Bears playing for pride against Vikings

The division leading Minnesota Vikings come into Soldier Field this Sunday hoping to keep ahead of the Green Bay Packers by getting a win against the Chicago Bears. The Vikings are coming off a dominating 34-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks, while the Bears lost to Green Bay 34-21.

The Vikings won the first matchup of these two teams in Minneapolis during Week two, 24-13. In that game, the Bears got off to a rough start and never recovered, however, they did keep it close. Anthony Thomas had only 53 yards rushing in that game and Kordell Stewart left with a strained neck.

With Chicago out of the playoff picture, their coaching staff has now figured that it is time to start evaluating some of the younger talent on the team. This Wednesday, the Bears decided that rookie quarterback Rex Grossman would start this game, a move that has excited many Chicago fans as well as their players. It will give the coaching staff a chance to evaluate Grossman to see how he plays in a real game and determine if he will be the Bears quarterback of the future.

Grossman is the wild card in this game and how he performs will determine the outcome. He played sparingly in the preseason, throwing for 287 yards on 26 of 58 passes with one touchdown and two interceptions. Grossman is said to possess great accuracy, a quick release as well as good touch and timing and can read very well. On the downside, Grossman is not a running quarterback (compared to Stewart) and it has been noted that he has a problem with throwing the deep pass although you couldn't tell it in practice lately. His size (6-1) isn't all that good for NFL quarterbacks.

Grossman's biggest and most obvious problem will be his lack of experience, but with Chicago out of the playoffs there is no better time for him to learn. However, he will get his first opportunity against a team that is ranked first in interceptions in the league (25) but who is ranked 27th in overall defense and 28th in passing defense. It can be assured that the Vikings defenders will be attempting to take every opportunity to make Grossman's life a living nightmare this Sunday but that's to be expected.

The Bear's offensive line needs give Grossman some good protection and time to throw the ball or else he is going to get squashed. The line has been banged up as of late and there will be some backup players in for this game who have to perform well in order to give Grossman the protection that he is going to need and prevent him from being injured.

Grossman v. Vikings Defense

This will be a true test of Grossman's abilities in facing the Vikings defense this Sunday. One Viking, in particular, that Grossman will have to be aware of is safety Corey Chavous who leads the league in interceptions with eight, always seems to be close to the ball. Throwing the ball away from where Chavous is would be a good idea for Grossman.

The Bears need to look at running the ball as well. This will help keep some of the pressure off of Grossman and help set up the play action pass, which would also be something that would not only help protect him but would also give him a great chance to complete some passes. In their first game against the Vikings, the Bears rushed for over 80 yards. Through last Sunday, the Vikings defense has been allowing 124 yards per game rushing which is not too bad but not that great either. The Bears should look, as always, to establishing the running game to help Grossman out a little and give him some breathing room.

Minnesota Offense vs. Bears Defense

The Vikings have the number one ranked offense in the NFL. This will be a true test for the Chicago defense. The Bears will once again have to contend with the ever-dangerous Randy Moss whom they allowed only four catches for 27 yards (one of them was a 16-yard catch) and no touchdowns in their first meeting. The Bears will have to maintain the same coverage that they had on him in their first game if they don't want to get beat. Charles Tillman is fully capable of doing such a job. They must also be aware of tight end Jim Kleinsasser who caught two touchdown passes in the first contest and is a popular target for Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper. The matchup between Kleinsasser and Brian Urlacher should be an interesting one to watch.

Speaking of Culpepper, this is the one player on the Vikings who can win it or loose it all for them. When Culpepper is doing well, the Vikings are almost unstoppable, as was seen last week in their game against Seattle. When Culpepper is throwing interceptions and looks as if he confused running the offense, that's when the Vikings will loose. His ineffectiveness at times, coupled with the ineffective play of the defense at times, helped the Vikings fall far since their six-game winning streak at the beginning of the season.

If the Bears can confuse Culpepper with different coverages and put some pressure on him, he will force throws creating incompletions or interceptions. If the Bears want a shot at winning this game, they have to put a lot of pressure on Culpepper.

The Vikings rank fifth in the NFL in rushing averaging 138 yards per game. Michael Bennett is averaging 4.9 yards a carry but is hobbled by an ankle injury, which might limit his ability to run and be effective. This could be a huge advantage for the Bears. On defense, Chicago is ranked 18th against the rush but are coming off of a strong game against the NFC's leading rusher, Ahman Green. Look for the Bears to play a good game against the run this Sunday.

This game is almost too close to call. The Bears should play very well against the Vikings this Sunday, assuming they don't get Grossman killed or that he makes too many mistakes. It should be a good game and a close one at that.