Bears enthusiasts had every right to a knee-jerk, flip-the-bird reaction to Team McCaskey after Week 15's uninspired second half against Seattle, culminating in the Bears' fourth straight loss to an average opponent.
But when the ball goes in the air, I'm betting most of those who vowed abstinence will be right back in the armchair to soak in the commencement of the Josh McCown Era. Merry Christmas.In the interim, there should be gratitude for the palate-cleansing performances of the Bulls and Blackhawks this week. Much need diversions and both teams offer such a refreshingly stark contrast to the beloved Bears in terms of which way the arrow is pointing.
Rip Hamilton's debut was a smashing success and Derrick Rose's contract extension and news conference Wednesday was the feel-good moment of the month. The Hawks treated a lively crowd to a 5-1 thrashing of the Canadiens later that night, an encore to perhaps their best period of the year when they swarmed the Penguins in the third in a 3-2 loss.
The United Center's roommates provided pleasant departures when we needed them. Thanks.
We are who we are, however. This is a football town. Pro football.
So with the Bears spectating like the rest of us during the postseason, it's time to play adopt-a-team. Here are a few suggestions:
The 49ers
These aren't your daddy's Niners. They run it first and throw it when they need to. It's taken Alex Smith forever to get there, but he's a much better quarterback under Jim Harbaugh's direction. Frank Gore is a bonafide "load back," a position these days on the endangered species list.
The 49ers defense was impenetrable and relentless in Monday's 20-3 evisceration of Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers. En route to 11-3, San Francisco's defense has yet to allow a rushing touchdown. That's amazing.
I love the way the 49ers play, but I wrestle with rooting for the still-too-jockular head coach. Harbaugh gets my vote for coach of the year, but he remains a flaky, petulant meathead.
The Texans
The are this year's Packers in terms of surviving an overcrowded treatment room. The Texans' challenges, however, are more daunting than Green Bay's were a year ago because Aaron Rodgers wasn't hurt. Quite the opposite, actually.
Without Matt Schaub, Houston ? making its first playoff appearance in franchise history ? is pressing on with third-stringer T.J. Yates, a rookie from North Carolina.
Yates is the anti-Caleb Hanie.
In three starts, the rookie kicks four-year backup Hanie's butt. Yates has thrown only three interceptions to Hanie's nine. I think Yates is suspect in January, but a pat on the back to him for not beating his team. He won a game heroically two weeks ago in Cincinnati. Yates' rating is a serviceable 75.5 and all while wide receiver Andre Johnson, one of the best players in the NFL, has been shelved with a hamstring issue.
Defensively, first-year coordinator Wade Phillips has transformed bottom feeders into upper echelon. I always kind of thought Phillips was a boob, but the likable kind so I'm happy for him.
The Saints
If you're the "Anybody but the Packers" type, this is your team. The big question: Can a dome team like the Saints get out of Lambeau with a win on a cold, windy day in late-January?
Yeah, it's doable. You think Saints and you think Drew Brees, but New Orleans has assembled the best committee of running backs in the league. One of them is Pierre Thomas, who grew up in Lansing, played at T.F. South and for the Fighting Illini.
I'm a sucker for seeing "our own" do cool things. I always have loved Lansing. Thomas has been one of the more underrated players in the league for a couple seasons now.
The head coach also is a local-boy-made-good. Sean Payton is the pride of Naperville, the only Napervillian to guide an NFL team to a Super Bowl victory. He played at Eastern Illinois, the College of Coaches.
The Saints are going to be my team. Brees always has appeared to be genuine. I loved him at Purdue and I admire how well he's handled his enormous success. Met Payton during Super Bowl XL week in Detroit and he struck me as among the most "normal" men of his craft I'd met.
Meanwhile, it's the storied rivalry of Chicago and Green Bay with a fresh renewal, all by itself on Christmas night. Bring on McCown.
While "It's A Wonderful Life" sits on stand-by, ready to spare us another nightmarish second half.
Dan McNeil hosts the "McNeil and Spiegel Show" weekdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on WSCR-AM 670.
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