A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
Can you believe we’re only 3 days from Thanksgiving?
Maybe it’s the unseasonably warm weather here in Ohio, or the absence of NBA games that were supposed to have already started, or that I haven’t heard a whole lot about this year’s Black Friday mega-deals, but it sure seems like Turkey Day snuck up on me this year.
The New England Patriots received their Christmas gift from Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos a little bit early.
The Broncos defeated the New York Jets Thursday night behind a stunning 95-yard drive, culminating in a 20-yard, game-winning touchdown run for Tebow. A Patriots victory against a short-handed Chiefs team Monday night could give New England a 2-game division lead over the Jets.
State College has been the focus of the sports world, but not for reasons they or anyone else wanted.
The scandal involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is still unfolding, detail after disgusting detail. The case has been well documented, so I won’t go into the details here outside of their relevance to Saturday’s game.
The 4-3 Chicago Bears travel to the “city of brotherly love” to take on the 3-4 Philadelphia Eagles tonight. This game is very important to both teams as they each try to extend their winning streaks to three while trying to stay alive in the NFC playoff race.
What was supposed to be one of the marquee matchups in 2011 Big Ten conference play has lost some of its luster over the past two weeks.
Ohio State will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to face the 14th-ranked Cornhuskers Saturday night in a meeting of powerhouse programs desperate for a conference win.
Both the Atlanta Falcons and the Chicago Bears had their 2010 seasons ended by the Green Bay Packers, but what they each did afterwards was very, very different.
Atlanta traded up for Julio Jones, picked up Ray Edwards, and also picked up some possible starting defensive backs. Chicago, it seemed, did the exact opposite. They didn’t address their offensive line needs, released their Pro Bowl center, and released their 2007 first round draft pick Greg Olsen.
This post and all of our weekly Chicago Bears previews are made possible by Brouwer Brothers Steamatic of Chicago, which proudly provides restoration, cleaning, and construction services to Chicago, Naperville and the surrounding areas.
Chicago: 312 386-7688 – South Suburbs: 708 396-1444 – West Suburbs: 630 243-4387 – NW Indiana: 219 210-4254
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It’s time for another edition of the good ol’ black n’ blue rivalry game between the Minnesota Vikings (3-5) and the Chicago Bears (5-3).
The Bears are coming off what was a must win for them game against Buffalo last week. They didn’t look as good against the winless Bills as fans would’ve have hoped, but they did limit the sacks (one) and the turnovers( none). It seems like a lot of good things come for Chicago, especially on the road where their record is 3-1, when they limit the sacks and turnovers.
But they are not on the road this week. Rather, the Bears have a home game against a desperate Vikings squad who is coming off a close win against Arizona last week. Brett Favre continues to put up mediocre numbers; actually, Favre’s numbers are very similar to Jay Cutler’s, and I don’t mean that in a good way.
The Chicago Bears are 3-0, and going into New York you’d think they have a very good chance to extend the win streak to four. The Giants are trying to get Tom Coughlin fired, or at least they’re playing like it.
The Giants, once a Super Bowl team just a few short years ago, are playing like the Bears did the last two years: unmotivated and lazy. But this is not a young team. This is a team of veterans playing terribly.
With a 1-2 record things are not looking up for the Giants as they host a rising Chicago team Sunday night in Week 4.
After being humiliated last week against Stanford, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on rival Boston College this weekend. Boston College has won the previous five games against the Irish.
Notre Dame needs a win badly. It’s been three straight losses, and after every loss the situation looks more and more ugly for Brian Kelly and his team. The morale seems to be down. The toughness and aggressiveness just isn’t there; but, this week the Irish play a team they can beat.
It’s time for another weekly dose of college football, as Notre Dame hosts an impressive Stanford team on Saturday.
Notre Dame was hoping for some better results the last two weeks. They could be 3-0, but instead they’re 1-2. Those two losses all came down to one play, as most games usually do.
This week, the Fighting Irish hope to gain some momentum for when they play Oregon and USC, as in the next few weekends, but it’s going to be hard to get through this week with a win.
Week one of the NFL is in the books. Football is now in full motion, and it’s now time for the fun to begin.
The Chicago Bears travel to Dallas this weekend to take on the Cowboys. The Bears are coming off a win (can you call it that?) against the Detroit Lions. When looking at the offensive numbers for the Bears in that game, you’d be impressed and might think they won the game safely. The fact of the matter is that while the numbers look great, they don’t tell the whole story.
It’s week two of the college football season and we have another great Midwest matchup for you this week. It’s the Michigan Wolverines going head-to-head with the their rivals, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Both teams come in off a win in their season opener. Michigan is coming off of a 30-10 victory over UCONN while Notre Dame played well in a 23-13 victory over Purdue.
Both teams went into Week 1 not knowing what to expect, but are confident after solid victories to open the season. Still, there are looming questions for both teams that must be answered, and some of them may be answered this weekend.
Football season is almost in full swing, and hopefully the Week One games won’t be as anticlimactic as the Saints/Vikings game. (Hartley, seriously?!)
While that wasn’t exactly the start I was hoping for, I can’t say enough how excited I am for football season. As for the Bears season in particular, I can’t say I’m too excited. The preseason was an awful experience, and I am hoping that what happens in the preseason really doesn’t matter.
This Sunday, Detroit heads south to Chicago and Soldier field to start the season with a division match-up and what could be called a mild rivalry. The Lions don’t really impress anyone, but I believe they are past that winless season and are on the right track to improving their team over the next few years.
After suffering a crushing 26-20 overtime loss to their in-state and Big 10 rival Michigan State last week in, the now unranked Michigan Wolverines face the undefeated and #12th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City this weekend.
Sadly, there are no true Midwest teams left in the NFL playoffs. The Colts were our last great hope, but their season fizzled in overtime against the Chargers. I’m not a Colts fan by any means, but at least covering their playoff run would have given us something to do here at Midwest Sports Fans.
As it is, we will have to adopt a team that is kind of in the Midwest…but not really: The Tennessee Titans.
As everyone knows, the Titans used the mustache voodoo of Jeff Fisher to jump out to a great start this season before falling back to the pack a bit. Led by a great game with rookie RB Chris Johnson and LenDale White, efficient QB play by Kerry Collins, and one of the most dominant defensive lines in the NFL, the Titans were able to secure the #1 seed in the AFC Playoffs.
And their reward?
The Baltimore Ravens, whose defense and running game are absolutely hitting on all cylinders right now. The Ravens and Titans will duke it out this weekend for the chance to go to the AFC Championship game, in what should be a physical, smash-mouth type of game that may make you sore just watching it from your couch.
Here are the particulars of the game, including TV schedule, announcer lineup, and point spreads. (As usual, point spread and over-under odds sponsored by the NFL Football Handicapping experts at DocSports.)
Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans
(Follow the link to see the TV schedule, announcer pairings, and point spreads for the other NFL Divisional Round Playoff games this weekend.)
Before I give you mine, what is your prediction?
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And some good links as you get ready for gameday:
Ravens-Titans GameCenter with stats, team, info, etc. – (NFL.com)
Don’t forget that the Titans have a great defense too – (Thomas George, NFL.com)
Ravens-Titans Scouting Report – Expect a physical game (Pat Kirwan, NFL.com)
Injury News: Haynesworth practices, but Ed Reed, Todd Heap, and Derrick Mason do not — (Pro Football Talk)
I am really excited for this game. While I hate the Ravens, of course, there is no denying that the star power and play-making ability of their defense makes them an intriguing team to watch. What has been surprising about Baltimore this season has been the proficiency of their offense.
I think people are going a little too overboard in their praise of Joe Flacco — he is managing games and not making critical mistakes, but is by no means winning games — but the consistency of their run game has been deadly in recent weeks. Le’Ron McClain and Willis McGahee have used huge 4th quarter bursts to salt games away against Dallas and Miami, and it will be imperative that Tennessee stop these two guys in the second half and give Kerry Collins and the offense a chance to win the game.
I do think that Tennessee will somewhat put the clamps on Baltimore’s run game, but they won’t stop it completely. And I’m not sure I totally trust Joe Flacco to stay out of trouble against a physical, ball-hawking D.
However, I just can’t pick against the Ravens D. Ed Reed is a one man wrecking crew in the secondary, Ray Lewis has been playing great, and Terrell Suggs has been a monster rushing the passer. Tennessee has a right to demand respect for their defense, but they don’t have the proven big-game playmakers that the Ravens do. If Chris Johnson can break some runs, and Kerry Collins can hit some passes downfield, Tennessee has a chance.
But I think Baltimore is coming out ahead in this one, and moving on to face Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship game.
And if that happens, at least the Browns can take some pride that they played in the division with the two best teams in the AFC. Unfortunately, they just couldn’t compete with them. This weekend will be another reminder of why.
Baltimore Ravens 20 | Tennessee Titans 13
