Bears Blitz

NFL Picks Week 7: How Chicago Bears Could Join NFC North Race vs. Tampa Bay Bucs

Published by Brian Mazique on October 22, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The Bears’ schedule has been brutal, but now they are in a rare stretch with two winnable games in a row.

They catch a break by not having to play Tampa Bay in Florida. The NFL schedule-makers and NFL International have cheated the Bucs out of a traditional home game.

The Bears and Buccaneers square off Sunday in the league’s annual London game.

The Bears are obviously the more popular franchise and figure to have the support of the crowd, especially with Devin Hester. He’s likely to be the player most fans at Wembley Stadium recognize.

On the field, the Bucs will be without LeGarrette Blount and Josh Freeman has been very inconsistent. The Bears are coming off their most impressive victory of the year over the Minnesota Vikings.

Granted, the Vikings are horrible, but the Bears have beaten the teams they should and struggled against elite squads.

The Bucs are not elite. That was obvious after they were destroyed 48-3 by the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5. Since then, the Niners have proven themselves to be among the NFC’s best.

The Bucs rebounded from that setback with a 26-20 win over the New Orleans Saints.

I honestly believe much of that victory was attributed to the disarray on the Saints’ sideline due to head coach Sean Payton’s injury.

To beat the Bears, opposing teams need good QB play. Freeman did have a 300-yard passing performance in Week 6, but the Bucs’ passing game is not dynamic.

Without Blount, the Bucs won’t be able to pound the ball inside to create the play-fake opportunities required to open up the passing game.

The Bears will win a close contest by a 19-13 score.