Bears Blitz

Published by Rob Belote on November 11, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Nine weeks have passed in the NFL season, and it’s time for me to bring my craziness here for you all to rip apart. Each week, the contributors at GuysNation get together and talk NFL. I take notes, I factor in my perspective and then formulate NFL Power Rankings.

Are they perfect? I like to think so, but I like to have people tear apart my logic. I take constructive criticism, and I can change my opinion accordingly if people make enough sense.

Power Rankings are complicated things—or at least when I over-think them and take into account the margin of victory, where the game was played, team momentums and, in some cases, how teams perform in the fourth quarter.

So where, oh where, do the Monsters Of The Midway rank?

At 5-3, the Chicago Bears are easily in the top half of the league, but top 12? Let’s look at their resume:

They beat a Falcons team in Week 1 that started out the year on a rough patch, though the 18-point differential was good.

Then came the Saints game, where they lost by nearly the same margin as the week before. It was contested in New Orleans, so a loss there isn’t a huge problem.

When the Packers came to town, the Bears couldn’t fend off their divisional foe and lost a game they should’ve won if they intend to contend for the NFC North crown.

Their follow-up in Week 4 saw Carolina come to town, and instead of handling their business against a relatively sub-par squad, the Bears only won by five—less than a touchdown—at Soldier Field, against the team who had the first overall pick last season.

A trip to Detroit yielded a loss to the Lions, but that’s not a problem because it’s a divisional road game against a VERY strong team. Eleven points isn’t terrible, but there are plenty of other teams who are able to keep opponents to a single-digit point differential.

Kicking Minnesota’s ass by 29 points in Week 6? Eh, not impressed. The Vikings are fairly terrible this season.

Going to Tampa Bay and beating the Buccaneers by six? Could’ve been a little better against an average opponent, but it was a road game against a team that some people think can make the playoffs.

Following their Week 8 bye, the Bears took their talents east to battle the NFL Dream Team, and as a fan of a team in the NFC East not in Pennsylvania, I’m happy to report that Chicago defeated the Eagles. A six-point victory on the road is almost like a nine-point win on a neutral field, and the Eagles are better than their record suggests—so I give Chicago credit for that.

All told, they have a decent resume. Some up spots, some down spots, but they do quality work most weeks. That’s why I have them listed at number 11. In fact, only a couple of the 5-3 teams are ranked ahead of them, and they’re ahead of at least one 6-2 team.

If you want to check out the rest of the Power Rankings, you can view them over at GuysNation, and if you really want to hit me where it hurts or show me the love, that’s where you’ll leave your comments. And here. Leave them both places, if you will… but you should bear in mind that FOLLOWing me on Twitter (@GuysNation) and LIKE’ing me on Facebook.com/GuysNation should almost be considered your civic duty…

…or at least maybe a gift for my upcoming birthday.

Or maybe it’s just something you’ll want to do because we have awesome articles, some of which include half-naked (or mostly naked) women hot enough to be in Playboy… which is true because most of them have already been in Playboy (like for reals).

We rule, bottom line.

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