Saturday, December 08, 2018

Benster and D Pick Your Games---Won't Be Fired Edition

Old dude, I'm pretty sure that we won't be fired after the game like Mike McCarthy.

Well, we're the owners of this enterprise. I could fire you, but you're the only regular contributor we have. It's been a while since we've heard from the others.

That's true. Hey Fearless Maria, where are the Guilty Pleasures?

In St. Louis, apparently. Maybe we can get her to weigh in one of these days.

I'm not sure, Geritol Fan -- can she deliver the HYYYYYYPPPE!

The world does not run on HYYYYYYYYPPE alone, Grasshopper. Sometimes subtlety is needed.

But Fearless Maria is known for her marching band career. Marching bands aren't subtle.

True. But we're losing the post with recriminations.

Good point! We'll save the recriminations for da Bearz! Watch me work!

Minnesota Vikings (+3) vs. Seattle Seabags. We're kinda working backwards this week, since the first game we're considering is the Monday Nighter. The Vikings are suddenly in the same place the Packers were a few weeks ago -- back-to-back road games in incredibly hostile environments. All the loudmouth Vikings fans we had to endure recently now are getting a dose of hell, too. The Seahawks have been playing well lately and they need this game as much as the Vikings do. I wouldn't be surprised if the Vikings win, but this is a good week to bust out the "desperate team at home" theory. Seahawks 28, Vikings 24.

I think you're right this time, young fella. The Seahawks aren't what they were five years ago, but they're better now than they've been earlier in the season. The Vikings may not be. There's something missing this year; I'm not sure what it is, because I'm not prepared to throw Kirk Cousins under the bus just yet. The most obvious problem is a sub-NFL offensive line. And Cousins is going to be under siege this week. Seahawks 27, Vikings 21.

Atlanta Falcons (+4.5) vs. Glorious Green Bay Packers. The Packers played one of the worst games I've ever seen last week, and it was the final straw for Mike McCarthy. I think it was the right move, but Mark Murphy needs to get this hire right. Meanwhile, Atlanta comes to town and, if anything, they've been more disappointing than the Packers. The Falcons have talent galore, but they've never seemed to click this season. The Packers players are playing for the tape, as they say, because everyone's job is on the line, with the notable exception of 12. Packers 17, Falcons 9.

Uh, no. I can see the Packers winning; I'm going to pick them to win. But there's no way this game has only 26 total points scored. You could see the teams combine for 26 points in one quarter. Bombs away, kids! Packers 34, Falcons 31.

Los Angeles Rams (-2.5) vs. Bear Down Chicago Da Bearz Still Suck. First of all, our obligatory public service annoucement. Gino would like to remind you that da Bearz are in first place. And, interestingly enough, they are likely to stay there. However, the test has arrived. You probably noticed that da Bearz crapped the bed against the Giants last week, which I predicted. The Rams are looking to consolidate their position as the number one seed and avoid another trip to New Orleans. Da Bearz will get Mitchell Trubisky back, which helps, but it won't be enough to stop the Rams. Rams 42, da Bearz 31.

Hmmm. That seems like a lot of points to me, but maybe. The Bears are certainly good enough to win against their sad sack divisional brethren and the other dogs they've seen this season, but this is by far the toughest game left for those ursine wretches from McFetridge Boulevard. Trubisky is elusive, which is a good thing, because Aaron Donald is a bad man. Can the Bears o-line hold up? If so, they can keep this interesting. Otherwise, watch out. Rams 34, Bears 24.

Enjoy your football this weekend. Ben out! 

5 comments:

3john2 said...

Maybe swap the point totals between the Packers/Falcons and Bears/Rams games. Atlanta's defense has been pathetic this year - looking almost as bad as the Jags trying to tackle Derek Henry for 99 yards, while the Atlanta offense has been very good.

The Bears formula is similar to the Vikings - get ahead and let the defense choke the other team out. That's not as easy with a team like the Rams. Can Trubisky hold up in a real shoot-out and if playing from behind in the second half, and with Aaron Donald and Suh getting together and saying, "Make a wish"? We'll see.

3john2 said...

An interesting tidbit from the Athletic regarding why McCarthy was fired now instead of at the end of the year: one factor could be that McCarthy shares an agent with a couple other hot prospect coaches.

Gino said...

i still dont know where these Bears are headed. They look play-off bound, but they dont look like a play off caliber team to me. and they could still not make the playoffs.
they show the ability to go toe-toe against strong teams (New England), yet lose the game they should have won to suck teams (Green Bay, Miami, New York). the #1 DEF tends to fail in the 4th quarter (and in OT), and the power ground game is 100% NOT THERE.

I expect a L to the Rams, but i wouldnt be shocked to see a close game that comes down to the wire.

Coach Nagy is not trying to win games as much as he's trying to install a new Offensive system. This is not supposed to be a playoff year. Next year, is the scheduled playoff run.
We'll see if it happens...

3john2 said...

Agree, the Bears are about a year early - but that doesn't mean they can't end up in the Super Bowl this year. The defense is strong enough, but Trubiskey isn't quite the assassin (yet) he needs to be, but the offense is more than credible. I think using a little more of Howard, and a little less of Cohen (before they get him broken) would be helpful. The Rams defense is questionable, but they seemed to be able to figure the Bears out well enough to have won last night.

Mr. D said...

Crankbait and I were talking about the Rams and their history in cold weather games in another forum. The Bears played quite well, especially on defense, but the cold weather seemed to gum things up for the Rams last night. If the Bears keep winning and can get a 1st round bye, they could do some damage. I’m with Crankbait, though – Tarik Cohen is fun to watch, but a pounder is what you need this time of year and it’s time to find out if Howard can be that guy.