Vikings open as 3.5 pt favorites vs Bears

purplefaithful wrote:
The Vikings (8-2) opened as 3½-point favorites in Sunday’s game against the Bears (4-6) at Soldier Field. 

The Vikings have won four straight years in Chicago after losing 16 of 19 trips between 2001 to 2019.

A little surprised it's that low, but the Bears are a hard team to figure out. Bottom 5 offense, middle of the pack defense, but they beat the Titans and the Rams, blew out the Jags and Panthers, were blown out by the Pats and Cards, then played tight, one-score games against the Packers, Commies, Colts and Texans.

Hard to imagine a Flores defense getting beaten by a rookie QB, but at the same time, the 3rd game of a 3-game road trip can be trouble, not to mention that it's a divisional game. This one could be a little like the Jags game.

Did they really beat the Titans? I still have flashes of the terrible pick six Will Levis threw to end the game

The Bears are consistently muddled, but vicious and dangerous in bursts. To me, this game will be Flores trying to keep the Golden Draft Pick confused all game long.

Bears are 4/6
They should be 6/6 if it weren't for two flukey plays; a blocked field goal vs GB and a dumbasz hail mary play at the Commodes
They are 4/2 at home
Vikings have won the last 4 in a row in a place usually reserved for purple fan acid reflux
Caleb looked to be on the upswing with a new OC
Darnold QBR is 99.0 on the road.

To paraphrase from MaroonBells, I hate everything about this game.

IF I am reading about cleats and long grass on Monday, I'll lose my s hit.

I see the Vegas line is still 3.5 today. That said, I'm predicting Chicago not just to cover but to win:
Chicago 27
Vikings 21

Bears: 13
Vikings: more

:cool: :angel:

Vikes 24-16

purplefaithful wrote:
Bears are 4/6 They should be 6/6 if it weren't for two flukey plays; a blocked field goal vs GB and a dumbasz hail mary play at the Commodes They are 4/2 at home Vikings have won the last 4 in a row in a place usually reserved for purple fan acid reflux Caleb looked to be on the upswing with a new OC Darnold QBR is 99.0 on the road.

To paraphrase from MaroonBells, I hate everything about this game.

IF I am reading about cleats and long grass on Monday, I'll lose my s hit.

I see the Vegas line is still 3.5 today. That said, I'm predicting Chicago not just to cover but to win:
Chicago 27
Vikings 21

Didn't you predict the Titans to win last week? You may be right, but then they would be the same old Vikings. I don't see it.

Bflo's defense versus Caleb Williams for the first time. IMO that match up will determine the game.

CW is gonna brain- lock and he's gonna be in way over his head.

7 weeks to go, I think the Vikings are gonna start blowing teams out.

purplefaithful wrote:
Bears are 4/6 They should be 6/6 if it weren't for two flukey plays; a blocked field goal vs GB and a dumbasz hail mary play at the Commodes They are 4/2 at home Vikings have won the last 4 in a row in a place usually reserved for purple fan acid reflux Caleb looked to be on the upswing with a new OC Darnold QBR is 99.0 on the road.

To paraphrase from MaroonBells, I hate everything about this game.

IF I am reading about cleats and long grass on Monday, I'll lose my s hit.

I see the Vegas line is still 3.5 today. That said, I'm predicting Chicago not just to cover but to win:
Chicago 27
Vikings 21

Yabbut I said that about the Colts game, not this one. Look, no easy games in the NFL and Chicago isn't a terrible team. I agree they're probably better than their record and they could pull off the upset. Their defense is actually pretty good. 

That said, it's hard to see Caleb Williams playing a clean game against this Flores defense. And I think to qualify for "an upswing" you have to put two good games together. He played OK against Green Bay, meaning he wasn't as crap as he'd been the three games prior.

STILL, Williams hasn't thrown a TD pass since October 13th. Think about that. It's week 12 and he hasn't thrown a TD pass since the Vikings were on bye in week 6.

DITTO...."IF I am reading about cleats and long grass on Monday, I'll lose my s hit."

this might be the game to unleash Turner in a spy role, just play him over Williams so as soon as CW tries to do something with his legs... Turner is there to take them out. Its getting time to find a way to get that kids freakish athleticism into the game, I think he could be a game changer, but not yet in the role that Grenard and Gink are playing, although who do you take off the field to make room for him? Mettelus has typically looked good in his role so you want to keep him on the field too.

purplefaithful wrote:

Bears are 4/6
They should be 6/6 if it weren't for two flukey plays; a blocked field goal vs GB and a dumbasz hail mary play at the Commodes
They are 4/2 at home
Vikings have won the last 4 in a row in a place usually reserved for purple fan acid reflux
Caleb looked to be on the upswing with a new OC
Darnold QBR is 99.0 on the road.

To paraphrase from MaroonBells, I hate everything about this game.

IF I am reading about cleats and long grass on Monday, I'll lose my s hit.

I see the Vegas line is still 3.5 today. That said, I'm predicting Chicago not just to cover but to win:
Chicago 27
Vikings 21

lol, you crack me up PF. Every game is a possible loss! ;) I get it, if you trust the Vikings fully at any point as a long-timer, you don't know your history. Any game on the road is usually a tough W regardless. Minnesota has done well against Chicago in recent history....which means nothing. I'd love to see them stack another W, but this one worries me a bit as well.

Sam Monson

@SamMonsonNFL
·
1h
Vikings have the 3rd best EPA/Play on D against scrambles this year.

Could be a rough week for Caleb Williams

StickierBuns wrote:
Sam Monson

@SamMonsonNFL
·
1h
Vikings have the 3rd best EPA/Play on D against scrambles this year.

Could be a rough week for Caleb Williams

I was wondering about that. Vikings do seem to have the personnel (Metellus, Harry, Pace, Chashman) and scheme to hold running QBs in check. It's interesting that the data supports that. But looking over their schedule, they haven't really faced a running QB of Williams' caliber yet.

My prediction is Flores wins again. Sam will be Same with ups and downs in his game.

Beware Da Bears

The unpolished rookie QB — No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams — actually looked pretty darn good in last week’s 20-19 loss to Green Bay. So did interim offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, the former passing game coordinator who replaced the fired Shane Waldron four days earlier.

“I liked the tempo in which we operated in terms of play-caller to quarterback,” said coach Matt Eberflus, the guy who fired Waldron, whose approach helped Williams to a 4-2 start but also contributed to getting him sacked 15 times in the two weeks before the move was made.

Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. also noticed a different look to Williams against the Packers.

“I would say he was more on the safer side and getting the ball out quick,” Murphy said. “He’s definitely still a mobile guy. More mobile than I thought he was before Sunday. They ran the ball more. A little more boots. Getting the ball out fast and making better decisions.”

Sunday was indeed a different look for the Bears than in recent weeks. In a close game against a quality opponent, they were more balanced with 34 runs and 34 pass plays, including three sacks.

Williams got his top three receivers — D.J. Moore, rookie first-round pick Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen — involved early and often, targeting each of them at least seven times while completing 23 of 31 passes. Williams also posted a career-high 70 yards rushing on nine carries (7.8-yard average) as the Bears ran for 179 yards and two scores.

“One thing I think that helped them was a lot more screens to D.J. Moore,” Murphy said. “That’s smart because D.J. is one of the best receivers in the league with the ball in his hands.”

That was Eberflus’ feeling as well. He emphasized it to Brown, who built a game plan that fed Moore a game-high seven catches for 62 yards. The Bears also converted 56.3% of their third downs (9 of 16). Not bad for a team ranked 31st (31.88%). They also converted all three fourth-down attempts.

Meanwhile, the Bears didn’t turn the ball over for a third straight game, something they haven’t done since 1979. Williams went a fourth straight game without an interception, the longest by a Bears quarterback since Brian Hoyer in 2016, and the longest by a Bears rookie quarterback since at least 1950.

Williams also was an improbable clutch performer at the end. Trailing by 1 with time running out, he escaped pressure and hit Odunze for a 16-yard gain on third-and-19.

Then, on fourth-and-3, he hit Odonze’s back shoulder perfectly for a 21-yard gain. Then he threw a blitz-beater to Allen for 12 yards to set up a 46-yard field goal attempt with three seconds left.

The Packers blocked the kick. The Bears lost.

Source: Startribune

purplefaithful wrote:

Beware Da Bears

The unpolished rookie QB — No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams — actually looked pretty darn good in last week’s 20-19 loss to Green Bay. So did interim offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, the former passing game coordinator who replaced the fired Shane Waldron four days earlier.

“I liked the tempo in which we operated in terms of play-caller to quarterback,” said coach Matt Eberflus, the guy who fired Waldron, whose approach helped Williams to a 4-2 start but also contributed to getting him sacked 15 times in the two weeks before the move was made.

Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. also noticed a different look to Williams against the Packers.

“I would say he was more on the safer side and getting the ball out quick,” Murphy said. “He’s definitely still a mobile guy. More mobile than I thought he was before Sunday. They ran the ball more. A little more boots. Getting the ball out fast and making better decisions.”

Sunday was indeed a different look for the Bears than in recent weeks. In a close game against a quality opponent, they were more balanced with 34 runs and 34 pass plays, including three sacks.

Williams got his top three receivers — D.J. Moore, rookie first-round pick Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen — involved early and often, targeting each of them at least seven times while completing 23 of 31 passes. Williams also posted a career-high 70 yards rushing on nine carries (7.8-yard average) as the Bears ran for 179 yards and two scores.

“One thing I think that helped them was a lot more screens to D.J. Moore,” Murphy said. “That’s smart because D.J. is one of the best receivers in the league with the ball in his hands.”

That was Eberflus’ feeling as well. He emphasized it to Brown, who built a game plan that fed Moore a game-high seven catches for 62 yards. The Bears also converted 56.3% of their third downs (9 of 16). Not bad for a team ranked 31st (31.88%). They also converted all three fourth-down attempts.

Meanwhile, the Bears didn’t turn the ball over for a third straight game, something they haven’t done since 1979. Williams went a fourth straight game without an interception, the longest by a Bears quarterback since Brian Hoyer in 2016, and the longest by a Bears rookie quarterback since at least 1950.

Williams also was an improbable clutch performer at the end. Trailing by 1 with time running out, he escaped pressure and hit Odunze for a 16-yard gain on third-and-19.

Then, on fourth-and-3, he hit Odonze’s back shoulder perfectly for a 21-yard gain. Then he threw a blitz-beater to Allen for 12 yards to set up a 46-yard field goal attempt with three seconds left.

The Packers blocked the kick. The Bears lost.

Source: Startribune

Williams hasn't thrown a TD pass in 4 weeks. Definitely played better against Green Bay, but if you want a real eye opener, check out his bad plays: they are unbelievably brutal. Chicago has to keep the gameplan very basic for him. Road game against a division opponent outside on grass maintained by the City of Chicago Parks and Rec Dept: you never know what might happen. But its a game they should win....who knows if that happens or not.