Bears Blitz

Published by Marcus S on December 29, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Jay Cutler stepped up big this week to lead the Bears over the Vikings.

The Indianapolis Colts had a great opportunity to make history, but their head coach decided that resting his players to protect them from injury was the best course of action to give the Colts the best chance of reaching the Super Bowl.  If you read my previous article on the Indianapolis Colts passing on their opportunity to make history http://www.thesportssession.net/?p=152 then you know my feelings on the subject.

It’s been widely debated and talked about in sports circles over the past few days, and ultimately I think it was the wrong decision.  But I find it quite interesting that Jim Caldwell felt the need to come out and defend his decision in his press conference.  The one mistake Caldwell made in his decision which he was totally justified in doing, is he underestimated the reaction of the normally docile Colts fans who were not happy and booed during the game.  This is almost unheard of at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Tracy McGrady and the Rockets have agreed to part ways after McGrady took a leave of absence from the team to contemplate his future.  It’s understandable why the Rockets want to get rid of the oft injured McGrady even though I feel his is still a top 15 player in the league.  They owe him $23 million this season which is the final year of his contract, that fact alone will make him a much sought after commodity because they commitment is only for this season.

It appears they are working on a trade to send him packing, I feel McGrady will land on his feet somewhere and make a decent comeback, but never to the form he once was when he was in Orlando and Toronto.  At least he had enough pride to want to play and not settle to sit on the bench with the highest salary on the team, a lot of players might not have done that.  Not sure what teams are currently talking to the Rockets about his services, but I have to think that the New Jersey Nets could use a Marquee player that still has something left in the tank as they lack a go to player right now.

The Minnesota Vikings are on a two game losing streak after they lost to the Chicago Bears 36 – 30 on Monday Night Football.  Jay Cutler came up big throwing for 273 yards and four touchdowns, this was by far his best game fo the season and you could see he had something to prove.  The Vikings seem to be crumbling under their own weight and a costly Adrian Peterson fumble in overtime setup the game winning TD pass for the Bears.

The Vikings are clearly a flawed team they were gashed on special teams by the Bears, gave up several big pass plays, and could not consistently run the football.  The Bears were actually able to pressure Favre for most of the game despite losing three defensive starters to injury during the game.  This game opens up a chance for the Eagles, Cowboys, and Cardinals to get the second seed in the NFC, and now clinches the No. 1 seed for the Saints and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.  There still seems to be some sort of infighting going on between Favre and Childress based on their comments in the post game interviews, we can only wait and see how this affects them in the playoffs.

The Lakers sure have fallen on hard times in the past week, Ron Artest falls in his home and injures his elbow and sustained a concussion.  How one falls at his home and injures himself in such a way is really beyond my comprehension, but with that injury the Lakers have lost to the Suns and Cavaliers in the last week both games were blowouts.  They did manage a victory over Sacramento in the middle of those losses, but clearly without Artest it’s going to take the Lakers a little while to adjust.

I really feel that the Lakers are vulnerable even with their dominant record I believe Boston, Orlando, and Cleveland can all give the Lakers all they can handle in a 7 game playoff series.  I don’t think there is really a team in the West that is going to give them trouble, I think they will easily make it to the NBA Finals depending on how healthy they stay over the course of the season.  Hopefully things will be more competitive in the West and teams will catch up with the Lakers because the playoffs will be boring out West if none of the other teams step up to give them a challenge.

The College Bowl season is in full swing, and one theme that continues to be heard is how the Mountain West conference is undefeated and this proves they should get an automatic bid to the BCS.  Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, Wyoming beat Fresno State big whoop, Utah beat an inconsistent Cal Bears team who didn’t have their best player.  Then to top it off BYU beat Oregon State soundly in the Maaco bowl, everyone are touting these wins as some sort of big accomplishment.  Out of all those games the only one that is somewhat impressive is BYU destroying Oregon State, but it was clear early in the game Oregon State did not want to be there, or they spent way too much time partying in Vegas and not focusing on the game.

People quickly forget when BYU was undefeated and still glowing in their big win over Oklahoma to start the season, a mediocre Florida State football team when to Provo and beat them soundly it wasn’t even close.  Florida State did not even come close to competing in the ACC this season, and they pummel one of the Mountain Wests best teams?  I will give the Mountain West credit for being a conference that has several solid teams and one great team in TCU THIS SEASON, but lets see if these teams can consistently win over the next few years before saying that conference is one of the best in the country.

Thanks for Reading!!

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