A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
Do you like football? Check.
Are you a fan of one of the NFC North Teams? Check.
Would you like to talk football on a whole new level, with some of the most vibrant football fans on the internet? Check!
Well hold your breath no longer!
Midwest Sports Fans proudly brings you “The NFC North Report,” a weekly hour long show dedicated to giving you the best football talk on your favorite teams: the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, and the Detroit Lions.
Caleb Hanie completed 18 of 36 pass attempts for 254 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions in a 25-20 loss to Oakland on Sunday.
His completion percentage was 50%, while his QB rating was 56.9.
All three of his three interceptions came in the first half, luckily the Bears defense held the Raiders to only six points off those mistakes by Hanie.
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According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, Bears defensive end Julius Peppers sprained the MCL (medial collateral ligament) in his left knee in the Monday night loss to the Detroit Lions, 24-13.
Peppers’ injury occurred near the end of the first quarter. He seemed to plant his foot wrong while trying to get around Lions tackle Jeff Backus and proceeded to limp off the field.
After dominating the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football to clinch the NFC North, the Chicago Bears (10-4) come back to Chicago to play the playoff-hungry New York Jets (10-4).
The Bears are looking very dangerous, but a Jets team that would clinch a playoff spot if they beat the Bears Sunday should make this game a total toss-up that will be fun to watch.
With the preseason finally getting underway in the NFL, it seems as good a time as any to start previewing the upcoming season. During these next four weeks, I will be looking into the division of most importance for me: the NFC North.
Let’s kick it off this week with the Detroit Lions.
This post is for 2008!!!
Follow the link to see the 2009 NFL playoff picture and Week 17 scenarios for the AFC and NFC.
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The National Football League handed down suspensions today that will last the remainder of the season to those who were caught using a banned diuretic. Included in those suspended are Kevin Williams and Pat Williams who make up the heart of the Vikings 2nd ranked run defense and one of the best pass rush duos in the league.
Throughout the season, the Pat and Kevin Williams made up one of the strongest units on the Vikings squad. The two completely dominated the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball, and allowed the Vikings to take advantage of their high octane running game behind Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. They controlled the clock, they stopped the run, and they pressured the opposing quarterback. Without a doubt, these two players were a major key to the Vikings success this season.
Now, all may be lost as the Williamses will have to sit out the remainder of the season which includes a tough slate of very good offenses to close out the season (and the Lions, which are up on Sunday). Aside from the Lions game, though, the Vikings will face the Cardinals, Falcons and Giants in a three game slate that now could allow either the Packers or Bears to jump back into the lead of the division because without Pat Williams and Kevin Williams doing what they do best, all three games could be losses.
How will they win if Kurt Warner has all the time in the world to pick apart their shaky secondary? Who will step up and stop Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood? How can they prevent the Giants from completely dominating them to close out the season? The Vikings already had the toughest remaining schedule of all three contenders for the NFC North, but without Pat and Kevin Williams, the degree of difficulty might very well have doubled. In looking at the rest of the division’s remaining games, it looks like a door closed on the Vikings, and opened for someone else.
In the final three games, the Packers will play Houston, Jacksonville, Chicago, and Detroit while the Bears will have Jacksonville, New Orleans, Green Bay and Houston. If the Vikings start losing, the Monday night showdown between the Packers and Bears could very well decide who will win the NFC Norris this season.
The NFC North division just got a whole lot more interesting.
Loading ...M.J. Laughlin finds out the “truth†behind what happened in the playoff picture defining games played in the NFC North in Week 13.
Kyle Orton leads Vikings to the top of the NFC North
In what many are calling a “mental errorâ€, Bears Quarterback Kyle Orton got some faulty halftime advice from back-up QB Rex Grossman on what to do in the second half Sunday night against the Vikings.
After a brief conference in which Grossman imparted some sage-like advice to his one-time third string backup, Orton threw three second half interceptions that led to Minnesota’s 17 unanswered second half points.
Panthers Win While Packers Argue Over Who Should Make a Big Play
The Packers dropped another close game after an argument amongst special teams and defensive players erupted over who would be the one to step up and make a big play. In the “we should really win this one though a loss would not completely eliminate us from winning our weak division†game, Packers players were all insisting that someone else stop at least someone from scoring in the crucial fourth quarter. Amid the confusion and finger-pointing, Carolina cruised downfield and won the game at Lambeau.
Detroit Players Regret Eating Turkey Before Thanksgiving Game
The Lions front office, feeling left out after having to work 69 thanksgivings in the last 74 years, decided that this year they would have themselves a grand turkey dinner in the locker room on Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, the turkeys arrived before the game and the players all ate before remembering they had a game to play against the Titans. In what turned into a tryptophan induced performance, the Lions entertained a capacity crowd for 13 minutes before the rest of the Ford Field crowd hit the exits to go and eat their own turkeys before laying down at home.
