On a night where the Bears had everything to lose, they stood together as a team and mercilessly pummeled the Vikings on their way to their third win of the season. Chicago’s front four battered the hapless Donovan McNabb while Cutler and the offense played keep-away and Devin Hester continued to lay claim to his “Greatest Return Man of All Time” status.
Continue reading "Joe's 2011 Gameday Recap: Bears 39, Vikings 10"
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After their embarrassing, penalty-plagued Monday nighter, the Chicago Bears are in primetime in a divisional match-up for the second straight week, this time taking the Sunday Night Football stage against Minnesota. At risk of falling in last place in the NFC North, the Bears can’t afford to lose.
Continue reading "Joe's 2011 Gameday Preview: Vikings at Bears"
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Always a source of drama, the North collided in the NFC title game when the Packers overtook the Bears on route to their Super Bowl win. Can the Packers repeat as champs? Will Detroit finally take the next step forward? Can Donovan McNabb get the Vikings to the playoffs? This divisional preview is all Black and Blue!Chicago Bears
Continue reading "Joe's 2011 NFL Season Preview: The NFC North"
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One of the biggest questions surrounding this post-lockout free agent frenzy is how dominos will fall at the quarterback position. You know the names, but where should/will they end up? Here are the remaining free agent/on the trading block QB’s and their potential suitors.Kevin Kolb
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As week four in the NFL season ends, turmoil exists across both conferences as no team has established itself as a dominant force. Here are my takes on the stories of week four.
(3-1) Atlanta Falcons 16
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Week three is in the books, and there was plenty of drama to go around. Teams that we thought were playof bound still haven't gotten it together and some teams are surprisingly still unbeaten. Here are the scores and stories that caught my eye from Sunday's action.
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Week one of the NFL is in the books, with plenty of upsets and last-minute finales. Here are the games that grabbed my attention over the first NFL weekend. Overreactions begin!
(1-0) New England Patriots 38
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Billed for years as the most competitive division in the league, the NFC East looks on its way back to fulfilling that claim this season with four legitimate playoff contenders. I throw my predictions into the crazy mix!
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Proving that their shut-out win last week was no fluke, the Dallas Cowboys picked up right where they left off with a 34-14 blowout win over the Philadelphia Eagles Saturday night. In a flag-filled contest (actually setting a playoff record for most penalty yards), only Dallas overcame their mistakes. Philly never stood a chance.
Continue reading "Cowboys send Eagles home with a 34-14 ..."
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Playoffs? Yep, they're here! After another 17 week regular season, the Wild-Card round begins this afternoon with the rematch between NY Jets and Cincinnati Bengals, followed by what could be the game of the weekend. Philadelphia travels to Dallas for the third meeting this season between these NFC East rivals. Time for analysis and predictions! It's the Opening Drive of Wild-Card Saturday!
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Holy idiotic decision Jim Caldwell! This week in the Final Drive features a barrel-full of storylines. The playoff contestants in the NFC were locked in while the AFC remains a dog-fight for the final two playoff spots. Let's wrap up week 16!
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With three utterly craptacular contests on Thanksgiving, I’m looking forward to a little competitive football this Sunday. However, it’s not until Monday that the real showdown of week 12 takes place. Let’s get some Opening Drive in your diet!
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Well, it wasn't a barrage of Jay Cutler interceptions that led to Chicago's loss to Philadelphia at Soldier Field Sunday night. Instead of tossing red zone picks, Cutler played smart and checked down to his receivers, setting up four Robbie Gould field goals. Thing about field goals is, a touchdown's better than two of them. That simple math led to the demise of Lovie Smith's team and the deflation of their playoff hopes as they fall to 4-6.
Continue reading "Different story, same result in Bears' ..."
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The Chicago Bears are losers of four of their last five contests. Their three primetime games this season have all resulted in losses, two of which were especially rich in turnovers. So why am I not convinced the Bears will lay an egg when they play the Eagles this Sunday night? Easy: they're playing at home.
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With all of the surprise upsets, there’s no way I can take the time to properly address them all. I’ll hit the best and worst of week 10 in this edition of the Final Drive!
(3-6) Tennessee Titans 41
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There were a few games I couldn’t even pretend to drum up a story for. Monday night’s Baltimore v. Cleveland match-up is beyond ugly. Still, there's plenty of drama for the week 10 edition of the Opening Drive!
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The last two undefeated teams carried on their winning ways, the last winless team won, the Giants gave one away by kicking a field goal and the Broncos could not hang with the Super Bowl Champs. Let’s wrap up week nine with the Final Drive!
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The last two undefeated teams carried on their winning ways, the last winless team won, the Giants gave one away by kicking a field goal and the Broncos could not hang with the Super Bowl Champs. Let’s wrap up week nine with the Final Drive!
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A slew of division match-ups are highlighted in this week’s NFL schedule. First place is up for grabs in the NFC East and one team hopes to avoid falling further behind the Colts in the AFC South. What games should you be watching? Find out in the Opening Drive of week nine!
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Wow, it was blowout city this weekend. 11 of the 13 NFL games in week 7 were decided by ten points or more. That’s just ridiculous. Maybe it was good I was moving furniture on Sunday… wait, no it still wasn’t. To the Final Drive of week 7!
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In a crazy week six in the NFL, we saw both New York teams fall, one squad completely give up, and three teams continue their undefeated ways. The Final Drive of week six starts right now!
(3-3) Houston Texans 28
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With some downright horrendous match-ups this weekend, this edition of the Opening Drive is shorter than usual. Just writing about Cleveland versus Buffalo would put me to sleep. Let’s get things going with the most anticipated games of week four!
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In week three, two early unbeatens face off at the Metrodome while numerous 0-2 teams try to avoid the near-insurmountable playoff climb out of the 0-3 hole. Let’s get started with this week’s Opening Drive!
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Week one of the 2009 NFL season is in the books. Filled with injuries, blowouts and a dramatic ending out in Cincinnati, let’s take a look around the league in this first edition of the Final Drive!
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Do you smell that? It smells like football! No more preseason, no more scrubs fighting for jobs. It's time for the return of the Opening Drive!
Tennessee Titans at Pittsburgh Steelers
In the Thursday night season opener, we get what should have been last season’s AFC Championship match-up. The eventual Super Bowl winner Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to make another deep postseason run, and they’re talented enough to do it. Running back Rashard Mendenhall is back after spending most of last year on IR with a shoulder injury. During this campaign he’ll begin to see more carries each week as an eventual successor to Willie Parker. Ben Roethlisberger may still have a lot on his mind, but beating the Titans on national TV may cure what ails him. (For now anyway.)
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As football fans across the globe cast their longing eyes in the direction of the April draft, I decided that now might be a good time to reflect on draft classes of the last 10 years. Too often in this business, we rush ahead to the next big event without taking pause to evaluate the past and learn from it. In a way, this study will still be a celebration of the coming 2009 draft as I believe it will shed some light on certain overlooked trends that no one ever stops to consider. I will begin with a class by class showdown of sorts at the quarterback position over the last 10 drafts. First up, we have the class of 1999 taking on that of 2000:
Continue reading "NFL Quarterback Draft Class Showdown: 2000 vs 1999"
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Each week, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend’s games. I will prognosticate on all the playoff games each week. Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling. That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
Because I may be a bit busy with work the next few days, I would like to quickly give my predictions for both the NFC and AFC Championship games occurring this weekend:
Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals: As much as Philly is on a roll right now, I think that (for the umpteenth time) they will be stopped by the Red Birds in the NFC title game. Brian Westbrook is hurting badly, so the Cards may be able to key their defensive plan around pressuring Donovan McNabb into bad situations. On the flip side, the Cardinals play very well at home and finally have a fan base behind them that is tantalizing close to the Promised Land, so excitement shouldn't be a problem. I still think there is a reason why Philly barely made the playoffs this year, and I think we will see it on Sunday. They barely squeaked by the Vikings, and also probably should have had a much closer game with the Giants if not for all the New York mistakes. Prediction: Cardinals 21, Eagles 14
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The crystal ball had a dreadful performance this past week, posting a woeful 1-3 record. This is playoff time, so that is totally unacceptable! The crystal ball started off 1-0, but then dropped its last three for the weekend! Anyway, that puts the crystal ball at 3-5 for the post-season, and 36-31-1 overall. That’s five games over .500 (.537 to be exact). Hopefully the crystal ball will perform better this coming week, as the pressure mounts in the Championship games! Let’s take a look back, and review what happened last week.
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
Each week I will answer questions submitted by my loyal readers. I personally read every single email I receive. I will pick out the best five or so to use for the weekly post, as I won’t be able to answer all of them. I will also answer one or two questions on my daily posts as well. Now it’s time to open the mail!
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
Wildcard weekend had an interesting lineup of games this year. All four road teams (wildcard teams) were favored to win over the home teams (division winners). That’s unusual, but this year it actually makes a lot of sense. Many of the wildcard teams had better records than the division winners. In the end, the underdogs won two of the four games (both 6th seeds defeated the 3rd seeded teams).
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When the Vikings/Eagles wild card playoff matchup was finalized last weekend, the Las Vegas betting line had the home Minnesota Vikings as 10-point underdogs to the visiting Philadelphia Eagles. Personally, I think that a different sort of "line" will be much more important on Sunday, that being the defensive variety...
Posted by Zach Koenig | No comments yet
The crystal ball had a mediocre performance this past week, going a mere 2-2. We’re not sure what happened, but this is not acceptable. The crystal ball took its lumps on the Cowboys game, but it may have been predicting with its heart rather than its fortune-telling powers? Either way, that puts the crystal ball at 33-26-1 for the season. That’s seven games over .500 (.558 to be exact). Hopefully the crystal ball will perform better in the playoffs! Let’s take a look back, and review what happened last week.
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
This past Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys traveled to Lincoln Financial Field to play the Philadelphia Eagles in what was a win and you’re in the playoffs game. This game had a lot of build-up prior kick-off. The Eagles found out, about 15 minutes before the game started, that the stars had aligned for them; the Bears and Buccaneers had both lost. This game had everything football fans wanted. It was the ‘Boys against the Birds, with their playoff destinies on the line.
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
Each week, on Friday, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend’s games. I will always prognosticate on the Eagles and Cowboys games and then pick two or more games of interest (to me, that is, not necessarily to you). Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling. That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
Each week I will answer questions submitted by my loyal readers. I personally read every single email I receive. I will pick out the best five or so to use for the weekly post, as I won’t be able to answer all of them. I will also answer one or two questions on my daily posts as well. Now it’s time to open the mail!
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
The crystal ball had a mediocre performance this past week, going a mere 2-2. We’re not sure what happened, but we will get to the bottom of this. The crystal ball took its lumps on the Cowboys game, but it may have been predicting with its heart rather than its fortune-telling powers? Either way, that puts the crystal ball at 29-22-1 for the season. That’s seven games over .500 (.563 to be exact). Let’s take a look back, and review what happened last week.
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
Each week, on Friday, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend’s games. I will always prognosticate on the Eagles and Cowboys games and then pick two or more games of interest (to me, that is, not necessarily to you). Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling. That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
The crystal ball, once again, had a stellar performance this past week, going undefeated at 4-0. Truly a tremendous achievement, as many of the games had playoff implications. That puts the crystal ball at 29-22-1 for the season. That’s seven games over .500 (.567 to be exact). Not many prognosticators gave the Cowboys much of a chance against the G-Men, but the crystal ball took a chance on them. The ‘Boys rewarded the crystal ball, and pulled off the upset. Let’s review and see what happened last week.
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
Each week, on Friday, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend’s games. I will always prognosticate on the Eagles and Cowboys games and then pick two or more games of interest (to me, that is, not necessarily to you). Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling. That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
Each week I will answer questions submitted by my loyal readers. I personally read every single email I receive. I will pick out the best five or so to use for the weekly post, as I wont be able to answer all of them. I will also answer one or two questions on my daily posts as well. Now it’s time to open the mail!
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
The crystal ball had a stellar week by going undefeated at 4-0. That puts the crystal ball at 23-20-1 for the season. That’s three games over .500 (.534 to be exact). The crystal ball has a slightly sore back this week. You know…with all that patting itself on the back stuff! Let’s review and see what happened last week.
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
Each week I will answer questions submitted by my loyal readers. I personally read every single email I receive. I will pick out the best five or so to use for the weekly post, as I wont be able to answer all of them. I will also answer one or two questions on my daily posts as well. Now it’s time to open the mail!
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
Each week, on Friday, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend games. I will always prognosticate on the Eagles and Cowboys games and then pick two more games of interest (to me, that is, not necessarily to you). Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling. That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
Utopia1dc: Fred, how did you end up in Amarillo? I’ve never been to Pottsville, but it’s not too far from me, but I have been through Amarillo on my way to the Texas Grand Canyon. As for McNabb, he has been given his starting job back for the Turkey Day game. McNabb was severely disrespected by Andy Reid, in my opinion. I don’t see D-Mac returning to Philly next season. The McNabb era is over. The Reid era is in serious jeopardy, as well!
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
Yesterday, the Cowboys defeated the San Francisco 49ers, at Texas Stadium, by a score of 35-22. Don’t let the score fool you, the ‘Boys were in cruise control mid-way through the 2nd quarter. The Cowboys defense started off a little shaky, but they were able to limit the 49ers to field goals. After the 1st quarter, the boys trailed 6-0, but that’s when it happened…the game changed in an instant!
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
Each week, on Friday, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend games. I will always prognosticate on the Eagles and Cowboys games and then pick two more games of interest (to me, that is, not necessarily to you). Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling. That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
Each week I will answer questions submitted by my loyal readers. I personally read every single email I receive. I will pick out the best five or so to use for the weekly post, as I wont be able to answer all of them. I will also answer one or two questions on my daily posts as well. Now it’s time to open the mail!
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
The crystal ball bit off a little more than it could chew this past week. After all was said and done, the crystal ball was 1-2-1. That puts me at 17-18-1 for the season, a little under .500 (approx. .486)…not very good! I went out on a limb with two major upsets, and I got burned…not to mention the debacle (by Philadelphia) in Cincinnati. What’s done is done…so let’s move on; but first, let’s see what went wrong.
Posted by utopia1dc | No comments yet
I will admit that, due to the opening of deer hunting season here in Minnesota, I did not watch the big Vikings/Packers game last Sunday on TV. However, from listening to most of it on the radio and watching all the postgame shows and highlights, I would like to add a few thoughts on what has (at least so far) been the Vikings' most exciting victory of the season:
Posted by Zach Koenig | 2 comments
Who doesn’t love it when the Bears prove you wrong? Despite being plagued by some of the same problems we’ve seen all season, Chicago held on to beat a solid Philadelphia Eagles ballclub. It was a game filled with great plays and absolutely mind-numbing ones. Luckily, The Bears left Solider Field with a much-needed win. It was a tale of two halves on both sides of the ball for Chicago, but luckily it was in an order that allowed for the victory.
Continue reading "Bears Overcome Four Turnovers To Defeat the Eagles"
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Get ready Chicago, here’s your chance to see what a real team looks like, along with the rest of the nation. This game should honestly scare Bear fans to death. Their 1-2 team is facing a third loss in the face, which could put them behind Minnesota and tied with Detroit, depending on how this weekend’s schedule plays out. That will place them just above the bottom rung of NFL teams.
Posted by Joe Anello | No comments yet
Brian Westbrook left this game in the first quarter and Donovan McNabb was sacked three times and even went to the locker room to be examined. The Eagles obviously lost…right? Sorry Steelers fans. Pittsburgh got dominated in this contest reminiscent of college football's inter-state rivalry games.
Continue reading "Eagles beat the Steelers in the Pennsylvania Bowl"
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Okay, I know. It's beating the proverbial dead horse, but after last night's performance by 3rd stringer Kyle Orten, we now have proof beyond dispute that the Chicago Bears do not have a quarterback who should be playing in the NFL...and it's a real shame.
Continue reading "Now We Know the Bears Have No NFL Quarterbacks!"
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