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Monday,

12-17-07

8:30 pm game:

Chicago Bears (5-8) vs. Minnesota Vikings (7-6)

Location: Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN

The

Bears were knocked out of the playoffs last Thursday when they lost to the

Redskins.  The winners of their last 4

games, the Vikes continue to hold on to the last playoff spot in the NFC.  With both of these teams being in the NFC

North/Central, the Bears would love to play spoilers against their old “Black

and Blue” division rivals and knock the Vikes out of the playoffs.  By the numbers, that’s not going to happen.

Offensively,

the Vikes are ranked 13th in total offense in the NFL while the

Bears are ranked 22nd.  The

Vikes have the #1 ranked rushing offense in the league while the Bears are

ranked 30th in the NFL.  In

passing offense, the Bears are ranked 14th in the NFL while the

Vikes are ranked 31st. 

Despite their ranking in the bottom of the NFL’s passing category, the

Vikes offense has shown some flashes of passing the ball effectively in their

last 4 games. 

Defensively,

both teams are in the “middle of the road”. 

The Vikes are ranked 11th in total defense while the Bears

are ranked 19th in the league. 

In passing defense, the Bears are ranked 26th in the NFL

while the Vikes are ranked last overall. 

Against the rush the Bears are ranked 20th in the league and

the Vikes are the #1 ranked rushing defense. 

There’s your edge.

The

Bears have been inconsistent all year on both sides of the ball mainly due to

injuries.  The Bears, like so many other

teams in the league, have played the “QB Shuffle” this season and this game is

no exception.  The Bears will start 3rd

year QB, Kyle Orton in place of Brian Griese and Rex

Grossman.  It looks as though Head

Coach Lovie Smith is looking to play young guys now, so that he can

prepare for the future.

QB Tavaris

Jackson is growing to be a solid QB in the NFL.  He’s not great, but he does just enough to

get by in the NFL and does a solid job of managing the game on the field. Since

the Vikes passing game is still trying to find it’s place in the offense, RB Adrian

Peterson and the Vikes rush offense seems to be the focal point in this

game.  The last time these two teams

matched-up, the Vikes won that 34-31. 

Peterson ran for 224 yards on 20 carries and scored 3 TDs

that day.  With the Bears’ defense

hurting like it is, look for Peterson to try to reenact that performance. 

The key

match-up in this game will be the Bears’ O-line vs. the Vikes’ rushing

offense.  The Bears have to attack right

when the ball is snapped and force the Vikes to throw the ball.  Also, with the Vikes having the better

offense, the Bears have to keep the Vikes offense off of the field.  Orton and the Bears offense has to use smart

ball control and eat up the clock as much as possible.

The

Vikes have to go after Orton and put pressure on him so that he can make

mistakes on defense.  On offense, the

Vikes cannot stray away from their game plan. 

They have to stick to what they have been doing in the last 4

games.  They have to continue to move the

ball on the ground and look for the play-action pass for big gains through the

air.

With the

Vikes riding on momentum at the moment and the Bears looking to prepare for

next season, the Vikes are the better team in this match-up.  But just because the Vikes have the better

numbers, it doesn’t mean they will blow the Bears out.  This will be a close game and possibly one of

the better MNF games we will see this year.   

My

Pick: Vikings