We have received hundreds of dollars in donations for the holiday drive above. Hopefully that will continue. $2 buys a composition book and with AREENA matching, it actually buys two. You can donate HERE.
Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears This Week?
I always like the Chicago Bears. And with the USMNT out of the World Cup, I don’t have another team to root for. But hey, Tiger Woods may be back.
Poem
i hear the fox whisper, whisper to me
i hear the fox whisper, behind the oak tree
come help me he says, with anxious dismay
i’ve lost, oh i’ve lost, oh i’ve lost my damn way
—–
once i could run
now i can not
once i defended
myself from this lot
once all my plans and ideas seemed to work
now here i stand, an omnivorous jerk
—–
his whispers receded, he wandered away
where he was headed, no one could say
i’ll always remember, this time with the fox
but now there may be less than eight in the box
Five Thoughts on Bears / Bengals
- Andy Dalton isn’t a great quarterback (by any means) but it won’t take great quarterbacking to beat this current crop of Bears defenders. Their best pass rusher is an overworked defensive tackle and the Bengals will stick two offensive linemen on Hicks and give Dalton all day to throw. How much time do you think A.J. Green needs to find holes in this secondary? Answer: Not as much as he’ll have Sunday. Green’s line: 11 catches, 165 yards, 2 TDs.
- Here’s a stat for you. The 49ers are allowing 123.9 yards per game on the ground. Bears running backs gained 43 yards. The Bengals? They allow 123.8 yards per game on the ground. Can the Bears run for more than 50 yards against what will be at least an 8-man box on almost every first and second down?
- Oddly enough, the Bears coaching staff sticking with Tarik Cohen on returns is finally starting to pay off. Cohen isn’t Hester because Hester is the greatest to ever return a kick. But he is a player that’s going to force opposing special teams coordinators to adjust their weekly game plans. And the Bears saw the impact of that throughout the Hester era.
- I’ve stopped asking for the Bears to coach Mitch Trubisky properly. They’re not going to do it. They’re going to run into loaded boxes and then ask Tru to sit in a crowded pocket and wait for the league’s worst receiving corps to shake loose from defensive backs. And guess what? It’s not going to work. For the Bears, the key is keeping Tru healthy over this final month of the season, working on his fundamentals and then getting him the right guidance come January (or post-Super Bowl).
- Cincinnati is one of the worst rushing teams in the league. And only two teams – Detroit and Arizona – run it less. This is not a game where the Bengals should be able to control the time of possession to the degree the Niners did. That means the Bears will have possessions.
Tweet of the Week
Ben Macadoo more like Ben MacAdieu
— Jessica Smetana (@jessica_smetana) December 4, 2017
Game Prediction
No pass rush. Stale offense lacking any imagination or creativity. On the road.
Cincinnati Bengals 30
Chicago Bears 17
