The Chicago Bears are headed to Nellyville this weekend. E.I. E,I. uh-oh! What’s poppin tonight! Yes, I said Nellyville instead of St. Louis because really what else redeeming is there about St. Louis other than Nelly and the St. Lunatics? And don’t say The Landing; that’s just a slightly less annoying Navy Pier. Everyone makes jokes about the cities of Cleveland and Detroit, but I actually like those places, I’ve had fun there. It’s actually the STL that’s the armpit of the Midwest.
But hey, it’s better than East St. Louis at least. It’s a Midwest Swing y’all. Here comes a Chicago Bears game preview with more heart than Hallmark on Valentine’s Day.
TV: FOX 12 CST SUN
SPREAD: pick’em
Chicago Bears preview:
The Chicago Bears traded everything short of Halas Hall to acquire Jay Cutler in 2009. Since the trade, the former Denver Bronco has been on the rollercoaster of inconsistency, but has benefitted from a regime change. General Manager Phil Emery and first-year head coach Marc Trestman have dusted off the dust on the offensive play calling and have given Cutler offensive weapons and protection to thrive.
There is also the cloud of a new contract hanging over the heads of management. At age 30, Jay Cutler may be too old to be a franchise quarterback, but he is the best quarterback statistically and talent-wise since Sid Luckman. The new relationship being built between Cutler and Trestman has been refreshing to see form and has given fans a new hope for success in the next few seasons…if Cutler is around.
Enjoy the success that the offense is currently having. The offense continues to trend up, but the direction that Chicago chooses to go with at the quarterback position has yet to point anywhere.
Josh McCown has been efficient in Cutler’s absence. In two starts and four total games, McCown is completing 60.5% of his passes, has five touchdowns compared to no turnovers, and is averaging 7.47 yards per pass. Cutler has completed 63% of passes for 13 touchdowns and 11 total turnovers. Cutler has been known to force passes and trying to put the football in spots that are dangerous. McCown knows how to not throw the Bears out of the game.
I joked all summer that your Chicago Bears telecast drinking game is: ” Marc Trestman is a quarterback whisperer.” I also would accept ” Marc Trestman is a QB guru.” Yes, we’re hearing it all the time from local and national media, but it is warranted. Marc Trestman is as good as advertised when it comes to developing quarterbacks.
Are you concerned about when Jay Cutler comes back? Don’t be too worried, things will be fine with Trestmania in effect. But lets get our #CuttyDoesIt injury update out of the way first.
Jay initially targeted the Dec. 1 game against the Minnesota Vikings as his return date, “but now he really don’t know.”
Jay Cutler at Halas Hall yesterday: “There’s a couple ligaments that we’re a little bit worried about that’s different than a normal high ankle sprain.”
There’s a new Chicago Bears documentary premiering Wednesday, November 27 at 9:30 PM CST on Comcast SportsNet. “Bears Classics” will be a new, one-hour series that chronicles season-defining games from select eras in Chicago Bears history.
The debut airing will go back in time to Monday night, October 16, 2006 when the Chicago Bears faced the Arizona Cardinals. The famous “THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE” Dennis Green rant game.
Julius Peppers is the only Chicago Bears player I know off who’s mentioned in a Nelly song, but I overlooked that because we didn’t really want to talk about the Chicago Bears defense right now. Jeff Hicks contributed significantly to the Chicago Bears portion of this preview
Stl Rams Preview:
After waiting a little longer than originally anticipated, St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford underwent surgery on his left knee Monday afternoon according to coach Jeff Fisher. Obviously, this team is in the hands of Kellen Clemens for the rest of the year, and it’s shocking that the Rams beat the Indianapolis Colts; and the way in the which they destroyed a very good Indy team. Seriously, where did they pull that out of their asses?
The Rams don’t do anything especially well. They’re the epitome of mediocrity in almost every sense of the word. All their rankings in the key categories are in the high teens to low 20s.
Maybe Tavon Austin is finally starting to live up to his high draft pick status? He had a huge breakout game for the Colts after being extremely quiet most of the season.
If you’ve never heard of anyone on the Rams offense, other than Jake Long, I don’t blame you. They are a very obscure bunch. Still there’s a Gestalt to this team. 4-6 isn’t bad and this game is a pick’em for a reason. And defense the Rams star is……well, everyone is healthy, so there’s that. Again this team isn’t that bad, there’s just no star power. They’re kind of like the 1990 Chicago White Sox or the 1991 Milwaukee Bucks in that regard
Brutally Honest record: 71-26
Prediction: Chicago Bears 21, Rams 19
I’ve been really good with my Chicago Bears picks this season. Even getting the score very close. That’s all dumb luck though. Not skill. This game will also be won/lost on luck over skill. “Going down down baby, your street in a Range Rover”
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country; with regular weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS Catch him Tuesdays talking Illini and Northwestern for KOZN 1620 The Zone, Fridays talking Chicago Bears for WAOR 95.7 The Fan