FrontRowTickets.com has been a great sponsor of the game previews this season. I encourage all our readers to give the above image a click and check out what they have to offer. (I’m imagine prices will be quite reasonable by the time the weather changes.)

THE GAME POEM

In a caffeinated city, darkened by the nimbus of perpetual rainfall

An umbrella is raised.

                      Quietly. Sadly.

As if by a man apologetic for wanting to remain unsoiled by the coming drizzle.

A NOT-SO-QUICK THOUGHT

There is a growing movement of individuals wishing for the Bears to “tank” the season to increase their draft position. This is a flimsy position. Here’s why:

• The only position tank-worthy is the sure thing quarterback. And people don’t realize how rare those are. How many QBs in the league essentially guarantee their team will be in the playoffs/a playoff contender? 4-5? And outside of Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning, how many of those do you think were top 10 draft picks? Roethlisberger wasn’t. Brady and Rodgers weren’t. Do you believe Drew Brees or Joe Flacco or Russell Wilson is one of those guys? None of them in the top ten. (Eli Manning and Phil Rivers have proven they don’t put their team in the postseason every year.)
• Is there a guaranteed elite quarterback in this draft? The two consensus first rounders are Cal’s Jared Goff and Michigan State’s Connor Cook. Are either organization changers? (And for me, Robert Nkemdiche is the second coming of Suh.)
• The Bears don’t have to tank. They’re not any good. They can go out there and fight like hell every week and still not win more than 5 games. (Especially if Jimmy Clausen remains involved.)

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Made some overreacting mistakes to the first week of the season, especially in the Rams/Redskins game. Still can’t believe the Rams team that played the Redskins Sunday was the same that beat Seattle to open the year. Lines can be found here.

BALTIMORE -3 OVER CINCINNATI

Here’s the logic: I don’t believe the Ravens are an 0-3 team. And I think they (much like the Seahawks) will be refreshed by playing their first home game and deliver a big effort.  Ravens 30, Bengals 24.

Chicago at Seattle: TOTAL POINTS OVER 43.5

The Bears are going to have trouble scoring points with Jimmy Clausen starting at quarterback but I don’t think that means they’ll be shutout by a defense that has struggled mightily coming out of the 2015 gates. And the Seahawks would be disappointed finishing this game with less than 28 points. I say the game goes over. Seahawks 31, Bears 20

Tennessee Titans Total Points Over 21 vs. Indy

I have been unabashed in my hatred of the way Colts GM Ryan Grigson has built this roster around Andrew Luck. In lieu of offensive linemen or defenders, Grigson has stockpiled aged skill players the team doesn’t need. Luck will probably throw another pick or two and Marcus Mariota should be able to gauge the Colts for large chunks of yardage on the ground. Colts 34, Titans 30.

Season Record: 2-3-1 (-$140)

Looking Back

It wasn’t all bad.

Really, it wasn’t.

Without their best wide receiver and with a makeshift offensive line, the Bears drove down the field against one of the best defenses in the league and scored touchdowns twice.

Then Cutler got hurt.

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A Note on the Super Bowl

I hear a lot of Bears fans say, “I’m not even going to watch the Super Bowl for this reason or that reason or the other reason or a few different reasons than the other reason.” There’s a sadness to that sentiment. This is the Sunday wherein the sport’s history is written. What is past – regular season, wild card, divisional, title games – is merely prologue.

Fans of the thirty teams not represented in Glendale watch this game with dreams in their hearts. Everything a Bears should want from their club will be represented by the two teams battling this tonight. Every emotion a Bears fan should want to experience will be felt by one of the club’ fan bases well through the evening hours.

This is the Super Bowl.

It has to happen.

You can listen to any sports radio show in the country and hear hundreds of analysts breaking down the nuances of this wonderful Super Bowl match-up. (And it is a wonderful match-up.) But for me, the most amazing moments of Super Bowl XLIX will be after the game has been played. Because then, on the stage at midfield, commissioner Roger Goodell and NBC’s Dan Patrick will hand the Lombardi Trophy to Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick. Then those same gentlemen will hand the Super Bowl MVP trophy to Tom Brady.

It will be the glorious conclusion of all this deflation of football drama. And it will present the Kraft, Belichick, Brady trio the grandest stage in all of television to smugly address a suspect public and antagonistic media. Sports are always great theatre. No Super Bowl postgame scenario will have ever been more drama laden.

New England Patriots 24, Seattle Seahawks 16

PS.

I can’t get the images of the Seahawks v. Packers game out of my head. Seattle was awful for the entirety of regulation. No pressure. No passing game. Penalties galore. And after Green Bay had gifted them the lead late their “legendary” defense allowed Aaron Rodgers to walk down the field for the field goal. (Don’t legendary defenses NOT do that?) Two things I believe: (1) If Seattle had settled for a field goal in overtime they would have been beaten by Rodgers and (2) I believe the best team in the NFC is home right now. The Patriots don’t allow fake field goal touchdowns or onside kick recoveries. They are too well-coached for that.

THREE THOUGHTS ON THE GAME ITSELF

• The outcome of Seahawks v. Packers disguised the story of Seahawks v. Packers: Seattle’s complete lack of pass rush. If Aaron Rodgers had mobility the game would never have been in question (and let’s be honest, it should not have been in question anyway). Tom Brady’s two Super Bowl losses to Tom Coughlin and the Giants had a similar theme. The Giants pressured him. They pressured him consistently. If the Seahawks don’t they will need to score a lot of points to win this game.
• Who is Richard Sherman covering? The Patriots have no issue not throwing the ball out wide so are the Seahawks going to allow their best cover man to be relegated to Brandon LaFell all evening? The middle of the Seahawks defense can be attacked and I would expecte Edelman and Gronk to live there most of the night.
• Steve McNair still holds the Super Bowl record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 64. I expect the Seahawks to try and break that record with Russell Wilson. Pete Carroll can say whatever he wants but he learned a week ago his quarterback is at a severe disadvantage when chasing the game. Pats will want to be aggressive on the edges. Expect Wilson to take advantage of that and hit them for some zone read runs.

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It is one of only two times I’ll say it all year but here goes.

Go Lions.

Chicken parm you taste so good.

Administrative note: DBB’s LINKS section – located along the right rail – is now operational again and will be updated regularly. It will not be the regular old beat writer/columnist stuff. It will be specifically curated material for Bears fans that might not be on their normally beaten path.