Island Casino Monday Night football

Last year the Chicago Bears made it to the Super Bowl, leaving fans thinking this is something they could expect year after year.  However, they have been on the receiving end of some tough losses, and unable to find a suitable quarterback, leaving them out of the playoff race.

On the other hand the Minnesota Vikings weren’t expected to do much this year.  They have a couple of quarterbacks nobody heard of, and they had finished poorly the previous year.  However, they are now sitting pretty in the Wildcard playoff spot in the NFC division.  A lot of that can be attributed to the surefire rookie of the year, Adrian Peterson.  Peterson has ran for exactly 1200 yards, despite having a nagging injury the last few games.  He still has found away to average an amazing 6.1 yards per carry, and has found the end zone 10 times.  When Peterson went down, Chester Taylor stepped and in filled the role as if they had never missed a beat.  Taylor is averaging 5.3 yards per carry, and has scored eight times.  Talk about a fearsome one-two combination.  Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson was in and out of the line-up the first few games of the year, but has been its steady quarterback the last four games, winning them all.  For the year he has only thrown for six touchdowns to go along with seven interceptions, but as long as he remembers to handoff the ball, they appear they will be just fine. 

The Bears, as mentioned, are only playing for pride now.  A lot of their problems can possibly be attributed to injuries, but that still doesn’t change they’re odd quarterback situation.  Even though Rex Grossman sent his team to the Super Bowl last year, at times during the season he looked completely lost and threw the ball to the other team at a greater rate then his own teammates.  But, Grossman is out for the rest of the year due to a shot at his knee in last week’s loss against the Redskins, leaving Brian Griese the starting quarterback.  Griese has seen work already this year with Grossman out, compiling ten interceptions to go along with 12 interceptions.  To be fair, it’s not all the quarterbacks fault, as the defense has failed to live up to the reputation they have gained the last few years.

With the Minnesota Vikings playing so well, it’s hard to imagine any other outcome then a victory for them.  The Bears have a way of staying in the game for about three quarters, but then they falter down the stretch.  Against a running team like the Vikings this is a trait you’d rather not your team have.  I expect a close game for a half with the Vikings running away with it down the stretch.  The duo of the future rookie of the year Peterson and the unheralded Taylor will be just a bit too much.