Bears x Patriots, here we go!!!!!

[kamandi]

The Patriots, leading the whole AFC, made their case that they could be the best in the NFL, when they put a shellacking on a very solid Jets team, running up 45 points against the NFL's 4th best defense, and limiting them to only 3 points.

They are a team with a ton of talented new players, who's offense has always been good, and who's defense is now coming into it's own. Despite a lot of young players, they play at a high level, because of Brady and Bellichick.

The Bears, 2nd in the NFC, yet probably the most disrespected winning team in the NFL. There is always an excuse for why they win, even after beating such teams as the Packers and the Eagles.

Their main weakness is their OL, which they've been shuffling around for most of the season. The Bears are on a 5 game winning streak, and it's also the number of games this OL has stayed the same. They are still below average both at pass protection and at run blocking, but adjustments in offensive schemes and playcalling has made the offense more effective, and took some pressure away from the OL. Cutler still gets sacked each game, but much less than before. The Bears defense and special teams are among the best in the NFL.

Everyone heavily favors the Pats, and rightfully so.

I think the Bears have a good shot at another ugly, lucky, controversial win. The way the Bears bring pressure on the QB is a lot similar to how the Giants did it in 2007 when they beat the Patriots in the Superbowl. Another thing about these Bears is that they're grinders; they find ways to beat superior opponents, and I think they have a good shot at the Patriots as long as they can make Brady and their offense work for their points and limit the big plays. Keep the overall score manageable, and the Bears have a shot.

GO BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[iacas]

I think the Jets were one of the most over-rated teams in the NFL. Even more so than my Steelers. Monday's game was no surprise.

And the Bears may be one of the more under-rated teams, you're probably right about that.

[Richie3Jack]

The Jets were playing great up until the last 4 weeks. I don't think Sanchez is quite ready yet. Although I think Schottenheimer sorta hamstrings him too much. The Jets should use Shonn Greene more. I know they made a commitment o LT2, but Green is the superior tailback.

I thought Ryan was badly out-coached by Belichick. It pains me to say that because I'm not a fan of Belichick (not sure how any golfer could be). My contention about SpyGate is that it was akin to playing poker with a cheater and then saying that it was okay to keep playing as long as he didn't cheat anymore even though he just stacked the chip well into his favor. I think Belichick's brilliance was that he used that success to his advantage by getting teams to sign assistants like McD that weren't worth a shit and making trades that worked ridiculously in their favor because supposedly these players 'knew the Patriot way.' By '07 he had Brady, the best deep threat of my generation who was motivated and the best slot WR in my generation. They could score 50 points a game and their defense was no longer effective, but it didn't matter when your offense is posting up that many points.

But it kills me how they are still able to use that mystique and intimidate players and coaches. Jets were down 10-0 and had to punt the ball and Pats got the ball in Jets territory. On a 3rd and 22, for some reason Ryan went away from the blitz and instead rushed 3 and dropped back 8 (which I don't think has worked against NFL QB's since the 80's). Brady makes an easy completion for 19 which puts them in FG range, but instead they get to go for it since it was just 4th and 3 and they score a TD on that play.

It also amazes me how these teams tend to get the idea in their head that they shouldn't blitz Brady when time and time again it's been shown that you have a chance of shutting him down when you blitz him. Sure, you can get burned...but you won't win laying off him.

The Bears have been ugly although Lovie Smith's style of football always intrigues me. His ability to get such great play from ST and Defense, particularly with forcing turnovers is amazing. But on the other hand his inability to run a decent offense amazes me as well.






3JACK

[jamo]

Go Pats!

I might be biased, but that was a great game, and I would expect that a Jets/Pats playoff match-up is pretty likely.

Dec 8, 2010 15:40:19 GMT -5 Richie3Jack said:

...making trades that worked ridiculously in their favor because supposedly these players 'knew the Patriot way.'

I'm not sure that I understand this. The got Randy Moss for a draft pick, after all, not someone who "knew the Patriot way."

[kamandi]

Rex Ryan is actually an excellent head coach, and an excellent defensive coordinator, but Brady was on fire. He saw everything coming a mile away, and his OL was like a wall. The Browns showed early in the season that the way to beat the Patriots was to physically beat the Patriots ... break through that OL to harrass Brady, and ram the ball down the throats of that DL with Peyton Hillis (Cleveland gives a huge, heartfelt thanks to Josh McDaniels). The Jets just couldn't do that; maybe the younger Shonn Greene would do a better job; I'm thinking with LT's age, it would be wise to start resting him a little more to give him fresh legs for the playoffs.

Belichick did cheat, and they might have won crucial games because of it, maybe even a superbowl, there's no going around that.

Belichick and the Pats, however, are showing that they can consistently build very good teams through proper drafting, and get them playing really well through proper coaching and their system. It isn't surprising, though, as Bellichick teams are a lot like his mentor's, Parcells. Parcells has a lot of successful head coaches under his coaching tree. That guy knew how to coach, and to develop coaches under him who made great head coaches.

The Bears weakness, traditionally, is that their culture is hard nosed defense and running the ball. Before getting Mike Martz, they've never really had anyone who's a true expert on passing offenses. It didn't help that Jerry Angelo seems to know nothing about drafting good offensive linemen ... he actually neglects them in favor of defensive players.

If you watch them, the Bears offense is actually pretty darn good. Their weakness in the OL, though, is huge. In '08, Cutler led the league's 2nd best pass offense in the Broncos, as he was one of the least sacked QBs; now with the Bears, he's the most sacked QB. There is rarely enough time for deep plays to develop; most of the time, he just has to get rid of the ball really fast, like he did against the Cowboys. They've adjusted their offense to accommodate the weakness in their OL, and are now very fun to watch. This will become one of the best offenses in the league when they shore up that OL, and to think, they still don't have a true #1 WR.

The Bears are grinders. The Pats are easily the better team, but the Bears find ways to win, so I'm hopeful about this one.