Bears Blitz

Published by Robert Bonner on January 2, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

As an avid listener of Chicago sports talk radio I am no stranger to a certain type of fan known as the “Meathead.”

Meatheads are numerous in their numbers and excruciatingly loud in their voices. Their analysis and logic are generally over-simplistic and their rhetoric known for their catchphrases of, “He’s a winner” or, “Where’s the passion?” In order to keep my sanity I have usually passed by the regurgitation of sports stupidity without thought.

But this week the meatheads have won. They have managed to come up with an idea so insane, so illogical, so senseless, that I have been sucked into the fray. Michael Corleone, circa the “The Godfather: Part III,” feels my pain.

This week’s outcry for the Bears to play their starters for the duration of Sunday’s meaningless Week 17 matchup with the Packers has dumbfounded me. I knew that meatheads loved their deep-dish pizza versus dairy products rivalry, but I never thought they would prioritize that over a chance to win a Super Bowl.

And that is exactly what playing the Bears starters for the duration of Sunday’s game does. It jeopardizes everything this team has accomplished thus far. Lining up players such as Jay Cutler, Brian Urlacher and Matt Forte for four quarters is an unnecessary risk, in sports’ most dangerous game. With an already shaky offensive line, and the Packers in desperation mode, do you really want Jay Cutler being stared down by Clay Matthews, in essentially a well-attended scrimmage?

I’ve heard all the arguments. You don’t want your starters to sit for two straight weeks, the Bears need to end the regular season on a winning note and most of all the Packers are so dangerous we have to knock them out now while we still have the chance.

Well, it’s hard to be logical with a meathead, but I will now begin to try.

First, having the Bears sit for one half of one game will have no bearing on the Bears’ playoff journey. Timing will not be ruined, and players will not forget how to play football by sitting the second half of the Packers game.

Next, winning or losing the last game of the regular season is irrelevant to postseason success. Even a quick look at recent Bears postseasons have shown how meaningless this wrapup game is. Remember 2006, Soldier Field, Bears vs. Packers, better known as Rex Grossman’s audition for the New Year’s Day “Hangover.” Well, that postseason turned out pretty well, if I remember correctly.

Lastly is the theory that the Packers are so dangerous that the Bears must knock them out of the playoffs now or fear postseason doom at the hand of their rivals later. Well, if the Packers are so dangerous, what makes you think the Bears can beat them at Lambeau in Week 17, more than a NFC Championship game in Chicago?

If the remote possibility of the Bears matching up with the Packers in the playoff happens, and that would only occur in the NFC Championship, wouldn’t you be happy to the see the Bears in a championship game at home, versus a team they have already beat, than going to Atlanta, where the Falcons are nearly unbeatable?

Look, I understand that if the Falcons somehow manage to lose to the Panthers and the Saints blow one at home versus the Buccaneers, all this goes out the window. With a chance to secure home-field throughout the playoffs, Sunday’s game versus the Packers becomes monumental. But let’s be honest, in a season where the Bears have received their fair share of Christmas gifts, I think Santa Goodell and the NFL are not going to gift-wrap the Bears this chance. With that, Sunday’s game can only bring negatives.

There is no advantage to beating the Packers this week.

So when you see a healthy dose of Khalil Bell, a Thanksgiving-sized helping of Craig Steltz and an oversized Christmas bow of Todd Collins, have sanity, and an eye on the Super Bowl, to thank.

Read more Chicago Bears news on BleacherReport.com