I’m going to put up another post soon about the feeling of watching that Bears game last week, but let’s just say it was freakin exhausting. But I’ll get into all of this in just a second.

Last Week Record: 2-2
Playoff Record: 4-4

New Orleans @ Chicago

Well you knew I would pick them right? I have to. I have to. The nice thing about this is that I could get ridiculously nervous about this, but I’m actually not going to be able to watch the game. This has almost become a blessing because for some reason, I feel like I have no control over what happens in the game if I can’t watch it, so I have to let it go (as if I have any control over what happens if I do watch it). So I’ve actually had a tremendous amount of peace about this game, unlike last week in which I was ridiculously nervous all week. (For those of you potentially reading this who are not huge sports fans, I realize you think I’m a total idiot for letting a sport affect me as much as it does, but it does okay, and there’s nothing I can do about it) However, you better believe I’m going to have my laptop with me updating the score constantly. (I have play practice for those of you wondering)

Another thing that’s given me a sense of peace about this is a comment I heard from a Chicago Radio Personality earlier in the week (Dan Bernstein from WSCR 670am). He said “There’s no need to be afraid of this game because this is exactly where you wanted to be.” And he’s totally right. Midway through the season if you would have asked me where I wanted the Bears to be at this point, I would have said playing for the NFC championship at home against a southern team. Well, here we are, and this is exactly what we all wanted, so let’s just watch it and hope for the best.

I also feel like the Bears really needed to get that first playoff win monkey off their back, and they were able to do that. So I really think they’ll come out playing a lot looser with a lot more energy, and just far less pressure on them. The unfortunate part is that we’re playing the role of the bad guys, since New Orleans is America’s team right now, and everyone is critiquing the hell out of the Bears at the moment. However, maybe we can play the “Lovie being the first black coach to the super bowl” card. Maybe ESPN will make a nice teary empathetic special between now and then all about being a black coach in the NFL and have it center around Lovie. Maybe we can get some sympathy that way.
However the critiques are well founded. Our QB can be very inconsistent, our defense has been horrible as of late, but the Bears have underachieved and won for the last like 8 weeks. What if they actually play to their level? Even without Tommie Harris and Mike Brown, this defense can still be dominant if they play to their level. So we’ll just see what happens, I guess.

And that’s what it boils down to. It’s New Orleans offense against Bears defense. That’s where the game is going to be won or lost. The Bears offense should have no problem moving the ball on the ground, and I think Grossman will do just fine, but if New Orleans moves at will on our defense and scores 35 points, we’re not winning.

Win and we’re in the Super Bowl. Lose, and New Orleans (who I really do like) are in the Super Bowl. At least it wouldn’t be like losing to the Packers or Vikings to make the Super Bowl.

New England @ Indianapolis

The only reason I want New England to win this game is:

a) Being supportive of my friend Tim

b) Possibly seeing a Bears vs. Patriots rematch (though that does kind of scare me, to be honest)

However, New England has won 3 recent super bowls, and really it’s time for someone else to make it from the AFC. The fact that New England even got this far this year with the team they have is just ridiculous (and you know it Tim!). But I really think this is lining up well for Indy. They’re playing LA Lakers Defense (doesn’t show up until the playoffs), and I don’t know if Payton has ever had 3 bad games in a row. And I do think it’ll come down to a Vinateiri field goal. It’s just too perfect.

Also, how crazy would it be for the 7th worst rushing defense of all time to make it to the Super Bowl? Also, if the Bears win, them matching up against the Colts would be awesome. I still just can’t believe the 1 and 2 seeds got knocked off last weekend in the AFC. Crazy. Never would have thought that Indy would be playing a home game to get to the Super Bowl. However, I can’t say it surprises me all that much that New England is still here. It’s ridiculous, but not surprising.

Well I gotta say I actually like all 4 teams that are left (thanks to Baltimore getting axed), so apart from the Bears, I actually don’t care who wins the Super Bowl. If the Bears lose this week or in the Super Bowl, I’ll actually like the team they lose to, so that’s nice.

Well that’s all I got for this week, and I hope that I’m writing about the Bears in 2 weeks.

Bear down, Chicago Bears!!! Make me not regret being a Chicago fan!