Week 8: Does bear taste better slow-cooked or deep-fried?

There are certain clichés I try and avoid while writing, the key word being “try.”

Therefore, I have avoided using the famous line from the Wizard of Oz movie when playing the Lions and the Bears in successive weeks provided the perfect time to use it.

This also means I won’t be referencing the famous Chris Farley sketch about a certain group of superfans.

I’ll let everyone else make those references.

Now then, I have some things to say about last week’s victory against the Lions.

It was a solid victory, but it was still nerve-wracking that the Vikings had to erase a 14-3 deficit to win.  Starts like that must become a thing of the past if we are ever going to beat that green and gold team whose fans like to rub any success in everyone else’s faces.

As we all know, the team turned it around from there and the Lions scored just five more points the rest of the game.  There are still issues to resolve, but I think we all would have taken 4-2 if Doc Brown had shown up in the Delorean back in August and told us that it would be our record through six games.

Next up, the usual trip to Soldier Field and those awful field conditions to play a Bears team that is currently struggling at 2-4.  The Vikings have been inching toward a return to relevancy this season, having won four of the first six games of the season.  The best way to continue this run is to finally snap an inexplicable losing streak (we couldn’t even beat them on the road in 2009).

This game feels like it will go one of two ways.  Either the Vikings will roll into Chicago and fix up a hearty Bear dinner, or Chicago will win a track meet as the defense completely regresses and a huge day by the Vikings offense is wasted.  What I’m trying to say is that the Vikings will score a lot of points, win or lose.

There’s a huge difference between 5-2 and 4-3, and given that the Vikings have the chance to keep up with the Packers for the first time in almost five years, we need to snap this ugly losing streak.  I’m predicting an interception for Harrison Smith off of Jay Cutler.  Teddy just needs to keep doing what he’s doing.  Another 300 yard day from him (with no turnovers) would almost certainly equal a victory if Adrian can carve up the Bears like he usually does.

That’s all I’ve got to say for this week.  If you haven’t already, check out the latest podcast on Soundcloud where Branden and I reviewed the Vikings-Lions game and looked ahead to this week.

It’s time to turn Soldier Field into Skol-dier Field.