He Lovies Me He Lovies Me Not?

Following the Philadelphia Vicks enduring an unexpected wing clipping at the hands of the Vikings last night, I feel compelled to answer the burning question sweeping Packer nation; "Will Lovie play his guys or rest them now that the Bears have locked the number 2 seed?"

There are 3 primary reasons the Bears will play for the win late Sunday afternoon;

First, in light of having the luxury of a first round bye, if Lovie was to rest his starters Sunday that would leave his key guys with an extended layoff. Nearly 3 weeks since the Jets game and far too much time to let the "rust" build up. Lovie made this mistake in 2005 when he "sat" his starters, ended up with an 11-5 record and got bounced by a red hot Carolina team.

Second, laying down and letting the Pack dance and skip their way into the playoffs not only allows a dangerous offensive team into the mix, a team in a conference where the team that gets the hottest at the right time wins the trip to big D and a dance with the Brady bunch, but also a chance to "grab the 'mo' " from the Bears at the wrong time. Lovie is smart enough to understand this and does not want to let the voracious animal (aka the Packers) a shot at thieving the Bears feast.

Third, there is still a possibility, albeit remote, the Bears could grab the 1 seed if Carolina miraculously finds a way to best the Dirty Birds and the Saints lose to a desperate band of Bucs. Earning the 1 seed comes in pretty handy if the Bears find themselves in the NFC title match.

My backup reason if the 1 seed is not available is 'pride.' Lovie and the Bears will simply want this game for the Great Lakes Region bragging rights and all that comes with it. Not to mention becoming the only NFC North team to sweep the division schedule since it's inception. So, for several reasons, despite the Eagles taking a dive at home last night, Lovie will not 'rest' these still hungry Bears and let them begin feeding at 3:15 on Sunday. GO BEARS GO!!