1. The weather for Sunday (although predicting 5 days out is iffy) shows possible rain/snow/sleet/the dreaded "wintry mix" and wind gusts up to 35 mph. I'm not sure if that's good or bad for the Bears, but it should make for an interesting game (and great TV ratings). It probably depends whether the wind or the precipitation is more of a factor. It'd probably be best for the Bears if the wind shut down Seattle's passing attack.
2. You always hear about how defense wins championships. Well Football Outsiders ("Moneyball for football") did a study to see what are the best predictors of playoff success (1 being a perfect predictor):
- Overall Defense: .225
- Passing Defense: .174
- Rushing Defense: .242
- Overall Special Teams: .177
It's interesting how offense doesn't really matter, isn't it? Probably a big factor in the Colts' recent dismal performance in the playoffs.
Here are some other, more specific, predictors:
- First Down Passing Defense: .293
- First Down Overall Defense: .291
- Road Defense: .258
- Red Zone Defense: .226
Here are how the Bears and Seahawks match up (of the stats I could find):
- Overall Defense: Bears 2nd, Seahawks 20th
- Passing Defense: Bears 2nd, Seahawks 23rd
- Rushing Defense: Bears 5th, Seahawks 23rd
- Overall Special Teams: Bears 1st, Seahawks 7th
- First Down Overall Defense: Bears 13th, Seahawks 24th
- Red Zone Defense: Bears 12th, Seahawks 31st
According to these, things look good for the Bears. These stats are for the whole season, however, so I just hope the loss of Tommie Harris and Mike Brown don't hurt too much...
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