The Monday Night Maniac (The Monday Morning Quarterback's Alter-ego)

It's 7:17 pm and I'm late for being the Monday Morning Quarterback. So now I am the Monday Night Maniac and this is what I think of yesterday's action:

• Bears are bad, sorry! I've come to realize that Chicago sports fans are the most optimistic, yet unrealistic people of all time. I remember them saying it oh so well. We can make the playoffs, we have a good enough team. We can beat Dallas (lost 21-7) on Thanksgiving. Jacksonville, they suck, we can beat them (loss 22-3). The Texans, coming into Chicago in the cold of December, easy win for the Bears (lost 24-5). At Detroit, payback time right? Right? I predict a loss, yet close loss. 14-12. No offensive touchdowns...again, all field goals. Then Green Bay, geez I hope we win that game. But the Fudge Packers from up north will be playing for a division championship and homefield in one game. And the Bears, they will be playing one last game in the cold of Chicago, waiting to get out of there in time to catch their plane, train or automobile out of town (in some cases before the fans get a piece of them.) So, another predicted loss, this one in blowout fashion 35-10 (defensive touchdown, Brett Favre interception.) So, that will leave the Bears with a 5-11 record, wasn't that last years record. All of the losing seasons just blur together now. Being down in Carbondale since August, I have only caught one Bears win all year, and that was against San Francisco, I could grab 10 guys off the street and still beat San Francisco. So that isn't nothing. So they better have a win up their sleeve somewhere.
• The playoff picture is starting to shape up. It looks like in the AFC it will be the Chargers, Colts, Steelers and Patriots with wild card spots going to the Jets and either the Jags, Bills or Ravens. I like the Jags a lot, but am pulling for the Bills, for they started 0-4 and would be a dangerous playoff team I wouldn't want to face. A high-powered offense and the #3 defense in football is dangerous indeed. In the NFC, if you are an NFC team, you are mathematically still alive. However, I have never liked math, so lets look at things realistically. .500 teams will not make the playoffs, let alone teams under .500. So, this is what it looks like in the senior conference in football. Rams/Seahawks/Cardinals? representing the NFC West (which is totally unfair cuz all of those teams suck). The Falcons and the Eagles are the only teams with division titles locked up. The Wild Card is interesting because the Pack and the Vikes are still fighting for the division title, yet, the loser is basically still in the playoffs as a wild card. The other wild card spot, I want it to go to the Panthers, but teams still alive (honestly) are the Rams (gulp, losers) and the Saints. The Saints and Panthers go one on one for one last time, so they will break their own tie-breaker.
• Manning Watch: Only 1 away from tying and 2 from breaking. Next the Colts have a potential playoff preview against the Chargers (how many people thought I'd be saying that in the beginning of the year.) Manning-Edge-and the receiving triplets (Harrison-Wayne-Stokley) vs. Brees-LT II-and the best receiving TE in football (move over Tony and Shockey) Antonio Gates. Should be a wild and crazy game. A lot more interesting than the Bears practical joke they call an offense against the drama QBs of Detroit. Watching Indy and the Bolts would be like a revelation to Bears fans. Down field passing, receivers catching the ball, running backs breaking tackles and running downfield and overall...SCORING! Sure, no defense, but even the Bears D plays like shit, especially when Urlacher isn't there.
• These two weekends are Fantasy Championship weekend in Fantasy football and like most teams that are mine or that I root for, they CHOKED! C-H-O-K-E-D! CHOKED! My 1st place team, lost. That team choked because my RB got hurt and played like a bitch and my D didn't show up. The team that was in 2nd place all year lost when my receivers decided not to catch the ball, play and my kicker ended up with negative points. How does a kicker get negative points. I had one team win this weekend, the team that was in 8th place, barely making the losers bracket in the playoffs. Truth is, no one on that team was healthy all year, and they are all getting healthy now. If they win the losers bracket, I will consider it equal to the 2003 Florida Marlins. Pulling something out of their ass to shock experts, their opponents and their own fans. I am currently beating a guy who finished 9-5 during the regular season, barely missing the playoffs. I finished the year 4-10 on a 3 game winning streak. Good luck to everyone except those who are playing me during Fantasy Championship week!