Bills vs Bears Preview/NFL Picks
11/05/2010 | Posted by
Devin
Are the Chicago Bears the worst four win team in the NFL right now?
(Nodding head)
Ok, maybe they aren't the worst in the league. Thanks to parity in the NFL, there are actually nine teams with four wins right now, so it's tough to argue that Chicago is the worst of the bunch, but they should definitely be in the discussion. Let's take a look at their schedule so far.
Chicago beat Detroit in Week One, 19-14, thanks to the crazy ruling on Calvin Johnson's non-touchdown. Basically, they stole a win, and I highly doubt Chicago fans would argue that point. They then traveled to Dallas in Week Two, which was impressive at the time, until we all realized how terrible the Cowboys are this year. Next was a victory against the Packers in the "chuck it up and pray for pass interference game" that Green Bay handed the Bears.
(For the record, I wrote about the Lions and Packers game after it happened and felt the same way at that time as well.)
Chicago then got their first loss against the Giants, where Jeff George v2.0 was sacked 10 times and eventually knocked out of the game. Da Bears bounced back with a 23-6 win over Carolina, who I've already established as one of the worst teams in the league. In that game, Matt Forte ran for 166 yards, which is the only game this season where a Bears' running back eclipsed the 100 yard mark. To be fair, nobody for the Bills has accomplished that yet. BUT, in that same game, backup QB Todd Collins only threw for 32 yards, 22 of those going to Forte. I actually had no idea that was possible. In the last two games, Chicago lost two home games to Seattle and Washington, while gaining a high of 31 yards and 41 yards in each game.
So here they sit. 4-3 and a half game out of first place in the NFC North. I suppose two advantages Chicago has this week is that they had a full two weeks to prepare for the only winless team remaining in the NFL and that the game will be played on a neutral field. Other than that, I've got nothing.
As you may have read in my Bills and Chiefs review, was the Bills alarming lack of turnovers. Well, if there is a week for them to break out of that, it's this week against Chicago. Jay Cutler has thrown for seven touchdowns and seven interceptions this season, so it's not like they'll be facing an elite QB. Of course, they somehow failed to pick Matt Cassel off, so I guess I shouldn't assume anything anymore with the Bills' secondary. Still, there isn't a whole lot that has me enamored with the Bears right now.
In two fewer games; Ryan Fitzpatrick has 283 fewer passing yards, five more touchdowns and two fewer interceptions than the above mentioned Jay Cutler. Advantage: Bills
With 90 rushing attempts this season, Matt Forte has accumulated 352 yards to Fred Jackson's 297 in 75 carries. Advantage: Push
Chicago's leading wide receiver, Johnny Knox, has 24 receptions and one touchdown on the season. Buffalo has three receivers (Evans, Parrish, Johnson), who all have more receptions and touchdowns individually. Ok, Parrish only has the one touchdown, so he's tied with Knox. Johnson and Evans have six and four respectively though. Advantage: Bills
Chicago's Robbie Gould is 12/14 on field goal attempts this season, while Rian Lindell is 9/12, so that advantage goes to Chicago. Although, they'll be kicking in a dome so who really cares.
Buffalo and Chicago both have returners who can break a kick or punt all the way, but Chicago currently employs the best in the league and maybe ever in Devin Hester (The U!), so Chicago also gets this advantage. For the record, I'm full blown scared of Hester. If Lindell wanted to kick every ball out of bounds and give Chicago the ball at the 40, I wouldn't have a problem with it.
The Bears have forced way more turnovers than the Bills, but I think we've already established time and time again that the Bills defense is one of the worst ever. No surprise there. However, the Bills' pass defense is statistically better in terms of average yards allowed per game, so that should count for something. Still, Chicago has the better defense.
It will be interesting to see how one of the worst running offenses in the league matches up with the league's worst run defense. I have no idea what will happen. Buffalo could actually stop them and look competent. Chicago could run wild and tease Forte's fantasy owners. The Earth could literally explode. Everything is in play with this one.
Overall, I'm picking the Bills to win. They're due. They've gone to overtime in both of the last two weeks and fell just short to much better teams than Chicago. There will be no weather affecting the teams, which is a much bigger advantage for Fitzpatrick than it is for Cutler. My only hesitation in picking Buffalo is the fact that they haven't won a regular season game in Toronto since this whole debacle started a few years ago. And really, if that's the only thing stopping me from picking Buffalo, then I'm picking Buffalo. As bad as I want the number one pick in the draft (which I absolutely do), I want Buffalo to get that one win so we can't stop debating if they'll actually go 0-16. One win isn't going to kill their chances. Just do it. Now. Please. I'm begging.
Here are my other Week 9 picks:
Tampa Bay @ Atlanta
New England @ Cleveland
NY Jets @ Detroit
Arizona @ Minnesota
New Orleans @ Carolina
Miami @ Baltimore
San Diego @ Houston
NY Giants @ Seattle
Kansas City @ Oakland
Indianapolis @ Philadelphia
Dallas @ Green Bay
Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati
Last Week: 7-6
Season: 69-48
Scott's Picks:
Tampa Bay @ Atlanta
Chicago @ Buffalo (TOR)
New England @ Cleveland
NY Jets @ Detroit
Arizona @ Minnesota
New Orleans @ Carolina
Miami @ Baltimore
San Diego @ Houston
NY Giants @ Seattle
Kansas City @ Oakland
Indianapolis @ Philadelphia
Dallas @ Green Bay
Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati
Last Week: 8-5
Season: 70-47
(Nodding head)
Ok, maybe they aren't the worst in the league. Thanks to parity in the NFL, there are actually nine teams with four wins right now, so it's tough to argue that Chicago is the worst of the bunch, but they should definitely be in the discussion. Let's take a look at their schedule so far.
Chicago beat Detroit in Week One, 19-14, thanks to the crazy ruling on Calvin Johnson's non-touchdown. Basically, they stole a win, and I highly doubt Chicago fans would argue that point. They then traveled to Dallas in Week Two, which was impressive at the time, until we all realized how terrible the Cowboys are this year. Next was a victory against the Packers in the "chuck it up and pray for pass interference game" that Green Bay handed the Bears.
(For the record, I wrote about the Lions and Packers game after it happened and felt the same way at that time as well.)
Chicago then got their first loss against the Giants, where Jeff George v2.0 was sacked 10 times and eventually knocked out of the game. Da Bears bounced back with a 23-6 win over Carolina, who I've already established as one of the worst teams in the league. In that game, Matt Forte ran for 166 yards, which is the only game this season where a Bears' running back eclipsed the 100 yard mark. To be fair, nobody for the Bills has accomplished that yet. BUT, in that same game, backup QB Todd Collins only threw for 32 yards, 22 of those going to Forte. I actually had no idea that was possible. In the last two games, Chicago lost two home games to Seattle and Washington, while gaining a high of 31 yards and 41 yards in each game.
So here they sit. 4-3 and a half game out of first place in the NFC North. I suppose two advantages Chicago has this week is that they had a full two weeks to prepare for the only winless team remaining in the NFL and that the game will be played on a neutral field. Other than that, I've got nothing.
As you may have read in my Bills and Chiefs review, was the Bills alarming lack of turnovers. Well, if there is a week for them to break out of that, it's this week against Chicago. Jay Cutler has thrown for seven touchdowns and seven interceptions this season, so it's not like they'll be facing an elite QB. Of course, they somehow failed to pick Matt Cassel off, so I guess I shouldn't assume anything anymore with the Bills' secondary. Still, there isn't a whole lot that has me enamored with the Bears right now.
In two fewer games; Ryan Fitzpatrick has 283 fewer passing yards, five more touchdowns and two fewer interceptions than the above mentioned Jay Cutler. Advantage: Bills
With 90 rushing attempts this season, Matt Forte has accumulated 352 yards to Fred Jackson's 297 in 75 carries. Advantage: Push
Chicago's Robbie Gould is 12/14 on field goal attempts this season, while Rian Lindell is 9/12, so that advantage goes to Chicago. Although, they'll be kicking in a dome so who really cares.
Buffalo and Chicago both have returners who can break a kick or punt all the way, but Chicago currently employs the best in the league and maybe ever in Devin Hester (The U!), so Chicago also gets this advantage. For the record, I'm full blown scared of Hester. If Lindell wanted to kick every ball out of bounds and give Chicago the ball at the 40, I wouldn't have a problem with it.
The Bears have forced way more turnovers than the Bills, but I think we've already established time and time again that the Bills defense is one of the worst ever. No surprise there. However, the Bills' pass defense is statistically better in terms of average yards allowed per game, so that should count for something. Still, Chicago has the better defense.
It will be interesting to see how one of the worst running offenses in the league matches up with the league's worst run defense. I have no idea what will happen. Buffalo could actually stop them and look competent. Chicago could run wild and tease Forte's fantasy owners. The Earth could literally explode. Everything is in play with this one.
Overall, I'm picking the Bills to win. They're due. They've gone to overtime in both of the last two weeks and fell just short to much better teams than Chicago. There will be no weather affecting the teams, which is a much bigger advantage for Fitzpatrick than it is for Cutler. My only hesitation in picking Buffalo is the fact that they haven't won a regular season game in Toronto since this whole debacle started a few years ago. And really, if that's the only thing stopping me from picking Buffalo, then I'm picking Buffalo. As bad as I want the number one pick in the draft (which I absolutely do), I want Buffalo to get that one win so we can't stop debating if they'll actually go 0-16. One win isn't going to kill their chances. Just do it. Now. Please. I'm begging.
Here are my other Week 9 picks:
Tampa Bay @ Atlanta
New England @ Cleveland
NY Jets @ Detroit
Arizona @ Minnesota
New Orleans @ Carolina
Miami @ Baltimore
San Diego @ Houston
NY Giants @ Seattle
Kansas City @ Oakland
Indianapolis @ Philadelphia
Dallas @ Green Bay
Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati
Last Week: 7-6
Season: 69-48
Scott's Picks:
Tampa Bay @ Atlanta
Chicago @ Buffalo (TOR)
New England @ Cleveland
NY Jets @ Detroit
Arizona @ Minnesota
New Orleans @ Carolina
Miami @ Baltimore
San Diego @ Houston
NY Giants @ Seattle
Kansas City @ Oakland
Indianapolis @ Philadelphia
Dallas @ Green Bay
Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati
Last Week: 8-5
Season: 70-47
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