A year ago this week Chicago Bears President Ted Phillips, General Manager Jerry Angelo and coach Lovie Smith pleaded with fans to accept their explanation for what had gone wrong as the Bears missed the playoffs for the third straight year. Lovie stayed on as coach, but had to give up his defensive coordinator post, handing it over to Rod Marinelli, and Mike Martz was brought on to run the offense. In fact, I was even one of those questioning whether it was right to let Lovie go. And I had been one of the biggest Lovie backers, so that is saying something.
The results this season could not have shown any better the Bears brain trust made the right decision in keeping Lovie on board as coach as the Bears went 11-5 when the "experts" did not see them doing much of anything. Lovie has always had one thing with this Bears team and that is loyalty. There have been zero players speak out against him or show any signs of the players not buying into what he has to dole out. The biggest sell to that end might be from the biggest name on the team, Brian Urlacher. It has become quite known that Urlacher absolutely hates this defense, but he is loyal and it has been shown to be successful so Urlacher buys in and performs at a high level.
Now with Urlacher back in the fold and a division title in hand, Angelo has gone as far as to call this team, the "best football team that we've had" referring to the teams he and Smith have built together, including the one that went to the Super Bowl after the 2006 season.
And amidst Jim Harbaugh getting offered Oprah money to coach in the NFL without ever coaching a game at this level, Lovie, who has one year left on his current contract, stands to cash in. The idea David Haugh at the Chicago Tribune gets by reading between the lines from Angelo is that Smith will cashing in depends on the Bears winning at least one game in these playoffs.
I'm down with that. He's shown the ability to work with what he has and coach them up to get a performance greater than the sum of the parts. And again, even when times got tough over the three seasons, everyone stood behind Lovie and that has to speak for what the locker room thought of him. I'd say he deserves everything he gets.
Speaking of playoffs, the Bears have been given a three-day weekend with the first-round bye meaning Wild Card Weekend has arrived. I told you the other day I would be back to break down the games and make some picks. So here we go.
Let's go in order. We'll start with Saturday's games.
Saints (11-5) @ Seahawks (7-9): A home team is an 11-point dog at home in the playoffs? That's what happens when you're the first team in NFL history to make the playoffs with a losing record. Count the 'Hawks out? Not so fast. Now, they'll get Matt Hasselback back under center which should help, but they'll need EVERY break to go their way on defense in forcing a couple of turnovers to be in this one.
That's why I'm taking Saints.
Jets (11-5) at Colts (10-6): Will someone please shut Rex Ryan up? Yes, you, wearing the No. 18 blue jersey. Peyton Manning! Please, end this loser's face time and send the Jets packing. Maybe I'm not being totally fair here, but I hate how Ryan gets in front of a mic and takes all the attention off the players and onto him. I know that's his ploy, but all those ESPN losers don't even talk about the game. Know this, Manning is 6-1 in games he starts against a Ryan team. The one he lost, last year when he was pulled in the final game of the season.
So give me the Colts and ALL the points. It is personal. Shut this clown up Peyton!
Ravens (12-4) at Chiefs (10-6): We're on to Sunday's games and prior to Matt Cassel getting his face pounded in by the Raiders in Week 17, I'd have picked the Chiefs without hesitation, has they had yet to lose a game at Arrowhead this season. Had they not tried, that would be one thing, but Cassel kept getting sent out there and he threw a pair of INTs. Well, bring the Ravens ball-hawking defense to town and things get a little dicier. The Chiefs are good, don't get me wrong, and they are going to need a lot of Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones (TJ!) to take the pressure off Cassel and I don't think they'll do it.
This will be a close one, but I'm taking the Ravens to go into KC and get the win.
Packers (10-6) at Eagles (10-6): The Packers are 3-5 on the road and the Eagles are 4-4 at home. I don't put much weight in the Week 1 game between the teams as Michael Vick didn't start and it was so long ago that many of the faces on both sides of the ball have changed. So you have to look at what the teams have done lately and how they're trending. Aaron Rodgers played OK in the Bears game, not great, but Vick is a game changer. The difference in the game is not letting him get time to throw. The talk has been not letting him run, well, he hasn't been running that much of late, relying more on his arm and the accuracy he's gained this season. The Packers must get pressure on him in the pocket. I'm talking quick pressure to not let him get the ball to DeShaun Jackson if they want to have a shot in this one.
I'm saying they do and the Eagles defense won't be able to stop the one-sided Packers attack.
As a side note, the NFL's new Playoff Overtime Rule goes into effect this week. Here's a great piece on ESPN.com on the matter that should break it down for you.
Alrighty, on to the Nussie Hunter portion of today's broadcast. The Playmate of the Year competition is heating up quickly and we here at Wilber's Way have a candidate we fully support. Her name is Francesca Frigo. A latin bombshell you can follow on Twitter, or see more of on Model Mayhem (she linked it) with a sample below!
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