The fix is in

by Adam T on Dec 12, 2006 2:28 PM CST in Events

ESPN has just listed their power rankings and low and behold they have already given things over to their new golden teams. The Saints and the Ravens despite having worse records are listed in front of the Bears who come in at #4.

That was pretty much the kind of game the Bears need Rex Grossman to play. Make some plays, don't make mistakes and let the defense or special teams do something special.

FOX keeps it a little bit more rounded, having only the Ravens in front as the Bears are listed at number 3.

For all the talk of a quarterback controversy and what's "wrong" with the Bears, Chicago's 42-27 victory in St. Louis secured a first round postseason bye and improved the NFC Central champions' record to 11-2. Rookie Devin Hester continued his assault on the record books Monday night, scoring his fifth and sixth return touchdowns of the season, an NFL record. With his two returns, Hester became the first Bears player to run two kickoffs for scores in a game. As for all that talk of a quarterback change? Rex Grossman played fine, relying on the run game early to give him a cushion-- and delivering several key passes in the second half. On the night, Grossman went 13-20 for 200 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. We can get rid of the weekly "Just Gross, Man" headlines for now.

CBS also has us at #3.

They are still the class of the NFC. If Rex Grossman can get it going again, they will be the Super team. Devin Hester is special.

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Behind the Saints...

shows they are the Ultimate Team de Jour website/network. Pathetic actually.

#3 is certainly in keeping the Bears. They have an incredibly easy schedule. One more win over the Ravens isn't much--especially when their situation is near exact what the Bears is. They don't have the return game and running might be a little worse, but they have the great D with the secure QB who's "been there before". Plus, I don't think they have any significant injuries on defense. Honestly, at this point, not much separates the two, except the consistent QB play of Baltimore.

At least that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

by tyger1147 on Dec 12, 2006 6:00 PM CST reply actions

I saw the ESPN rankings earlier

Just unbelievable. But y'know what? Fuck 'em. Kick all the clowns off our bandwagon. Leaves more room for those of us who have believed in them through thick and thin. 2 or 3 is where I expected the Bears, but not behind the Saints at 4. Maybe the team will get back some of that Rodney Dangerfield "no respect" attitude that helped them early this season.

I liked the old school reference in the Fox ranking. Spot the out of place word in this statement: ...Chicago's 42-27 victory in St. Louis secured a first round postseason bye and improved the NFC Central champions' record to 11-2.

Unleash your inner Grabowski.

by jrm78 on Dec 12, 2006 9:56 PM CST reply actions

To be fair...

...the NHL's Norris Division is now the Central. [shakes fist at the heavens]

Or does no one here go in for Bermanisms?

by Danimal on Dec 12, 2006 10:39 PM CST up reply actions

i usually don't

but i do like that one.

first the Rush...now the Bears.

by mike @ Windy City Gridiron on Dec 12, 2006 11:00 PM CST up reply actions

Me too.

But hockey sucks. Not the sport but the NHL.

by Chad @ Windy City Gridiron on Dec 13, 2006 12:10 AM CST up reply actions

It's mind numbingly irritating

Here in Chicago with the once proud franchise known as the Blackhawks. Since I haven't played hockey, for me to get into hockey I would have to have easy access to the games and a team worth watching. Well, the home games aren't televised and the team has been awful for at least 10 years now. Thank You Bill Wirtz for ruining one of the Original Six.

first the Rush...now the Bears.

by mike @ Windy City Gridiron on Dec 13, 2006 7:40 AM CST up reply actions

Hawks are making a run

they are playing alot better with Savard as their new coach. They have a shot at playoffs this year. They really do need to televise home games though. They make it hard to follow the team only showing half the games. I wonder whose brillant idea that was?

"Success isn't permanent and failure isn't fatal." -Mike Ditka

by Superman on Dec 13, 2006 10:57 AM CST reply actions

Dollar Dollar Bill

> I wonder whose brillant idea that was?

Perhaps you're being facetious.

A realtor, Hawks owner Bill Wirtz is co-owner of the United Center and cares, above all else, about the money he takes in from concessions, parking and so forth. Hockey has always been secondary.

He's also stuck in another era. Ignoring the success of sports franchises such as, say, the Chicago Cubs (who've largely built their sports culture mystique on the back of years of national broadcasts), he seems to think letting the fans drink someone else's beer at home or at a bar while watching the game on TV is nothing but food off of his table.

I watched periods 2 and 3 of the Hawks win in St. Louis last night and they did mention that a couple upcoming home games will be broadcast on Comcast in HD. They did this a few times last year as well. Maybe the HD deal is somehow more lucrative for Bill (?).

The only trade off seems to be that Comcast is apparently required to devote serious air time to having the likes of Josh Mora plug the oh so tasty sandwiches at the UC's Budweiser Select Brew Pub and Carvery.

'Come on down and see a game live. Plenty of great seats are still available. Then enjoy a delicious Reuben and a refreshing Budweiser Select!!!! Carvery... WHOOOO!!!!'

by Danimal on Dec 13, 2006 11:35 AM CST up reply actions

Paranoid...

They guy is paranoid that if he televises home games, people won't come to the stadium. Then even if its sold out, I think he doesn't televise them cause it will keep the price of tickets down as the overall demand would go down. Not that he cares about scalping prices, but he doesn't have to worry about how high the face value is.

F him.

by Chad @ Windy City Gridiron on Dec 13, 2006 12:35 PM CST up reply actions

Actually...

...I think the word is he is willing to televise home games that sell out.

But that hardly makes for a predictable TV schedule.

And given that their per-game attendance figures average out at around 12-13,000 (< 2/3rds capacity) these days, ranking 29th out of 30 in the league (and ranking dead last in terms of percent attendance), I wouldn't go holding my breath.

It's generally expected that Wirtz will continue to obstinately bite the marketing hand that feeds until the day he dies.

But, really, this is all just so much decades-old news.

by Danimal on Dec 13, 2006 1:35 PM CST up reply actions

funny

Funny that you mention this: ...he seems to think letting the fans drink someone else's beer at home or at a bar while watching the game on TV is nothing but food off of his table.

Bill has a hand in the liquor distribution business Judge and Dolph Ltd. which according to Bill's wikipedia entry accounts for 33% of the liquor sales in Illinois. He's pretty much in a 'can't lose' position regarding televising Hawks home games, but yet manages to be a loser by not televising them.

Unleash your inner Grabowski.

by jrm78 on Dec 13, 2006 2:29 PM CST up reply actions

dbt

The Football Outsiders rankings (keyword dvoa on foxsports.com) still have us #1. The Cowboys spent a week up there but the pounding by the Saints dropped them to #5.

It's funny, every team to pop up over the Bears on their rankings has gotten pounded the next week. The Chargers, Ravens and Cowboys have all had one week stints on top but the Bears are back up there and they probably will be until the end of the year, thanks to the pummelling we can put on some really bad teams the next couple weeks.

Check out my Chicago Bears Blog...

by dbt on Dec 13, 2006 11:01 PM CST reply actions