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Each week I will focus on teams you might want to “buy” or “sell” in the short term based on a number of factors including scheduling, how they are currently playing, injuries, etc… Here are my recommendations in this week’s article.
BUY – Chicago Bears
Da’ Bears are a “buy” in my book over the next few weeks. In my opinion, this team is better than their current 3-3 record. Their defense is really solid against the run and they know how to keep teams off the scoreboard. They struggle vs. the pass, however their upcoming teams on the slate are not prolific throwing teams. Their offense is balanced and efficient. Starting QB Kyle Orton has managed games nicely and he takes care of the ball unlike his predecessor Rex Grossman. That, along with a stretch of three straight home games, should add up to a nice run for Chicago.
Chicago’s three losses were all games in which they blew late leads. In their 20-17 loss @ Carolina the Bears led 17-13 with under 4:00 minutes to go in the game. They also watched a 17-3 second half lead evaporate in that one. Chicago’s 27-24 overtime loss to Tampa was even worse. They led by 10-points with just over 3:00 minutes left in that game and still had the lead with under 10 seconds remaining. Last week’s “L” @ Atlanta took the cake. Chicago scored with only 11 seconds left to take a 20-19 lead but inexplicably lost 22-20 on a last second field goal. Thus, truth be told, the Bears aren’t that far from being a perfect 6-0 against a pretty tough schedule.
Their upcoming schedule includes three home games vs. Minnesota, Detroit and Tennessee along with a bye thrown in after their game against the Vikings. As I mentioned, the Windy City defense is very good against the run and they struggle defending when balls are in the air. The Vikings, Lions and Titans all rank in the bottom third of the NFL in passing yards so it will be tough for those teams to take advantage of that deficiency, especially on the road. They catch Minnesota this Sunday off two straight wins they probably shouldn’t have. The Vikes were pounded by the Saints two weeks ago, however New Orleans basically gave them the game with turnovers. Last week, Minny kicked a field goal as time ran out to beat winless Detroit 12-10. When the Bears play Detroit it will be the Lions third road game in four weeks and Chicago will be off a bye. They should get a favorable line at home vs. a good and potentially undefeated Tennessee team in a few weeks. All of these things point to a “buy” sign for the Bears over the next few weeks.
SELL – San Diego Chargers
People are still clamoring and stating that the Chargers are the best team in the AFC. I’m not buying it and I’ll sell them in the short term. They have not performed well on the road and their next two games are away from home. Once their next two games are completed, it will end a brutal stretch that had San Diego playing five of their last seven games on the road.
So far Norv Turner’s team is just 1-2 SU on the road. They lost at Denver and at Miami. Their only win came in Oakland and that performance was nothing to write home about. They trailed 15-0 at halftime in that game and rallied for a deceiving 28-18 which included a half point cover. The Charger offense had just 295 total yards in that game and 41 of those came on a LaDanian Tomlinson TD run while he was attempting to run out the clock with just 1:00 remaining in the game. This offense that many so called experts proclaim among the best in the league had just 202 total yards @ Miami in their loss a week later. Those in the “know” around the NFL have said LT is not the runner he was a year ago. He is not nearly as explosive this year. WR Chris Chambers has a bad hamstring which will limit him. That puts a pile of pressure on QB Philip Rivers to carry most of the load which is tough on the road vs. quality opponents. They can’t expect their defense to “keep them in games” as they rank near the bottom of the NFL in overall defense along with pass defense.
I quickly mentioned their schedule earlier in this article so let’s take a look at that. The two upcoming games for the Bolts are tough ones. They travel to Buffalo this Sunday to meet up with a 4-1 Bills team that is off a bye. It will be San Diego’s second trip to the east coast in three weeks after jetting to Miami and losing 17-10 two weeks ago. It’s ALWAYS tough for teams traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast to play the 1:00 PM Eastern game. One has to remember, it’s really “10:00 AM” on their body clocks. Not only that, getting up at 7:00 AM EST to start their preparation for the game is really like getting up at 4:00 AM Pacific time. Teams simply struggle in that situation. In fact, West Coast teams traveling to the Eastern Time zone to play an early game are 0-6 straight up this year. It’s definitely not an ideal situation, especially here with the Chargers having to do it in two of the last three weeks. After that this team is off to London to play the Saints. That’s right, England! What a tough way to end an enormously hard stretch of road games.
After that it’s a bye week and then three home games. That might be a spot for a “buy” but over the next few weeks this Charger team needs to be “sold
