Fotball again - what the heck is fotball??? (smoky)

Aye Shayne!? The El Mirage Ocean!

Wow, the AZ Cardinals are off to a 14 to nothing lead over the Chicago Bears.?

When you really think about it, the Chicago Bears have not played a really tough team yet, so there 5 and 0 record is suspect.? Seattle was the toughest that Chicago faced, and Seattle is only a good team this year, not a great team.

Arizona, on the other hand, has faced some very tough teams, and has a much tougher remaining schedule than the bears.? I got so tired this week of hearing raves all week long about the Bears from the sportscasters.

Forgot about the game  LOL  Oh well

The Cardinals are very expert in giving back won games.    But last night's game took a lot of luster of the Chicago season.  They can talk all they want about how they proved they can also be a comeback team, but no mater how they talk, they showed last night that they have some real weaknesses to exploit.  amazing that a rookie quarterback was able to pick them apart Peyton Manning style.  The NFL network channel on DirecTv had a special this morning showing the skillful Manning-like ability of Leinart to recognize almost instantly, changing defenses and to make audibles in real time.  Watching him play is like watching a seasoned all pro.  Leinart really had nothing to do with the loss.  After Chicago had that lucky punt return run back for a touchdown, Leinart marched them right back down the field and put them in EASY field goal range with just 45 seconds to go.  The muffed kick was what lost the game.

This is a great year for NFL football.  I have never seen so much parity around the leagues.  There is certainly no clear dominant team at this point.

Smoky said:

When you really think about it, the Chicago Bears have not played a really tough team yet, so there 5 and 0 record is suspect.  Seattle was the toughest that Chicago faced, and Seattle is only a good team this year, not a great team.

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Come on Smoky, who do you consider a really tough team, Baltimore ???  When the Bears beat Seattle, Seattle was the top ranked team in the league. The Bears had a meltdown last nite and were very lucky to get away with a win, but that's what happens to good teams.

I had very mixed emotions watching the game last nite. Of course I was rooting for the Bears, but the Cardinals are my second favorite and I felt that they needed something to get them off the schneid. If they get rid of Bidwell (never happen) and Green, they will be a much better team.

Well Bernie let's take a look at who the Bears have played so far. 

Well they opened up with the Packers.  Does that impress anyone?  The Packers are 1 and 4.

Next were the Lions.  They are now 1 and 5.  Wow!

Then comes a mediocre team, the Vikings who are 3 and 2. 

Now comes one pretty good team, but not at their Superbowl form, the Seahawks who are 4 and 1.  The Bears only play them one time this year.  More on that in a minute.

Then the Bills who are 2 and 4.

Finally the Cards who are 1 and 5.

Let's see, add that up and the Bears have beaten teams who are a total of 11 and 17.  Not very impressive.  The rest of the Bears schedule is pretty weak also.

Now take a look at the Cards.

They open up with the 49ers who are 2 and 4.

Next come the Seahawks who are 4 and 1.

Then the very strong Rams at 4 and 2.

Then Vicks and the Falcons at 3 and 2.

Then the Bears at 6 and 0.

Let's see, that means they faced teams with a total of 19 and 9.  Wow!  What a difference!

And Arizona will face later this year, the Cowboys, Rams, Seahawks (again), Broncos, and Chargers.  You say the Seahawks are strong, and Arizona faces them twice as many times as the Bears.  All strong teams and none of whom Chicago faces again.

Now here is what really gets me about all of this.  the Bears are waddling around yakking about how yesterday they now proved they are a come from behind team.

Balderdash!

Arizona was the come from behind team.  They suffered a heartbreak on that punt return that went for a touchdown, putting the Bears ahead by a point with just 2 minutes to go.  So what happens?  The rookie quarterback marches Arizona all the way down the field and puts them in position for an EASY winning field goal.  So the Cardinals come from behind in a devastating situation with a rookie quarterback and win by two points.  Except the kicker muffed the field goal.  Heheh. ;D

Now that is why I say Balderdash to the Bears.

Yeah, the Bears will make the playoffs, because of their anemic schedule, and no they will not go past the first round when they face strength after a weak schedule.

That is my story and I am sticking to it.  ;D

Smoky

You can stick to it all you want, but the sportswriter for Yahoo still ranks the Bears #1, Seattle #3 and the Ravens #12. By the way, the Ravens have lost as many games as your "mediocre" Vikings.

The Cards have losses to all their opponents with winning records. The Bears have wins against all of their opponents, regardless of record. The Cards could easily have had a 4 and 2 record, but I don't believe Green can coach that well to win the game when it counts.

I was thrilled to get the opportunity to watch the Bears on TV Monday nite and hope to see a lot more of them, specially in the playoffs.

We'll still be behind the Packers, no matter the final score

Ned said:

We'll still be behind the Packers, no matter the final score

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Ned

Us midwesterners know how to stay with a team. I've been rooting for the Cubs for over 61 years now, thru thin and thinner. I think the Bears almost as long.

And out teams stay put in one town.  Hard to build fan loyalty when the teams keep moving

Eagles???????

Ned said:

And out teams stay put in one town.  Hard to build fan loyalty when the teams keep moving

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Ned

Of course, the Cardinals started playing in 1898 in Chicago, 23 years before the Bears. I remember seeing them in the '50s playing the Bears with Paul Christman, Frank Tripuca, Charlie Trippi, Elmer Angsman and Pat Harder. Of course they were coached by Curly Lambeau (HHMMM)

And now the Cardinals are in your back yard again, after all those years   At least we Packer fans don't need a map to see where our team lives.

Ned said:

And now the Cardinals are in your back yard again, after all those years   At least we Packer fans don't need a map to see where our team lives.

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Ned

I don't need a map for the Cardinals either. All I have to do is look at the bottom of the standings ;D ;D

Having been raised in a very sports-minded family, you guys are giving me fits of nostalgia.   You sound just like my brothers and my Dad.  (Tom's not interested much in football.)  While you're enjoying the pro football season, I'll be loyally bleeding green and gold for my Oregon Ducks and gold and black for my adopted Iowa Hawkeyes.  Win or lose -- but winning's more fun!  

Margi

Smoky:

Don't worry about the Bears and the Seahawks, the rest of us will enjopy watching them win. ;D ;D

Bernie:

Hope you enjoyed watching the Bears almost get whupped by the team ranked in the ESPN Power Rankings this week as the worst team in the NFL.  ;D  And not sure why you keep bringing the Ravens into this discussion.

Jeff: 

I said above in this thread the Bears will win all season.  Just check out their schedule and you will see why.  Let's see what they do at playoff time when they meet some "real" NFL teams and no longer have to struggle trying to beat teams like the Cardinals.  ;D

As for the Seahawks, they sure don't look like a Superbowl team to me.  The real test is to see how they will do with a backup quarterback.  Championship teams know how to play when their key players are down.  Heheh.

Anyone been watching the Rams lately?  They look like a real comer to me.  Also I think the Saints are surprising a lot of people.  Nice thing for their city isn't it?

I thought "TO" was going to help the Cowboys, especially with their discipline minded coach.  He is catching a lot of passes and scoring touchdowns, but stirring up quite a ruckus while the Cowboys continue to lose.

Has anyone noticed how much parity the NFL has this year?  I have never seen games so even and so hard to predict.