Chicago Bears: Sunday vs. Atlanta—Live or Die?

Will the Bears die or live this year?

The Atlanta Falcons have lost five in row at Soldier Field. What does that mean when the Falcons visit the Bears this Sunday at Noon? They might lose. Duh?

The Falcs, as I like to call them, finished 9-7 last year and feature one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Matt Ryan. They have a strong running attack behind Michael Turner who ran for 1,371 yards last year. They ranked 12th in rushing in 2010, 15th in passing and 16th in defense.

What does this mean? Who cares? It is smash mouth football come Sunday and I don’t give a snot about stats or predictions.

By now, you have read all about and have seen the rocky acquisition of Roy Williams, the so far improved offensive line, a thinner, faster Jay Cutler picking up reads quicker, and Matt Forte and now Lance Briggs desiring but not getting more cash.

What does this mean? Nothing.

At 11:58 on Sunday, right before kickoff, my heart will be bursting out of my chest—no, not from beef—with no regard to stats and lofty promises from either side.

These are the things I would like from the Bears on Sunday or else this blog will become a pile of trash and venom:

• Ball movement: I would like the Bears to move the ball quickly down the field and score. That would mean the offensive line is solid, we establish the run early to open up the passing game to keep the Falcons guessing, which is never a good thing against a master-mind like Mike Martz.
• Defensive stops: Just stop the damn Falcons. I don’t ask much hear, rather I do. Three and out. Three and out. Just keep Matt Ryan, Mr. Peppers. Just stuff third and short, Briggsy and Urlacher. Just cover like a roach on a corndog Bears corners and safeties.
  
  • Side note – look for Lance Briggs to be adorned in red, white and blue (gloves, shoes etc) on Sunday to commemorate the victims of 9/11. He said it will be the best fine he has ever received referring to the NFL’s strict uniform policy. The NFL has players wear pink to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness but can’t done the colors of out nation to pay tribute to those fallen on this 10th anniversary? Ludicrous.
• Bear Down: Hearing the song “Bear Down” during the game a lot means the Bears are scoring a lot.
• Strong start (season): The Bears face hellish competition to start the season and could easily be 0-3 by the first week of October.

Fair warning, thy Chicago Bears: Know that I am a devoted, loving, faithful fan and will supreme confidence come kick off Sunday. But if you look like crap, your offensive is confused like it was for the first half of 2010, your secondary gets blown away by a strong Falcon receiving core, I will turn on you like the Christian-right fans of the show  “Dancing with the Stars” did when they found out Cher’s son/daughter Chaz Bono would be a contestant this year.

As I mentioned before, I was a die-hard Cubs fan for 32 years. My mom used to take me out of the middle of class in grade school to go watch Dave Kingman go yard. But the Cubs ran out of chances (’84, 89’, 03’, 08’, 09’, Forever). I have unofficially divorced the Cubs, holding back from filing the papers, nonetheless they are close to dead to me.

Am I a fair-weather Bears fan, you ask? No, I am realist with many Chicago sports wounds. My Bear-therapist says I am suffering PTBS (Post Traumatic Bears Syndrome) and as a result suffer from panic when the Bears are on the tube.

My Ditka mini-Temple is still mounted above the plasma TV and has been emitting positive vibes.