NFL GAME ODDS

Seattle Seahawks vs. Chicago Bears

This week the Bears play host to the lucky Seattle Seahawks who barely made it to the next round and have Tony Romo's botched hold on a short field goal in that waning moments of the Wild Card game to thank for it. The key to this game will be which Rex Grossman will show up. He has had inconsistent play all year and the Bears have been carried by their defense. If Grossman has a good game the Bears will win but that is a stretch as if Seattle puts some points on the board they should be successful. Seattle and especially Shawn Alexander plays big against big and tough defenses as he shredded San Diego's tough D as Alexander had a huge day in the end of the regular season. The Seahawks will rely on him to do it again against a tough Bears defense. The Seahawks will get good play from Matt Hasselbeck as they are used to big games while Chicago isn't. If the Bears can't figure out a way to get penetration and stop the run they will be in for al long day. Seattle is good at finding opponents weaknesses and they should do it again. Seattle's offensive line must have a good game to keep the Bears front four from dominating Alexander and getting to Hasselbeck. This will be a close game but Seattle is playing well and won't need luck this week, as their offense is too strong.

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The Bears offense 15th rated offense is run by quarterback Rex Grossman, 3193 yds 23 TD's. He has been inconsistent all year and has been lucky to keep his starting job. The Bears rely on Thomas Jones, 1210 yds 6 TD's, in their rushing game but Jones has not played well to end the season not having reached the 100 yards plateau since week 11. If he doesn't start strong look for Cedric Benson, 647 yds 6 TD's, to get a lot of touches as he did at the end of this season. The Bears are led by their defense, which was ranked 5th in the league. The front four, including superstar Brian Urlacher has to get penetration and stop Alexander or he could have a huge day. The strength of the Bears' defense is against the rush as they gave up less than 100 yds per game on average. They will have to keep this up against one of the best running backs in the game in Alexander

Seattle has a better offense than their 19th ranking indicates. For much of the year they were without Alexander, 896 yds 7 TD's, and Hasselbeck, 2442 yds 18 TD's, but now both are back healthy and playing well again. Seattle will have a good shot at winning if Alexander can get through the tough front four of the Bears. If he can't Hasselbeck will have to rely on his receivers for big yards. The good news is they will be getting Darell Jackson, 63 rec 956 yds 10 TD's back as they will need him if Alexander struggles. Seattle's offensive line has to make holes for Alexander and protect Hasselbeck to give him time to throw. If they can keep the front four off those two Seattle has a good chance. Seattle's 19th ranked defense has also been playing better of late and had a decent game against the Cowboys. They will stack up against the run and make Grossman beat them through the air. If Seattle's mediocre secondary steps up and covers Chicago's receivers well The Seahawks will be playing for the NFC Championship. The key to this game is Chicago's front four if they create mayhem Seattle may be in trouble but Hasselbeck and Alexander will find a way to win as they have been in this situation before.

Game Pick Seattle +9