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Around the NFC North in week 12

Well, I dropped the ball my friends.  My apologies to all for not getting this post up sooner and in light of today’s matchup between the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans.  I am feverishly writing this on Turkey Day and I won’t take a single bite until this is up for your reading pleasure.  With that, I want to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving weekend!

This week brings a full slate of NFC North football starting with the Thanksgiving day matchup.  The Chicago Bears square off against the Minnesota Vikings for the first time this season and the Packers round off the weekend with the Sunday Night game at the New York football Giants.

Let’s look at the matchups a bit more closely and see what’s to come.

Houston Texans (10-1) at Detroit Lions (4-7)

Well, Houston pulled it out in another overtime thriller.  I could have tried to pass myself off as a prophet and claim that I knew the Lions would take the 9-1 Texans to the brink, but all it takes is a glance at my record in the prediction posts.  It’s clear that I don’t own a crystal ball.  Or at least an accurate one.  So on we go. . .

Minnesota Vikings (6-4) at Chicago Bears (7-3)

The big question in this game for the Bears is once again the health status of starting quarterback Jay Cutler.  Cutler has been cleared to practice in a limited capacity but still has not been cleared by an independent neurologist to resume full play.  Read more... (1300 words + 3 images, estimated 5:12 mins reading time)

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Around the NFC North in week 11

Week 11 brings about some intriguing plotlines around the NFC North.  The Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers both lost their starting quarterbacks for portions of this past Sunday’s game.  The Green Bay Packers finally see a divisional opponent in old foe the Detroit Lions.  The Minnesota Vikings have their bye this week after beating the Lions to complete the sweep in that series.  Here is a breakdown of the two matchups in the Black & Blue division this week.

Chicago Bears (7-2) at San Francisco 49ers (6-2-1)

The storyline in this Monday Night Football contest is that in this past week’s game, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith and Bears quarterback Jay Cutler were both knocked out with a concussion.  Each missed the entire second half of their game.  Both Smith and Cutler will go through the league-mandated concussion protocol and need to be cleared before resuming football activities.

As of Wednesday, it was being reported that Smith was cleared to resume play and is expected to start on Sunday.  If Smith can’t go for some reason, he would be replaced by Colin Kaepernick.  The Bears have not yet commented on their expectations for Cutler’s status this week.  Cutler’s backup is Jason Campbell.  In such a crucial matchup, this is a situation to monitor as the week goes on.

Before last Sunday’s game (and besides mop up duty), Campbell had appeared for just one snap in an October 22^nd game against the Detroit Lions.  Cutler was viciously taken down by Detroit’s Ndamukong Suh and came out for just one play before returning.  Read more... (1124 words + 3 images, estimated 4:30 mins reading time)

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Around the NFC North in week 10

Week 10 brings about two great matchups in the NFC North.  With the Green Bay Packers on a bye, the Chicago Bears host the Houston Texans while the Detroit Lions travel to Minnesota to finish out their season series against the Vikings.  Let’s look at some of the storylines surrounding the games.

Houston Texans (7-1) at Chicago Bears (7-1)

This is the marquis matchup for the NFL’s week 10 slate and is the Sunday Night game.  Each team comes in having lost just one game and playing well.  Chicago has won six straight and Houston has bounced back from their first loss of the season and won their last two in a row.  Each team’s last loss came at the hands of the Green Bay Packers.

Defense is the name of this game.  Houston ranks 3^rd overall in yardage allowed (286/game) while Chicago ranks 6^th (318/game).

The Bears are leading the league in takeaway’s with 28 and takeaway ratio at +16.  They’re turning those takeaway’s into points and have seven interception returns for scores this season by five different players.  Their defense has become nearly as potent, in terms of scoring, as their offense.

Chicago is tied with New England for fumbles caused with 11.  Just last week, Chicago forced five fumbles, two by CB Charles Tillman.  Tillman has been hot after the ball this season and has seven caused fumbles and has two of Chicago’s interception returns for touchdowns.  Some say he’s an early candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.  Read more... (981 words + 3 images, estimated 3:55 mins reading time)

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Around the NFC North in week 9

Week 9 brings us to the start of the 2012 season’s second half.  Quick trivia:  Which is the NFL’s only division with three teams over .500?  You’re correct if you guessed the NFC North.  Let’s dive into the matchups around the division this week.

Chicago Bears (6-1) at Tennessee Titans (3-5)

The Bears are rolling, the Titans are not.  About the only thing in Tennessee’s favor this week is that it’s a home game.

The Bears narrowly escaped with a home win over Carolina while Tennessee came up just short against the Indianapolis Colts in overtime.  As the saying goes, good teams find a way to win and Chicago keeps doing it week after week.  They find themselves alone in 1st place atop the NFC North.

Tennessee has had solid play from backup QB Matt Hasselbeck in place of injured Jake Locker.  Hasselbeck will start Sunday against the Bears.  Unfortunately, Hasselbeck is the only Titans player who has played well consistently and the team has not been able to string consecutive wins together.

Titans RB Chris Johnson has flashed some of his vintage self lately, but not enough to put the team on his back.  The Bears are giving up a stingy 77 yards/game rushing and Johnson will be the focal point of their defensive game plan.  Read more... (1779 words + 3 images, estimated 7:07 mins reading time)

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Around the NFC North in week 8

Week 8 is upon us which means the season is almost half over!  Let’s take a look around the NFC North and at the matchups to come.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-4) at Minnesota Vikings (5-2)

This game kicks off NFL’s week 8 as the Thursday night matchup.  It’s a rare meeting between these two teams since the Bucs left the old NFC Central and became part of the NFC South.  Tampa has won the last three with the most recent being last season.

Minnesota comes in a surprising 5-2.   They beat the Arizona Cardinals behind a good defensive performance and with the continued contribution of RB Adrian Peterson.  Tampa had seemingly pulled off a last-second TD by QB Josh Freeman for the win over the New Orleans Saints but the catch was later ruled invalid.  Tampa dropped to 2-4.

Anytime a team is working on a short week, it adds an additional challenge for teams to prepare and for players to get past the bumps and bruises from the week prior.  Both teams are fortunate that they are not dealing with many health issues at the moment.

The Vikings have been winning with defense this season.  They had nine sacks and an interception returned for a touchdown this past Sunday by their top rookie S Harrison Smith.  And having struggled offensively over the past few weeks, Minnesota was able to muster two scores on a vintage run by Peterson and a Christian Ponder pass to Percy Harvin.  Harvin leads the NFL with 53 catches.  The Vikings lethargic offense may get a jumpstart this week as they face a Tampa defense that ranks 25^th overall.  Read more... (1676 words + 3 images, estimated 6:42 mins reading time)

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Around the NFC North in week 7

Let’s take a look at the matchups at hand in week 7 and around the NFC North.

Detroit Lions (2-3) at Chicago Bears (4-1)

The Chicago Bears come off their bye week and host the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football.  The Bears will have had 15 days rest and since their last live action.  Chicago has not lost at home this season and have won two of the last three matchups vs. the Lions.

The Lions are coming off an overtime win at Philadelphia in which they tied the game late in the 4^th quarter to force the extra frame.  The win ended a three-game losing streak.

This game has the makings of a good heavyweight fight.  The Lions bring in the 2^nd ranked offense to face the Bears and their 3^rd ranked defense.  The Lions have the NFL’s 2^nd most potent passing attack, averaging 319 yards/game while the Bears are giving up 225 passing yards/game.  The Bears are surrendering just over 65 rushing yards/game while the Lions offense averages just over 99 yards/game on the ground.

If the Bears plan to shut down the run and force Lions QB Matthew Stafford to throw it, they will need to get pressure on Stafford and try to bait him into throwing a few up for grabs.  They should have their chances.  In a single game this season, Stafford has attempted as many as 51 passes with his fewest being 32.  As many attempts as he has had, Stafford is not finding the end zone with much consistency.  He has zero multi-TD games this season.  Read more... (1310 words + 3 images, estimated 5:14 mins reading time)

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Around the NFC North

Here’s a look at the Week 6 matchups around the NFC North.  The Chicago Bears are on a bye and do not play.

Detroit Lions (1-3) at Philadelphia Eagles (3-2)

The Lions emerge from their bye to face the Eagles in Philadelphia.  Detroit needs a win to halt a three-game losing streak.  Their last loss was at home to the Minnesota Vikings.  They haven’t won since week one.  Having been to the playoffs last season and coming into this season with high expectations, they would be digging a big hole with a loss.  It would leave them at least 3 games behind division leaders Bears and Vikings.

The Eagles dropped a close game at Pittsburgh last week.   The Eagles are looking for more consistency.  After a close week 1 win over the underdog Browns, Philadelphia came home and beat the Baltimore Ravens.  They followed that up with a loss at Arizona and then a win at home against the New York Giants.

Eagles QB Michael Vick is also looking to establish some consistency.  He has six TD’s and six INT’s on the season.  Vick has been sacked 14 times and has endured a few dings.  He is not taking off and running at will as he once did and the Eagles offensive line hasn’t been great.  They have to find a way to protect Vick against a potent Detroit defensive line.  Despite the Lions’ struggles, they still feature very good pass rushers in Ndomakong Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch.  Read more... (1042 words + 3 images, estimated 4:10 mins reading time)

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