Ten & Six With Mike Otto: Week 12 - Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears (Plus Picks!)

So... much... turkey...

Hello again, football fans and welcome back to Ten & Six with Mike Otto!

Hopefully everybody had a happy and safe Thanksgiving.  As you can tell, we here at Newest Industry took a little breather from shoving our opinions out into the ether that is the internet for a few days, but we're back and we're kicking it off with Mike Otto's football column.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Ten & Six, Mike is our resident football expert.  He's a lifelong Vikings fan who stops by each week to give us his thoughts on the upcoming game as well as his picks for the rest of the league.

Michael, good to see you.  What's on tap this week?

Welcome back to Ten & Six starring everybody's favorite jerk - me!

Last week my picks went 10-4 even with my upset picks of the Cardinals over the Falcons (almost spot on) and the Colts over the Patriots (completely misguided).  Combine that with my 3-0 Thanksgiving and you can put me at 13-4 for the last week!  Not too shabby.

(Editor's note:  Adding in that 13-4 run, Mike is now 111-69-1 on the season.)

I'm pretty psyched about this week's Vikings-Bears game.  If The Purple can somehow win this game it changes the entire dynamic of the NFC North and puts the Vikings one win away from the driver's seat of their division.

More on that later, though.  Time for this week's picks!

Oakland (3-7) at Cincinnati (5-5)

A real thriller to start this week off!  So many levels of intrigue in this game it's really hard to know where to start.

On one side we somehow still have Marvin Lewis and on the other side we have something called Dennis Allen.  This is what you fired Hue Jackson for?

Who would have thought Oakland management could actually get worse?  Is it too late to re-animate Al Davis?  Bengals win 24-19

Pittsburgh (6-4) at Cleveland (2-8)

Charlie Batch lives!

It's true he may only be able to throw the ball 35 yards in the air, and he's probably as mobile as a patient in traction, but all he has to do is game manage.  If he avoids the turnovers and mistakes that plagued his early years the Steelers should win.

It's funny that Charlie Batch has become much more useful in the NFL ever since he accepted the fact that he was terrible and couldn't start in the league.  Pay attention, Brandon Weeden.  You may be looking at your future in Charlie Batch this Sunday.  Steelers win 23-16.

 Buffalo (4-6) at Indianapolis (6-4)

It will be interesting to see how the Colts respond to getting blown out by the Patriots.  It will also be interesting to see... uh... well... who wins the coin toss?

OK, so this game is terrible.  The Colts secondary is so bad Ryan Fitzpatrick will probably be able to put up some points.  Gonna be a close game won by Andy Lucky in the 4th quarter.  Colts win it 27-20.

Denver (7-3) at Kansas City (1-9)

Brady Quinn will get the start this Sunday against Peyton Manning, making this the most lopsided quarterback matchup in recorded history.

There is simply no chance Kansas City wins this game.  Broncos roll 38-10.

Seattle (6-4) at Miami (4-6)

The once-promising Dolphins season is suddenly just another Miami-based disappointment.

You have to feel sorry for the Dolphins fan out there.  Sitting alone in his basement in a Marino jersey muttering something about "laces out."  He lives a solemn existence, devoid of love or empathy, destined to wander the streets of Tallahassee by himself for the next 32 years until he dies of a massive coronary at age 63.

Seahawks win 26-17.

Atlanta (9-1) at Tampa Bay (6-4)

Are you ready?  The Rolls Royce Silver Cloud of a quarterback that is Josh Freeman is ready to hand Matty Ice and the Dirty Birds their second loss of the year.

After barely escaping a loss to the Cardinals at home the Falcons seem poised for another late-season slide.

Freeman to Jackson looked like a special kind of combination in the Bucs comeback win last week.  Expect a lot more of that in this upset.  Bucs win 28-27.

Tennessee (4-6) at Jacksonville (1-9)

Wittle Bwainy Gabboyt hurt his elbwo and got shut down for the season.

I have no idea who the Jaguars backup quarterback is and I don't care.  This game is diseased.  Titans win 16-10.

Baltimore (8-2) at San Diego (4-6)

Watching Norva and Philip Rivers interact looks more like an episode of "Maury" than it does an NFL sideline.  I can hear Maury now...

"Philip, when it comes to one year old Barbella Turner, you are not the father!"

"You filthy bitch, Norva!  How could you do this to me?  Who was it you dirty, pock-marked whore?!?  Huh?  Was it Antonio Gates?  Don't tell me it was Ryan Matthews!!!"

Norva is sticking to his story that he is indeed a virgin and this baby must be the second coming of Joe Montana.

I feel bad for little Barbella.  She didn't ask for this shit show.  Ravens win 23-10.

San Francisco (7-2-1) at New Orleans (5-5)

You have to believe Colin Kaepernick earned himself another start last week when he picked apart a solid Bears defense.

Go Black Irish!  I'm rooting for Black Irish.  He can drink a 40 yard dash in 4.5 seconds?  Sure, something like that.

This will be another good test for him.  If he can outshine Drew Brees at home he will be starting the rest of the Niners games this year.  49ers win a close game 27-26.

St. Louis (3-6-1) at Arizona (4-6)

Will Sam Bradford ever reach his potential?  It's true that he has never had a genuine #1 receiver, but the great quarterbacks don't need one.  Seems to me that Sam Bradford is probably just a little bitch.

The young Oklahoma standout needs to figure it out or his career as a starting NFL quarterback will be over sooner rather than later.  Cardinals win this one 16-10.

Green Bay (7-3) at New York Giants (6-4)

Lots of playoff implications in this one.

Eli Manning will have to get off the shit streak of shit play he has been shitting out in recent weeks if the Giants want to win.

At some point the Packers will have to form some semblance of a ground attack if they want to win these late season games.

I think Aaron Rodgers throws a couple picks and the Packers win streak ends in New York.  Giants win a back and forth game 28-24.

Carolina (2-8) at Philadelphia (3-7)

Turns out a Nick Foles isn't very good at football.  Nick Foles has lots of Nick holes.

I have to believe Cam Newton can beat Nick Foles.  Unless, of course, it's any kind of close game in the 4th quarter, in which case the Panthers will find a way to lose.  Ron Rivera is very cut.

Regardless, I think the Panthers win 23-17.

Boom! Picks on picks on picks!  Now, on to the main event:

MINNESOTA VIKINGS (6-4) at CHICAGO BEARS (7-3)

This game could change it all!  A win lets Christian Ponder & Co. throw up middle fingers to the rest of the league.  A loss and all the jerky sports pundits get to say, "I told you so" in regards to the Vikings season.

Jay Cutler is officially listed as "questionable," but it seems as though Lovie Smith is fairly certain he will pass his final concussion test and play Sunday.

However, it is unlikely that Percy Harvin returns to the field on Sunday, so expect more of Jarius Wright in the slot.

It's been a while since The Purple's last game, so let's look back at some positives and negatives.  As always, we'll start with the positives.

-Adrian Peterson No surprise that we start off with the perennial positive.  Last week's win was All Day's fourth straight 100 yard game and he had the game-sealing touchdown (a 61 yard scamper).  Not too shabby!

-Christian Ponder As I predicted, the kid had a bounce-back week.  Two touchdowns and 200+ yards.  Add in the fact that he didn't turn the ball over once and you have the recipe for the Vikings success.

-Jarius Wright In his first game-action the rookie grabbed 3 catches for 74 yards and a touchdown (including a momentum-building 54 yard bomb in the first quarter).  I was really hoping this kid would have a big impact this year, but, for whatever reason, he didn't see the field until now.  Even when Percy returns to the lineup I hope Jarius Wright still sees playing time.

And now, unfortunately, the negatives.

-Mistral Raymond He returned from an injury and he is still the same old Mistral.  Bad angles, poor tackling, terrible coverage... the whole awful package.  Fortunately Jamarca Sanford has been playing decently and getting most of the 1st team snaps.

-Vikings Coaches Why in the hell didn't they put Jarius Wright in a ballgame sooner?  For fuck's sake!  Not like we needed a deep threat earlier this year... oh, wait...

Three Keys To A Vikings Victory

Key #1: Hit Jay Cutler hard.  Hit him early and hit him often.

If the Vikings can ring Jay Cutler's bell he likely won't be coming back into the game.  That would go a long way toward a Vikings victory.  Cutler may not be perfect, but he is ten times the quarterback Jason Campbell is.

Key #2: Keep Brandon Marshall in check.

The Vikings have done a great job this season of limiting stand out wide receivers to average performances.  That needs to continue in this game if The Purple want to win.

The Vikings have kept better receivers than Marshall out of the end zone this year and I think they will do the same this weekend.

Key #3: Establish Adrian Peterson as a force early.

If A.P. can break a couple big runs in the first quarter it will set up the play-action game to Kyle Rudolph later.  I'm sensing a big game from #28.  He single-handedly beat the Bears at Soldier Field his rookie year.  Wouldn't be surprised if he does it again on Sunday.

Two Matchups To Watch

Matchup #1: Jarius Wright vs. Peanut Tillman

Charles Tillman is one of the most physical cornerbacks in the game.  Jarius Wright is a skinny rookie wide receiver.  The rookie would make quite a statement if he could make Peanut Tillman look silly once or twice.

Matchup #2: Bears pass rush vs. Vikings offensive line

Hopefully Musgrave has a lot of three-step drops dialed up for this one.  The longer Ponder holds on to the ball the harder his day is going to get.

It is imperative that the offensive line give CP7 three or four seconds every time he drops back.  A lot of times the 2nd or 3rd read is the guy that's open.  In order to get those reads the young Vikings quarterback needs time.  I'm looking at you, Loadholt!!

Mike's All-Purpose Flour Lock Of The Week

Adrian Peterson, Running Back, YOUR Minnesota Vikings

A.P. has been flat-out spectacular of late.  His amazing last four games culminates on Sunday with a 200 yard, 3 touchdown performance.  All Day, baby!

Final Takes

I have a really good feeling about this game.  I think Cutler is going to be a little rusty, the Vikings defense will be jacked up, and Adrian will be on a mission.  It's going to come down to Christian Ponder.

If he can play smart, avoid the big turnover, and let his teammates do most of the heavy lifting the Vikings can win.

This Bears defense is tops in the NFL at creating turnovers and no doubt will be looking to rattle CP7's cage early.  The kid needs to stay poised and know it's OK to take a sack as long as you hang onto the ball.

This is a huge game!  The Vikings could find themselves in first place in the NFC North with a win.  Think about that.  Nobody believed that was a possibility for the Vikings this late in the season.

Well, nobody but me.

FINAL SCORE: 

Minnesota Vikings:31

Chicago Bears: 27

VIKINGS WIN!! WOOOOOO!!!!

There you have it, Minnesota.  Mike predicts the Vikings will be in the driver's seat by the end of the day.  Frankly, we just hope that all Vikings players and staff make it out of Chicago alive.  No, literally.

For more of the intoxicatingly charming Mike Otto be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@SwervinTaters).  His tweets may a bit infrequent this week as he's still digesting huge quantities of leftover turkey.

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