Mark Bradley, Bears Super Fan

Bears, Cardinals meet Monday night!

They were once cross-town rivals, teams fighting for the allegiance of pro football fans in Chicago. The Bears and the Cardinals trace their history to the beginnings of the NFL.

The Bears played in Wrigley Field, the Cardinals in Comiskey Park. From 1920 to 1952, they faced each other twice a season.

Now such meetings are rare.

The Cardinals left Chicago in 1960, first for St. Louis, then for Arizona, developing a still-growing legacy of losing. The Bears stayed home, took over the town, and steamroll into Arizona with an unbeaten record for their Monday night encounter with the Cardinals. (The Bears Media Guide is a great source of information! - Thanks Marcus)


The Bears (5-0), off to their best start in two decades, want to use this stage as to validate their credentials as a Super Bowl contender. With the Bears' 2006 start has been the result of planning, coaching and execution.

And breaks.

That doesn't mean the Bears have been lucky. Other than the Minnesota game, their average winning margin has been 29 points. The only break the Bears might have needed in those four games would have been a slaughter rule: Be ahead by more than three scores after three quarters - which the Bears were - game over and go home early.


Random Thoughts:

I agree with Gail - TMI on TO = Trouble for NFL Fans!

Did anyone see this blurb about the Denver Defense being better than Da Bears Defense? Not the difficulty factor. Of the last three opponents, Minnesota is now 3-2, Seattle is 4-1 and Buffalo was a .500 team before the Bears' rout. Those were good wins.

The real schedule break is its layout. The Bears didn't open with the likes of Indianapolis or Baltimore. Just as college powerhouses start with breathers early to settle in, the Bears drew the hapless Packers and equally hapless Lions as warmups.

Then they faced the Vikings, who were a little better. Then came the Seahawks, who were better still. Then the Bills, also respectable. And after three decent opponents, along come the Arizona Cardinals.

All I can say is - The teams we play are NFL teams, no body questioned the 72 Dolphins and who they played!

Bears riled up by quotes Cardinals didn't say - Some fabricated quotes that allegedly came from Cardinals players circulated the Internet this week, sparking irritation not only from fans of the Chicago Bears but at least one player.

Defensive tackle Tommie Harris took the bait when he ranted to Chicago reporters that “Arizona has not given us respect.”

When it was pointed out that most quotes from opposing players do praise the Bears, Harris acknowledged “our coordinators only tell us the bad stuff they hear.” He also didn’t want to end up on a bulletin board himself.

“Don’t go blow this up on a big blotter that says, ‘Tommie says Arizona sucks,’ ” Harris said. “Arizona’s a good football team. The Chicago Bears are a good football team. Tune in on Monday for a great game.”

-- This should add to the drama for tonight's game!

Da Bears 36 - 6