Here’s why it’s important for the Bears to win the NFC North and not just be happy to get into the playoffs as a wild-card team:
Wild-card teams are doomed. They are nothing more than playoff props, facing a nearly impossible task.
The Bears can win the division if they beat Green Bay on Sunday or beat Minnesota next Sunday or if Minnesota loses Sunday night at Baltimore.
Before the current eight-division format, when there were six wild-card teams instead of just four, a wild-card team could have a home game and even win a Super Bowl, the way Baltimore did in 2000 and Denver did in 1997.
Now a wild-card team must win three road games to get to a Super Bowl.
Earning a bye week as one of the top two division winners is even more important than winning a division.
Since the playoffs expanded from 10 to 12 teams in 1990, teams with first-round byes have won 49 of 60 divisional games. Also, no fifth or sixth seed has made it to a Super Bowl, and only five Super Bowl teams were not among the top two seeds.
Orton’s season
The NFL passer rating is virtually impossible to explain or understand, but one reason it exists is to allow the comparison of passers from different eras. This remains somewhat skewed because shorter passing games have made today’s passers more accurate, while older passers have higher average gains per pass.
Nevertheless, the system has been in use since 1973. As a rookie, Kyle Orton has a passer rating of 59.9 that ranks him 33rd, last among this year’s qualifying passers. It wasn’t good enough for him to keep his job.
However, it is good enough to put him in good company among other rookies from other years, such as John Elway (54.9 in 1983), Troy Aikman (55.7 in 1989) and Eli Manning (55.4 in 2004). All happened to be No. 1 draft picks.
Orton also is way ahead of this year’s No. 1 pick, San Francisco’s Alex Smith, who hasn’t thrown enough passes to qualify officially but has a passer rating of 26.6.
Pro Bowl honesty
Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield, a great tackler with four interceptions, said the cornerbacks picked ahead of him for the Pro Bowl–the Bears’ Nathan Vasher, Tampa Bay’s Ronde Barber and Atlanta’s DeAngelo Hall–all deserved to be picked ahead of him.
Pro Bowl thanks
Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme: “When he called my name, I was kind of shocked. I told Smitty (receiver Steve Smith) thanks for letting me ride on those coattails.”
Pro Bowl funnies
Cowboys insiders said perennial Pro Bowl guard Larry Allen didn’t have as good a year as their other guard, Marco Rivera. Also, Pro Bowl safety Roy Williams wasn’t the best defensive back on the team. That would be cornerback Terence Newman.
Pro Bowl question
Redskins linebacker Marcus Washington and safety Sean Taylor felt left out.
“Sometimes things happen that you don’t understand, like [boxer] Roy Jones losing in the [1988] Olympics in Seoul or Sam Bowie going before Michael Jordan [in the 1984 NBA draft],” Washington said.
Pro Bowl kudos
Two first-time Pro Bowlers are particularly good stories.
Seattle fullback Mack Strong, who quietly and effectively blocks for Shaun Alexander, has been a consummate pro and team player for 13 seasons.
“I’m still kind of numb from when I found out the news,” Strong said. “When you are the oldest guy on the team, or one of the oldest guys on the team and you’ve been here the longest, people probably felt sorry for me. I still don’t know how to react. . . . It has been 13 years of working hard. You always want to be recognized as being one of the best at what you do. This year it’s finally happened. I’m very excited about that.”
Receiver Koren Robinson, a former first-round draft choice the Seahawks released, accepted what looked like a minor role as kick returner for the Vikings, who signed him Sept. 5 after Robinson spent most of August in alcohol rehabilitation.
Robinson had never returned kicks, but he leads the NFC with a 26.6-yard average and has seven returns of at least 40 yards.
Robinson was suspended four games last season for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. He was suspended two more games for missing team meetings and was arrested last May for drunken driving.
“I thought I had burned all my bridges. I didn’t think I would get another chance,” Robinson said. “But I got another chance, and I’ve been able to play and be productive. . . . I’m thinking I’m doing something right. I can’t stray from that. I have a newfound respect for life. I feel like I am whole, mentally, physically and spiritually. I am more mature. I just had a son. Everything is falling into place. I am real happy. I have not been this happy in a long time.”
Robinson also starts at wide receiver.
Aaron error
Several readers correctly pointed out that benched Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks did start two playoff games in New Orleans in 2000 after starting five games as a replacement for current Bears backup Jeff Blake. The Saints haven’t been back to the playoffs since.
Rivalry goes big-time
Cleveland quarterback Charlie Frye and Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger grew up 50 miles from each other in Ohio towns, Frye in Willard and Roethlisberger in Findlay.
Their game Saturday was their first faceoff as pros in what promises to be a long rivalry. It began when both were redshirt college freshmen, Roethlisberger at Miami of Ohio and Frye at Akron. Frye led a comeback from a 24-6 deficit to take a 27-24 lead with nine seconds left. Roethlisberger completed one pass and then completed a 70-yard Hail Mary touchdown as time expired for a 30-24 victory.
“That kind of set the stage,” Frye said.
Gado gets it
From fifth-string running back to possible starter, Green Bay’s Samkon Gado has catapulted himself into a major role for next season. Injured last week and out for the remaining two games, Gado finished with 582 yards on 143 carries, a 4.1 average and six touchdowns in five starts and eight games.
Running essentially behind the same line, injured Ahman Green (five games, five starts) rushed 77 times for 255 yards (3.3 average) and no touchdowns. Injured Najeh Davenport (five games, one start) rushed 30 times for 105 yards (3.5 average) and two touchdowns.
Asked if he had shown enough to compete for the starting job in 2006, Gado said: “I’d like to believe I have. But that decision isn’t mine. I’ve done the best I can with the opportunity that has been given me. I feel I’ve been armed to go into next season and compete for that job, whether it’s here or it’s somewhere else.”
Busy Warners
Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner’s wife Brenda gave birth to twin girls last Monday, Sierra and Sienna. That gives the couple seven kids.
“Five is chaos,” Warner said. “Seven . . . I’m about to find out.”
Soon after the birth, Warner underwent an MRI in the same hospital to check out a sprained knee.
“Once [the babies] took a little bit of a nap, I ran over to the MRI machine for 45 minutes,” Warner said. “It worked out. You have to fit everything in.”
Word gymnastics
Arizona receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin don’t celebrate after touchdowns the way some other receivers do. Explained coach Dennis Green: “Both can score touchdowns and don’t need geriatrics to prove they can break-dance or anything else.”
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dpierson@tribune.com
