natas

Vikings win 24-21 in another late meltdown by the defense

imported_VikingBaller11to82

We can never win at solider field and seeing it as we suck. Bears win 13-10 your D is going to drive our O-Line crazy.

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Davekma

Yeah, I cant really see us winning this game, unless Tait, Brown and Jones are all out for you. Even then, Adrian Peterson could probably rush for 150 yards against us at the moment

17-10 Chicago, one TD by the defense.

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KWilliamsAWinfield

Let look at the facts:

Daunte always play like crap in Chicago
Brian Urlacher always own Daunte in Chicago
The defense always make every Bears Quarterback like Joe Montanta every year in Chicago

We will lose

Vikings-10
Bears-24

imported_litlharsh

Vikes-27

Bears-14

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Count 1

All Defendents are in a vast interconnect conspiracy to kidnap my mind.
Defendents have a secret headquarters where the Detroit Tigers play Football

imported_Megatron

Bears win str8 up.

imported_unstable

Tough one. Ill say, Bears take an early lead, Vikes tie it up in the 3rd, nothing until the last seconds of the 4th and a fg decides it.


Im just not sure who will get the 3

SDOGO

Game-day details
Sun., 1 p.m. ET, Soldier Field
Weather forecast from AccuWeather.com:
Mostly cloudy. High: 74. Low: 58.

Why To Watch

With unimpressive Detroit atop the NFC North, there is great incentive for both teams to rejoin the race with a win.

Minnesota comes off a timely bye. Coach Mike Tice’s future remains in doubt but despite a rocky start, against opponents with a combined 13-4 record, his team has the best talent in a division where mediocrity reigns. Quarterback Daunte Culpepper has been under pressure, but if the Vikings can get running back Mewelde Moore on track, Culpepper has plenty of options in the passing game with Marcus Robinson, Troy Williamson and Travis Taylor.

Chicago stumbled after its bye with a loss to the Browns last week, and coach Lovie Smith may have run out of patience with rookie quarterback Kyle Orton. The Bears now also face the possibility of playing without running back Thomas Jones (knee), leaving wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad as their only viable offensive threat.




Vikings Keys For Success

1. Create balance to take pressure off Culpepper. Culpepper has thrown 10 interceptions in four games to only four TD passes. Without a consistent running game, teams have pressured Culpepper into making mistakes. In the Vikings' lone win this season, Moore rushed for 101 yards, which opened up the passing game. Minnesota must establish a balanced attack with Moore running often to help give Culppeper time to make plays downfield.

2. Establish Williamson as a deep threat. Williamson was drafted to replace Randy Moss. He has explosive speed and is a great leaper, and should become Culpepper’s best vertical threat. He has caught a TD pass in two consecutive games, so he should draw attention from Chicago’s secondary. If Culpepper and Williamson can connect early, it would help open up the underneath zones for the running game.

3. Use the tight ends to move the chains. Cleveland's tight ends caught eight passes for 76 yards against the Bears and helped the Browns gain crucial first downs last week. Minnesota’s Jermaine Wiggins and Jim Kleinsasser are both reliable short targets. In the absence of a power running game, Wiggins and Kleinsasser can take some pressure off Culpepper by hitting open areas in Chicago's defense.




Bears Keys For Success

1. Stop the run first. In the Vikings' past 11 losses, their running backs have been held to fewer than 100 yards rushing per game. Making Minnesota one-dimensional also puts pressure on its shaky offensive line. Under the resulting pressure, Culpepper will make costly mistakes that lead to stalled drives and turnovers.

2. Pick up blitzes. Left guard Ruben Brown and left tackle John Tait left the Cleveland game with injuries, but even before that, Chicago has had problems protecting its passer. The Browns managed four sacks last week, but two were by defensive backs and one by a linebacker on blitzes. Orton must improve his recognition, but in the time it will take to do that, his linemen must pick up their blitz responsibilities. The Bears also provide Orton with some max protection to help him stay upright.

3. Have middle linebacker Brian Urlacher spy Culpepper. Urlacher is the rare defender physical enough and quick enough to keep Culpepper in the pocket and bring him down when he takes off. Urlacher should spy Culpepper all day, which will keep the Vikings' quarterback from running for easy yardage.




Injuries at a glance

Vikings injuries

10/11/05 Nate Burleson WR Shoulder Doubtful for Week 6
10/10/05 Daunte Culpepper QB Knee Won't miss any time
10/6/05 Kenechi Udeze DE Knee Out for the season
9/27/05 Willie Offord S Knee - Torn ACL Out for the season

Bears injuries

10/11/05 Adewale Ogunleye DE Ankle Should play in Week 6
10/11/05 Doug Brien K Back Looking doubtful for Week 6
10/11/05 Thomas Jones RB Knee sprain Day to day


The Bottom Line

The Bears have established a solid running game this season, but Orton is struggling and they now face the possibility of playing without Jones. They still have a formidable defense, but without a serviceable offense, they will spend plenty of time on the field and will eventually wear down. The Vikings will break though late in a battle of attrition.

Pick: Vikings 27, Bears 10

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Logan57401

for some reason, I just see this as a blowout one way or the other

An “honest” evaluation of the two teams makes it look like neither side is likely to do great things on offense, which should make it a close game likely to be decided by a last second (or even OT) FG, but one thing about Bears/Vikes games; you never seam to get what you expect.

Hopefully the Vike’s O-line improved over their week off, and the additional coaching will help make the offense run smoother. The Bears have been vulnerable to the big play if you can just be patient enough to wait for your shot and take it, so we should have our chances. Then again, our offense has sputtered so bad that they might only have to play 9 men on Defense to stop us

Our D against their Offense; stack 8 in the box and force Orten to beat you, particularly if Jones is out of the game and we can send some blitzes after the rook to really shake him up. We’ve been bad against the rush so far, and that has been the Bears strength, but it’s looking like Benson is a bust and we may be able to contain him and the backups.

Head says I should pick the Bears to win this one in the 17-10 range, but the heart is saying that the Vikes come out strong after the bye and roll to a 31-17 win


And yes I know that is more points then anybody has put up against the Bears this year, but I’m counting on one defensive TD to go along with one short run, and two long throws by Culpepper.

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The Purple Haze Defense... coming soon to a stadium near you.

GOLIONS1180

Can they both lose?

I say Vikings win 17-9.

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Football National Championships since 1950
Michigan State 3
Michigan 1

Judge Smails 5-4-07