I have heard several SCORE hosts state that this is the toughest part of the schedule and it let's up after this. I see Cardinals, @49ers, Eagles, @Vikings, Rams, Packers, @Ravens and Vikings in successive weeks 8-15 and think this 3 game set will be a comparative cakewalk.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I think the initial three are tougher (although that Seattle game looks a lot easier with the injury curse they've had). My opinions of the Cardinals and 49ers are well known. The Rams, despite my prognostications, are awful once more. At Baltimore is always tough, and you have three of your four divisional matchups in that stretch, but I think the rest is easier than it might appear.

I thought entering the season that you had four games it was basically OK to lose: @Packers, @Vikings, Steelers, and @Ravens. You can afford a gome/away split with your main divisional rivals, and the last two were the only dominant squads you'll be facing (on defense). They won one of those, and contrary to rumor, the Vikings look bad (if they're forced to come from 7 or 14 points behind at any point, they're in huge, huge trouble). You might lose one to the Eagles in there, or you might lose one you shouldn't (at 49ers or Cardinals, perhaps), but that still leaves you with enough wins.

Also, there's a certain psychological shock that comes with 0-2 that doesn't exist if you drop from 6-2 to 6-4, or something like that.

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Fire Phil Emery

That almost sounds like momentum.

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You know me like that.

I mean from a fan's perspective, not a team's perspective.

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Fire Phil Emery

It's another example that analyzing a schedule in the pre-season is a waste of time.

I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin. This thing looks absolutely brutal from my perspective.

at Falcons and at Bengals is now a real test

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I agree with @ Atlanta this Sunday evening. That offense at home worries me a lot.
They can throw and run very effectively in equal doses.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I think after the layoff,the Bears will come out flat. If the game is not over by halftime,I hope the beloved can pull out a close win.

Prediction: Bears 23 Falcons 20

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Speaking of schedules, why are the Bears playing Atlanta, in Atlanta, two years in a row? Isn't it odd to play the same non-divisional opponent on the road in two consecutive years?

So it's just an odd scheduling quirk? Are they determined randomly or is there a logic to it?

They play them this year because both teams cane in 2nd in their divisions. They played them last year because they played the entire NFC South last year. The way that the road/home splits for those games are determined independently.

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Fire Phil Emery

No predictions until Nas does his "Game 5/16" post.

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Thanks, IB.

I was going to make a wisecrack about them using one of those giant 1950s computers to generate the schedules (I know the pic is not real):

Outside of the Browns, Lions, and Rams, the Bears do not have even close to an "easy" game left on this schedule. They should beat the Cards and 49ers, but I don't think that is going to be "easy", esepcially with Larry Fitzgerald, and if Frank Gore is back.

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I take the opposite approach. I believe Lovie has a great record after bye weeks (as most teams do in general). Bears take the Falcons, get beat by the Bengals, beat the Browns and Cardinals to go 6-2 in the first half.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

they'd have to be happy with 3-1 but i think they lose the next two then win two. I think the bengals game is actually kind of a toss up though, tough to call right now.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Just like Seattle and Pittsburgh ended up being W's instead of L's due to injuries to Seattle and Pittsburgh players, any of the games on the schedule could go the same way, for either team.

He is 3-2 after byes, and I'm pretty sure one of those (in '05 or '06) was against the Lions, so thats actually quite bad.

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Very 'meh' indeed. This Atlanta team will be the best team Lovie has played after the bye week by far.

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Lions @Ford Field the last game of the season likely isn't going to be the cake-walk the Lions @ Soldier Field was in week 4.

I stand corrected. Anyway, I'm hoping for 1 out of the next 2.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I would be very happy with a 4-2 mark heading into the Browns game.

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GD, all you need to know about last year's game in Atlanta are the final 11 seconds. The Bears had that game won, but blew it! The last time the Bears were on the "Al & Cris Show", better known as "NBC's Sunday Night Football", Jay Cutler played more like the late "Let's Make a Deal" announcer Jay Stewart when Cutler threw 4 picks in a loss at Green Bay on Opening Night and the national talking heads were bitchin' & moanin' about Cutler's leadership. I'm worried about this game Sunday night, and that Bengals' team the week afterwards is far from a gimme either in Cincinnati. Right now, their game vs. the Texans isn't a sellout and Cincinnati fans hoping to watch Cedric Benson, Carson Palmer and the improved Bengals might be out of luck if they don't sell some 5,000 tickets by tomorrow's deadline.

The Atlanta game is infinitely more important than the Cincinnati game. You lose to the Bengals, and it's an OOC game with no playoff implications beyond the loss. If you lose to the Falcons, you must now finish one game better than the Falcons to have a wildcard spot. Assume (just for the sake of simplicity) that the Vikings, Giants, and Saints win their divisions, and that the West has no chance of having a wild card team. That leaves the Bears, Packers, Eagles, and Falcons competing for two wildcard spots.

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Fire Phil Emery

Irish Boy, you are right on the money about Atlanta this Sunday night, especially in regards to possible conference tiebreakers that could come in handy if the NFC Playoff Picture is crowded at season's end.

missed the whole damn thing while on a tour of Pullman

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

thats a quick tour

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How was he?