Weak 6

Any Minnesota Vikings loss is always a very sad affair. A loss to the Chicago Bears bothers me more than most. Very sad.

If there has ever been a Vikings killer, it is definitely Devin Hester. He's brought a bunch of kicks back against the Vikings. He also does it at the most hurtful of times. It happened again last night. Early in the second half the Vikings had just scored a touchdown following a Jared Allen sack and fumble recovery. They had some momentum. They had some life. Hester took it right away by taking the kickoff for a touchdown. Scary, scary player. Its time for him to retire.

Not much good happened in the game, but it was good to see Christian Ponder get some playing time. It was a little odd that Donovan McNabb was replaced after having his best passing day as a Viking. Which isn't really saying a lot. Ponder didn't seem rattled by his first NFL action. The Bears knew that he was throwing every down so they were coming after him. He handled the pressure well. He made some great throws. Showed poise and good timing. Showed good mobility. He can make plays with his feet and his arm. It was disappointing that he had two decent drives end on fourth down completions just short of the first down. I'd like to see him start the rest of the season.

Brian Urlacher looks far too much like Uncle Fester for his own good.

Very nice win for the 49ers. They won in spite of nearly 100 penalties. Some stupid. Some manufactured. The officials were far from fair. The 49ers are fortunate it didn't derail an otherwise strong game.

Speaking of officials. They are making a mess of the rulebook. No one knows what a catch is anymore.

The Lions are strutting far more than a team new to success should.

The encounter between Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz at the end of the game was far too similar to a couple of pissy little kids.

Lions tackle Jeff Backus is going to get Matthew Stafford killed. Jared Allen toyed with him a few weeks ago. Justin Smith simply ran over him a few times, especially late in the game. For a 5-1 team this is a huge concern going forward.

Yesterday was the most productive game that I've seen from 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree. He's still something of a puzzle to me. He doesn't seem to have strong football instincts. Like he hasn't been playing football for long. At Texas Tech, he seemed much more natural. I wonder if football has always come so easy for him that he doesn't really know what to do when things get tough. He was able to dominate in college. The NFL is a much different beast.

I've long wondered about Packers linebacker AJ Hawk's place in human evolution. I've suspected that it is a little before the missing link. He's proving that it may be much earlier than that.

Talk about a coach getting into the game. Saints coach Sean Payton breaks his tibia and tears the MCL in his knee when his own tight end rolls into him on the sideline.

Next week is bad news for the Green Bay Packers!