America's Team lives in Chicago

Alright. Friday is finally here and I can't hold back any longer. I've spent that last five days pacing around my studio apartment slowly going insane. The Bears are about to play in their most important game since I was 8 years old and I've tried everything to distract myself. I wrote about the Seahawks game to take my mind off it. I've watched every Bulls game this week for good measure. I've surrounded myself with friends every night (when I'm usually most comfortable just relaxing by myself with a movie most nights). I promised myself I wouldn't listen to sportstalk radio, but found it decidedly impossible. Now, just 48 hours until "The Game"... I think I can finally talk about it.

I am so sick and tired of hearing about how shitty a quarterback Rex Grossman is. He's not shitty, he's INCONSISTENT. That's what happens when you're still green (one full season under his belt), have a great deep ball but not great decision making with underneath throws and you play in an icebox with swirling wind. He's not Joe Montana or John Elway, but he’s also not Rick Mirer or Jim Miller. But that's the beautiful thing about the media scrutiny facing NFL quarterbacks, it's unapologetic and mostly for shit. The media has an agenda of turning fresh faces into football royalty after only 4 or 5 games. Just this season we had Tony Romo, Phillip Rivers and Rex Grossman. Each have good-to-great defenses, strong running games and solid coaching staffs. Um, can we hold off on the Hall of Fame comparisons? You know, just until something happens.

I almost fell off my barstool when John Madden compared a Rex Grossman TD pass on Sunday Night Football against the Seahawks as, "Something a young Brett Farve woulda thrown". IT WAS WEEK FUCKING FOUR!!! STOP COMPARING HIM TO FUTURE HALL OF FAMERS!!! I'm a huge stickler for this when it comes to hoops. I'm OK with an announcer saying a play or performance was "Jordan-esque", but under no circumstance can you directly compare the two. It's reckless. It creates unnatural expectations. And it's exactly what happened to Rex this year.

I suppose I should be a little more game specific and not bitch and rehash old sentiments, but I think it ties in nicely with how I feel about the upcoming game. For as much attention as the Saints get on offense, what gets a little lost is their defense. They allowed 128.9 yards a game on the ground this year. In their division, only the Falcons had a decent running game (and I stress decent). They’re just numbers, I know. But here's what I feel. The Bears have gotten over that hump and finally won their first home playoff game since the Ditka years. They have a very formidable one-two punch of their own in the backfield and a quarterback that loves dropping the deep ball into the soft hands of speedy receivers on rushing downs. If the Bears can successfully establish a running game, I think the field opens up for Rex and that makes a huge difference for him. Spot the Bears defense a ten point lead in the second half and I’m supremely confident, no matter who they line up against.

So, after some reflection. I think Rex will have a good game (230 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and Urlacher and Co. will do the rest. Bears 31, Saints 17.