Giants Need to Beat the Vikings for Themselves, Not for the Bears

C'mon, Tom Coughlin. We -- Bears fans -- need you to do the right thing. You've even written a book in which it was stated that NFL teams should all play hard for all 16 games. Now, today, I see that you are starting David Carr over Eli Manning, and I'm perplexed.

It would be easy for me to sit here and discuss the virtues of playing hard all 16 games and how that overtime win at home last weekend still wasn't enough momentum for the playoffs -- not to mention the fact that the Giants will have a bye next week anyway and that everyone keeps discussing how hard they played in Week 17 last year.

I'm not gonna do that. Instead, I'm going to tell you that the Chicago Bears are not near the playoff team the Minnesota Vikings are at this point. The Giants should be wanting a victory this weekend over the Vikings -- and hoping for a Bears win as well -- because the Vikings could be a scary NFC Championship game foe. That third week in January is one game for the chance to go to the Super Bowl.

In that game, do you wanna see:

- Adrian Peterson as the opposing running back, especially if he cures his fumbling woes? He leads the NFL in rushing by over 100 yards, and he's easily the most explosive back in football.

- Jared Allen coming off the corner? Allen's one of the league's premier defensive lineman. Not only that, he's dirty. He could knock Eli Manning out for the Super Bowl even if you win. Can you imagine taking Mittens into the Super Bowl as your starter?

- The Williams wall? The Giants run the football as a team better than anyone else. The Vikings stop the run better than anyone else, and Pat Williams will certainly be healthy by the time January 18th rolls around.

There's more.

- Since their bye week, the Vikings are 6-2, only losing by a combined 13 points to to Atlanta (playoff team) and Tampa Bay (on the road against a playoff contender). They smoked Jacksonville, Chicago, and Arizona. If they win against the Giants in Week 17, that's one of the most impressive finishes this season. That's what they call momentum, and the team will be incredibly confident.

- On the other hand, the Bears aren't playing nearly as well as their 9-6 record suggests. After barely squeaking by the Lions at home, they lost three of four, including embarrassing blowout losses in Minnesota and Green Bay. They then beat the sub-par Jags at home before winning two overtime games against non-playoff teams.

By no means do the Bears suck, but Matt Forte, Lance Briggs, and Alex Brown can only carry the team so far. Which team would you rather see in the playoffs?

Exactly.

So, Giants, please go out and help my boys. I want to see them play some playoff football this year*.

*First, I have to go puke for attempting to build up the Vikings while tearing down my beloved Bears.