring football.”

Eric: Which tackle do you think the Bears will line Julius Peppers up against, RT Geoff Schwartz or LT Jordan Gross? How effective will Pep be against either?

Jonathan: “Peppers is a manchild. As you know, he can dominate anywhere on the field. Peppers as usually on the right side, but they have been moving him around to create more opportunities.”

Eric: How dominating will the Bears special teams — specifically return game — be?

Jonathan: “Devin Hester finally showed us his old form. Danieal Manning may suck suck suck as a safety, but he is a good return man. Johnny Knox reminds me of a young Steve Smith. So the Chicago Bears have three really strong returners. If Carolina kicks to Hester, the Chicago Bears may find a way to get something out of that situation.”

Eric: What is one area of concern about the Panthers that the Bears need to focus on?

Jonathan: “The obvious answer is your pass rush. Based on last Sunday, the Chicago Bears couldn’t block anyone. The Panthers have two good running backs. If Carolina can run the ball, this will be ugly for Chicago. But I am guessing there will be Bears in the backfield all game especially with Jimmy Clausen at QB.”

Eric: Anything else you would like to add?

Jonathan: “Many of us in Chicago were nervous about the news before Cutler was ruled out, and now panic has reached the streets. Based on last Sunday and no Cutler, the Chicago Bears may play with a little something to prove. But with this team, anything can happen.”

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