Bears and Vikings have legitimate defenses, and we all know what defense does.

Tired of hearing about the (0-2) Panthers.

I like how I hear about Eli leading the Giants to a spectacular victory over the Eagles. Or maybe it was just the Eagles choking like they always do when it comes down to the end.

I'll trade you Chuckie & the Cadillac for Brad Johnson!

i miss brad johnson. of course, we all know that his arm was too far gone for the bucs to keep him, so i must be in the minority.

I lived in Chicago for a few years and went to several games in the old Soldier Field. What a great experience that was. The Bears will always be my #2 team and they are looking GREAT this year. Bears fans deserve something good after Cade McNown....

Ahem.. Go Colts!

As a diehard Giant's fan since birth ( my dad used to be one of the lucky season ticket holders) I always enjoy it when the Giant's beat up on the FEABLES....especially since I went to college in Philadelphia.

I think the fans in philadelphia are amazing. They just do their "E-A-G-L-E-S" chant like proud 5 year olds that just learned how to spell, or 20 year old mentally retarted individuals with the mind of a 5 year old. You pick.

I have to admit having lived in Philly for years...Eagles fans are a special breed. They also like to drink heavily...so there's always beer flowing at the Eagles games.

The Bears seem legit, but with wins against Green Bay and Detroit it's hard to tell.

Can't wait for MNF. The Steelers still need to find a running back who's good for 20+ carries a game. I'm not sure Willie Parker is the guy.

Back to the NFC North...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: pintoirish,

I would not feel good AT ALL if I were a Philly fan right now. It is never a good sign when your team blows a substantial lead late in the game.

I recognize that the NFC East will always have its *** kissed. Three east coast teams, big cities, plus "America's Team." But not one of those teams has looked like a true Super Bowl contender.

And the Bears have given up a grand total of 7 points. That's hard to do in the NFL regardless of how pathetic the opposing team is.

The Bears/Vikings game this weekend will be one of the best games of the weekend, if not THE best.

quote:

Originally posted by Coriolanus:


And the Bears have given up a grand total of 7 points. That's hard to do in the NFL regardless of how pathetic the opposing team is.

Unless they played the Bucs back to back!

Seriously though you are right, the Bears are for real now.

quote:

Seriously though you are right, the Bears are for real now.

The only thing about the Bears I am not sold on is their offense. Never did I think I would say this, but the Vikings have what will probably turn out to be a top 5 defense. So let's see how the Bears do against them. If the Bears shred the Viking defense, then I think they could be a contender.

It is nice having a defense again. It's been years since the Vikings had the ability to get a stop or a big sack on third down.

The Eagles, in the second half, looked like my high school team, absolutely pathetic. They should be ashamed of themselves. 24-7 going into the final quarter and you lose by 6, f'n pathetic.

That's because the Vikings finally got rid of Randy Moss. You can't have a good defense or good team with him on it.

quote:

Originally posted by punched:
That's because the Vikings finally got rid of Randy Moss. You can't have a good defense or good team with him on it.

Can't pin sucky defense on Moss. The secondary was absolutely horrible when he was around. Once he left, they got guys like Winfield, Sharper, Smoot, and now Dwight Smith. No pass rush when he was around, either. I honestly believe the coaches thought they were going to score 50 points a game, thus rendering defense unimportant. Remember the Oilers when they had Moon, Haywood Jeffires, and Ernest Givens with the Run n' Shoot? Remember what Frank Reich and the Bills did to them in the playoffs? Same theory.

Actually with the salary cap in place, playing people like Moss & the other O players a lot of $$$$ so they think they'll score 40 points a game doesn't leave $ for a respectable defense.

Aside from that he's just a big open cancerous sore on a football team IMO.

Anyway, I'm glad to see the Vikings play well again.

Well, growing up 90 miles from Chicago, I've always been a Bears fan,always will be. That's more of a statement considering that I live in Detroit and the semi-pro team we have here is a disgrace to the league. I agree that the Bears defense is tough, but their offense is always suspect. I'm surprised they have scored as many points as they have so far. But I'm glad they have.

I'm hardly sold on the Vikes defense yet. They've held in check two teams who had start players on the DL who have honestly not looked good in their other game either. I think this game will be more of a barometer for the Vikes defense than the Bears offense. I really don't see the Vikes receivers (who are they anyway?) nor Chester Taylor producing anything near a spectacular outing so it will be up to the Vikes defense to keep them in this game.

The Bears proved last year that their defense is legit and it looks, quite possibly, more imposing this year than last. What in the hell do they put in the brew up there anyway? Da Bears produce Hall of Fame linebackers as consistently as a lit cigar produces smoke. Urlacher is a beast.

At this point I think the Bears are weak in the following areas:

Run defense. So far it is the only area of the defense that has not been overwhelmingly impressive. They have allowed a few "big" runs that frankly I didn't think they should have. Ahman Green is a hell of a RB, but he should not have been allowed to get to 100 yards in the opener. They held Detroit to far less, but I'm not sure how much that actually says. In the end I might be demanding too much. The next couple games will determine that.

Run offense. The Bears have traditionally been a team that can pound the ball on the ground and been weak in the air. Things are bit different now that they've got a decent QB, but the necessity of having a good running game is still there. It isn't that bad (200 yards over two games), but it could be better. With that offensive line the Bears' backs should be getting over 100 yard mark each game easy. Like Lovie Smith, I'm not worried yet, but I'm hoping for a marked improvement in the coming weeks.

Charles Tillman. In my opinion he is the weakest link in the Bears defense. I'll admit he draws some tough marks from week to week, but that scares me, and teams have exploited him in the past. He's a talented player, no question, but sometimes his play has cost the Bears, and I think he's a liability every game.

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how the Bears do against a more legitimate opponent this weekend as it will be their first real test of this season.