Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on December 17, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

If you aren’t already aware, the Bears can win the NFC North on Monday night with a win over the Minnesota Vikings coupled with a loss by the Green Bay Packers.  The Packers play the New England Patriots and may be without quarterback Aaron Rodgers so it looks like New England may not have too much to worry about there.

If there was ever a perfect time for the Bears to clinch the NFC North Monday night is it.  They cannot afford to lie down and take their second loss in a row.  They have to be ready to play on Monday night and they should be after the game that they had on Sunday.

If they want to win the North this is the easiest scenario for them to follow.  In looking at the Packers game against the Patriots, New England is playing very well right now and with the possibility that Rodgers may not play, the chances of New England winning that game are almost assured.

So what do the Bears need to do to win on Monday night?  First they have to center on getting pressure on the Vikings quarterback whoever that quarterback may be.  It’s doubtful that Brett Favre will be available for this game and backup Tavares Jackson, who is injured as well, was just placed on injured reserve.  That leaves third string quarterback Joe Webb, who has a hamstring pull, as the starter.

You would think that the Bears would be able to feast on a third string quarterback like that but remember what happened to them in Detroit just two weeks ago when they went against third string quarterback Drew Stanton?  They allowed him to move the ball down the field with ease and almost beat the Bears.

Chicago can’t fall into that same trap and allow a third string quarterback to run the tables on their defense.  They need to get solid pass pressure against Webb and force him to make mistakes and turn the ball over.  If they can do that, the Bears will win the game.

One thing that Minnesota is well known for is running the ball and they have Adrian Peterson.  Peterson is very capable of running the ball against the Bears and we have seen him stick it to Chicago’s defense time and again.  But, in the first meeting between these two teams earlier in the year, the Bears shut down Peterson and didn’t let him beat them up like he had in the past.  Peterson is also playing hurt so that will work in the Bear’s favor as well.

Despite all of the talk of field conditions and where the game is going to be played, the Bears know exactly what they have to do to win this game.  They know what’s at stake and they know that winning here (coupled with a Green Bay loss to the Patriots) would be a nice way for them to get into the playoffs and win the NFC North.

It would be much easier than making it come down to the last game against the Packers.  By then quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be ready to go and if the NFC North is still open, it will be a dogfight.  Why not just make it easy on themselves and win it this Monday night?

The Bears know how to win and they know how to win against the Vikings.  They know how to play in the conditions that they will be playing in on Monday night and they know what it takes to win in those conditions.  They know that they have to win in those conditions.

Don’t expect the Bears to lie down and lose this game.  It will be a hard fought game and with some help from the Patriots, the Bears can win the North and get back into the playoffs.

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